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[jhocking]

Joe, this

What

will sound ridiculous

do

but it's literally been

you

annoying me for years.

mean?

[Skibas_clavicle]

I have less than $5 in my account. I think the last time I was decadent was the time I dropped 50 dollars on drugs that weren't pot.

[muteKi]

Decadency for me is more like giving in to my impetuous urges rather than simply spending money -- for example, right now I do not want to transfer money between a couple of my accounts because I'm cheap but I DO want to go post in the Aeris dying thread in C&VG "I cried when this thread died. At least I can bring it back to life."

[pilsner]

I think I might sometimes get carried away buying media.



(pops)

Course, I'm sure I'm moderate compared to some of the people on this forum, which makes me feel better.

[Faker]

DVDs are probably my biggest regular expense, they don’t cost much, but I am constantly purchasing them.

I am prepared to spend obscene amounts of money on eye-glasses, the whole designer/non-designer thing doesn’t really factor into my choosing, I pick the ones that look the best and put up with the price. The way I look at this is, I have to wear them all the time so I may as well go for the best looking pair, it’s not like a designer shirt or something that you’ll hardly ever wear, I will get the value out of them. My current pair are a case in point, they are designer frames, but the do not have a logo anywhere on them, so as far as anyone else is concerned they could have cost me 20 euro, they just look good so that’s all that matters.

My single biggest expenditure is the trip I am currently on, and that has definitely been worth every penny!

[BrittanyMarie]

I do think Patrick brought up a good point about labels- the job situation. I think, especially in Normz' case, since she's studying to be a lawyer, appearances are very important. People- the jury, judge, potential clients etc- they're all going to look at a lawyer wearing an Armani suit much differently than a lawyer who got his suit from Wal-Mart. So in that case it is important to have the label, as it enhances one's credibility.

[a pack of wolves]

But surely hardly anyone will be able to spot that the suit is Armani. They'll no doubt notice the fabric and the cut but not the label. A friend of mine who's planning to be a barrister is getting some bespoke tailored suits made and I don't think anyone's going to be looking down on her because they aren't a designer label.

[Spluff]

Usually a lot of the cost is because of the quality/design of the clothing, not just the label. If you buy something cheap, it will be noticeable - the tag adds price, but even more than that, it's ensuring the quality.

[usmcnavgeek]

The largest single-item purchase I've made that was completely unnecessary was this:



The Canon EF 100-400mm L IS USM lens for my camera.  $1500 for 3 pounds of optical glass, electronics, and steel.

But I've also got an HDTV, all 3 current-gen game systems, a laptop PC, another laptop PC, another laptop PC, an omghuge gamez desktop PC...so in general my weakness is electronics.

[Jimmy the Squid]

Usually a lot of the cost is because of the quality/design of the clothing, not just the label. If you buy something cheap, it will be noticeable - the tag adds price, but even more than that, it's ensuring the quality.

I don't think that's true. If other people's posts are to go by then things like glasses frames are almost exactly the same except for a brand logo. I think for suits then it is the the quality of workmanship that counts. If you get a suit that looks great but isn't Armani it doesn't matter much. Hell if I found a suit from K-Mart that looked like an Armani suit and had a similarly high quality (assuming that Armani stuff is well-made, I wouldn't know) I would rather pay the $150 odd for it rather than whatever the price for the designer thing would be. The price tag isn't indicative of quality.

[0bsessions]

all 3 current-gen game systems

Man, that's not decadence, that's just plain wastefulness. I can say with complete honesty that I don't think there's one worthwhile reason to own both a 360 AND a PS3. One or the other, yeah, but owning both is just fucking pointless for anyone but the most reckless of early adopters.

[usmcnavgeek]

all 3 current-gen game systems

Man, that's not decadence, that's just plain wastefulness. I can say with complete honesty that I don't think there's one worthwhile reason to own both a 360 AND a PS3. One or the other, yeah, but owning both is just fucking pointless for anyone but the most reckless of early adopters.

That sounds like 'you win the thread' to me!

[0bsessions]

Fuck no, I am not conceding on that. Out of spite, I'm going to the grocery store and getting a batch of chocolate icing and paying a pricey hooker to lick it off my ass while I soak my feet in a $300 bottle of wine.

