What status symbols do you posess?

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For example, I recently aquired this year's Pirelli Calendar -- one of the most high kitch cultrual artyfacts and obnoxious status symbols of all time.

Other examples might include parking spaces with your name on them, corner offices, things named after you or editor's columns.

― Jimmy Mod always makes friends with women before bedding them down (ModJ), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:31 (twenty years ago)

gigantic penis

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:33 (twenty years ago)

I don't think I own a single status symbol, which I think is pretty cool.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:35 (twenty years ago)

Girlfriend and inflatable dome. (No, the girlfriend is not inflatable. I've tried.)

― Momus (Momus), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:37 (twenty years ago)

I have scarf made from some Dior satin, but I guess thats all :/

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:38 (twenty years ago)

a juris doctorate.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:43 (twenty years ago)

I've got a bunch of low-level Nike/Levi/Coca-Cola/Ford (ugh) status symbols that everyone living in a first world country has, but as far as I know I have no economic class related status symbols relative to my own peer group. It makes sense because relative to those people I am a poor-ass motherfucker.
Things loaded with cultural cachet, on the other hand, I have plenty of.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:50 (twenty years ago)

Visions of wearing large hardrives loaded with comics and pop music on a chain around my neck!

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:52 (twenty years ago)

hard drives

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:52 (twenty years ago)

Oh wait shit that's basically an iPod isn't it, I don't have one of those.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:53 (twenty years ago)

A Leica, which is somewhat embarassing because it was an impulse purchase with gambling money and I don't use it near enough to justify its existence right now. But I also can't bring myself to sell it because I can use it when I get my eyes fixed.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:11 (twenty years ago)

Now that's the kind of status symbol that impresses me :)

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:20 (twenty years ago)

uh, nothing?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:25 (twenty years ago)

I don't quite get what constitutes a 'status symbol'. I have an ipod (soon to have two, when my shuffle arrives). I also have a couple of expensive Nikon cameras and some lenses. Do those qualify? Probably not.

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:29 (twenty years ago)

an ipod is a status symbol.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:31 (twenty years ago)

Isn't everything a status symbol of some form? My circular saw is a status symbol, as is my Kids in the Hall poster and my Red Sox cap.

Are we only talking about positive class symbols?

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:33 (twenty years ago)

I don't think an iPod is a status symbol.

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:34 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, OTM Milo, because for me, i'd be impressed with someone who had multiple antique daguerrotypes, yet the average person wouldn't give a shit.

On the other hand, i'm not impressed at all by BMW's, rolex watches etc etc which I guess would be common status symbols.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:35 (twenty years ago)

What status does it demonstrate? I have $300 dollars to spend?

x-post

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:36 (twenty years ago)

Good point. I mean I have a laptop, but it isnt a fancy brand. And I wouldnt want brandname shoes or clothes (whats the fuss over Jimmy Choo or Blahnik?). But I'd love to own a digital studio and loads of hi tech gadgetry.

(xpost to kate)

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

i don't think i have any status symbols. i was pretty excited when i bought a fridge and a washing machine (of my very own that were totally new and weren't handed down from anyone at all) last year, i dunno if that counts.

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

if you wanna listen to music, use a freakin' tape walkman. or an 8-track.

milo, i mean if you want to abstract it, sure, but i think it's obvious that one uses the phrase "status symbols" they mean a benz and not a shopping cart with all their possessions in it.

supercub, that's $300 more than i have. so consider yourself lucky.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:38 (twenty years ago)

which is not saying that if i had money, i wouldn't spend it.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:39 (twenty years ago)

of course, i'm not trying to indict anyone either. class one-upmanship on TEH INTERNET = dudduddud

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:40 (twenty years ago)

I think maybe at my age owning my own place is a status symbol of sorts, although we don't own it outright (paying it off).

