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GoodTaste,BadTastebyStephenBayley[1]ThethingsyouowntellstoriesaboutyouassurelyastheJonesesyou'rekeepingupwith.Eachpurchaserevealssomethingyourpartnerorclosestfriendmaynotrealisefromyourintimateexchanges.Everytimeyoubuysomethingyouexerciseyourtaste.[2]Beforetheageofmassproduction,tasteusedtobetheprovinceofaneducatedelite.Butwhentheentirepopulationbecameconsumersforthefirsttime,tastecameoutofthesalonsandontothestreets.Suddenly,everybodyhadtheopportunitytomakeachoice.[3]Therecannotobjectivelybesuchathingasgoodorbad.ItisratherasthenovelistArnoldBennettputit:goodtastemightbebetterthanbad,buthadtaste,iscertainlybetterthannotasteatall.[4]Exercisingtasteisnotdifficult.Youdecidewhatstoriesyouwantyourpossessionstotellandthengetonandorchestratethem.Butbewarned:noteverystoryisaflatteringone.BuyanonyxashtrayandyoumightaswellrentposterspaceandtelltheworldIamthedupeofcynicalmanipulatorswhohavesucceededinseducingmewithflashyrubbish.[5]Sincethe18thcenturywhentastewasfirstdiscussed,peoplehavebelievedthatitwasanendowmentofanelite,handeddowntothosepoorsoulsbelow,whowantedtobetterthemselves.Thisopenedupthemarkettotastemakers---eitherthepatricianbureaucratsofVictoria'sreign,ortheteamsofslickdecoratorsoftodaywhohavemadecareersoutofintroducingnewmoneytooldfurniture.[6]Butisthequestionoftastejustoneofhouseholdhints?No.Tasteisanexpressionofawholesystemofvalues.Andthatmeansyours.[7]Toachieveanunderstandingoftastemeansthatyoushouldhaveconvictioninyourchoices.Ifyoulookatthehistoryoftasteyouwillseethatitislikeasketchofthehistoryofcivilization:for200yearsrococo,classical,gothic,streamlinedandthenLauraAshleyhaveallinturnbeenacceptableexpressionsoftaste.Onlygiftedartistsanddesignerscanpredictthesechangesbutanyonecanunderstandtheprinciples.Althoughthehistoryoftastehasbeenoneofchange,confrontationandreversal,certainpatternsconstantlyrecur.Learntheseandyou'reintherewiththetastemakers.[8]Therulesaresimple.Notasteistoacquiesceandactlikeapygmyenchantedbybeadsandmirrors.Withnotasteyoutakewhatisofferedandleaveyoursoulundisturbed.Goodtasteistocareandtochoose,tomakeyourownsurroundingsandevenyourownappearancemorepleasingandmoreinterestingbypositiveactsofdiscrimination.[9]Underpinningwhatisalwaysthoughttobegoodtastearerecurrentideassuchasrefinement,restraint,appropriatenessandgoodmanners.Theseallleadtodelight;thealternativeisvulgarexcesswhichisultimatelyunsatisfying.[10]So,beartheseideasinmindandlookatwhatyouownandthinkaboutthestoriesyourpossessionsaretelling.[11]Whydoyouhaveagoldwristwatch?Thismetalisinappropriatefortheintendedpurpose.Steelorplasticisbetter.Perhapsyouwanttolooklikeaprosperousarmsdealer.[12]YourConstablereproductioninapseudo-somethingframesaysIknowfi~thingaboutartandcareless.AHeineken~posterwouldhavebeenmorediscriminating.[13]Yourcarpetwithitshideouspatternwasdesignedtodoonethingonly:disguisedirt.Wouldyounotbeprouderwithacleansimplecolor?[14]YourchoiceoftheHonestypatterntoasterdeclaresyoutobethesortofpersonwhowillcheerfullyadmitIlovebuyingcynicaljunk.Anythingthemarketingdepartmentdoesisgoodenoughforme...Ifcountrykitchenisthestyleyouwant,you'dbebetteroffbuyingagriddle.[15]Theseproductsarealldishonest.Theywouldrarelybechosenbypeoplewithgenuinebadtasteandneverbypeoplewithgood.Theywouldbepurchasedonlybypeoplewithnotasteatall...andnotasteatallmeansthesameasIdon'tcare.[16]Inthefutureyouwillbeexposedtomoreandmorechoice,notless.Asthespeedofchangebringsdesignnearertofashion,thendecisionsabouttastewillhavetobemademoreandmoreregularly.[17]Atfirstthiswillleadtoanevengreaterprofusionofchoice,perhapsevenmorethanduringtheexplosionofproductionandconsumptionduringtheconsumerrevolutionof100andmoreyearsago.Butsoonpeoplewillfindthatwhenanythinggoes...notmuchreallydoes.[18]Whenmoreconsumersexercisetaste,manufacturerswillberequiredtomakebetterandmoredignifiedproducts.Itcannotbelongbeforeitisgenerallyrealizedthatperfectproportionsandunderstatedelegancearesuperiortomeretriciousornament,flashysurfacesandproductsoutstandingonlyforthedegreeofsocialpretentiousnesstheyexude.[19]Ifyouthinkaboutityouwillfindthatyoupreferneatnessandrestraint.Intheendthesequalitiesaremorerewardingthanconfusionandexcess.And,remember,tasteisbynomeansamatterofexpense:asliceofgoodCheddarisbetterthanmanyanexpensivemeal.[20]ThesearetheRulesofTaste:refinement,restraint,appropriatenessandgoodmanners.[21]Dareyoubewithoutthem?[1]你所拥有的东西，正像你所追赶的社会时尚一样，无疑能说明你的品味。你买的每件物品都显示出你的某种爱好，而这种爱好是你的伴侣或最亲密的朋友在你们的亲密交往中也没有察觉到的。你每次购物都在运用你的品味。[2]在大规模生产的时代以前，品味是属于有教养的社会名流的范畴。但是，当全民都第一次成为消费者之后，品味就走出沙龙来到了大街上。突然间，每个人都有了进行选择的机会。[3]不可能客观存在像“高雅”或“庸俗”这样的东西。还是小说家阿诺德·贝内特说得好：高雅的品味也许比庸俗的好，但庸俗的品味肯定比根本不讲品味要强。[4]运用品味并不难。你先确定你希望你所拥有的各种东西反映出何种品味，然后再根据情况进行安排和协调。但是，请注意：并非每一个决定或选择都会令你感到高兴的。如果你要买一个玛瑙烟灰缸，那还不如租一块广告牌向世界宣布：“我上当了，让那些玩世不恭的家伙骗了，他们用华而不实的玩意儿诱我上了钩。”[5]自18世纪首次讨论品味以来，人们就认为品味是高贵者们赏给那些希望提高修养的可怜的下层人的一种恩赐。这就向倡导时髦风尚的人（他们或是维多利亚统治时期的贵族式官僚，或是今天专门从事介绍人们花钱买老式家具的一帮圆滑的“室内装饰家”）打开了市场。[6]但是，品味问题只是属于家庭的一个线索吗?不。品味是一整套价值观体系的体现。这是指你自己的价值观。[7]要做到理解品味就意味着你应该确信自己的选择。看看品味的历史，你就会发现，它就像是人类文明史的梗概：200年来，洛可可式、古典式、哥特式、流线式以及后来的劳拉·阿什利式都相继成为受欢迎的品味表现形式。虽然只有才华