Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Cool = Rich

Army Surplus M-65 Field Jacket    Combat Boots

I have been keeping my eye on all of the "cool hunting" websites for the last few years and I have noticed a trend. All of the items that they consider "cool" are especially expensive. Now I know a lot of the items that I report about are expensive, at least for me, but they are also Limited Ed., so it makes sense that they would be expensive. I remember back when I was young and hip, the cool kids weren't always the rich kids. A lot of the cool kids were actually the rebellious kids from the wrong side of the tracks who wore Army surplus jackets and combat boots. Apparently, that is no longer "cool". Nowadays, you have to get yourself a $160 V:Room t-shirt (a $160 t-shirt?! What?!) or a $390 Kidrobot 23 Shell jacket to be "cool". You have to travel around the world and stay in the most opulent hotel rooms and eat at the fanciest restaurants. Well, I can't afford any of that stuff, I'm poor, so I guess that makes me un-cool. Well, screw that! I think you can be just as cool without being rich. In fact, you can be more cool, 'cause you're from the streets, and that is where style originates! So I am putting out a challenge to all of the "cool hunters" out there to bring us information on products, services, vacations, restaurants, etc. that your normal, everyday joe/jane can afford. I will continue to bring you the best in Limited Ed., hand-made, rare, one-of-a-kind, custom items, but I will also be on the lookout for stuff on the cheap for those of you out there not making six figures. And that's my public service announcement for the day. Thank you.

3 comments:

M said...

Hear, hear! Best Limited Ed. post yet.

Gigi Lee said...

Your argument does not stand up. One doesn't have to be from the streets or be rich to be "cool" - because hey, who are we kidding - you've got neither and yet you're still kind of cool. Being cool is a state of mind. It's doing what you want to do, saying what you want to say, and not worrying so much about what other people are going to think. In some ways, those things could also define sociopaths, so, there's a fine line between being cool and being a sociopath (blatant disregard for others' feelings usually pushes people over to the sociopathic side).
Let's think about cool motherfuckers: James Dean. James Brown. James Earl Jones. Grace Jones. Helen Keller (she was an anti-war activist!). Emma Goldmann. Desmund Tutu. Patti Smith. Bob Dylan.
These are people who are either named James, or people who were coming out with some new idea and saying things that no one else was saying, or doing things that no one else was doing. They were cutting edge. They were willing to take risks and chances. That's why they're cool. Not because they were rich (they weren't when they started out) or because they wore combat boots or $180 tshirts.
Cool is inside. Don't ever forget that shit.

Limited Ed. said...

Technically speaking, the modern meaning of the word "cool" comes from the 1920's jazz musician term for "stoned" or "high". So really, in order to be "cool", all you have to do is get blazed. Not to mention, Gigi Lee, I think you missed the point of my post. I was just trying to point out how all of these "cool hunting" websites espouse the virtue of wealth as a means to gain coolness, I was not trying to define it that way myself. But yes, you are right, "cool" is something inside... your lungs.