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:41 (twenty years ago)

paying off is still better than renting, tho.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:42 (twenty years ago)

sorry, put "better" in quotes.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:43 (twenty years ago)

the U2 ipod is a status symbol, because you're paying $100 more just to get the U2 ipod. it doesn't do anything different than a regular ipod. I think comparing a walkman to an ipod doesn't really work. a status symbol indicates something about the person's values. they value status. an ipod can just indicate that someone likes having a small music player that holds a lot of songs.

x-post

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:43 (twenty years ago)

yeah exactly. esp at 25 and 26 respectively, although some people assume it's because we're doing well, which is not the case. My husband has helpful parents is all.

xpost

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:44 (twenty years ago)

Jimmy Mod wants people to fess up about high-ticket, pricey purchases that people have made which come with a cloud of signifiers of membership in an elite group of . . . . consumers.

As hipsters and/or as mostly poor college students, either nobody is fessing up, or genuinely nobody owns such things here. I'm guessing there's a mix of the former and the latter. There are too many New Yorkers on this list for some of y'all not to have spent your hard earned media dollars on status symbols of some variety: Prada this, Gucci that, etc.

So, to honor what I take to be the spirit of Jimmy Mod's inquiry, I confess: I own a pair of Hermés pink corduroy trousers (lined in pink satin, no less) bought in Paris on the Boulevard St. Germain for an outrageously overpriced sum. There, I've said it. Happy now? They were a gift to me from a loved one.

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:44 (twenty years ago)

But I see what you're saying. I don't get people who use the crap earbuds that come with the ipod, because they want people to know they have an ipod.

x-post

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:45 (twenty years ago)

i'm doing my second uni degree (law) now. when that's finished i'll consider it to be a status symbol.

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:46 (twenty years ago)

Oh! I have a Paul Smith watch and a Lacoste jacket.

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:47 (twenty years ago)

(both were gifts)

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:47 (twenty years ago)

um but supercub, an ipod isn't even the best mp3 player on the market! i know that and i'm too poor to buy any of them!

i suppose the really expensive charlemagne palestine record i bought when i had a really good paying job is a status symbol, to record geeks.

i have never bought anything by prada, i would guess they don't have anything in my size. no dig on status clothes, freakin' cheap-ass h&m doesn't either.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:49 (twenty years ago)

Fair enough, hstencil. But I just associate the term with three different (and acceptable) meanings, and the question was vague enough to confuse context. 1. High-priced luxury items that confer status in the American-capitalist sense on the owner. 2. Any item that acts as a particular signifier for the owner/'s personality - class/culture/religion/etc. (this one is partially a question of purpose, related to 1. but not necessarily so expensive or consumerist) 3. Items (or lack of) that reflect particular facts about the owner's life (mostly unintentional).

1. a Rolex 2. OC DVDs 3. No health insurance.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:50 (twenty years ago)

does it matter if it's a gift? i sort of think of status symbols as something you buy for yourself

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:50 (twenty years ago)

supercub, are you a furry?

― charleston charge (chaki), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:52 (twenty years ago)

for some insane reason, i'd rather spend money on a nice dinner than a watch. so maybe an occasional expensive meal (not that i've bought one in, oh, three years) is my status symbol.

milo, i see your point, but the first post did state:

...one of the most high kitch cultrual artyfacts and obnoxious status symbols of all time.

and aren't a lot of what even the most nouveau-riche american capitalists consider status symbols mostly european brands?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:53 (twenty years ago)

http://www.pcself.com/primopiano/images/creative_zen_touch.jpg

I've got an iFraud and some oversized headphones to boot, natch.

― Matt Chesnut, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:53 (twenty years ago)

my status symbols: criterion collection 8 1/2, asics tigers, and a g3 powerbook

― charleston charge (chaki), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:54 (twenty years ago)

Weirdly, I never thought of college degrees as status symbols but of course they are. I do recall seeing a Mercedes in Orange County with OXFORDGRD on the vanity plate. I remember thinking it was really gauche- I just can't see someone in the UK doing it, it seemed like a very American (or maybe just OC) thing to do to yell and scream so about having gone to Oxford, like some kind of ghastly overcompensation.

