Drew Magary’s annual hate read of the Williams-Sonoma catalog. An annual tradition every family should embrace.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The champagne saber (AND BASE!) is my favorite.
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I mean, if your champagne sabre doesn’t have a base, what the hell are you going to open with it? Fucking PROSECCO?
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I would lay my champagne saber flat in a drawer like the common peasant that I am.
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If I know me, it would just live in the dish drainer forever.
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I thought I’d seen everything and then I saw the SMEG Jousting Paladins Dolce & Gabbana refrigerator.
A mere $50K. But at least it’s final sale so there’s no chance of getting one that’s been used and returned. 
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“And don’t worry, this plate is, like that one mug, “fully glazed.” You know what else is fully glazed? Me after I smoke a fatty.”
God, I love this list.
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“SMEG?”
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The company is an Italian appliance maker, lol. I guess that explains the Dolce and Gabbana version of the fridge, if anything can!
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I have never successfully sabered (is that a word?) a champagne bottle, despite several attempts.
However, I’ve never failed so catastrophically as these folks, so I’ll count myself lucky.
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But would that sabre work as a poop knife?
Yes, I’m childish, but when I read the story I cried laughing.
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I wonder if someone has done this with a Neiman-Marcus catalog, past or present. Opinions count!
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I have a vague memory of perusing the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog in the early 1970’s and on its cover was a tanker truck that was filled with Aramis cologne which was then advertised as one of its most outrageous offerings. Does anyone else remember this?
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No, but I have a vague recollection of a kid-sized drive-able BMW.
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I remember that too! I might have asked my parents for that one.
Thought this was interesting and ridiculous. From HuffPost:
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Yup. But the whole thing there was impossible, pointedly ridiculous items. A $200,000 electric submarine. A $50K electric guitar covered in swavorski crystals.
The only reason someone would buy one was as a joke, the punchline being, “Can you believe I bought this? How crazy!!”
The Williams-Sonoma keeps their offerings within the very outer edges of “someone might ACTUALLY pay that” while their merchandise, even the actual nice things, are sold at ludicrous markups so upper middle class who watch too much Marty Stewart and Ina Garten will feel special having a ‘hand crafted set of silicone spatulas’ or whatnot.
One of them is in on the joke. The other is very VERY serious.
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I remember the Helen Corbitt recipe computer contraption for the kitchen.
OMG, please tell me you’re joking. My pal in Ecuador can do it with a butter knife.
They sell a duck press, too? I’m afraid to look inside.
