Madewell, Binki and Dree

Last week I got the new Madewell lookbook in the mail. I took the girls outside with some smoothies and a blanket and looked at the catalog as they strolled around in the cool breeze (thank goodness!) 


  I zoned in on the names of two of the women featured in the publication: Binki Shapiro (of Little Joy) and Dree Hemingway (yup, Ernest's great granddaughter.)

Here's a song of Little Joy's. If you like to listen while you browse, just hit play and enjoy the scenery:

I like this song a lot.  I really love her voice.  It's just after dinner time now as I write. It's raining, my babies are pasted to the window watching it, and the song and rain sound pretty perfect together. 

That's Binki Shapiro. Her real name is Jordana, also quite lovely,  but I love her nickname. 

Here she is with her band, and in her home in NY:

Also, the name of her musician bandmate/boyfriend (from the Strokes and Little Joy) is note worthy for our purposes--Fabrizio Moretti.  Have you heard this name too much over the last decade, or does it sound fresh to you? I rather like it.  Of course I do; it ends in -o and can yeild the nickname Breezy!  I also think the nickname, Fab,is well, fab.

I like this interview with Binki, below!

That's Dree Hemingway below. I went looking to see if this was a shortening for a longer name, like Andrea. I found no such information, but I did find some freakin' awesome names associated with this girl and her family tree. 

Can we start with Ernest? I love this name; do you?

Ernest Miller Hemingway was married three times to Hadley, Pauline, and Martha, and almost married an Agnes. He had several children from his first two marriages: Jack "Bumby" (feels like Binki), Patrick and Gregory (who changed his name to Gloria.) Patrick was married to Henrietta. Bumby married Byra (who went by Puck.) Together Bumby and Byra had three girls: Joan (who went by Muffet), Margot Louise (who changed her name to Margaux) and Mariel Hadley (an actress.) Margot had two marriages to Errol  and Bernard. Mariel was married to Stephen and they had two daughters: Dree and Langley Fox. There was a cousin named Adiel in all of this, somewhere, too.

That's quite a bunch of names!

I should also say that Ernest reminds me of Ernestine, of course, which then reminds me of Hazel, because I frequented a bar in college called Ernestine and Hazel's, in Memphis, known for their soul burgers. Downstairs was a juke joint filled with sweaty, dancing kids and boomers. With it's constant flow of people moving in and out all night, "Love and Happiness", by Reverend Al Green got played at least twenty times a night. And I never got tired of it in five years.  The upstairs of E&H's was a slightly swankier  bar with private-ish rooms full of sofas, peeling paint and massively tall ceilings.  The old house-turned-bar used to be a brothel, I'm told.

The names from today's post inspiration:

Binki


Jordana


Fabrizio (Fab, Breezy)


Dree


Ernest or Earnest or Ernesto (Ernie, Nesto, or Nest. I love Ernest's name even if he didn't, which I read was because he didn't like Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, and assumed he was named after it?)


Ernestine (Someone please have a baby girl named Ernestine and call her Nest or Nestie!)


Hazel


Miller (went to school with one. like it.)


Hemingway


Adiel


Fox


Langley


Stephen


Bernard


Errol 


Louise


Margot


Muffet


Joan


Byra


Puck


Bumby


Jack


Henrietta


Patrick


Gregory


Gloria (you know this is really growing on me. I mean, it's just so lovely to the ear. I'd love it as a middle name with something super snappy up front. I also really like Gloria Josephine, lately, nn-Glory)


Anges


Martha


Pauline


Hadley

   Do you like Little Joy? Are you fans of Hemingway?  What about the names in that bunch? I'll say it one last time, Earnest and Ernestine are  perfection. 

(images: madewell lookbook,binki fedora, binki suspenders, binki at home, little joy, binki and fab, dree)

Miranda July, hipsters, and month & season names

This article on Miranda July was sent to me recently by a close friend, who knows I love July--thank you, Kate-- and I so enjoyed it.  

