STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

if i got a good deal on it or something, i will usually tell, but honestly i can't even remember the last time someone asked me how much something cost.  i guess close friends will sometimes inquire, but then i know it's because they are interested in getting something similar for themselves and are just curious--they aren't doing it to make me feel bad. 

re: engagement rings, i think that's a whole separate category.  i cannot even imagine being asked that question about an e-ring--that is insulting and horrible! where are these people's manners?!  i wouldn't even ask my "bestest bestest friend" (hee, mia!) about how much her ring costs or how many carats it is. it just seems incredibly rude.  if they want to bring it up, they will, but it's really no business of mine at all.  when my close friends have gotten married (which 95% of them have in the last 2 years), there were lots of ways to make conversation and show them that i loved their rings, none of which included nosy and tasteless questions about how much they cost. yuck!!! i have no idea how many carats and how much my friends rings cost, and i don't care. 

sidenote: i think that men do ask this question amongst themselves, because they are usually the ones who are paying for these rings.  sometimes it's a competition, and sometimes they are legitimately trying to get some perspective from their friends to figure out how much to spend/if they got a good deal themselves.  i've seen this more than once, and i think it's also kind of different than someone flat-out asking the wearer of the ring how much it cost.