# Subtle Ostentation **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281 "2020-05-06T17:33:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/1 "2020-05-06T17:33:28Z")
When Hosni Mubarak was ruler of Egypt, he wore custom-tailored suits. Nothing unusual about that. His suits were made of dark-colored fabric, with light-colored pinstripes. Nothing unusual about that. But . . . The pinstripes were composed of tiny letters, spelling his name, micro-printed onto the fabric. That amused me. If you know what to look for, it’s ostentatious as hell. But unless someone told you what to look for, you would probably never notice it. ============================= Not long ago, I was online, looking at wristwatches. The jewel-encrusted monsters, with dozens of different dials, are actually the second tier. The really, really, really expensive watches usually have a simple design, and a spartan appearance. I presume there are indicators to tell people that you are not wearing a Timex from Kmart, but I don’t know what markers to look for. ============================== What examples can you give, of extravagant luxuries that are carefully camouflaged? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/2 "2020-05-06T18:00:55Z")
> **[Victoria's Secret's Most Expensive Bra | MOUAWAD™](https://www.mouawad.com/en/thehouse-victoria-secret/2001)** > > The Guinness World Record for most expensive bra is held by the Mouawad Heavenly Star Bra, designed for Victoria's Secret. It is valued at $12.5 million. Here is a $12.5 million dollar bra. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/3 "2020-05-06T18:05:12Z")
My Daddy always said look at hands and shoes. So…clean, well manicured hands and clean, proper shoes for your attire, tells all. According to him. I always forget that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/4 "2020-05-06T18:21:16Z")
I guess that means the [Ohio license plate](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=GJoT3y9V&id=D467B8336FBB97A9729262AD0FCE0C52D39FC6CE&thid=OIP.GJoT3y9VlBhdGiCjvocuAgHaDv&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fwikipedia%2fcommons%2f8%2f87%2fOhio_license_plate_2013.jpg&exph=600&expw=1187&q=ohiolicense+plate&simid=607992108389369001&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0) is “ostentatious”. And all this time I thought a license plate containing a bunch of unreadable tiny words was just stupid.\* ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/5 "2020-05-06T18:31:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > When Hosni Mubarak was ruler of Egypt, he wore custom-tailored suits. > Nothing unusual about that. > > His suits were made of dark-colored fabric, with light-colored pinstripes. > Nothing unusual about that. > > But . . . > The pinstripes were composed of tiny letters, spelling his name, micro-printed onto the fabric. > > … Dang! :smack: Wait til trump hears about this. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/6 "2020-05-06T18:49:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Dang! :smack: Wait til trump hears about this. He’ll have his name across the back like a sports jersey. Trump doesn’t do subtle. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/7 "2020-05-06T19:27:14Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The really, really, really expensive watches usually have a simple design, and a spartan appearance. > > I presume there are indicators to tell people that you are not wearing a Timex from Kmart, but I don’t know what markers to look for. Beyond a certain point, the tell is that there are no tells- to recognize the item is high-end or exclusive, you have to be one of the _cognoscenti_, like the scene in “Die Hard” where Hans Gruber recognizes that Takagi’s suit is from John Philips in London because he owns a couple himself. It’s just another way to be nerdy about something, like trainspotting. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/8 "2020-05-06T20:31:51Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Daddy always said look at hands and shoes. > So…clean, well manicured hands and clean, proper shoes for your attire, tells all. > > According to him. I always forget that stuff. Back when I was still working for the State of Confusion, a group of State Employees made an appointment to talk to a State Senator about the folly of “contracting out” State work. This State Senator had climbed the political ranks. I think he had started out in City zGovernment, the State Assembly, to finally, State Senator. His original campaign in the beginning of his career was that he was just a regular guy, like the people he proposed to represent. His slogan was “Working Joe Blow.” Through the years as he climbed the ranks, he kept the same slogan: “Working Joe Bow.” Our group met with him, offered our experiences, and then we were politely dismissed. He did shake hands with us. His hands were soft, his nails were manicured. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/9 "2020-05-06T21:01:58Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > What examples can you give, of extravagant luxuries that are carefully camouflaged? Isn’t there something about how the monogram on one’s bespoke shirts should be in a hidden spot, not out where it can be seen, like the breast pocket? And I always thought that all of the luxury goods like Louis Vuitton bags covered in the logo was really tacky. Even if it is super-expensive. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/10 "2020-05-07T05:08:22Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Daddy always said look at hands and shoes. > So…clean, well manicured hands and clean, proper shoes for your attire, tells all. > > According to him. I always forget that stuff. My dad was marked several times by shysters, who knew all they had to do to win his trust was a cheap manicure and shine. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/11 "2020-05-07T23:29:36Z")
