Navy Blue
I love the color navy blue. I don't know what it is, but whenever I see it, I swoon. Particularly when its with white. Maybe I was in the navy in another lifetime, I don't know; I do remember feeling really excited when the Royal Navy defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 or so. Spain was so DUMB to have invested so much in gold! Man! Anyway. But yeah, I LOVE NAVY BLUE! A few ways in which this love plays out in my life:
1. The Gap
My love for navy blue is one of the reasons why I love the Gap so much, and why I will ALWAYS love the Gap. The Gap is clearly dedicated to navy blue and white, evidenced in their logo, their bags (except during Christmas, when the bags turn silver), and their gift boxes. When one thinks of the Gap, don't navy blue and khakis come to mind? To the true Gapgirl/boy, and anyone with color vision, YES, THEY DO. And my love has been tested in the fire. Remember when the Gap went all weird, circa 1999? Everybody went berserk and said that the Gap's hegemony in the mall industry was over. Out with navy blue and khaki, in with hot pink and things I don't wish to remember. Anyway, though I could recognize the Gap had gone wayward, I remained steadfast. I bought a few things here and there (like the lone white t-shirt that came with 1,000+ things I do not wish to remember), just to keep the hope alive--the hope that the Gap would return to its roots of navy blue and khakis. And it did! I think they got a new guy to run the whole shebang around 2001, and since then I've been very happy with my shopping experiences there. I'm not too sure about their foray into $100 cheap leather purses (apologies if any of you have any of them, but I feel its a breach of their commitment to affordability), but in general, I just love going there and being surrounded by denim, khakis, and navy blue. Its just so comforting.
2. My ugly feet
I have very ugly feet. I rarely show them to people except my family by sheer necessity, but I'm sort of getting over it. Anyway, I have ugly feet because I love navy blue. Every day (very slight exaggeration) of the years 1994 through 1998, I wore Converse Jack Purcells in navy blue and white.* Purcells are very hard on the foot. First of all, they're very narrow, and the sole is very stiff. The shoe itself is completely flat. Not good times for a person with wide feet. My feet were dying for room to breathe and just be (I would do well in Birkenstocks, which are on my wish list), but I stubbornly forced them into Jack Purcells every day because of the sublime navy blue crescent at the top of the white shoe.**
3. VINTAGE MODERN: The Thomas O'Brien Affair
So Target's latest agreement with a famed designer to for heaven's sake make something that normal people can afford (or "we'll save you from bankruptcy if you class us up a little and make us some cheap stuff," which I think is the case with Isaac Mizrahi) is with interior designer Thomas O'Brien. His line is called "Vintage Modern." An oxymoron, as was Chej's first reaction? No, I don't think so. More like GENIUS. Our culture is vintage-crazed. So crazed that women will pay upwards $150 for a pair of jeans that have been synthetically battered and bruised (myself included, though I go straight to eBay or high-end thrift stores [now that's an oxymoron] for things like that), and furniture, from affordable to custom-made, comes in "distressed" wood. If you don't agree, just take a look at the $10 guys screen t-shirt display at Target and tell me what you see. Its all a reaction to shininess of our 21st century,*** in my opinion. Anyway, I digress. The idea of VINTAGE MODERN is genius because it speaks to our desire for meaningful nicks and scratches on our furniture (like all those on M&L's black cubes) and our souls, but with modern touches like clean lines, not having to lug old stuff from apartment to apartment, and Botox. Umm... I've gotten carried away and have confused myself: 1) The Thomas O'Brien furniture is not nicked up at all, 2) "Apartment to apartment" is something one could wax poetic, novellic, even bloggic on in relation to modernity, no?
