Monday, February 25, 2008
Bites Same but Different
Posted by Carrington Fox on Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Welcome to the first episode of a recurring Bites series called Same but Different. This feature will examine things that are the same but, yes, different.
For example, in the photograph above you see two aluminum chairs that look pretty much the same, but they are actually very...well, you know. One is the classic design of the 1950s-era Navy chair manufactured by Emeco. The other is a knock-off.
One is the chair you will sit in while dining at Ombi. The other you will find at City House.
One costs approximately $400. The other is available for less than a C-note.
One had a cameo in last week's episode of the glitzy new drama Lipstick Jungle.
Who can tell the difference between the two chairs? Who knows which is where and how much? More importantly, who cares?
This has been an episode of Same but Different. In future episodes we will examine other similar but different pairs, such as the nearly interchangeable Sex in the City spin-offs Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia. When appropriate, such comparisons might give way to the occasional Mr. Pink's® Death Match, in which we will somehow pit the similar but different items against each other in a bloodless and wager-free competition.
If you would like to submit a pair of similar but different items for consideration, please send your idea, along with a self-addressed stamped envelop and $100 cash to Bites. Or simply post your ideas below.
Comments (15)
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all i can say is that i am so very glad that i just happen to be dining at ombi tonight, surrounded by the opulence i so deserve...
gnomey, you ok? need some water maybe?
Emeco makes their chairs in Hanover PA, in a union shop. The sub-$100 chairs are made in factories with low pay, long hours, no benefits and unsafe conditions.
Nice to see that you're on the side of the sweatshops, Tobin.
Buying union is all well and good, but a $400 dining chair is beyond the means of a vast majority of Americans. Touting something's environmental or socio-economic impact (or lack thereof) is just the latest way for the wealthy to show off their bucks.
ps. My grandparents worked in what today would be described by some as 'sweatshops'. Guess what? They lived long, healthy lives.
Thank you for defending major corporations, Tobin! I agree, all this muckraking over sweatshops is so lame!
And yes, a $400 dining chair is beyond the means of most Americans. So what? It's not made to be marketed to most Americans. Apparently the demand is there to make it profitable for the manufacturer.
I can't afford to buy a $400 chair, so I lease one by the hour. It comes as a package deal with an awesome dinner.
And yes, a $400 dining chair is beyond the means of most Americans. So what?
There is a connection between overpriced consumer goods and the socio-economic cancers that are greed, consumerism, materialism and debt. These are far more destructive than eating non-organic food or sitting in a non-union chair.
I've always seen true Progressivism as moving away from $400 chairs and toward helping the working man in a demonstrable fashion. How do you do that? By fighting consumerism and materialism.
When the revolution comes, the rich will be forced to sit on those plastic stacking patio chairs.
But they aren't the same! The chair on the left has four vertical slats. The one on the right has THREE and a horizontal one. It's completely different! And the underneath parts are different!
I ain't giving up my own $500 Philippe Starck chairs, but it's fun (read: terrifying) to think about what my life would be like without them.
i'm holding out for the starck hudson chairs in polished aluminum. a cool $1300 each. i need minimum 6. or cary and i could just eat at 'per se' twice...
good news is i bought my lottery ticket today so i'm covered...
http://www.cookeatfret.com/travel/2008/02/26/per-se/
Spaking of Same but different...
New York mag recently did a side-by-side betwixt a Banana Republic belt, which retails for $45, and a Kalle one that sells for $18,000.
Yes, eighteen-thousand bucks.
However, it wasn't made from moon-mined regolith and genuine Yeti leather, but from platinum and British cows. And no, the cows weren't from HRH Elizabeth's stables, and the leather wasn't tanned by Germanic gnomes.
Thanks, ElZ! Same but Different is catching on. It could be our ticket out of here.
