Magnolia Pearl: What in the World?

[acheronbeach]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

The hell? What is wrong with people?!?

Sarah Louise Hunt and Brian Brown's big day:  https://blog.etsy.com/en/handmade-weddings-depression-era-hobo/

The former Regretsy blog did an absolutely scathing critique of it.  I'll try to find it...

[Howl]

I get vintage.  I get 1930s.  I get nostalgia.  But hobos were desperate people on the move during desperate times looking for any type of work, so don't see much of a point in using that as a theme for your wedding. 

Also, if you are so into vintage, please don't cut up old quilts for decoration. 

Otherwise, I didn't see too much that gets anywhere close to the rags featured at MP, which is described pretty accurately as Grunge Victorian. 

Trip Advisor MP Reviews

Love it or hate it, not much in between. 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Howl

[Howl]

I'm currently overrun by Magnolia Pearl ads everywhere on social media and FJ.  They must have plenty of $$$ to get the MP message out to the world.  

[Cartmann99]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

I'm currently overrun by Magnolia Pearl ads everywhere on social media and FJ.  They must have plenty of $$$ to get the MP message out to the world.  

You know what they say about fools and money.

Edited to add: I mean the people foolish enough to spend that sort of money on MP clothes.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Cartmann99

[thoughtful]

On 3/23/2019 at 10:11 PM, acheronbeach said:

Goddamn, I feel itchy just looking at them.  Every "model" looks like she is harbouring fleas, lice, mites and/or bedbugs.  

 

On 3/23/2019 at 10:27 PM, Dandruff said:

I think they all look like they're hallucinating.

This combination of posts made my mind go here:

Spoiler

 

[AmazonGrace]

On 3/26/2019 at 9:56 PM, acheronbeach said:

Sarah Louise Hunt and Brian Brown's big day:  https://blog.etsy.com/en/handmade-weddings-depression-era-hobo/

The former Regretsy blog did an absolutely scathing critique of it.  I'll try to find it...

Oh i love that, they put so much money and effort into trying to make it look like they're poor ?

[ViolaSebastian]

Oh, the hobo wedding. As a person fascinated by human folly, I thank dear little 6 pound 8 ounce baby Jesus for the internet and its ability to bring people with ideas like this into my life.

Edit to submit this one to you: http://jezebel.com/5820577/colonial+themed-wedding-included-authentic-all+black-servant-staff

Edited March 30, 2019 by ViolaSebastian

[Dreadcrumbs]

56 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Oh, the hobo wedding. As a person fascinated by human folly, I thank dear little 6 pound 8 ounce baby Jesus for the internet and its ability to bring people with ideas like this into my life.

Edit to submit this one to you: http://jezebel.com/5820577/colonial+themed-wedding-included-authentic-all+black-servant-staff

I remember reading about the Hobo wedding years ago and feeling disgusted, but I think this colonial themed wedding is even worse. ??

[ViolaSebastian]

39 minutes ago, Dreadcrumbs said:

I remember reading about the Hobo wedding years ago and feeling disgusted, but I think this colonial themed wedding is even worse. ??

No, no, it's cool. It wasn't a colonial themed wedding, it was Out of Africa-themed. Which, uh, yeah, was about a Dutch plantation owner in colonial Africa, but these are just details!!

Quote

We would like to point out:

- that the theme chosen by the couple was in fact based on Sydney Pollack's film "Out of Africa" and that it was not, in any reasonable interpretation of that term, a celebration of colonialism. By titling the blog post "Colonial African Wedding", we were naive not to consider the negative implications of using the word "colonial" in the blog title. In hindsight, we understand that this word carries a significant amount of hurt and pain. For this we offer our sincerest apologies.

https://jezebel.com/colonial-wedding-pictures-taken-down-those-involved-5821657

[Dreadcrumbs]

@ViolaSebastian Thanks.

I see that this wasn't exactly what they were necessarily going for, but I do wonder why the pictures were taken down if it's not supposed to be something so noxious.

[ViolaSebastian]

13 minutes ago, Dreadcrumbs said:

@ViolaSebastian Thanks.

I see that this wasn't exactly what they were necessarily going for, but I do wonder why the pictures were taken down if it's not supposed to be something so noxious.

Oh, I was being very facetious. I think that their statement reeks of some serious backpedaling and lame attempts at damage control. It's absurd to say that their "Out of Africa" theme wasn't meant to be colonial, when the film is all about colonial Africa. They knew exactly what they were doing when they planned this wedding, imho.

[Dreadcrumbs]

1 minute ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Oh, I was being very facetious. I think that their statement reeks of some serious backpedaling and lame attempts at damage control. It's absurd to say that their "Out of Africa" theme wasn't meant to be colonial, when the film is all about colonial Africa. They knew exactly what they were doing when they planned this wedding, imho.

Ah. Alas, facetiousness sometimes gets lost in written communication.  I generally agree with what you're saying, although I would deem individuals choosing an "Out of Africa" theme as potentially misguided, while individuals choosing a "colonial" theme just being probably irredeemably awful. Thinking on it, they're probably not so misguided. Yuck.

[ViolaSebastian]

1 minute ago, Dreadcrumbs said:

Ah. Alas, facetiousness sometimes gets lost in written communication.  I generally agree with what you're saying, although I would deem individuals choosing an "Out of Africa" theme as potentially misguided, while individuals choosing a "colonial" theme just being probably irredeemably awful. Thinking on it, they're probably not so misguided. Yuck.

