I like Williams Sonoma, too. Some of their stuff is absurd, but plenty of it is reasonable. I got my Martini shaker there. I paid about $15, I think. Yeah, there are cheaper ones out there, but this one looks and feels nice. I also got some tea–cages? (The things that you put loose tea in) that work really well for about $2.
From what I’ve seen in Sears, most of their actual appliances are comparable in price, except that they only carry the high end mixers and blenders. And at W-S, the store is cleaner, well-lit, smells nice, and there are smiling people ready to help me find things.
Restoration Hardware, on the other hand, is some kind of sick joke, I think.
God, Restoration Hardware has the most beautiful catalog in the world - but I can’t afford it. Wouldn’t blame you for buying stuff if you could, though.
I’ve bought a number of things from the Pottery Barn outlet. They’re very well made, very attractive, I like them very much. Crate and Barrel is actually very reasonable, I think, when it comes to real actual things for a real house, not a dorm room. Williams Sonoma, well, I like to look. They sell a dream, in a way. And if you have a Pottery Barn outlet near you there are some amazingly good deals.
Well, I hear ya Ogre, yep, it’s all so overpriced, but them nice catalogue photos just make ya (well, some) want to fill up the aching human needy hole with the niceties.
It’s not just WS, either, that bugs me. The “alternative”, touting organic and sustainable, Real Goods, now Gaiam, is very pricey. Same beautiful photos and natty descriptions. I suppose that a lot is a California Price drive-by, with all the mental constructs that sustain that lifestyle. To have products that state a certain je ne sais whatever quoi is quite essentially important in some quarters. And, that might be the going rate in Calihooha.
I say that fondly, yet somewhat disgruntled, as I am a 4th generation Californian who was pulled out into the real world at a tender age, now esconced in the South, where I have learned that slick constructs don’t really tote the bucket. Very glad for that education.
Anyhoo, there’s a fine La Crueset outlet store near me; Yeeha! 50 to 70% off…whaddya want for a wedding gift?
I shop at Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and Hold Everything a few times a year. They have awesome end-of-season and clearance sales.
I’m sure everyone has some category in which money is no object. For some it’s books, for others it’s anal lube and others still it’s sleek, freeform vases with 1.5" shams.
I didn’t insult you. When I insult you, I’ll make sure it’s unmistakable. Any enameled cast iron is identical to Le Creuset. But OK, take Lodge for a (somewhat overpriced) example. Even on sale, the Le Creuset is more expensive on the Williams Sonoma website. You’re paying for the name.
For 70% off? Something pretty!
Oh, and I know everyone doesn’t have this luxury, but my cast iron comes from my great great great grandmother. It’s been a family heirloom for what, 150 years? Maybe more? It’s been seasoned perfectly for a ridiculously long time. Food not only doesn’t stick, it actually hovers a few nanometers above the iron’s surface.
I just bought a couple of expensive dishes at Pottery Barn because I didn’t have any choice. One of my nephews got married and I wasn’t going to be able to make it to California for the wedding and reception. I have no way of guessing what they like, so I wasn’t able to buy something on my own that would fit their tastes. (Heck, I haven’t even met his wife.) I sure couldn’t get away with not buying them anything, since I complained to my brothers and sisters not so long ago about how I wanted invitations to any weddings. I E-mailed him and asked him if they were registered at some national chain. He replied that they were registered at Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel. I went to the nearest Pottery Barn and bought a couple of dishes that added up to approximately what I expected to pay for a wedding present. What else could I do? I didn’t want to look lazy by just sending money. There certainly aren’t any family heirlooms that I could pass on to them.
I wonder if many purchases at Pottery Barn and such stores are gifts where someone is trying to buy something with a sufficiently large price to make themselves not look like a cheapskate.
Having worked at a Williams-Sonoma for a year and a half, I can tell you that it’s people with disposable incomes. At least where I live.
Some of the stuff is really worth the cost, some of it isn’t. There’s tons of things you can put on a registry that are on the less expensive side. W-S prides itself on being able to offer a wide range of items for just such an occasion. Did you ask the salespeople for help?