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 06:57 (twenty years ago)

i don't know that i think of the degree i already have as a status symbol. maybe the fact that i did my honours. but doesn't it depend on your definition of status and how you want to be identified... i have most admiration for people of intellect and passion, so i consider education a status symbol for sure. especially since a tertiary education is no mean feat to acquire, or at least it hasn't been for me.

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:05 (twenty years ago)

I thought the Pirelli Calendar was just an arty SI:Swimsuit Issue (sadly without tires), and its status only reflective of the cheesiness. I didn't realize there was any kind of exclusivity to them.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:06 (twenty years ago)

When I finish my fine art degree, I'll feel more able/confident in calling myself an artist, which is bullshit, as i've not really gained anymore skills than I had before I started. Stupid.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:07 (twenty years ago)

yeah i guess the whole uni degree thing is a bit silly isn't it kate. the letters after my name got me a great job, but they say i have a psych degree and realistically i never do anything remotely connected with psych. but i still value my education.

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:10 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah totally, i mean i lacked any kind of confidence in my artwork, so if nothing else it's given me that :)

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:12 (twenty years ago)

I am, and I have a Prada bunny suit.

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:17 (twenty years ago)

an answer to this question:

supercub, are you a furry?

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:20 (twenty years ago)

I got a bottle of Australian wine for Secret Santa last year. The guy who brought it said to keep it for two years and it will be worth something haha he can't lose with that line.
some way too expensive RAYBANS I only got cos my mom gave me a gift certificate to the expensive sunglass store. They even have Ray Ban painted on one of the lenses so I can reprazent properly(I thought it was a sticker).
a Honda civic, the cadillac of automobiles.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:20 (twenty years ago)

i don't even know what a pirelli calendar is!

a college degree def. is a status symbol. i have one of those too.

i am drinking maker's mark right now, but i buy it for cheap when i'm in kentucky.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:21 (twenty years ago)

and woodford reserve and basil hayden's are more expensive anyway, but fuck it, they're worth it.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 07:22 (twenty years ago)

my bank balance. i never buy anything!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 08:30 (twenty years ago)

also - i'm working on a belly. the oldest symbol of wealth known to mammals

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 08:31 (twenty years ago)

Well, then, since a college degree = a status symbol, I have a status symbol in the form of something I don't even really bother with displaying. And I'm working on another one, too! Except I might display that one, if I get to use it. :)

― Surreal Addiction (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 08:33 (twenty years ago)

And -- a belly, being used as a status symbol! Never thought about that, really. I suppose it makes total and complete sense, esp in relation to the fact that so many people go without on a daily basis and I live in a society wealthy enough to where having TOO MUCH to eat is actually a problem. Wow. Never really thought of that before.

― Surreal Addiction (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 08:41 (twenty years ago)

There are a lot of cultures where having a belly is symbol of status.

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 08:46 (twenty years ago)

* An MA
* Designer glasses (Raybans, but not actually sunglasses)
* A car (albeit not a particularly *classy* car, but one with the current registration)
* A private office (albeit windowless)
* The right to say "no, I'm not going to do that for you" to managers who aren't my direct manager.

― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:03 (twenty years ago)

(xpost)

I think I know which ones you're talking about (the ones wherein Buddhism is the main/major religion, right?). Anyway, I'd heard of that statement before. And I think it's a bit ironic that, in this overabundant society of ours (i.e. the Anglo one, the shared one the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, etc., possess), none of us think of bellies as being anywhere even approaching "desirable". I mean, yeah, there are the people out there who find little cute round bellies attractive, but by and large "fat" = "ugly", and that statement/sentiment is practically inescapable, even to this very day, years and decades after the Kathy Bateses and Camryn Manheims and Dawn Frenches of the world became successful and proved that being overweight did not mean some sort of death sentence in the world of entertainment (though good luck trying to find them doing things today, right?).

Anyway, I'm rambling and I'm in desperate need of getting to sleep so good night and I hope this message makes sense to me in the morning.

