Designer clothing, including designer handbags and other accessories. Most of my “pantswear” is Levi jeans at $19 apiece.
And frames for eyeglasses. When I’m getting a new pair, I’ll start looking at the cheapest and work my way up in price until I find something I like, which will be something simple (I favor metal frames) and proportionate (in my opinion) to my face. Usually, it’s not too far from the cheapest.
I am intrigued by your interesting definition of “luxury” and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
High-end steaks. I like a good steak occasionally, but I just don’t see the point in spending a heap on what usually ends up just being a slab of cooked meat. I don’t get all the intricacies of it’s origin, aging, preparation, what sides to pair it with, etc. and then snooty looks and comments that I want it medium (evidently, it should be still pulsating when it reaches your plate, or you’re doing it all wrong). It’s just a slab of meat cooked well.
I’m not in the habit of eating garden pests, nor the amputated limbs of amphibians. Not a fan of crayfish, either. They look like something that, if I found one in my house, I’d call an exterminator immediately!
Oysters, caviar (yeah, I know it’s cured) or any other raw food. Riding in a limo: I have no desire to do so. Tiny little meals, which is apparently what Michelin restaurants are all about. A $150 dollar steak. WTF?
The problem with escargot is that they’re little rubbery pellets of blah. I’ll eat 'em if somebody else is paying.
As for sports cars, well, I have a couple I drive now and then. Neither is a daily driver, but they’re both a lot of fun to get out on the open road and just go. I have a boring car for errands ‘n’ shit.
I might have written this. I feel the same way about caviar.
For me, it would be expensive fine wines. I’ve had them before, and just as I found with caviar, they’re okay, but I don’t have the palate to distinguish them from lower-priced wines. So if I have wine, it won’t be expensive.
I wear fairly ordinary men’s clothing but I would be willing to pay more for stuff that’s made by people who are fairly compensated, preferably in a union shop in the United States. Something like a $19 pair of Levi’s are made in a third-world sweatshop.
It might be nice to have bespoke clothing but I had a manager once who dragged me to a tailor shop in Boston or Cambridge where he was ordering dress shirts. The number of decisions to be made was numbing; fabric choice, collar type, cuff type, button type, etc.
I’ll admit that I had not thought it through that far, but it makes sense. Do you have a recommendation?
I agree with this, too. I’ve had various qualities of caviar and don’t find any of it particularly remarkable. At least it wasn’t like eating garden slugs, though!
A lot depends on the type of wine. One of the interesting things about reds like Cabernets is that you can sometimes find fantastic values – not necessarily cheap, but you might find a California Cab or a beautiful French Bordeaux for, say, $50, that is better than other similar wines selling for three times the price! Beyond that range I have no experience and frankly doubt I could tell the difference, either.
The best and most memorable wines I’ve ever had have been sweet white desset wines, ironally not the kind I usually drink. One was a fantastic bottle of Chateau D’Yquem served with dessert at a dinner at Lutece – a famed but now-defunct Manhattan restaurant – a dinner that I stress I wasn’t paying for! Another few times was when a friend introduced me to the concept of German Trockenbeerenauslese, an astonishing dessert wine similar to Canadian ice wine, made from botrytized shriveled grapes in which the flavours and sugars have become highly concentrated. It is the drink of the gods, a true ambrosia!
Caviar, truffled anything, truffles in general, sea urchin roe, gold leaf on/in food [other than ultra special something like a wedding cake]
Convertible cars. When the top is up, they are very loud and unpleasant. When the top is down, the 50 mph wind in my face is more than unpleasant; I feel like I can’t breathe. I was once renting a car and they offered me a convertible as a free “upgrade”. They seemed very confused when I declined it.
Another vote for massages. If someone is pummeling my back, I’ll call the police, not pay them for doing it.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find anything. My t-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants are from a brand called American Giant. Everything is made in the United States, though not necessarily in a union shop. But the stuff is not cheap, particularly if you’re used to Walmart pricing. The short-sleeve t-shirts, for instance, cost me about $28 five years ago, but now are $65 each, though the price drops to $48.75 if you buy three or more.
Ideally, Levi Strauss & Co would offer a higher-end line that’s made in America, perhaps using selvedge denim.
My criteria for wine, in order of importance: high alcohol percentage, low price, attractive label.
You can take the girl out of the trailer park… 
I concur, but I do prefer sparkling water with a lime slice.
Lobster is only Okay, not worth the price.
I wear Carhartt. Is that a designer brand? They fit, they are comfortable and they wear forever.
Yeah, I had them once. I could only taste the garlic butter.
I tend to like most luxuries. But I’ll pass on snails, fish eggs, and expensive watches. I like expensive wine, expensive restaurants (good ones at least), and 90-minute massages.
That’s discouraging. For price, I won’t go up to $28 for a t-shirt (for a plain, unprinted one), let alone $65. But I could see my way clear to spending $100 or a little more per pair of jeans.
I googled “American made jeans for men” and found some results, but I really do need a retail outlet local to me so I can try the daggone things on. I’ll order t-shirts online because I like a very loose fit and XL does just fine for me. Anything else, I’m pretty much guaranteed not to find a good fit (and I’ve tried). Maybe I just suck at online clothing shopping.
Gold leaf on food is something I won’t eat not because I don’t enjoy it - it adds nothing to the experience - but because it’s insufferably stupid IMO. Literally turning gold into shit is stupid. Just give me the money. I’ll waste it in the way I see fit.
I admit that AFAIK I’ve never had whole or solid truffle, but I’ve had foods prepared with it – notably pasta sauce with truffle, and mac & cheese with truffle – and didn’t care for either. In fact I think the truffle ruined the dish. Ironically, I love fungus in the form of mushrooms, and think it makes a fine addition to pasta dishes.
It may have something to do with age. I absolutely loved the wind feel on my motorcycle, especially the distinct temperature changes between hills and valleys at dusk – I felt like I was flying like a bird!
Later in life, when I had a Jag convertible for a weekend, I thought that was fantastic, too, though not as immediately sensual as the motorcycle – it was a car, whereas the bike felt literally like a part of me. Later still, driving a friend’s BMW convertible, I thought the wind was obnoxious despite the screening at the back that was supposed to reduce wind turbulence.
Ha, I had the same thought. I guess a drive-through is a luxury if you squint just right. Same as going to any restaurant or having Amazon deliver to your doorstep is a luxury.
This. And expensive bourbons/whiskeys. I just don’t have that “cork sniffer” pallet. I get that Two Buck Chuck and Old Crow aren’t the top of the line, but I don’t have to get too much higher to find diminishing returns compared to the dollar outlay. Give me a bottle of Knob Creek or a decent rye and I’m happy.