Apparently there are people who hate Miranda July? Because she represents hipsterdom? I don't get it.  What is it then about hipsterdom that we hate? Can we talk about this? 

Hipster-Hate, let's do this. Let's break it on down. 

So you hate hipsters. okay.  Except this term is becoming a little too all-encompasing for my comfort. The thing is, I think we're running a little nuts on all of this hipster-hate and kind of throwing a lot of babies out with a fairly small tub full of bathwater.  There's a reason this anti-hipster thing originated. I get it. I really do.  


I think the reason is that the human soul is just fundamentally irritated by insincerity. We need sincerity. We crave it, and the flamboyant-yet-unaware-ironic-and-snooty display that is the hipster parade is just annoying. It is.   But I fear that the reason the hipster-hate thrives as it does is something all together different from this point of origin, a beast that would like to keep all cultural divergence at bay by neatly packaging it all under a label so undesirable that even those who would otherwise happily diverge are afraid to do so anymore out of fear of being....not authentically cool enough? (ha!) 

You think bikes without brakes are dumb (me, too; I get it. But this doesn't mean we all have to eat hamburgers at baseball games while listening to Journey and reading US weekly, or (more importantly) that behaviors and preferences outside that set are pretentious.

  It's such a tiny, tiny sub-subculture of all that is known as subculture that is guilty of the most annoying offenses, yet it's all starting to be treated the same, even (and often especially) by people who like things that hipsters are reported as liking: "Don't call me a hipster! Oh Hell no! Look at me! I'm watching Friends reruns and listening to Britney Spears! I'm well-rounded! I'm endearing! I'm down-to-earth! I'm authentic and full of unexpected surprises!"  

Um, what's happening to us?  We can be and like all sorts of things authentically. I can authentically love Sufjan Stevens, Indie (gasp) movies, and Hemingway.  Heck, people can be authentically quirky, even; not all eccentricities are affectations.  Not all things marginal are simply a pretentious show designed to advertise coolness, right?  Snap out of it, people. 

Marginamia celebrates thoughtfulness, beauty, depth of character and often things which are more marginal. This is an entire blog based on the existence of this intersection of virtues. This intersection exists.   

July is critiqued for the very sort of pretense that is counter to what she's trying to create. I've read such similar, unfitting critiques lately about unusual names. Parents who use odd names must be hyper-concerned with their own images, with being cool, they must not care about their children's futures. They are damning their kids to playground mockery and joblessness.  They are accused of using (really?) their children for their own creative giggles and proof of their superiority, for neglecting their kids' well being in support of their own shallow entertainment. Wait. Wha? This is getting a little crazy, right?  

Marginal doesn't equal shallow, insincere, or self-obsessed. It can. So can lots of other things. Thank goodness we can evaluate individual cases with thought, so we don't have to use lazy catch-alls with no regard for context. 

Except, even being thoughtful about what we name our kids is catching heat. We're not supposed to care. I'm not surprised; thinking too much about anything gets a bad rap.  But being anti-thoughtful is never a good thing. It isn't over thoughtfulness that we suffer from today. I understand that we don't want to place undue value on something (names) or pretend that it stands in for something more substantive--misplaced values are a real problem in our culture-- but caring is not creepy, so long as we understand our subject's role.

Miranda July is thoughtful about her work, the topics she covers, and how her explorations will resonate with and connect to people, which is in pretty stark contrast to the alienation that results from attitudes of superiority and hipsterdom. 

For example, her site, Learning to Love You More, was developed, in part, to get people out there interacting with each other. This is a great example of how something can be light but meaningful. It's quirky, sure, but totally sincere, thoughtful and centered on human connection. That's why I chose to participate in it, myself! 

That's my own photo above, which was in the accompanying book and museum tour. It was based on an assignment (the entire website/tour/book is assignment based)to photograph two strangers holding hands.  The women in the picture ended up befriending one another, and we all had the most lovely chat together. 