To cut to the chase, I LOVE the VINTAGE MODERN line. I saw it and felt a new breath of life. I'm not kidding, not being overly dramatic. A new breath of life. Its all just so clean and beautiful and open. And, the logo is NAVY BLUE AND WHITE. Is that why I love it so much? Maybe. I've gone to Target probably 10 times in the last two weeks for different reasons, but mostly to browse the Thomas O'Brien stuff. I even made a special field trip to the Sunnyvale Town Center Target to see how a huge Target displayed his stuff. And man, is it BEAUTIFUL! Everything! He has furniture, bedding, bath items, frames, photo albums, silk flower arrangements (though Target really has to stop selling silk flower arrangements with fake water in them, its just horrendous), stationery, rugs, table linens, Christmas china, and on and on. You should have seen me today in the Mt. View Target, making my way westward along the back corridor. First it was the lamps. Then it was the clocks. Then the tableware. Then the Christmas tableware. Then the bedding (which I've seen a million times already and from which I have purchased a duvet called "Quiet Simplicity"). Then the rugs, the bath items, the table linens. And I gasped at every turn, kind of like Emma Thompson's gasp in "Love Actually" when her daughter tells her that she's got a part in the nativity play. Anyway. I read in Domino that its more than 400 pieces total.
VINTAGE MODERN is supposedly Target's biggest designer push. I first read something about it last spring, and since then, have seen it mentioned and pictured in almost every home/decorating magazine, even the NY Times Design Magazine. I think its just gorgeous and I even told mhyun that I wanted us to get remarried so that we could register for VINTAGE MODERN at Target. I think I even say "Thomas O'Brien: VINTAGE MODERN" in my sleep. And most of you have probably heard me give some sort of spiel about it because I have a habit of telling the whole world when I like something (hence this blog). Its just all exactly my taste. Whenever I look in any design stuff, whether it be a Pottery Barn catalog or a fancy design magazine, I love the stuff but feel like its not really entirely me. But VINTAGE MODERN IS ME, MIRIAMHEAD, NAVY BLUE AND WHITE.
At first I was sad when others didn't share my passion for VINTAGE MODERN. mhyun gave a vague, "Yeah, its cool," cheng4e said, "I've been seeing a lot of his stuff, its nice," and Chej's reaction is above. I asked Hanahn to go look at it since she's interested in that kind of stuff, but she said, "Yeah, its nice, its just not my taste." She is a very classy woman so I was kinda sad because I wanted her classy approval of it. But in the end, I am beside myself still. THOMAS O'BRIEN: VINTAGE MODERN! NAVY BLUE AND WHITE! MIRIAMHEAD! I think I would faint if I say Thomas O'Brien on the street. Or at least give him a hug. Its ok, the hug won't be a breach of my marriage vows because I'm pretty sure Mr. O'Brien bats for the other side.
To close I will leave you with another funny thing St. said on Wednesday.
Me: St., can I give you a big hug?
St.: No, I told you last week, no more kisses.
Me: I didn't ask for a kiss, just a big hug.
St.: Umm... no.
Me: Be., can I have a big hug?
Be. smiles and gives me a big hug.
Me: Thank you, Be.! Can I have another big hug?
Be. smiles and gives me another big hug.
Me: Thank you, Be.! Stewart, are you sure I can't give you a big hug?
St.: No! I don't like big hugs.
Me: Please?
St.: Well, you can give my foot a big hug.
I give St.'s foot a big hug.
Be. then picks up his leg and gives me his foot to hug, and I give Be.'s foot a big hug.
If those aren't good times, I don't know what are!
*Basically the Gap shoe. They even sold them there at one point.
**This is also why I am so attached to my navy blue and white striped Adidas slippers. I have heard countless complaints about these slippers from my mom and sisters and mhyun, not to mention the many confused looks I've received when I wear them especially inappropriately (I wore them once to a wedding rehearsal), but I just can't help it. I just love having a little navy blue and white in my daily wear. Also, I saw Gwyneth Paltrow do it a lot in her post-Oscar, pre-Luke Wilson, why-Ben-Affleck stage (one of my favorite Gwyneth stages). You can see for yourself at www.planethelium.com, or even better, the March 2002 Vogue with a veritable Gwyneth chapter called "The Power of a Fashion Icon."
***I take "shiny 21st century" from something written by the 16th most important person in classical music according to the BBC Music Magazine and musicologist extraordinaire, Richard F. Taruskin. I really don't remember what the text was. You'll be hearing more about Mr. Taruskin in future blogs, don't you worry now.