― Surreal Addiction (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:04 (twenty years ago)

(Oh yeah! And I have a vehicle, too! One that's paid for! Yay!)

― Surreal Addiction (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:05 (twenty years ago)

Awesome clothes, okay shoes, excellent music, pimp vehicle, nice apartment, flauntable talents, and really really smart, super hot, popular friends. Oh, and an Audemars-Piguet watch, BITCH. :)

― LeCoq (LeCoq), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:26 (twenty years ago)

Ooh, I forgot one:

* my SBB/CFF/FFS watch (as advertised every day in the Guardian)

― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:30 (twenty years ago)

Yo that's hot. We should do drugs together and talk to strangers someday.

― LeCoq (LeCoq), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:42 (twenty years ago)

My bike but I spent $$$$ on it for reasons other than just plain pimpiness (although that was, admittedly, a factor).

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:43 (twenty years ago)

I have a pair of shoes that everyone at a party seemed to be impressed by for some reason. i don't even remember who the "designer" was because I don't care. I liked them so I bought them. I don't remember them being expensive at all. But apparently, they're some kind of big deal to people who give a shit about shoes. That or it was some kind of enormous put-on to make me feel good about wearing the worst shoes ever.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:05 (twenty years ago)

xxxxxpost I think if you're a buddhist your status symbol would be like, not having anything!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah and I have my own bowling ball!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

The only status symbols I have are things like my Wiard synthesiser, and my fancy recumbent bicycle, which are only status symbols among a tiny sub-subset of certain subsets of geek culture. Outside that world, they are more like badges of geekdom, if anyone even gives a shit!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:19 (twenty years ago)

status symbol indicates something about the person's values. they value status. an ipod can just indicate that someone likes having a small music player that holds a lot of songs.

status symbol indicates: 'i own you' in some way, and it isn't just about money. an ipod is a status symbols cos you need to be rich to have one. sure they're useful items (same way a merc is a useful item) but they're simultaneously status symbols.

― Henry Miller, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:20 (twenty years ago)

I should ask the Office Crush about bowling-ball status symbols some time.

― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:22 (twenty years ago)

your office crush owns a bowling ball? organise a bowling date and ask for coaching!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:24 (twenty years ago)

Watch out for bowling reach around though.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

What I don't own:

a car (nor a driver's license)
my own house/apartment
a DVD player
a VCR
a TV set
a computer
an IPod (I'm not even sure what it is exactly)
expensive clothes
art (except for a couple of paintings done by a friend).

What I do own:

a fairly good stereo set (bought second-hand)
a portable CD player
a vinyl player (though it's broken at the moment)
a fairly large collection of CDs and comics.

I guess my status is symbolized by the fact that I have no status symbols...

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

I have developed a fetish for buying Paul Smith jumpers on eBay (I won another this morning, whoot). I now have 6.

Does a signed copy of the original Tigermilk count?

I own a car, a (mortgaged) flat, and a small share in thew family business for which I work. I don't know if any of these count either.

What about a hott girlfriend?

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

I'm currently wearing Prada shoes. Those s'posedly comfy 'n' sporty but actually they are pretty darn BORING. I bought'em because... I don't know, I figured I needed sth that wasn't a sneaker. I figured I should act my age and stop buying Pumas/Adidas. I'm jumping off the bandwagon, I'll be buying Pumas and Adidas asap. I currently have a Miu Miu bag and a mini iPOD. As I run my parents' jewellery store I also wear lots of diamond jewellery.

It's all overcompensation for the fact I lack a university degree and a car.

― stevie nixed (stevie nixed), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

Lots of cute female friends. That's about it.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

My office crush *was* a local bowling champion, but had to give it up for medical reasons.

― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

i think my gloves are supposed to be a status symbol, because they have big gold charm thingies attached that serve no purpose other than to proclaim their vivienne westwood-ness to the world.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:34 (twenty years ago)

i have a Buffalo 120GB external HD.