No worries, my mistake! I've been caught out before because I'm lazy about using the necessary emojis that would make things clear. They're a pain on my phone. Sorry about that! 

[AmazonGrace]

"It's not my fault you were born without forearms", Dahlia said.

"Yeah maybe but what about my wooden leg?" LittleLordFauntleroy said. 

Mozartina took violin lessons for twelve years but  her teachers never told her that you're supposed to stand upright and  Beethoven's notes aren't the same as, you know, notes.

[klein_roeschen]

55 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

"It's not my fault you were born without forearms", Dahlia said.

"Yeah maybe but what about my wooden leg?" LittleLordFauntleroy said. 

Mozartina took violin lessons for twelve years but  her teachers never told her that you're supposed to stand upright and  Beethoven's notes aren't the same as, you know, notes.

Second pic looks like the victim of a serial killer, who liked to decorade his victims with violines, notes and moth- stained clothes as his modus operanti.

[AmazonGrace]

In retrospect, putting an easel up there wasn't such a great idea.

[unsafetydancer]

When would anyone wear any of these clothes? That's what I want to know.

[Four is Enough]

Haven't missed MP... just can't understand how they're still in business. WHO BUYS THAT STUFF??

[meep]

It reminds me of Helena Bonham Carter's long-forgotten clothing line but a lot crappier. 

[thoughtful]

On 1/13/2020 at 3:13 PM, AmazonGrace said:

Mozartina took violin lessons for twelve years but  her teachers never told her that you're supposed to stand upright

Maybe she's a beginner, like the kids in this Suzuki class:

Spoiler

My violin teacher sometimes had us lie on our backs when I was a kid - it can prevent tension, bad posture, and holding the weight of the instrument up with the left thumb.

Even adults sometimes do it:

Spoiler

 

[Howl]

On 1/14/2020 at 3:04 PM, Four is Enough said:

Haven't missed MP... just can't understand how they're still in business. WHO BUYS THAT STUFF??

We drove by the "flagship store"  on the way to Big Bend over Thanksgiving week. They are still in business.  My impression is that they have a global clientele, which, alas, does not in any way help to answer your question. 

[unsafetydancer]

You can "walk" around the store on Google Maps and it's a weird experience. There's just a random, modern fridge at one point that totally doesn't go with the victorian workhouse aesthetic of the rest of the place. Are these people on drugs? I don't understand.

[Howl]

We visited the store a few years ago.  My impression is that they are used to gawkers walking around, looking at the price tags on their various rags and whispering "what the actual f**k!"  It's an open concept store, with (IIRC) only the bathrooms as separate rooms.  Even the upstairs staff workspace with kitchen was open to the rest of the upstairs, probably to deter shoplifters.  Honestly, it's the weirdest store I've ever been to.  

The store is just east of Fredericksburg, Texas, which is a (now) touristy Hill Country town with German roots.  In the last five years or so, an insane winery scene on steroids has cropped up along the highway between Fredericksburg and Johnson City (Lyndon Johnson's home town).  When I say insane, I'd guess there are now 30+  wineries along the highway in a 20 or 30 miles stretch, with more on the way.   Soil and climate are compatible with growing grapes.  The feedback I've gotten is that there is some truly awful wine being produced, but the scene is also attracting Big Money, both for those building wineries and those visiting. 

I'm sure that at least some of the wine and tourist traffic are curious and stop in at Magnolia Pearl.  

However, now there are shuttle operators who bus people around to tasting rooms.  It always makes me nervous to drive that stretch of highway, knowing that at least some of the drivers are loaded from an afternoon of tasting wine, so I'm all for the wine tasting shuttles as long as the shuttle driver isn't tasting. 

[Alisamer]

On 1/19/2020 at 6:41 PM, Howl said:

My impression is that they have a global clientele, which, alas, does not in any way help to answer your question. 

I imagine there are a few people, somewhere, with way more money than they know what to do with and nothing on their hands but time, who have a collection of this stuff. I doubt they wear it much, but hey.

I do love a Helena Bonham Carter style aesthetic, but it needs to look deliberate, not "went off my meds and spent a week in the same clothes painting and repainting the house". And also preferably not cost a fortune for something the Goodwill would frown at and throw in the trash bin.  

10 minutes ago, Howl said:

In the last five years or so, an insane winery scene on steroids has cropped up along the highway between Fredericksburg and Johnson City (Lyndon Johnson's home town).  When I say insane, I'd guess there are now 30+  wineries along the highway in a 20 or 30 miles stretch, with more on the way.   Soil and climate are compatible with growing grapes.  The feedback I've gotten is that there is some truly awful wine being produced, but the scene is also attracting Big Money, both for those building wineries and those visiting. 

I'd bet this helps Magnolia Pearl's business a LOT. I could see a few well-off wine tasters coming in there after a full day of imbibing and deciding that they LOVE this stuff! Must buy!

Then the next day they sober up and wonder how that dusty, stained Napoleon jacket and too big paint splashed worn out pair of overalls got in their closet.

[Dandruff]

On 1/30/2020 at 12:53 PM, Alisamer said:

I do love a Helena Bonham Carter style aesthetic, but it needs to look deliberate, not "went off my meds and spent a week in the same clothes painting and repainting the house". And also preferably not cost a fortune for something the Goodwill would frown at and throw in the trash bin.

I've seen some horrendous stuff at my local Goodwill...to the point of watching teenagers swarm in just before Halloween.  I believe "the look" can be had for less than $20.  Why anyone would spend $$$ for these sorts of outfits, as part of an actual wardrobe, is beyond me.