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[The front page of BHLDN, the new line for weddings from Anthropologie]
Yeah yeah yeah, I got married, I know, but how could I resist?! Anthropologie+weddings? How long could I have kept myself from this website? Apparently not long because it launched today, and here's what ran through my head while perusing the website:
1. Kudos to Anthro for making photos easily downloadable. The photos are also large, making it easy to see details. They know we want to share photos and save them so that we can hem and haw over our purchases and splash them all across our blogs.
2. There is a "My B H L D N" in which you can create mood boards using the photos. Another plus for all the crazy creative planners!
3. All the visuals are gorgeous. Would you expect anything less from Anthro? Exhibit A is below.
4. Fashion is very Anthro-esque with plenty of vintage flair, artistic touches, and all-around feminine ferocity. Some of my favorites are below!
5. So here comes the hate, B H L D N just reminded me about all the insecurities that come with being the bride. That first page for instance (see up top,) they had 5 chances to add some diversity to that photo shoot, but instead chose 5 tall blonde models. And, to be fair, this is pretty much all of the WIC from what I've consumed. Aaand okay, to be fair again, there IS an Asian model on the website, she just isn't on the front splash page.
It's just been a while since I've looked at wedding porn, and then I took a gander at B H L D N and it all came rushing back to me. Oh yeah. I forgot! Wedding porn makes me depressed!
[Side note: One of the dark days during wedding planning was being told at the bridal shop that I couldn't take any photos of myself in the wedding gown because the designer was afraid of having photos of random people in her designs on the Internet. Well, news to the designer, people larger than a size 0 and shorter than 5'9" will be wearing your designs!]
6. "B H L D N"? Is this supposed to be "beholden"? You'd think they would have come up with a easier name, I've probably typed and said a jumble of all those letters, BLDHN, BHDNL, BLNHD, BLHDN.
There is some definite eye candy on this site, and if you like Anthro you'll likely be dazzled by B H L D N.
I just wish it hadn't made me feel so crappy.
12 comments:
i do like anthro and was amazed by the eye candy, accessories, and design of the site. but i also get your point. the diversity wasn't really there. but don't feel depressed, your wedding was so great!!
Well, now I'm upset about the lack of diversity in the models too. I hadn't even realized it at first.
As for not being allowed to take photographs of gowns, that's ridiculous and can't be avoided once the gown is actually purchased. I hope that designer lightens up.
I do love the dresses at BHLDN, though I agree they should have just named the line "Beholden".
:( Boo for their total lack of diversity!
I found that once we were close to our own wedding (a couple months out) I couldn't even look at anything wedding related (I still feel weird about it). It just made me question my own wedding, and I didn't need anything telling me that it wasn't just fine the way it was. That's BS about not being able to take photos. I think they just don't want you going to another person who can make the same dress for much cheaper. That's a crappy thing to have happen- I'm sorry! :( again
Things like Anthro, J Crew, and even the new Vera for DB line piss me off because the whole concept is to make high fashion affordable and obtainable for the everyday woman. Sorry but their stuff is so unrealistically priced. I do not understand who they are marketing to. I looked at all thy stuff and was like. "Oh, that's nice. Moving on..." Maybe I'm just practical but if I was planning again, I would not save that stuff.
So far I've only tried on dresses in vintage shops so I took a few photos... can't imagine not being able to take them! I'm 5. 1" so I've found I can't even get a concept of what I would look like in a dress from pictures online... and when I started looking, I was on crutches, and was thinking I might be on them for the wedding, too (maybe I will be). Try to find brides on crutches/wheelchairs... I found one site with pictures (yay!) and 100 message boards where the asker said something like "I broke my foot and will be on crutches for my wedding, any ideas on how to get down the aisle creatively?" and all the responses were along the lines of "OMG! That's the worst luck EVER! I would just KILL myself! Just postpone the wedding!" Ouch.
@honey: you're too sweet-I'm not so much depressed or sad about my own wedding, I'm more in a general state of annoyance at the world, which is probably a good lesson for me--don't look at wedding stuff anymore! Put down the Martha Stewart!
@MayLove: Oh I'm sure the picture taking was a total excuse that they used so that I wouldn't go and rip off the dress--but what a crappy excuse haha.
@Kristin: Every time we walk past the store "Design Within Reach" my sister says "I think they mean "Design Out of Reach" because of the crazy prices. Cracks me up every time! One could also see the saving option as a means to go and find something similar at a much cheaper price on Etsy or vintage store, or to DIY.
@Petite Cabbage Press: We're the same height. :)
There was a great wedding on APW that had a bride in a cast, quite possibly one of the sweetest posts (and there have been a lot) Meg shared. I can't find it now, but I'll keep looking and send it to you if I do!
I can't believe the woman at the store said that to you!!! That's horrible. Also, the promo picture with the five tall white girls is incredibly ... white. And they're insanely thin.
ALSO I HATE THE NAME BHLDN. Another blogger I read has been posting about the line for several days and I've enjoyed reading her posts, but I just can't get over how much I hate the name. I hate the all caps and how it looks in a normal sentence, I hate the lack of vows, I kind of hate the word as a name to begin with (though I don't usually notice because I'm distracted by how much I hate the styling of the name). I really think it's a huge branding error that they're going to regret. It's so in-your-face and obnoxious.
@Kelly: Aha! Someone as enraged by the name as me! Puts a big smile on my face, solidarity sister. :)
It's totally pretentious, I don't really understand why they couldn't just call it Anthro Weddings.
And I couldn't believe what they told me at that shop either. So I gave them 1 star over at Yelp. Ahhhh to be engaged again lol.
I agree with you on all these points-- the lack of diversity is completely appalling and the name is the worst!!! I don't know what they were thinking and if you look at their twitter feeds, most of their recent tweets are telling people how to pronounce it. I agree with Kelly-- I also think it was a major marketing blunder.
Excellent post, Mo! I share all of your sentiments about "BHLDN" or "Beholden" or "I've got to take a BM" or whatever the hell their name is.
I went to the site yesterday and was disappointed. At first, I thought, "Oh my goodness, I'm in heaven!" But the more I perused the site, the more disheartened I became. Also, as I commented on Maya's blog, I was sad that the "nuptials of yesteryear" were all white with maybe two sorta brownish/tannish people thrown in there.
Big fail.
@Maya: Ha! Thanks for directing me to their twitter feed, I think it's a bad sign when a company has to explain their name multiple times, especially when the explanation is that that it comes from the Dutch word for "to keep". Someone should tell them that beholden also means indebted to someone.
...not exactly the sentiment I want to be feeling as I'm about to get married!
@The Less Than Domestic Goddess: Ok, looking at the nuptials of yesteryear makes me even more depressed! Fail!
wow...i'm kinda jealous of everyone who gets to try these dresses on! How were the pricepoints?
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