― supercub, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

The very nature of this question confuses me somewhat and I probably have to think about it.

My gut reaction is that I don't own any; I buy things for their usefulness, not to impress anyone else.

But then again I tend to think of things like the more useless of my guitar pedals for instance... I suppose I have them more for reasons of HA HA LOOK AT ME I'VE GOT AN ELECTRIC MISTRESS BOW DOWN BEFORE MY PURE PHASE MAJESTY!!!! than because they necessarily do something particularly special.

― Kate Kept Me Alive! (kate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

and your green danelectro kate!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

i don't really have anything! ipod yeah, but it's not like i go around showing it off.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

i actually conceal my ipod, because i fear mugging.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

me too.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

Lauren you have to status symbol of (seemingly) being able to walk straight in to any club in London with the door staff falling over themselves to let you in. That's a pretty good one.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

That's not really a symbol as such though, is it?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

does that mean other ppl could carry me around as a status symbol?

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

mini ipod. a helmut lang jumper, although it doesn't look anything flash, and was bought 2nd hand anyway. i guess my nice vaio, although work bought that. a phd. my fellows' key for my cambridge college is something of a status symbol, i guess, although the only way you'd know i had one was if you saw me opening secret doors with it. or walking across the grass, i suppose.

― toby (tsg20), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

I think a status symbol has to be something bought / owned / displayed (at least partly) for others. Otherwise it's not a symbol (cos a symbol must have a social life / social meaning to be one). Hence, large bank account, degree etc are largely invisible. Shoes are not.

But in the spirit of other answers:

a PhD
2 ipods
3 computers (a new G5 in my office!)
3 pairs of Issey Miyake trousers
Gucci shoes
a poodle
2 different kitchenaid blenders
Gucci eyeglasses

But I also live in New York, so what I don't have is: a car, a large apartment, a bicycle...

― paulhw (paulhw), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

oh, yes. i have a poodle, a big one not a small park avenue one, but she doesn't live with me now.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

I've got a Nintendo DS, but it'll stop being cool in a few weeks when they get released over here. In fact they're already on limited release, so they still have a sort of cool, but not the same sort it had when I first got it a couple of months ago.

And even then, it wasn't a PSP.

― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

waaah i want a kitchenaid mixer. a big shiny industrial-looking one.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

me too. it's almost painful.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:19 (twenty years ago)

Thorsten Veblen to thread.

― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

"symbolises" my "status"?
certificate of non-married-ness, fuck(notreally)yeah!

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

err

condo
new car
ipod
marc jacobs coat
kenneth cole suit

― Big Baby Bingo (Chris V), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

err

condo
new car
ipod
marc jacobs coat
kenneth cole suit
wife

― Big Baby Bingo (Chris V), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

I'm kinda disturbed by the number of men listing their S.O. as a Status Symbol. I don't know if they're being ironic or just evidence of some kind of Calumistic worldview.

:-(

― Kate Kept Me Alive! (kate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

Ummm. A couple of not-really-designer handbags (Antoni and Alison [bought cheap from stylist friend], Ollie and Nic [gift]), a DKNY dress (charity shop), pair of Calvin Klein shoes (bought five years ago in Pied a Terre sale), Agent Provocatuer underwear (three items, all gifts) and that's about it.

― Anna (Anna), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

a college degree
designer eyeglasses
a car that's not paid for
two Vivienne Westwood shirts that I wear to sleep in.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Oh and a degree and a professional qualification in media law and a letter from Alexandra Shulman telling me Vogue were giving me a prize.

― Anna (Anna), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

Oh, I guess in addition to my shoes, I should also say my 30,000 sq ft mansion in the Hamptons... but that's rather small for the Hamptons, so I often forget about it.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

I don't know. I don't have a lot of expensive clothes. I have a car, but it's more of a utilitarian item than a status symbol. I did buy it new, so I guess it might count. I have a CD collection that might be considered large by average standards, but would be quite tiny by ILM standards. My stereo is nothing flashy. I do have a scarf that I bought at Barney's, so maybe that counts.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

I'm kinda disturbed by the number of men listing their S.O. as a Status Symbol. I don't know if they're being ironic or just evidence of some kind of Calumistic worldview.