There are some things that are bargains at Williams-Sonoma. Many items are not, but some are nice and at not a bad price. Generally, you can find many of the same name brands for 25%-50% or more off W-S prices at places like Linens and Things. I do like browsing at W-S because they’re always cooking something as samples, and they play good music. It’s a nice, clean, upscale store which is between the Black and White Dress shop and Barnes and Noble, so I stop in.
Their kitchen item prices are far more reasonable than those of their home decoration/furniture items. Although, I’ll note that my husband and I have gone through two of their sets (totally different styles) of everyday tableware (plates, bowls) in less than 7 years - one set developed a crackle pattern in the glaze, and both warped. We ended up buying our next set on clearance at Target and have been terribly pleased with the durability - so far.
While I love the style of these stores, I refuse to buy any of their stuff directly from them ( Ebay is your friend).
I have a couple of friends who uhhhhhh literally have bought the entire page of a PB catalog. Everything on it for their precious child.
When I walked into the room and saw how it was exactly like the catalog, all I saw …uh…literally… were the prices and I thought, “How sad they have no imagination.” Then again, these friends ( two different sets) are on the Yuppie Fastrack and lack any imagination whatsoever.
People are buying their image that they want to be known for or run with the yuppie dogs.
I’m an Ikea-garage sale person myself. Scandinavian Poverty.
Restoration Hardware was cool (ten years ago). They had alot of fairly good quality stuff and fairly reasonable prices. More importantly, the style was not what you were going to find in the home furnishing section of Target or Wal Mart. If you wanted Mission/Shaker reproduction, you didn’t want to spend a zillion years searching for it, Restoration Hardware was your store. About seven years ago, the quality went down, the types of stuff they sell could be found other places, and I haven’t bought anything in ages. I still like to go look.
Williams Sonoma is a good store for certain things…my kitchen torch comes for Williams Sonoma - which had a decent price. Williams Sonoma carries a fairly full line of very high quality kitchen items - yeah, I can get a set of pans at J.C. Penny for 1/3 the money, but I’ll toss them in two years. The Williams Sonoma set will last ten. Compared brand to brand (and more importantly, product to product, Target carries Calphalon, but its the crappiest pan I’ve ever owned - returned it after one day), Williams Sonoma isn’t any more expensive than any other place you can buy that type of cookware. A store like Linens and Things is a shopping nightmare for me. My time and lack of stress is worth more than the savings. Which is another point to remember. For some people, having someone help them find the item on the shelf, having a shopping atmosphere that doesn’t scream discount, being able to get in and out of a store in five minutes, having a product selection you don’t need to pick through to weed out the junk, and having actual customer service are worth a markup. That’s one thing Williams Sonoma does well.
Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel sell household decorations - even their dishes are functionally household decorations. If you are looking for the “perfect” set of martini glasses, they aren’t a bad place to shop. If you are looking for a set of martini glasses - or if you just want some plastic tumblers and you’ll drink your vodka out of the same glass you drink kool aid from - I like the Dollar Store. Likewise with other decorative items. I’d spent $160 for a lamp if it was the perfect lamp for the corner - if the perfect lamp for the corner isn’t worth $160 to you, don’t spend it. I don’t find the quality at these places worth the added price unless the piece is perfect for the decor. - Though my daughter has been using her Pottery Barn comforter set for five years and it still looks new. And I did find an ideal chest for my living room there.
The other one is Smith and Hawkins. Since I don’t garden, I don’t get Smith and Hawkins - which is gardening stuff that costs alot. Though I have some Smith and Hawkins Christmas ornaments.
I have a few things from W-S. Most of my kitchen stuff, I buy from Cayne’s Housewares, which is a discount dump North of the city with uneven floors and handpainted signs. They carry high end product and sell it for (relatively) low prices. That’s fine when I know that I want a specific Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and all I need is the cheapest specific Kitchen-Aid stand mixer I can find.
On the other hand, when I want a really good waffle iron and I’ve run through three of them in the last 9 months from brands that should be good, but apparently weren’t, I go to Williams Sonoma and I ask questions and get answers. At the end of that, I could go off to Cayne’s and buy what the W-S people recommend, but if I want W-S service, I pay W-S prices.
For 70% off? Something pretty!