1. The Gap
My love for navy blue is one of the reasons why I love the Gap so much, and why I will ALWAYS love the Gap. The Gap is clearly dedicated to navy blue and white, evidenced in their logo, their bags (except during Christmas, when the bags turn silver), and their gift boxes. When one thinks of the Gap, don't navy blue and khakis come to mind? To the true Gapgirl/boy, and anyone with color vision, YES, THEY DO. And my love has been tested in the fire. Remember when the Gap went all weird, circa 1999? Everybody went berserk and said that the Gap's hegemony in the mall industry was over. Out with navy blue and khaki, in with hot pink and things I don't wish to remember. Anyway, though I could recognize the Gap had gone wayward, I remained steadfast. I bought a few things here and there (like the lone white t-shirt that came with 1,000+ things I do not wish to remember), just to keep the hope alive--the hope that the Gap would return to its roots of navy blue and khakis. And it did! I think they got a new guy to run the whole shebang around 2001, and since then I've been very happy with my shopping experiences there. I'm not too sure about their foray into $100 cheap leather purses (apologies if any of you have any of them, but I feel its a breach of their commitment to affordability), but in general, I just love going there and being surrounded by denim, khakis, and navy blue. Its just so comforting.
2. My ugly feet
I have very ugly feet. I rarely show them to people except my family by sheer necessity, but I'm sort of getting over it. Anyway, I have ugly feet because I love navy blue. Every day (very slight exaggeration) of the years 1994 through 1998, I wore Converse Jack Purcells in navy blue and white.* Purcells are very hard on the foot. First of all, they're very narrow, and the sole is very stiff. The shoe itself is completely flat. Not good times for a person with wide feet. My feet were dying for room to breathe and just be (I would do well in Birkenstocks, which are on my wish list), but I stubbornly forced them into Jack Purcells every day because of the sublime navy blue crescent at the top of the white shoe.**
3. VINTAGE MODERN: The Thomas O'Brien Affair
So Target's latest agreement with a famed designer to for heaven's sake make something that normal people can afford (or "we'll save you from bankruptcy if you class us up a little and make us some cheap stuff," which I think is the case with Isaac Mizrahi) is with interior designer Thomas O'Brien. His line is called "Vintage Modern." An oxymoron, as was Chej's first reaction? No, I don't think so. More like GENIUS. Our culture is vintage-crazed. So crazed that women will pay upwards $150 for a pair of jeans that have been synthetically battered and bruised (myself included, though I go straight to eBay or high-end thrift stores [now that's an oxymoron] for things like that), and furniture, from affordable to custom-made, comes in "distressed" wood. If you don't agree, just take a look at the $10 guys screen t-shirt display at Target and tell me what you see. Its all a reaction to shininess of our 21st century,*** in my opinion. Anyway, I digress. The idea of VINTAGE MODERN is genius because it speaks to our desire for meaningful nicks and scratches on our furniture (like all those on M&L's black cubes) and our souls, but with modern touches like clean lines, not having to lug old stuff from apartment to apartment, and Botox. Umm... I've gotten carried away and have confused myself: 1) The Thomas O'Brien furniture is not nicked up at all, 2) "Apartment to apartment" is something one could wax poetic, novellic, even bloggic on in relation to modernity, no?
To cut to the chase, I LOVE the VINTAGE MODERN line. I saw it and felt a new breath of life. I'm not kidding, not being overly dramatic. A new breath of life. Its all just so clean and beautiful and open. And, the logo is NAVY BLUE AND WHITE. Is that why I love it so much? Maybe. I've gone to Target probably 10 times in the last two weeks for different reasons, but mostly to browse the Thomas O'Brien stuff. I even made a special field trip to the Sunnyvale Town Center Target to see how a huge Target displayed his stuff. And man, is it BEAUTIFUL! Everything! He has furniture, bedding, bath items, frames, photo albums, silk flower arrangements (though Target really has to stop selling silk flower arrangements with fake water in them, its just horrendous), stationery, rugs, table linens, Christmas china, and on and on. You should have seen me today in the Mt. View Target, making my way westward along the back corridor. First it was the lamps. Then it was the clocks. Then the tableware. Then the Christmas tableware. Then the bedding (which I've seen a million times already and from which I have purchased a duvet called "Quiet Simplicity"). Then the rugs, the bath items, the table linens. And I gasped at every turn, kind of like Emma Thompson's gasp in "Love Actually" when her daughter tells her that she's got a part in the nativity play. Anyway. I read in Domino that its more than 400 pieces total.