Have you read Bridget Jones' Diary?

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

Well, that's the supposed received wisdom of the thing - that women think that way. But I've only really seen men do it on this thread. Let me check and read over from the beginning again...

― Kate Kept Me Alive! (kate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:05 (twenty years ago)

I suspect my thread is bringing some people down, which is not cool. Credit my habitual inability to phrase questions properly in the first go round.

― Jimmy Mod always makes friends with women before bedding them down (ModJ), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

Well, a quick search has revealed that not one woman has listed their S.O. but three men have suggested their girlfriend or wife as a status symbol.

― Kate Kept Me Alive! (kate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

i literally do not have a single status symbol. yowzer.

― HenryMiller, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

My GameCube! And subsequent games! And a 7 dvd box set of the Moomins! And a Pukel-Stereo although that was bought for me. I really want a vinyl killer, but that's not status, just rockist. ER yeah but no. A monthly travelcard instead of a weekly?

― Lucretia My Reflection (Lucretia My Reflection), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

i dunno.. i think the term "hott girlfriend" is pretty jokey, not to undercut mark's pride in his lady.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

Kate, you could see it as a nice of saying they value their wife/girlfriend?

We also have three game consoles, but those are Thom's status symbols. I don't know the difference between Resident Evil 4 and Xbox Live.

― stevie nixed (stevie nixed), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

I don't know, I just find it objectifying, rather than validating.

But that's not the point. The point is that people (not just Calum, as Mark pointed out) often try to say that it's *women* who view their S.O.s as Status Symbols, when it's a point of view I see expressed by men a lot more than women.

Anyway...

― Kate Kept Me Alive! (kate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:19 (twenty years ago)

i put my wife on as a joke.

― Big Baby Bingo (Chris V), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

ipod, a car which is not exactly a mercedes or anything but I'm certainly not complaining.

I guess in the world of the student/slacker, my job in a record store is a status symbol.

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

• an ipod
• my couch
• an apartment in a posh part of town
• a penis

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

The continuing right to vote.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:27 (twenty years ago)

I have a couple pieces of art by prominent and semi-prominent Cdn artists (they were gifts - I never thought of them, nor art, as "status", but hey...).
Those Koss p0rtapr0 headphones that get me knowing nods on the street...
A swank new laptop.
A hott new boyfriend.
My face, yo.
haha.

― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:28 (twenty years ago)

me too. it's almost painful.

i think this pink one is just the cutest.

http://www.kitchenaid.com/assets/images/product/LargeView/ksm150pspk-largeview.jpg

― june cleaver's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

I have a soft spot for the pink mixer as well. Who could resist?

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

i'm afraid that if i owned one i would NEVER STOP BAKING.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

In addition to my shoes and fancy house in the Hamptons, I also have a Gmail account.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

I finally got a kitchenaid mixer a couple of years ago (from amazon.com, where that particular model was on clearance for cheap). It really is awesome for baking, but I haven't used it as much as I thought I would because I haven't had the time.

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

G4s
iPod
Roland 808
Techinics 1200s
Ivy League degree
Surround Sound System
Portrait of myself by John Fahey
Edition of 50 Spacemen 3 white-label
Commes de Garcons jacket someone left behind at a party I promoted, ha ha.

― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

the s.o. as status symbol is totally done by both men and women in equal measure. the male/female ratio on ILE is probably a larger factor in why only some men have mentioned it on here.

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

does that mean other ppl could carry me around as a status symbol?

Lauren you are totally a status symbol! Your acquaintance be the only status symbol I have!

We have a blue KitchenAid and we have a Cuisinart Grind n Brew. Kitchen appliance swank is about all I've got. I guess I have an Armani tie somewhere.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

There's been a pretty equal gender division on this thread. You might have a case if this had been ILM, but ILE is fairly equally gender divided.