[pilsner]

Or as Eliot Spitzer likes to call it, "Thursday."

[karl gambolputty...]

one worthwhile reason to own both a 360 AND a PS3

Well... the PS3 is still one of the better deals around for a Blu-Ray player.  I'd say if you own a 360 and you want to buy a BD player, you might as well get a PS3.

[Patrick]

Playstation 2 was the best deal for a DVD player for a good while too, if I remember right. Those Sony cats know their shit when it comes to marketing.

[0bsessions]

Hence the "reckless early adopter" remark. Blu Ray is not a proven lasting technology. Yes, it beat out HD DVD, but that doesn't really amount to shit. I've been holding firm for about a year and a half now that neither one would replace DVD and I stand by that opinion. Blu Ray is simply not worth dropping $400 on right now and if you already own a PS3, there's very little worthwhile reason to buy a 360. All in all, there's really no reason to spend the $700+ to own both. Blu Ray's a nice tech and it looks great, but it's not such an improvement over DVD that it'll ever be any more relevant than laser discs were.

And Patrick, I assume you've not really been following video gaming news lately. Sony's marketing has been absolute shit lately. Most of their marketing amounts fo Wizard of Oz tactics where the numbers place them in a rather distant third place, worldwide, yet they keep trying to act like they're top dog (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, folks). Blu Ray was an unnecessary addition considering the fact that DVD is still years away from being obsolete considering not even fifteen percent of all US households (The biggest current HD market) even have the capability to watch anything above standard definition DVD resolution. If they'd dropped the idea of Blu Ray and put the PS3 out within a month of the 360, they'd have a pretty commanding lead over Microsoft right now. Sony keeps trying to make claims about how they're in position to make a huge surge, but every time they gain some momentum, it falls to shit after a few weeks. In short: Sony's marketing division were geniuses with the PS2. It was a weak, poorly put together piece of junk, but it was expertly marketed. The PS3 is a well put together monstrosity with too much crap in it that's been absolutely abysmally marketed.

[pilsner]

Funny, because the PS3 outsold the 360 and the DS in January U.S. sales.  You should definitely let the 269,000 January buyers know what a mistake they've made.  Maybe they can get a refund.

As for early adopter, you're not buying Blu-Ray, you're buying the PS3 with the added benefit that it plays the higher definition format now carried by Netflix, Blockbuster and Walmart.  And the PS3 launched in November 2006 so it's been out for ... a year and a half.  I don't know what definition of early adopter you're using, but in the technology industry I'm familiar with, after a year and a half you're starting to the think about the next generation of products.

[0bsessions]

every time they gain some momentum, it falls to shit after a few weeks.

February Charts

Yeah, Sony had a surge in January...and then dropped right back down to the bottom of the pack again in February, actually managing to sell less than half what the Playstation 2 (Whose last big new title isnow a full year old) sold. They're probably only going to do worse this month due to Smash Bros Brawl's release and the current doldrum of major releases for it. GTA IV might give a bit of a quick jump, but I figure that'll more likely affect the 360 as the prime market for that game (The US) has a higher install base of 360s (Over double the PS3 and actually still slightly ahead of the Wii). The next real big surge in PS3 sales won't be until June when MGS 4 comes out.

And don't kid yourself. Most people aren't buying PS3 for the games. There's yet to be a single AAA exclusive game for PS3 (Resistance's popularity only occured from being the only worthwhile PS3 game and Uncharted is essentially Tomb Raider without the breast physics). The Blu Ray is the prime selling point and Sony is NOT advertising it properly (If they really wanted to make a case, they'd advertise it as a Blu Ray player with gaming functionality, not a game console with Blu Ray functionality). And make no mistake, it's still early on for Blu Ray. A year and a half is not far into the life cycle of media. The only way it's not early is if it fails even sooner than I anticipate. I never said the PS3 was a bad machine, I said it was an abysmally marketed machine that's trying to do too much at once.

[pilsner]

FFXIII.

Yeah that's right I said it.

