Does Bad Taste Sell Pens?

[carlos.q]

Possibly the best-selling pen of all time, I would say it epitomizes the worst possible taste:

It seems the Museum of Modern Art disagrees: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/82141

[calamus]

I actually like the Chaos Pen. It's a hundred percent what it set out to be. Not something I'd want to write with, but I have a soft spot in my heart for it.

On the other hand the recent Sailor wabi-sabi issue? Oh dear, oh dear. It's not wabi-sabi and it looks dreadful.

On the other hand, the box it comes in is quite attractive:



But the pen itself looks like it's covered in tumors...

[calamus]

Possibly the best-selling pen of all time, I would say it epitomizes the worst possible taste:

It seems the Museum of Modern Art disagrees: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/82141

Yet more proof that modern "art" is a misnomer.

[joolstacho]

Bad taste is selling EVERYTHING nowadays... one look at the over-designed cars tells us that. I think it's generational.
(and whoever said good taste vs bad taste is merely personal should realise that there is 'Educated taste').

[Chip]

A common mismatch in "arty" pens is the scale: design elements that work at one size (on a sketchpad) are hard to discern at the smaller scale of a pen, especially if they're not precisely delineated with adequate contrast.

[kazoolaw]

Bad taste is selling EVERYTHING nowadays... one look at the over-designed cars tells us that. I think it's generational.
(and whoever said good taste vs bad taste is merely personal should realise that there is 'Educated taste').

And Benny was good, bad, or educated? ;>)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Bad taste is selling EVERYTHING nowadays... one look at the over-designed cars tells us that. I think it's generational.
(and whoever said good taste vs bad taste is merely personal should realise that there is 'Educated taste').

And Benny was good, bad, or educated? ;>)

All three?

[welch]

The Lamy 2000 is about as much pen as any company makes. Anything much more expensive than the L2K is mostly glitz and glitter, but glitz and glitter sells. Sadly.

[scrivelry]

I go into museums and look at Medieval beakers and say "Wow. They don't make em like that any more."

Truthfully, who knows if that beaker was ever actually used, or only displayed? Or used only on a ceremonial occasion? The fancy stuff has a higher chance of surviving than the everyday stuff, item for item.

I know I still have my wedding gown, but I am sure my husband's Hanes, or Fruit of the Loom, or whatever brand he had on under the tux are long gone.

So in a few hundred years let them all picture the 21'st century as defined by people who use computers writing with the Chaos... we can watch from beyond and laugh...

[adhoc]

Have you seen more recent Montblanc's writers editions? It seems like this sells. No idea to whom, but it seems like it does.

[Scrawler]

Have you seen more recent Montblanc's writers editions? It seems like this sells. No idea to whom, but it seems like it does.

I have a friend who buys and writes with them.

[adhoc]

What kind of a person is he? Let's take this pen for example, which I find particularly gaudy. Who can pull this out in a meeting or at a bank or whatever, and not feel embarrassed?

[Sailor Kenshin]

What kind of a person is he? Let's take this pen for example, which I find particularly gaudy. Who can pull this out in a meeting or at a bank or whatever, and not feel embarrassed?

A gentleman of supreme confidence.

[alexwi]

Have you seen more recent Montblanc's writers editions? It seems like this sells. No idea to whom, but it seems like it does.

Consummate artists are able to get away with pretty much anything. The same can be said about brands. They have their audience and they know that this audience expects extravagant items (some are happy as long as the logo is there).

For all I know, they could wrap a 146 in barbed wire and make your hand bleed when you hold it, call it the Easter LE and sell out in a week.

alex

[Scrawler]

What kind of a person is he? Let's take this pen for example, which I find particularly gaudy. Who can pull this out in a meeting or at a bank or whatever, and not feel embarrassed?

He is extraordinarily bright, sufficiently so that he cares not what anyone thinks of him. I personally would be delighted to have this particular pen and would feel no embarrassment whatsoever using it.

[adhoc]

For all I know, they could wrap a 146 in barbed wire and make your hand bleed when you hold it, call it the Easter LE and sell out in a week.

LOL!

A gentleman of supreme confidence.

He is extraordinarily bright, sufficiently so that he cares not what anyone thinks of him. I personally would be delighted to have this particular pen and would feel no embarrassment whatsoever using it.

I was not questioning the person's intelligence or confidence, but rather taste. I also do not believe "he does not care what anyone thinks of him", because that's impossible with a pen like this. This pen is made to draw attention, and people that demand other peoples' attention are precisely the people that do care what others think of them.

[Yazeh]

What kind of a person is he? Let's take this pen for example, which I find particularly gaudy. Who can pull this out in a meeting or at a bank or whatever, and not feel embarrassed?

And don't forget... "bad tastes" for one is good taste for another.
Gaudy for someone is breathtaking for another.

And it could be geographical/ cultural and historical.
The extreme would be rococo art compared to austere art.... you've got your answer....

[adhoc]

And don't forget... "bad tastes" for one is good taste for another.
Gaudy for someone is breathtaking for another.

And it could be geographical/ cultural and historical.
The extreme would be rococo art compared to austere art.... you've got your answer....

Of course, taste is completely subjective, and I find the pen gaudy completely in my opinion, which I also stated. I don't think less of people that like things I don't, I have a feeling that was not entirely understood from my post, considering some of the replies.

[Scrawler]

LOL!

A gentleman of supreme confidence.

He is extraordinarily bright, sufficiently so that he cares not what anyone thinks of him. I personally would be delighted to have this particular pen and would feel no embarrassment whatsoever using it.

I was not questioning the person's intelligence or confidence, but rather taste. I also do not believe "he does not care what anyone thinks of him", because that's impossible with a pen like this. This pen is made to draw attention, and people that demand other peoples' attention are precisely the people that do care what others think of them.

You assume he uses them in public.

[Jon Szanto]