# Was "Asian" style a thing for women of a certain generation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785 "2013-09-02T02:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785/21 "2013-09-02T23:19:26Z")
I remember there was an episode of _I Love Lucy_ where one of her friends (not Ethel) had decorated her apartment in a tacky “Oriental” manner. Lucy made a crack about how it looked like a nightmare you’d have after eating Chinese food for dinner. It was my impression that the friend was trying to follow a known fad, not that this was some weird design choice she’d come up with totally on her own. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785/22 "2013-09-03T03:31:16Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Lots of people like the aesthetic. Japanese furniture and artwork, for example, tends to be clean, simple, and elegant with a warmth that is (IMHO) not generally found in the western “modern” styles. Seriously, we’re not talking “clean” and “simple”. I tend to see more Orientalia in houses where it’s quite clear the occupants have tastes that run towards the “classy” and “fancy”. As in “We stayed at Caesar’s the last time we were in Vegas. It’s so claaaassy!” and “That banquet hall where my niece had her wedding was so faaaancy!” Here’s a few examples I grabbed from an estate sale site in my hometown. [![](https://i.imgur.com/EMluHnt.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/EMluHnt.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/ymNXCLL.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/ymNXCLL.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/KtrhCHk.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/KtrhCHk.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/mrk0Cra.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/mrk0Cra.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/balTvBK.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/balTvBK.jpg) I never see this style in the homes of anyone younger than 65 or 70. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785/23 "2013-09-03T03:41:03Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > There’s also a store devoted solely to “Native American” arts so you can get your fix of turquoise jewelry and dreamcatchers to hang above your low Japanese table while eating Sbarro carry out. I live in Southern Arizona, and for people above as certain age (30-ish) if I go to their house I can often pinpoint whether they moved to Arizona or have lived here for a long time. People who moved here generally have tons of Native American and vaguely desert/southwest themed nick nacks, whereas people who have lived here a long time decorate like normal people. I’ve lived here for about 15 years, since I was a kid, and my mom still hasn’t seemed to grow out of the “I need to decorate with Kachinas and shit because how else will anyone know we’re in Tucson” phase. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785/24 "2013-09-03T15:37:24Z")
How do ‘normal people’ decorate? 😛 (Where I live, there seems to be an unwritten law every single house on the street MUST have white blinds and white priscilla curtains in the front windows.) I remember years ago a plague of ‘country ducks’ and ‘country geese’ were on everything. Everything! That was a fad, though. Then came…I don’t know what it was called! British Empire? Old trunks, antiquey clocks, palm trees on everything. Chinese decor is more of a staple, never really goes away. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785/25 "2013-09-03T18:59:28Z")
My grandmother on my Mom’s side (born 1915) had a bunch of Chinese wall art, some of which is now hanging just as proudly in my parents’ house. My favorite is a opium den scene. Much different than the American folk art my paternal grandmother (1908) preferred, which means my parents’ house is something of a mash up when it comes to the decor on the walls. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785/26 "2013-09-04T03:10:53Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I live in Southern Arizona, and for people above as certain age (30-ish) if I go to their house I can often pinpoint whether they moved to Arizona or have lived here for a long time. People who moved here generally have tons of Native American and vaguely desert/southwest themed nick nacks, whereas people who have lived here a long time decorate like normal people. I lived in New Mexico for four years. Same damn thing; the howling coyotes, turquoise-stained rustic Mexican furniture, Georgia O’Keeffe prints, and the like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-asian-style-a-thing-for-women-of-a-certain-generation/667785.md?page=1)