I'd say an outlet wired with 0.5mm2 wire (20 AWG) on a 16A breaker was pretty classy. They also embedded conduit singles (single layer of PVC isolation) in masonry/plaster on that run. I didn't really like the totally frayed cloth wires outdoors either (there were covers on the junction boxes, but by no means weatherproof, the exposed copper was black and green with corrosion. Some Al thrown in there too for good measure.
