an old note sent to me from Teen Vogue’s Eva Chen
Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by handwriting and the art of letter writing. I’m that girl who scribbles her name on everything. In fact, sometime after I write this, I think I’ll finally go get my handwriting analyzed. As my mother tells it, I taught myself to write by copying her signature (from her checkbook no less) at a very early age, which resulted in a lifetime of perfecting my own signature that I can’t wait to use on something other than checks & receipts…
I know I’m not the only one who keeps everything written to me stored for years after that best friend/summer fling/birthday/note passed in class and all those inside jokes have lost their relevance. Because years later we’re still clinging to some fleeting sense of nostalgia.
The fashion industry seems to have a particular affinity for handwritten notes. I will always remember a certain editor-boss of mine whose office filled up daily with enough flowers and notes (mostly from PR firms) to rival a funeral home. It must be some combination of ass-kissing and a need for unique communication. Anyway, at some point I noticed a particular stationery convention that seemed like such a common practice that I should have known it, but didn’t: many of these notes had their author’s personalized headers crossed out. I came up with all kinds of reasons I was seeing this everywhere… Perhaps all these editors were simultaneously getting married and awaiting new hyphenated-last-name cardstock (coincidentally, a lot of them actually were engaged)? Maybe it was everyone’s way of testing the ink in their pen? Did Anna do it once and has everyone been blindly striking through their name since? Whatever the case, I was definitely over-thinking it, but I needed a solid answer.
While I feared sounding uber-déclassé, I did ask an assistant editor once. She had no idea why, but said everyone did it. I had the urge to pull an “if everyone jumped off the top off a building would you do it to?” but alas, I was a lowly intern and I have a feeling the answer would have been a resounding “yes” anyway.
I searched Google to no avail until I found myself on Crane & Co.’s blog where some commenters came to the rescue. Anticlimactic as it is, turns out the name strike-through is just a nod of sincerity. Crossing out the last name in your letterhead is a way to convey intimacy and de-formalize the note. Basically saying “come on dude, you can just call me [first name].”
And since you’ve made it all the way to the end of this tale (I am so sorry), I reward you with more fashion-peep handwriting! And if you want even more check out the Details link below for a slideshow or Soma’s Last Word features.
below: notecards from Tom Ford & Stephano Pilati to Details for their 10th anniversary; a note to AnOther from Miuccia Prada; and of course my own handwriting
Tags: eva chen · fashion · miuccia prada · notes · stationery · tom ford34 Comments
Thanks for sharing this Jazzi! Ha! What a puzzle.
I only became aware of this early this year but it was in a business environment. Didn’t know it was a trend in the fashion industry as well.
http://stylebouquet.blogspot.com/
Wow, I’ve never heard of that. How interesting. :) Love random facts like that!
Delicious. Love it. I NEED my own stationery now! Where does one go to get fantastic personalised stationery?
My handwriting has gone to shit over the years. It used to be impeccable in grade school! :(
wow, girl, your handwriting is FLAWLESS. love this post :]
@Gala – you NEED stationery because I need personal Gala mail! Perhaps icing scented (scratch-n-sniff?) with sequins? I remember many runs to Kate’s Paperie for stationery in NY – a little spency, but worth a look! check http://www.katespaperie.com
beautiful handwriting. mine not so much.
What a great post! You have such a wonderful inquiring mind. Mystery finally solved!
Hey, for an old guy like me, to have a post picked up by Jazzi McG!
You’ve made my day! I’m happy you liked the article.
Peter
You have such adorable handwriting.
I love handwritten postcards, especially vintage ones, but I’ve never had personalized stationery. To me, that would be the mark of bring an absolute grown-up. :-D
hah i <3 kate's paperie too. great stationary.
this reminds to get fancy business cards made because I hate my handwriting and never write handwritten notes. woo modernity…lol.
@amandalee thanks! the hearts over the i’s are totally compulsive at this point. i’m actually really embarrassed by them in a lot of (more serious) situations and they so don’t fit my personality as much as they did when I was 7…
Hey, this is really cool! I had never heard of that, but I really love how they do it to convey familiarity and friendship. Love this little sneak peak into the industry! :)
haha random scrandom but I love reading stuff like this!
Seems like they all have cool handwriting. I should take a handwriting class or something…
I did not know this! Very insider and interesting.
i have a strange fascination for different handwritings too. my favorite are the flowy kinds you can’t decipher like the ysl note above. i also still have every note given to me in high school stuffed in a vintage care bears tin lunchbox. prolly should get rid of some…..
Nice random facts to come across! :)
My interest in graphology is growing more and more and more!
I love it! As a kid, being practical (to a fault) I resisted the urge to practice my signature (even now, it’s just a fancier version of my regular handwriting), but I spent months, years perfecting my regular script. I can totally relate.
I do this! Hangs head with embarrassment… ;0)
It is simply my little way of making correspondence less formal.
I have long felt that the art of letter writing is a diminishing one – now that we all have email, SMS and Twitter to play with – but I hope that is not the case.
Taking the time to compose a note is such a thoughtful, personal gesture and, more interestingly, handwriting can reveal a great deal about a person’s character.
Lovely post, x
Ooo I love this post, majorly interesting idea!
Your handwriting is pretty awesome too.
lots of love x
[...] My favorite post of the week! The More You Know: Notecards and Handwriting. Jazzi even solves the mystery of why certain high powered folks put a slash through their last [...]
I’ve studied a little graphology, and it’s funny that you would say that the hearts that dot your i’s don’t fit your personality as much anymore, because I thought the same thing when I saw them! Here are a few cues I pick up from your script:
-You are passionate and creative as evidenced by your right tilting slant and GIANT loops on your g’s and f’s and in your signature. (loops are big indicators in handwriting)
-You are a forward thinking individual, but do have a few memories/feelings from the past you hold on to or that are special to you (i.e. family ties, certain childhood memories or crushes), as evidenced by how the cross of the “t” in “this” reaches forward, but your m’s and h’s start before the word itself.
-You are stubborn and have one or two convictions that you’d debate with out pity, as evidenced by the pointy tops of your m’s and u’s.
-And finally, you have a strong sense of self, though there are things you keep close to the vest, as evidenced by your uppercase “I” pronoun, which is large and tall, but is also looped.
How’d I do? :)
PS–This is the first time I’ve visited your site, and I’ve never read your about page.
those are really nice! I like the last one and Yves’s one
This is relates more to your post on visible underwear but if you haven’t seen the latest Zara lookbook, you’d appreciate these bottoms:
http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/zara-trf-june-2010-lookbook-06.jpg
~Steph
@ The Naked Redhead – That was so completely accurate you have no idea (well, apparently you do)! Thank you so much, that made my day!
This was really interesting! I love looking at peoples handwriting.
[...] is interesting. Jazzi tells us about Notecards & Handwriting, and why people cross out their last name when they’re signing [...]
I read this (very awesome and intriguing!) post around the same time as I stumbled upon this…
http://www.pilothandwriting.com/en/
: )
you handwriting is amazing. i have crappy handwriting. lol
[...] deface the last name. Proves it’s personal , a note simply from me to you. Read a bit more here & [...]
I had seen that but never actually thought about it. Very interesting.
Your handwriting’s beautiful, I think it’s about time I started to practice mine :)
I have ran into the Tom Ford letter awhile ago. This sort of sparks so many ideas for me. I just need to figure out how to do it but thanks for this post. I have ran into it a few times before but it never hit me that it comes across as so personal. (Mostly because I have never got one lol.)