Amusing quotes from people mis-dating you

[HudsonHawk]

Don't they have melamine paint where you are? Sold for kitchens, bathrooms and woodwork, it smells like the old enamel and goes on like it too.

They have it, but melamine paint is mainly for painting plastic. For woodwork, I'd stick to good old oil-based enamel with a drying resin like alkyds.

 

[sheeplady]

Apparently the favored term among the big-box crowd is "latex door paint" or "trim paint." The only real oil-based enamel I could find was Rustoleum, which was hidden away in a remote section along with the traffic-striping paint and graffiti remover. I finally found that Lowe's does sell a "Latex Enamel," which was hidden away in the same section, and from everything I could see was identical to their "latex door paint," except that the "door paint" cost more.

I've run into this issue at every paint store I've gone to in the last few years. A couple years back I went to Sherwin Williams and asked for enamel and got the same blank look from the clerk. I told one of the kids from work to go over and get some enamel for a project at the theatre, and she came back with some weird story that the clerk told her enamel is "illegal" now, which makes no sense at all.

I don't care what the trendy HGTV term is, I grew up calling it enamel, and enamel it will remain. Just like the only time I ever was in a Starbucks I got in an argument with the clerk for insisting on a "small" hot chocolate. Language is powerful, and when you use the terms the Boys From Marketing try to force you to use, you're giving them that much more power over you.

A lot of states have rules and regulations making it difficult to purchase oil-based paint. This is because a lot of the ingredients are considered to be toxic/bad for the environment and are regulated such that they can only be sold in small quantities. In NY, you can only buy quarts of oil-based paint. Interior flat enamel is basically gone- I've heard it can't be bought in this state or practically any other one.

 

[rjb1]

As did HudsonHawk, I used some old-style (cleans up and thins with paint thinner - not water) enamel just last week, and for the same reasons.
They do have it at Lowe's around here, but you have to do some work to find it, as LizzieM says. Even before this discussion I have always found the paint organization at Lowe's to be more confusing than it needs to be. They have it, and you can eventually find it, but it takes about twice as long as it should.

 

[scottyrocks]

The automotive industry has been using water-based paint for a number of years now. It seems the old stuff was environmentally unfriendly, which explains the stuff being hidden in a mayonnaise jar under Funk & Wagnall's porch.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

My favorite will always be:

"I thought you were religious until I saw your tattoos."

"Religious" = Amish.

Other than this, I just seem to get the same "Grease" comments over and over. I wear 30s, early 40s, and late 60s, early 70s. None of which resemble Grease, but I always take it as a compliment because "Grease" seems to be the average person's vintage reference point.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My favorite will always be:

"I thought you were religious until I saw your tattoos."

"Religious" = Amish.

Other than this, I just seem to get the same "Grease" comments over and over. I wear 30s, early 40s, and late 60s, early 70s. None of which resemble Grease, but I always take it as a compliment because "Grease" seems to be the average person's vintage reference point.

Twenty years ago, it was all "Oh, wow, 'I Love Lucy,'" no matter what period you favored. Every pre-1970 dress you saw in a thrift store was labeled "Lucy Dress."

I get the religious comments too -- because I often wear a headrag, people assume I'm a Mennonite. I tell them no, I'm a Methodist having a lazy hair day.

 

[Veronica T]

"I thought you were religious until I saw your tattoos."

I get the religious comments too -- because I often wear a headrag, people assume I'm a Mennonite.

That is very surprising to me. Amish and Mennonite women have a very limited palette for their fashion choices. They always wear the cap; only their faces, parts of the neck and hands are exposed.

The only exception was an Amish family from what must have been one of the less strict sects I encountered on a beach during vacation in Florida. The father was dressed in black with blue shirt, the mother was dressed in the typical sparrow-colored dress, the little boy had his shoes, socks and jacket off but was wearing his straw hat. The two sixteen year old girls were wearing their caps and extremely modest black swimsuits. Perhaps the swimsuits were part of rumspringa.

Or maybe the people who made the comments are not that familiar with Amish or Mennonite customs.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Twenty years ago, it was all "Oh, wow, 'I Love Lucy,'" no matter what period you favored. Every pre-1970 dress you saw in a thrift store was labeled "Lucy Dress."

I get the religious comments too -- because I often wear a headrag, people assume I'm a Mennonite. I tell them no, I'm a Methodist having a lazy hair day.

The head rag/ scarf thing would make me think Hutterite before Mennonite.

But it reminds me of a standard comment of my Civil War reenacting days. We'd walk into a restaurant after a long weekend event, and people would ask why we were dressed as we were. I'd reply, "Our religion requires us to dress this way. We're Militant Amish."

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Someone on this forum thought I was a hasidic jew because I mentioned I prefer dark couloured wide brim fedoras. So it's not just people in the real world.

 

[Veronica T]

But it reminds me of a standard comment of my Civil War reenacting days. We'd walk into a restaurant after a long weekend event, and people would ask why we were dressed as we were. I'd reply, "Our religion requires us to dress this way. We're Militant Amish."

Sometimes my volunteer duties at Old World Wisconsin (nineteenth century agriculture and European immigration museum) required me to fill in on the farms. One day I wore a reproduction eighteen-fifties dress and bonnet to act as an interpreter at the 1858 James and Mary Sanford house.