I had just moved to Honolulu, hadn't really met anyone, and needed to get out and connect with people, though I was in a really shy place in my life. It was a perfect exercise for me, just to get me used to approaching people, and more importantly, approaching people based on my interests.  This photo represents the start of a beautiful journey of friend-making, and I think it's that kind of thing that the project had in mind, not just some shallow attempt to be cute and weird.

I'm rereading her book of short stories now, No one Belongs Here More Than You, and am enjoying the stories just as much as the first time.

I can't wait to see her new movie, The Future

I've watched Me You and Everyone We Know more times than I can count, and it's soundtrack has been the soundtrack to much of the babymooning in this house. 

The first time I saw it was with my husband in a small movie theater in Hawaii. It was just the two of us and a bus full of senior citizens, most of them old ladies. How perfect is that? During the "poop back and forth forever" bit, I think we actually landed on the floor slapping each other and cackling, in a room full of the utter shock and silence that is a nursing home response to such material.   

In the recent article (mentioned above), Miranda admits that she changed her name to July. I think it works as a first name, as well, and I want to really focus on that idea for names today.  Months, days, seasons, why not?  Unless, of course, you're too cool to care. 

January (I don't watch Madmen yet, but this star's name is lovely)

February (Feb)

March (so lovely)

April 

May (The virtues of this name will never expire)

June 

July (the namesake of today's inspiration, and a fantastic choice. Love this on a little boy.)

August (super stylish, and getting a lot of use now.)

September (I worked with one years ago. She fit her name perfectly.)

October (I like this. Toby, Tober anyone?)

November (This is one of the prettiest words around. Someone should give it's beauty to a person.)

December (Decy, Ber, Cember are all lovely)

Spring (love it)

Summer (knew a lot of Summers growing up)

Autumn (still lovely)

Winter (I knew one in college and find it pretty and refreshing)

Soltice (Solie, Sosi, Sol...really love them all.)

There are certainly many season and month inspired names, as well, but those are for another post!

What do you all think about Miranda July's stuff? Love it? Hate it? 


What about these names? Are there any that feel particularly fresh and usable? 


How do you feel about the criticisms of odd names and the scrutiny of parents who elect to use them?

(images: 1, 2, dancing/beaching july,  july in car, hand on fire, lady friends holding hands--mine, kiss,  the future movie, books on stove, me you and everyone)

yoshimi battles the pink robots

What do these beautifully Zakka mugs,

This craft/sewing book, 

                                                           

and this  country house  have in common?   (image1, image2 is mine,  image3)                                                 

I think they all illustrate elements of a beautiful style, one that is perfectly echoed by the sounds of the names from the same country - Japan!

 I am going to try really hard not to blab too much on this post. But it's going to be hard for me. very hard (being pithy is not a talent of mine on any issue, much less one surrounded by such love and excitement).


Suffice it to say, I love many things Japanese. Our second daughter could have so easily ended up being called Umi Luelle, had it been as fitting for her. I often went by Kiko, myself, as a child.  

You guys, I love Japanese names!

Lullatone's music

was listened to often in my hawaiian mountain home while pregnant with Nona and name dreaming - all windows open, white curtains a blowin', the smell of flowers and rain pouring in.  They also have a lovely, personal, family-life sort of  blog. I love how their family life and their art each inspire the other. 

I have a soft spot for Yoshitomo Nara. The very first time I went to a museum in Hawaii was to see his exhibit.

Hawaii is absolutely filled with Japanese culture, particularly in my old neighborhood - it's one of the things I miss so terribly much about living there. image

 I first really got into Katsushika Hokusai's art in Hawaii, as well, because it was just all over the place.

  

But I took the time to really dig into it during a trip with my husband to Maui (we lived on Oahu) while staying in a beautiful guest house. The home was peppered with his stuff throughout -  prints on the walls, on the coasters, and a book on the coffee table. After snorkeling and eating, I'd take my sushi-stuffed, salty bod on the sun porch, pop my headphones in and stare at the images until I fell asleep (pre-children, of course.) (images)

Do you like Japanese sewing and craft books?