Anyway, the discussion isn't about whether the PS3's marketing was screwed up, it was about your assertion that there was no reasonable basis to own both a PS3 and a 360.  And I'm saying that there is.  Not just to play Drake's Fortune, or Flow, or because you believe that Home is the next big thing, or because you know it's cheapest Blu-Ray player out there, but also because you need something to play Rock Band on after the 360 gives you the fourth read disc error in the same day and you threw it out the window.

Anyway, I'd prefer not to threadjack this into a console vs. console discussion.  Decadence!  I like caviar.  Seriously.  People in the know get the American Paddlefish caviar at 20$/ounce and eat it on blini with creme fraiche and chopped onion.  Your drink is the best vodka you can afford on the rocks or chilled and straight up -- I suggest imperia.  This stuff is pretty much indistinguishable from Osetra which is $50-100 per ounce and comes from the endangered Caspian sturgeon.  It's not something I do every day, more of a special occasions thing, but damn is it ever good.

[pilsner]

I like to enjoy it with triple cream brie in the company of my blond haired, blue eyed girlfriend right after I play sports.  Afterward, we go to Saks and buy things at full price.

[0bsessions]

FFXIII.

Yeah, that might be relevant when it comes out in like 2015. Considering that FF XIII really is about the next big release for PS3 after MGS IV and that it's not coming out until at least well into 2009, I find it hard to really give a shit about it.

Anyway, I managed to avoid decadence yesterday. I struggled with buying a TV tuner card for my PC before deciding to wait on it. Go me.

[ledhendrix]

I like to eat it with crushed diamonds on a gold plate whilst i snort cocaine of the back of a baby panda.

[pilsner]

I believe that this has been posted before but:

For the last few years, the Golden Opulence, a $1,000 ice cream sundae, has reigned supreme as the priciest dessert at Serendipity 3 in New York. Now Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, has gotten himself a Guinness world record for the most expensive dessert. The dessert emporium teamed up with jeweler Euphoria New York to create the "Frrozen Haute Chocolate," a $25,000 chocolate sundae. The new dessert is made from a blend of 28 cocoas from all around the world and is infused with five grams of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. It is topped with whipped cream, more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound. It even comes with souvenirs, an 18K gold bracelet with a carat's worth of diamonds that rests at the base of the goblet and a gold spoon set with white and chocolate-colored diamonds. It makes yesterday's $1,000 bagel look positively simple by comparison.

This place got shut down temporarily a few months ago for violating the health code (e.g., too many rats).

[jhocking]

He put gold in the ice cream but didn't think to get rid of the rats. That there is a restaurant owner with his priorities straight.

[pilsner]

Maybe the rats were the secret ingredient

cue spooky Alfred Hitchcock music

[jhocking]

Their ice cream is made with malk.

[Barmymoo]

If one really wants to be decadent, one should be an MP.

I want to be given an allowance of £1,000 a year on books.

[Peet]

You also want to work ridiculous hours and spend half your year away from your family and home for £50,000 a year? I think my MP is worth his allowances.

[Doug S. Machina]

He put gold in the ice cream but didn't think to get rid of the rats. That there is a restaurant owner with his priorities straight.

I think George Orwell said (though phrasing it better) the more up-market the restaurant, the more squalid the kitchen. Didn't think it still held, though.

Gold in ice cream is just absurd. Amusing, but come on.
There are too many books here. That's where the money's gone.

[Lines]

If you want to ingest some gold, get some Goldschläger and save some money, eh?

[RedLion]

FFXIII.

Yeah, that might be relevant when it comes out in like 2015. Considering that FF XIII really is about the next big release for PS3 after MGS IV and that it's not coming out until at least well into 2009, I find it hard to really give a shit about it.

Anyway, I managed to avoid decadence yesterday. I struggled with buying a TV tuner card for my PC before deciding to wait on it. Go me.

Dude, what? MGS4 is coming out June 12th. I assume you were just using a hyperbole, but it doesn't work, because a firm release date has been set for over a month now.

[Nodaisho]

I will believe it is out when I see it on the shelves.

But hey, that is better than Duke Nukem Forever, I wouldn't believe that was out until I beat the sequel.

[TheFuriousWombat]

Or as Eliot Spitzer likes to call it, "Thursday."

