Cigarette holders: cool or pretentious?
 

I bought a cigarette holder. I got it because I don't like my fingers smelling like cigarette, I like to keep the cigarette in my mouth but I don't like the smoke in my eyes, and frankly I think they look super bad ass cool.

Hunter S. Thomspon had one, The Penguin had one, why shouldn't I have one?

I was hanging outside smoking this morning, a guy said "Hey, cool cigarette holder" and he wasn't mocking.

I know a good portion of it has to do with how you carry yourself, if you are comfortable with it or just posing, no matter what the true self shows through.

I was wondering if anyone else uses them, if you know anyone who uses them, what you would think if you saw a guy with one.

I have two, a short one, and the black 4-6 inch telescoping one first one on this page:

http://www.theladysmokes.com/Gentlemen.html

This is not personal, but it is a truthful opinion.

I'd say it's pretty ghey. Then again, I think a man-bag is ghey too. Not GAY, ghey, as in fugly, worthless and metrosexual, all rolled into one. Might as well go get a facial and put some cucumbers on your eyes. Oh and grab a 6-pack of whine coolers.

I lose a small amount of respect for smokers in general though. Not much, but enough that next time I see them, I think oh yeah, s/he's a smoker. Women smoking are an immediate turn off. If I were single again, I wouldn't date a smoker even if she looked like Hayden Panettiere.

I'm not trying to raise my "manly" status by saying this, it's just that certain things bother me and I'm not afraid to say it. Smoking is about as smart as rubbing paint thinner on your legs for fun. Anyone with a decent education and sense of self worth knows what it does and avoids it. Hell you don't even have to have a decent education. I don't understand the other people outside of those groups.

Chic as in, looks appropriate only for chicks.

Unless you work in the theatre in Paris, I don't see any man using a cigarette holder with any ounce of self-respect.

Cigar cases, though, are another matter altogether.

o pshaw.

if you're fabulous enough to pull it off, of course you can use a cigarette holder.
you're all just pissy because you can't do it.

LOL

http://images.google.com/url?q=http:...7z3n7oAt2lWfJQ

I don't think anything else needs to be said

It only works if you're Hunter S Thompson...


Or you wear a suit everyday... and I'm not talking about a new suit... It has to be vintage. Or a velvet smoking jacket.

Cool and pretentious. Unless it's got a filter.

+1

The only person I ever knew to use one was my great-aunt Judy.

So, if you want to be cool like my great-aunt Judy, go get 'em.

You should just carry it around clenched between gritted teeth without a cigarette in it at all -- ever. Now THAT would be pretentious.

I can't envisage finding that cool or pretentious. Just...odd. I don't much like smoking anyway. I'd probably do a double take if I saw you.

I'll go with pretentious. Smokers are pretty much maligned nowadays. Any attempt to make it any more dignified in the face of adversity is pretension.

My avatar demonstrates that cool and presumptuous don't have to be mutually exclusive. Sexual innuendo at the baccarat table? Cool and presumptuous.

Likewise, cigarette holders are both.

Gay or not, I dig it. It's nice to know everyone is laughing at me though.

While some friends say I remind them of HST, I'm more Penguin than HST.

And I know smoking is bad for you, I quit for a while, but I'm trying to jump start some lung cancer, and as much as my body is rebelling against it, I'm sticking with it. Just like anything else, you gotta want it. (italics spoken in a jock/coach voice)

i like the idea.

im actually thinking about buying one.

Here's the thing... if you are going to use one, use it always. Sure it's a pretentious affectation... but so what? As long as you are comfortable with it you can pull it off. Of course, the moment you feel awkward with it you will be a pretentious loser.

Be bold. Be confident. Normalize it.

People will talk and they may make snide comments but that is the price of walking a different path.

(of course, creating a thread like this already indicates that you are questioning it and that is the wrong direction).
-----Added 9/10/2008 at 09 : 37 : 31-----
http://content.answers.com/main/cont...x-Thompson.png

so many possibilities are being overlooked.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertai...061010_ssv.jpg

http://www.granitegrok.com/pix/The%20Penguin.jpg

http://weblogs.amny.com/news/local/t...fdr1-thumb.jpg

http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/3438...5A1E4F32AD3138

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/wp-co...double_cig.jpg

http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/3336...5A1E4F32AD3138

Agreed. I can't help but think of the wise words of the eminent drag queen, RuPaul: Honestly, if you prefer to use one, use one. Don't doubt yourself.

Charlatan is certainly the man with the plan. Do what makes you happy, and to hell with anyone who tries to tell you different.

I'd never use a cigarette holder. It doesn't fit my style. If it fits yours, go for it.

As much as this makes my hair stand on end...I agree 100% with WK here.

Hunter S. Thompson pulled it off because...well, because he was Hunter S. Thompson. For him, it worked.

And, unless you are going for a vintage look, I don't think that it can be pulled off. Not now. 40 years ago...maybe. definately 60-70 years ago. Not now.

The Penguin. Now THERE'S a vision of coolness. Hunter has nothing on wak wak boy.

I think it works if you use words like "moxie".

And you wear a purple top hat.

That may be something only Burgess Meredith could pull off without being extremely teh ghey.

It also works if you're married to Mr. Slave.

It's kind of like people who wear fedoras. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but you're still going to have a big uphill battle to convince me you're not a colossal douche.

personally, i am fine with the associations that are triggered by such devices. i am ok with being taken for audrey hepburn. i really am.

I think you'd also have to wear a pocket watch.

a pocket watch creates an unsightly irregularity in the flow of my carefully tailored back dress.

I see nothing wrong with it, though the telescoping one borders on costume rather than style.

Oh, I'm not questioning it at all, I use it all the time. I just wanted to know what others thought of it. I'm gonna use it no matter what people think, I just kinda wanna know where I stand.
-----Added 10/10/2008 at 12 : 45 : 46-----
I do use the word moxie. Often.
-----Added 10/10/2008 at 12 : 46 : 50-----
I do. Not always, but often.
-----Added 10/10/2008 at 12 : 48 : 50-----
I actually have two, the telescoping one (which I never fully open all the way) and a short basic one. I alternate between the two.

Do you also wear a monocle? That would seal it.

Only if you wear a suit everyday. You gotta pull it off just right, with a hint of class & retro.

This. I had to laugh.

Not all holders are cool or pretentious. Black and Milds? They have a built-in holder and they're just about as tacky as anything I can imagine.

This is actually a daily ritual of mine.

As for the OP, I think you can do whatever the hell you want. People can say that it's a HST thing because he made it that way. I'm sure when he first started using it, people were like "ew, wtf." Now, because he made it a staple, is it associated with him.

Does that make sense? I can't tell. ): Stupid working on Fridays. Screws up my brain.

I agree with Ranger Joe, you could make it your thing.

From what you said about your style, it sounds like it would go quite well.

Do it!

Hate to tell ya, but your fingers aren't the only thing that smells like cigarettes. I do like cig holders though. :)

I like them.

Personally, I think people pointing out that things are pretentious, are pretentious.

I mean, if you're going to point it out, aren't you doing it out of pretension?

Kind of like a pipe but without the bowl and a cigarette stuck in its place. I like the monocle idea. Very old school.