How fantastic is this kid's style? It can all be made right at home, too. 

I'm a Japanese craft book nut, as apparently are many others. There's this podcast about it. and this flickr group dedicated to it.

How about this art from Childlike Wisdom of Osaka, Japan!

isn't it lovely?

One of our absolute favorite movies around here is Akira Kurosawa's Dreams:

The photo above is from my favorite segment of the film. Beyond being stunning to behold, Dreams is made up of harmonizing shorts, about 15 min each, which I enjoy sharing with my kids sometimes.  Admittedly, there are some that aren't child appropriate, but I love that I get to read the translations and give them something soft, slow and beautiful that sparks their interest in travel and art. I think children really appreciate beauty and quality. I mean, of course they do!  and on that note...

This morning I woke up to June sitting quietly on our bed, staring up and pointing at this photo on our wall

It's by this student at University in Kyoto. I put it up in our room last year for June's birth and first weeks, so up it goes each summer now, somewhere where she can reconnect with it.  

I don't exactly remember how I found Terunobu Fujimori's work, as I found it during the insanely sleep-deprived era of Nona's first 18 months,  but I remember how it made me feel when I first saw it: elated, dreamy, and totally inspired.

(images1courtesy Dwell, image3 )

This song by Shonen Knife,

is one I used to sing to my kitty cat, Cassius,'Cas'. 

Mushishi is my new favorite nap-time pleasure on Netflix Instawatch. Each episode is about 24 min long. Sometimes I watch just to hear the song at the beginning (nerd!)

Some more of our favorite movies?  Hayao Miyazaki's - Nona was Kiki last Halloween. And I love this scene from My Neighbor Totoro. 

The ever lovely Miho Hatori with her ever lovely name!

Like Brazilian music? Check out this collaboration of hers with Smokey Hormel. (image)

 this lovely lady in Japan writes this pretty blog, called Life in the Slow Line, with super photos and links:

and to end beautifully before our list, check out Osamu Yokonami's photography (ahh, I adore it):

The name of this last photo is Kiki.

And on to the name list - because this post could easily be ten pages long. Perhaps this will become series here on Marginamia.

One of my favorite things about these names, beyond their admirable sounds, is that they all mean something beautiful, signifying the important role of meaning in names. I plan to talk more about their meanings in subsequent posts. I love the idea of setting beautiful intentions for your child in the picking of her name - gifting her with a beautiful quality you hope she enjoys on her journey.  

So from today's inspirations and musings, as well as some additional favorites of mine:

Sakura (cherry blossom)


Ume (pronounced Oo-may, means plum)


Umeko (plum blossom child)


Umi


Kiko 


Kiki


Kioko 


Kiku


Suzu ('bell')


Yoko


Niko


Koemi


Maemi


Mei


Satsuki 


Yoshimi


Sumi


Suki


Nara


Osaka


Reiko


Sachi


Yuki 


Yumi 


Yuri


Nui


Miho


Amaya


Rika


Ritsuko


Emi


Atsuko


Mana


Etsuko


Michie


Yuna




Midori (green)


Moe


Rin


Ren


Naoko


Sora


Nao


Riku


Ryo


Yoshi


Osamu


Yoshitomo


Katsushika


Terunobo


Akira 


Akeno


Maro


Tomeo


Torio


Toru


Hiroshi


Hiro


Isao


Yuto


Hiraku


Kaito


Kenzo


Noboru


Yori


Ginko

Don't you love Japanese names?  Did I leave out a favorite of yours? 

I won't do this hardly ever here on Marginamia, but lastly, if you want to help the people of Japan in continued efforts to recover from the tsunami, along with several of the links already provided which offer relief options, there are also these relief  options.  Those are lot of options - thank you Huffington Post!

and one last song for a happy summer weekend, because how can we not end with Yoko!