Comments on: Dear Designers, I am Not Your Billboard

By: Miss Lou

Miss Lou — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:03:52 +0000

I buy leather handbags because they don’t have the logos all over them and they last forever. You do get what you pay for there. I too like some of the other styles of Coach or Dooney or what have you, but the only ones that don’t have logos all over them are the leather ones or the cabriolet ones that only seem to be sold on QVC.

By: Fabrisse

Fabrisse — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:27:40 +0000

I am reminded of an old New Yorker cartoon with the caption — “If my mother wanted me to wear Yves Saint Laurent’s initials, she would have named me Yves Saint Laurent.”

I eschew the logo bespattered lifestyle. There are a few minor exceptions, mostly gifts, but in general if it has a logo, it’s a no go.

By: MsChilePepper

MsChilePepper — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:11:12 +0000

@ Jane H: HA! This reminds me of getting new glasses when I was in 5th or 6th grade. There were never a lot of options, but I finally found a pair I liked and that were in my parents’ budget. I was happy until I got home … only to have my brother point out with utter glee, “Your glasses say ‘Battlestar Galactica’ on the side!”

O.o And they did. Neither I nor my Mom had noticed little rectangular plates with the stupid sci-fi series’ name, on both bows. GAH! I had to wear those horrid things for more than a year before I could get another pair, and I knew I had to just suck it up because money was very, very tight. However, I was mortified every time somebody noticed and mocked my glasses, and believe me, that was a lot.

In retrospect, I don’t know why I didn’t try to either pry off the plates or cover them with something, being the crafty girl that I was even then. Well, I guess I didn’t try to remove them because I would have been petrified of breaking them. I got in enough trouble when they were damaged several times when I got hit in the face with the tetherball.

By: Lin

Lin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:23:27 +0000

I feel the exact same way…I vowed back in the 80′s in grade school (when those horrible Coca-Cola rugby type shirts were all the rage) that I would NEVER be someone’s walking billboard. I am happy to say that I am 33 now and have NEVER walked as someone’s billboard. Long live my stubborn as a mule streak.

By: mini_pixie

mini_pixie — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:19:33 +0000

My mom espoused this exact philosophy when I was a kid, and I can’t help but agree. People pay great sums of money to put their logo on a billboard or to sponsor something- am I not more worthy than that? It just seems so … desperate to brand yourself that way. “I’m worth something, see?” I don’t need a label to know I’m worth it.

By: Jane H.

Jane H. — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:28:40 +0000

This weekend I was looking for new eyeglass frames and tried on a pair I liked. I rejected them when I realized they said “Celine Dion” on each temple. I refuse to come to work each day with Ms. Dion’s name on my face. However, there is a tiny logo on the temples of the apple green pair I bought – but it is a more “acceptable”name that I can overlook since the color is so fabulous!

By: ChloeMireille

ChloeMireille — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:37:09 +0000

This is totally on the mark. I hate how everyone thinks they’re the height of fashion because they have some logo slapped all over them. And Chanel sickens me with their new totes with the giant logo on them. (Please tell me those are fake, I see them EVERYWHERE!)

That’s my exact problem with these “urban” brands. I would love Baby Phat soooo much more if Miss Kimora didn’t put those stupid cats on everything. I don’t mind Nelly’s apple shaped pockets, but he doesn’t need to emblazon his brand name all over my butt. And don’t even get me started on Louis Vuitton….

By: Peaches

Peaches — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:34:58 +0000

Count me out for even the small logos. Once I hit 40 it felt odd to be wearing the same polo logo that I did at 12. I even take the hanging signatures off my expensive handbags.

By: MsChilePepper

MsChilePepper — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:06:34 +0000

I concur, overly logoed merchandise is always tacky. I don’t mind a small logo or signature touch, like the key on the Fossil handbags I like.

This reminds me of a friend who bought a new Jeep Wrangler, and insisted that the dealership remove the spare-tire cover AND license plate frames AND the glued-on plate on the back that were all emblazoned with the dealership’s name. She said she wasn’t going to drive around advertising for their company unless they knocked a shitload of money off the purchase price, and she made them give her new, unmarked license plate frames and tire cover instead. Ha!

By: rosa

rosa — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 04:34:50 +0000

Thank you! I loathe feeding the maw of brand advertising (though I think I stand on shaky moral ground when it comes to critiquing consumerism.) Our son’s school prohibits clothing that has been “branded” and here in NYC designer fashion is the bane of many schools – whether it is the coolest sneakers that kids get killed over in public schools or the must-have $5000 Chanel bags that girls psychically murder each other over in the private schools. There are so many levels to this but of course the most obvious and problematic one is: I have, therefore I am; I have more than you, therefore I am better than you.
We’ll see if any of this gets re-calibrated in this new economic era.