It's about damn time someone referenced this. Sheesh.

[NarwhalSunshine]

I kind of have a lot of militaria, I have something from every style since WWII

[SeanBateman]

Do I need to post in this thread, honestly?


I could put together an outfit that would look hot as hell and would be worth probably over $1000 dollars in like 5 minutes.

[Liz]

Do it now, I don't believe you. Well, maybe I do. But still do it.

[E. Spaceman]

The other day I misplaced my phone somewhere inside my room, after about 25 mins of looking for it, I just gave up and headed to the mall to buy another prettier phone

[SeanBateman]

Do it now, I don't believe you. Well, maybe I do. But still do it.

I'm not at my school closet, but I could put on my $450 Marc Jacobs slacks, a pair of sneakers at $180, a $120 dress shirt with a 20 dollar t-shirt underneath, plus socks, plus belt, plus 150 for sunglasses, plus like 100 for jacket, plus hat(I could wear a nice one instead of my awesome one) and easily top a grand.

I paid full price for none of that stuff, but still.

[dennis]

I keep taking $20 cab rides to work rather than getting up an hour earlier and taking the train.

[KharBevNor]

Note to self: Burglarise Keiffers wardrobe.

[Spluff]

I paid full price for none of that stuff, but still.

You're not actually supposed to tell people that.

[mooface]

so, uh, i have a pair of purple heels that i really love.  they were 50 euro and they are my favorite shoes ever.  about a week ago i wore them out and i ended up having to walk a lot on the cobblestones (which i didn't expect to have to do) and the heels got really scratched up and ruined.  i was very sad.

yesterday i stopped by the shoe store where i had bought them and found that they were still selling them!  for only 20 euro!  and they had only one pair left in my size!  so i bought them.  i don't know if this counts as decadence because it's not like re-buying them was expensive.  but i am well aware that i am pretty ridiculous because now i have 2 pairs of the same shoes:  one to wear on cobblestones and another pair to "just sit there and look pretty".

[normz]

I don't think that's true. If other people's posts are to go by then things like glasses frames are almost exactly the same except for a brand logo. I think for suits then it is the the quality of workmanship that counts. If you get a suit that looks great but isn't Armani it doesn't matter much. Hell if I found a suit from K-Mart that looked like an Armani suit and had a similarly high quality (assuming that Armani stuff is well-made, I wouldn't know) I would rather pay the $150 odd for it rather than whatever the price for the designer thing would be. The price tag isn't indicative of quality.

I know it was well over a page ago but this comment was annoying me .......... there is NO WAY you could get a suit from k-mart that would be the same quality as an armani suit (or any other pricey brand) what your paying for is an amazingly cut and tailored piece of clothing, in general the more you pay for a suit the better it is. Instead of having some badly fit poleyester blend suit that would look crumpled after a half day of wear, not be flattering at all, and likelyhood is will fall apart within a couple of dry-cleans you could instead choose to pay more money and have a merino wool blend suit made out of a fabric sourced from europe that is fully lined, cut to fit your body and will last years and years and still look amazing.

I know my more exspensive suits are my favourites because of the workmanship on them; the darts and pleats that make them look amazing... visual example



that (altho blurry) is a hot suit

[Lunchbox]

Butts, I wish I had the money and a reason to wear a suit.

[Patrick]

I spent like $13 on the pair of jeans I'm wearing right now. True story.

Also: normz,

[normz]

I've also just realised that while were on the point of decadence, real snakes died for those shoes im wearing (man i could totally give keiffer a run for his money in the 1k+ outfit competition) and thats just what i wear to work

[jhocking]

One of the nicest shirts I own cost $6. It totally looks like a $50 dress shirt, I'm guessing it was tagged wrong or something.

[normz]

to be fair my fave jeans ever cost $10 and i will wear them till they fall apart, also my xbf always found it funny that the shirt i liked most on him was a $3 target boys shirt

[Lines]

All of my favorite clothes came from Target, Old Navy, or some discount rack. Do I wish I could have tailored suits, oh my goodness yes. But I have no money or an excuse to get one. And if I wore it to my "job", it'd get ruined anyways.