VINTAGE MODERN is supposedly Target's biggest designer push. I first read something about it last spring, and since then, have seen it mentioned and pictured in almost every home/decorating magazine, even the NY Times Design Magazine. I think its just gorgeous and I even told mhyun that I wanted us to get remarried so that we could register for VINTAGE MODERN at Target. I think I even say "Thomas O'Brien: VINTAGE MODERN" in my sleep. And most of you have probably heard me give some sort of spiel about it because I have a habit of telling the whole world when I like something (hence this blog). Its just all exactly my taste. Whenever I look in any design stuff, whether it be a Pottery Barn catalog or a fancy design magazine, I love the stuff but feel like its not really entirely me. But VINTAGE MODERN IS ME, MIRIAMHEAD, NAVY BLUE AND WHITE.
At first I was sad when others didn't share my passion for VINTAGE MODERN. mhyun gave a vague, "Yeah, its cool," cheng4e said, "I've been seeing a lot of his stuff, its nice," and Chej's reaction is above. I asked Hanahn to go look at it since she's interested in that kind of stuff, but she said, "Yeah, its nice, its just not my taste." She is a very classy woman so I was kinda sad because I wanted her classy approval of it. But in the end, I am beside myself still. THOMAS O'BRIEN: VINTAGE MODERN! NAVY BLUE AND WHITE! MIRIAMHEAD! I think I would faint if I say Thomas O'Brien on the street. Or at least give him a hug. Its ok, the hug won't be a breach of my marriage vows because I'm pretty sure Mr. O'Brien bats for the other side.
To close I will leave you with another funny thing St. said on Wednesday.
Me: St., can I give you a big hug?
St.: No, I told you last week, no more kisses.
Me: I didn't ask for a kiss, just a big hug.
St.: Umm... no.
Me: Be., can I have a big hug?
Be. smiles and gives me a big hug.
Me: Thank you, Be.! Can I have another big hug?
Be. smiles and gives me another big hug.
Me: Thank you, Be.! Stewart, are you sure I can't give you a big hug?
St.: No! I don't like big hugs.
Me: Please?
St.: Well, you can give my foot a big hug.
I give St.'s foot a big hug.
Be. then picks up his leg and gives me his foot to hug, and I give Be.'s foot a big hug.
If those aren't good times, I don't know what are!
*Basically the Gap shoe. They even sold them there at one point.
**This is also why I am so attached to my navy blue and white striped Adidas slippers. I have heard countless complaints about these slippers from my mom and sisters and mhyun, not to mention the many confused looks I've received when I wear them especially inappropriately (I wore them once to a wedding rehearsal), but I just can't help it. I just love having a little navy blue and white in my daily wear. Also, I saw Gwyneth Paltrow do it a lot in her post-Oscar, pre-Luke Wilson, why-Ben-Affleck stage (one of my favorite Gwyneth stages). You can see for yourself at www.planethelium.com, or even better, the March 2002 Vogue with a veritable Gwyneth chapter called "The Power of a Fashion Icon."
***I take "shiny 21st century" from something written by the 16th most important person in classical music according to the BBC Music Magazine and musicologist extraordinaire, Richard F. Taruskin. I really don't remember what the text was. You'll be hearing more about Mr. Taruskin in future blogs, don't you worry now.
posted by miriamhead at 4:00 PM
3 Comments:
Love yer blog, yer musings, and the stories of the kids! i perused target's vintage modern products and can see why you like them. they are nice!
purcell's....i too remember wearing those throughout high school. hehe perhaps that's why we were destined together as freshmen roomates. ;)
I'm with you on the NAVY BLUE!!!!!!!!!!! It's my absolute most favorite color in the entire world. I still miss my navy blue sweatshirt that I wore constantly in high school. University of London, or something like that. But now I am satisfied with my gray sweatshirt with NAVY BLUE writing that says "UCSD." But Danny hates it and wants to get rid of it. :(
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