Wednesday 17 November 2010

"I've always thought relaxing was awfully common"

Interior designer and celebrity Nicky Haslam has famously, over the years, declared many things to be ‘common’. So imagine my horror when I looked for a definitive list on the internet and couldn’t find one. I resolved to do some research and write the list myself.

First, we need to know Haslam’s definition of ‘common’. He once gave this answer in an interview:
‘It's nothing to do with some Nancy Mitford-esque horror of someone putting their knife on the plate. It's those little clichés that make you cringe, like someone saying: "My garden's got its own microclimate."’

And now for the list!:

• Saying "please"
• Cufflinks
• Anyone Scottish,
• The Caribbean,
• Tassled loafers
• Celebrity chefs
• Bottled water
• The sun
• Swans
• Queuing outside Annabel’s
• Organic food
• Sushi
• Saint Tropez
• Champagne flutes
• Christmas parties
• Non-Russians with Russian girlfriends,
• Film stars
• Complaining about the smoking ban
• Pronouncing the 't' in trait (it's a French word)
• Pronouncing the 'e' in furore (it's also a French word)
• Coloured bath towels,
• Drinking cappuccinos after eleven
• Art Deco
• Scented candles,
• Garlic on your breath,
• Framed photographs of anyone non-Royal
• Morocco
• Not knowing the words of hymns
• Fur coats on men
• Three-quarter length trousers on anyone
• Jet-lag
• Wheat intolerance
• Relaxing
• Loving one's parents

3 comments:

Colette van den Thillart said...

Ha! He's just bought some tasseled loafers from Topman that he seems pretty fond of...well, slippers really, but still.

Nelly said...

The sun or The Sun?

inpetticoats said...

I think 'the sun'. The Sun is so self-evidently common.