Gonna Party Like It's $19.99

From Krazy Straws to frozen salmon, a housewarming soiree where nothing is more than 99 cents

Comments (0) By Gendy Alimurung Wednesday, Feb 13 2008

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On the way out, I spy not one, not two, but three Mercedeses in the parking lot. That shouldn't be surprising, because if anyone knows the value of a dollar, it is the person with the means to buy a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz. I'm told that the rich favor cheap cleaning supplies, so perhaps they've come for a 99-cent bottle of LA's Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner with bleach.

Living in a new place decorated in extreme minimalist Unabomber chic, I've discovered that it never hurts to get the furniture before the housewarming. "Well, we have kids' plastic chairs," 99¢ spokesperson Henry Chu says, "and sometimes we have white lawn chairs. But those are not in stock right now. As far as sofas, I doubt we can get one for 99 cents."

Gregory Bojorquez

Incognito at the 99? Be proud: A proper Valentine date appreciates a bargain.

Gregory Bojorquez

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If you have blank white walls to fill, however, and gobs of money — $3.35 million, approximately — you could attempt to purchase 99 Cent II, Diptych, the famous photo taken (in 1999, of course) by Andreas Gursky. Looking at it, you seem to hover, godlike, up by the fluorescent lights, to survey the tightly packed boxes of Reynolds Wrap, KitKats, dish soap and more. Last year at Sotheby's, it became the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction and is now hanging in an unidentified private collector's home somewhere. How perfect that the bidder who acquired the work, a beautiful artifact of a culture that worships shopping, and an example of what Gursky himself terms "the fetishism of our material world," should be anonymous. Is it the woman next to you kvetching about the price of tomatoes? The man sniffing the fabric softener? A guest you've unfortunately invited to the party who is hogging the nuts? Really, it could be anyone.