One woman asked me if I was adopted. Another woman wondered why I wasn't wearing a kimono. Do you sleep here?

Everyone was surprised I spoke English so well and thought I was doing a swell job.

 

[Shangas]

Someone on this forum thought I was a hasidic jew because I mentioned I prefer dark couloured wide brim fedoras. So it's not just people in the real world.

My father said that to me too, once. I laughed.

 

[Retro Spectator]

Oddly enough, I rarely get comments mentioning time periods. The latest one I can think of is when my driving teacher asked if I liked Mad Men. I replied that I don't even watch Mad Men, and I just like to dress retro. Occasionally, I get comments of people saying "You look sharp", and similar. However, some ignorant people will say "Nice suit" when I am wearing a sport coat and slacks. No one ever comments on my hats. I wonder why. I often get complements on my shoes, however.

 

[Edward]

My favorite will always be:

"I thought you were religious until I saw your tattoos."

"Religious" = Amish.

lol

The only religion-based comment I ever got was to the effect that I was an unclean, fornicating Jew - that from an Asian man on our local market who obviously harboured certain prejudices. Alas, I didn't realised until ten minutes later that it was aimed at me, or he'd have gotten a smart mouthful... (Ironically enough, the same, dark grey fedora and long coat combo also got me called "a Nazi... Rudolph Hess" by a Covent Garden Street performer. I told him my mother was Jewish.... not actually true, but jinkies, you'd think they'd think first....

Other than this, I just seem to get the same "Grease" comments over and over. I wear 30s, early 40s, and late 60s, early 70s. None of which resemble Grease, but I always take it as a compliment because "Grease" seems to be the average person's vintage reference point.

Yeah.... if you get "Grease" when you're in the Seventies stuff, you're pretty accurate to how they were dressed in the film.... Crackin' film, but the wardrobe is shockingly inaccurate. Happy Days did it a world better.....

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oddly enough, I rarely get comments mentioning time periods. The latest one I can think of is when my driving teacher asked if I liked Mad Men. I replied that I don't even watch Mad Men, and I just like to dress retro. Occasionally, I get comments of people saying "You look sharp", and similar. However, some ignorant people will say "Nice suit" when I am wearing a sport coat and slacks. No one ever comments on my hats. I wonder why. I often get complements on my shoes, however.

You'd be surprised how much you can learn about someone from looking at their shoes. For those of us raised in the days before everyone was reduced to wearing sneakers, you could tell someone's social class, income stratum, occupation, and often how trustworthy or honest they were just by a fast glance at their feet. (If you ran into someone with a high-gloss shine on his shoes, but the heels were run over, watch out. He's all surface and no substance, and quite possibly is about to try to sell you something.)

To this day when I meet someone for the first time the first thing I do is look at their puppies.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Oddly enough, I rarely get comments mentioning time periods. The latest one I can think of is when my driving teacher asked if I liked Mad Men. I replied that I don't even watch Mad Men, and I just like to dress retro. Occasionally, I get comments of people saying "You look sharp", and similar. However, some ignorant people will say "Nice suit" when I am wearing a sport coat and slacks. No one ever comments on my hats. I wonder why. I often get complements on my shoes, however.

I get that one too. I've been wearing a sport coat and slacks with no tie and had more than one person say "wow, look at you in your three piece suit and tie". I sometimes wonder if any guy under the age of 35 even knows what a tie is.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I wore my better Homburg to court one day, and encountered a colleague I have known for over three decades. She told me that I looked nice in my "derby." Spent a few minutes explaining why a Homburg with a center crease could not, by definition, constitute a derby. I think she finally got it......who knows?

 

[jamespowers]

My favorites are when I am driving one of my 50s vehicles. Some fool will always ask if I have owned it since it was new. Uh yeah dude. Let's do the math. 2014-1955=59 years. I would have had to be at least in my 20s at the time so say add 25 years=84. Riiiiggghhhtttt. You are about half right. lol lol
People have no concept of time.

 

[Stanley Doble]

^^Remember this one?^^

Prosecuting attorney: "Will you kindly drop the vernacular?"

Curley: " It ain't a nackler, it's a doiby".

 

[Veronica T]

Sometimes my volunteer duties at Old World Wisconsin (nineteenth century agriculture and European immigration museum) required me to fill in on the farms. One day I wore a reproduction eighteen-fifties dress and bonnet to act as an interpreter at the 1858 James and Mary Sanford house.

One woman asked me if I was adopted. Another woman wondered why I wasn't wearing a kimono. Do you sleep here?

Everyone was surprised I spoke English so well and thought I was doing a swell job.

My favorites are when I am driving one of my 50s vehicles. Some fool will always ask if I have owned it since it was new. Uh yeah dude. Let's do the math. 2014-1955=59 years. I would have had to be at least in my 20s at the time so say add 25 years=84. Riiiiggghhhtttt. You are about half right. lol lol
People have no concept of time.

That is exactly what I'm talking about. If I had been adopted by James and Mary Sanford, I would be approximately one hundred and seventy-eight years of age. Even if the date of the house were mistaken as 1958, that would make me three times my actual age.

 

[Stanley Doble]

They must have thought you were acting the part of someone who lived there in 1858. Although, I seriously doubt there were any Japanese in Wisconsin at that time.