― Kate Kept Me Alive! (kate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

p.s. i think what stevem's meaning to say is basically "alix to thread"?

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

why is that alix to thread? whats an s.o anyway?

― alix (alix), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

ILE still feels male dominated to me - maybe just force of habit

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

s.o. = salient oaf

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:06 (twenty years ago)

(if you're a woman)

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:06 (twenty years ago)

I believe I am.

― alix (alix), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)

snogificent otter

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

well what you do behind closed doors is your business

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

Otter loving should be conducted in the otter's natural habitat to minimise distress.

― alix (alix), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

i myself own several otters, a couple of stoats and i'm bidding for an iWeasel on eBay right now.

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

z.o. = zooanimal origami.. like lifesized giraffes made out of newspaper. i assumed it was a typo!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

I'm all about the minks.

― alix (alix), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

mink polaroids

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

I have a trouser ferret.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

Oh lord.

― alix (alix), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

I have a taxidermized wolf-head/skin from Russia, two As Four suits, an Oxford degree, and an ARP 2600 synthesizer.

Maybe there should be a separate "What status symbols do you covet?" thread to get the aspirational counterpoint to this thread going.

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

I have a CD Recorder.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:34 (twenty years ago)

Do cell phones count? How about lame ones that don't take pictures or have fancy ringtones? I have one of those.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

My movie star good looks and rapier wit.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

An uncanny knowledge of the nonemclature.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

Do my status symbols count if I never wear them in public or have anyone over to my place to see them?

― j.lu (j.lu), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:42 (twenty years ago)

is japan still a sumo culture? because that would be one.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

back to the bellies thing, in spain an older man's belly is known as "the curve of happiness," so yes, it's a status symbol.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 18:37 (twenty years ago)

I have a goodlink that tethers me to work, wherever I go.

Im also due some business cards that I dont need, but want anyway.

― Dude, are you a 15 year old asian chick? (jingleberries), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 18:39 (twenty years ago)

I have the opposite of a status symbol today, as I missed a spot while shaving.

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

I HAVE TELEVISION

― sugarpants (sugarpants), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 19:58 (twenty years ago)

I HAVE COLOR TELEVISION

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

My movie star good looks and rapier wit.

My rapier looks and movie star wit.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

VETERAN STATUS
AMTRAK GUEST REWARDS SELECT STATUS
SALARIED EXEMPT STATUS
ZIPCAR MEMBERSHIP STATUS
ENGAGED TO HOTTIE STATUS

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

I'm a consumer whore:

1 pr. designer glasses
3 pr. designer jeans (dkny jeans, dkny jeans, diesel)

2 computers
laserjet printer
bose computer speakers (though I worked at bose and it was a parting gift)

JBL surround sound system (purchased '96)
sony studio headphones (which are an arguable as work purchase -- I occasionally'm employed as ADR tech.)

128m iriver mp3 player
xbox (gift)
dvd player (gift)

― Remy (x Jeremy), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:22 (twenty years ago)

Do cell phones count? How about lame ones that don't take pictures or have fancy ringtones? I have one of those.
Hey I have one that has a completely fucked up screen. I once downloaded a ringtone but couldnt figure out how to install it in the whatever it is you... well, it's stuck in my message folder.

Whenever I read S.O. I think of Son Of (a bitch).

Next up: the iMAC G5 with twenty inch screen. yum yum

― stevie nixed (stevie nixed), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:30 (twenty years ago)

Papal Knighthood
Several German Bundesliga refs
The concession to mine Dick Cheney's heart for coal (won in a good natured poker game)
Exemption from Law of Gravity
First Edition of The Bible
An army of lazer-eyed sexbot ninja assassins
John the Baptist's Prom Boutoniere
Diplomatic Immunity (This one's some serious shit)
A wind-up toaster oven (in case of earthquakes)

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)

apart from a few of these, i don't really know what actually qualifies as a status symbol:
i have a rolex, but it was gift, so...
a pair of very expensive prada shoes, and a pair of gucci shoes.
a bunch of overpriced jeans.
a 17" titanium g4.
a new car.
a yohji yamamoto jacket.

no one ever really remarks about them though... so i don't necessarily imagine it as a thing many people think about.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

i have a high definition widescreen tv and lots of home audio things because i get great discounts at my place of employment. i also have decent clothes, mostly from jcrew/banana republic/gap.

i have a car as well.