Less subtle ostentation: on the streets of Great Los Angeles in the early 1970s, a metalflake candy-apple green Hemi-Cuda muscle car with a tall spoiler - inscribed on the driver’s door in elegant gold script was _ **Lawrence Welk** _. Just an ordinary guy. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/12 "2020-05-08T01:22:18Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > [https://www.mouawad.com/en/house/victorias-secret/2001](https://www.mouawad.com/en/house/victorias-secret/2001) > > Here is a $12.5 million dollar bra. This whole thread reminds me of something I once read about Flo Ziegfeld telling the Ziegfeld girls to always wear pretty underwear: even though the audience couldn’t see it, they’d know it was there, and that confidence and sense of sexiness would show. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Dang! :smack: Wait til trump hears about this. You meant he’d put _Trump_ on his rump? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/13 "2020-05-08T14:03:00Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > [https://www.mouawad.com/en/house/victorias-secret/2001](https://www.mouawad.com/en/house/victorias-secret/2001) > > Here is a $12.5 million dollar bra. I wonder if the price varies with size? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/14 "2020-05-08T16:25:11Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > When Hosni Mubarak was ruler of Egypt, he wore custom-tailored suits. > Nothing unusual about that. > > His suits were made of dark-colored fabric, with light-colored pinstripes. > Nothing unusual about that. > > But . . . > The pinstripes were composed of tiny letters, spelling his name, micro-printed onto the fabric. > > That amused me. If you know what to look for, it’s ostentatious as hell. But unless someone told you what to look for, you would probably never notice it. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > I guess that means the [Ohio license plate](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=GJoT3y9V&id=D467B8336FBB97A9729262AD0FCE0C52D39FC6CE&thid=OIP.GJoT3y9VlBhdGiCjvocuAgHaDv&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fwikipedia%2fcommons%2f8%2f87%2fOhio_license_plate_2013.jpg&exph=600&expw=1187&q=ohiolicense+plate&simid=607992108389369001&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0) is “ostentatious”. > > And all this time I thought a license plate containing a bunch of unreadable tiny words was just stupid.\* It’s not the microprinting specifically that makes it ostentatious It’s that its something that’s made only for one person, and can’t be used for anyone else. And doesn’t serve any actual purpose OTOH, those license plates are mass-produced, and the microprint could be there to deter counterfeiting. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/15 "2020-05-08T18:37:25Z")
I won’t lie, pinstripes composed of your name micro-printed is Pimp as hell. I’m impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/16 "2020-05-09T02:03:45Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > It’s not the microprinting specifically that makes it ostentatious > > It’s that its something that’s made only for one person, and can’t be used for anyone else. And doesn’t serve any actual purpose > > OTOH, those license plates are mass-produced, and the microprint could be there to deter counterfeiting. Well… It’s not the suit. It’s the fabric. High end fabric /is/ expensive, no two ways about that. And having your name woven into the fabric is a way to deter theft and to detect counterfeiting. Personally, I think that if you can’t identify stolen fabric, or recognise substitution, then maybe you’re just paying for the label – like a licence plate. But if I had the money, paying a lot more for suit fabric would be one of the things I’d splash on. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/17 "2020-05-09T03:50:02Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > [https://www.mouawad.com/en/house/victorias-secret/2001](https://www.mouawad.com/en/house/victorias-secret/2001) > > Here is a $12.5 million dollar bra. It’s nice looking, I guess, but $12.5 million? Maybe it… feels really good, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/18 "2020-05-09T03:58:59Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I wonder if the price varies with size? Yes, it does. There’s only one bra, but breast enlargement or reduction surgery costs extra. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-ostentation/853281/19 "2020-05-09T04:04:52Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > It’s that its something that’s made only for one person, and can’t be used for anyone else. But now I kind of like the idea of wearing a pinstripe suit where the stripes say Hosni Mubarak.