― t0dd swiss, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

a yohji yamamoto jacket.

ooh!

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 23:00 (twenty years ago)

(bah the first post on this thread made me irrelevant)

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 23:05 (twenty years ago)

In order to be a status symbol does it have to be something that is on display to the world?

― mouse (mouse), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 02:41 (twenty years ago)

yes.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 03:34 (twenty years ago)

i also have:

fairly new pc
playstation
xbox
onkyo surround sound
brokerage account

― Big Baby Bingo (Chris V), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 10:53 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

What counts as a status symbol 2015? Shit hot car/phone? Handmade washbag? Topknot?

― darraghmac, Saturday, 19 December 2015 02:26 (nine years ago)

There are still a few exceedingly expensive items out there, such as a vacation house in Aspen CO or a Ferrari, that cannot be knocked off by the millions in Chinese factories, but they're getting scarcer. Then there's stuff like this.

― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Saturday, 19 December 2015 02:39 (nine years ago)

teslas

― iatee, Saturday, 19 December 2015 02:45 (nine years ago)

^my neighbor five doors down has one

― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Saturday, 19 December 2015 02:50 (nine years ago)

Taxsaver bus and luas ticket, annual version. Boom.

― darraghmac, Saturday, 19 December 2015 02:54 (nine years ago)

I'm impressed, but very secretly.

― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Saturday, 19 December 2015 02:57 (nine years ago)

We know that you cannot find a better ostrich boot at twice the price.

challenge accepted

― small doug yule carnival club (unregistered), Saturday, 19 December 2015 03:01 (nine years ago)

I've seen an apple crash but I never seen an ostrich boot hey

― darraghmac, Saturday, 19 December 2015 03:03 (nine years ago)

iPhone 6
no case
B)

― circa1916, Saturday, 19 December 2015 03:18 (nine years ago)

i ~live alone in an apartment that could fit two ppl~

― mookieproof, Saturday, 19 December 2015 03:53 (nine years ago)

Rare Wu Tang album. Toxoplasmosis drug license. Court summons papers.

― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Saturday, 19 December 2015 07:43 (nine years ago)

bureau with pot

― miss me belial (crüt), Saturday, 19 December 2015 14:10 (nine years ago)

youth and debt

― INTOXICATING LIQUORS (art), Saturday, 19 December 2015 14:54 (nine years ago)

a job that is difficult to explain

― INTOXICATING LIQUORS (art), Saturday, 19 December 2015 14:57 (nine years ago)

a beard and 4 haircuts a yr

― INTOXICATING LIQUORS (art), Saturday, 19 December 2015 14:59 (nine years ago)

Both good answers

― darraghmac, Saturday, 19 December 2015 15:12 (nine years ago)

eating at red lobster instead of mcdonalds

― rap is dad (it's a boy!), Saturday, 19 December 2015 15:13 (nine years ago)

77 dollars in my wallet

― Mister, would you please help my brony? (WilliamC), Saturday, 19 December 2015 15:18 (nine years ago)

dandruff free hair

― January 1, be the same sh!t as December 31 (snoball), Saturday, 19 December 2015 15:26 (nine years ago)

hair.

― Mark G, Sunday, 20 December 2015 01:00 (nine years ago)

multiples of things

― lute bro (brimstead), Sunday, 20 December 2015 01:04 (nine years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/FbDxJLa.jpg

― small doug yule carnival club (unregistered), Sunday, 20 December 2015 01:04 (nine years ago)

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