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| What is this??? |
The English language is so quirky that r-o-w can spell row, as in owl or row as in caviar. And that's what I have today, a mini battle royal between myself and that elevated in all respects fashion brand, The Row.
For those of you with no memory of '80s television, The Row was created in 2005 by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, fraternal twins who played toddlers on "Full House" from 1987, when they were 6 months old, to 1995, when they were 8 years old. They weren't cast as twins. They alternated playing a single role, thus avoiding any issues about working with minors. I guess if you were a stage mother, having twins might be your ticket to success.
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| Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen |
After several years in films (together) and a few other ventures capitalizing on their stardom, the pair began this high-end fashion brand. I was skeptical, but from the first The Row has delivered exquisite tailoring with understated style and high price tags. Nothing is produced in great quantities. It was and still is quite desirable, but hard to wear. Dressing in The Row requires discipline and editing to the extreme.
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| Typical The Row looks |
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| A fancy outlier |
By editing to the extreme, I refer you to today's 4-page advertisement, top photo and below, in the New York Times. Bear in mind; this was the Saturday edition, traditionally not read by everyone, ie there are few commuters on a Saturday. We soak it up every day, delivered in gold foil to our door each morning. Really, it's blue plastic, but for the price we pay for this delight, it should be gold foil like a Ferrero Rocher chocolate. Despite this being Saturday I would think national delivery of a stand-alone, 4-color broadsheet would not come cheap.
Well, it's not exactly 4-color. The front (and back) is an untitled photograph by William Eggelston, known for his lush work in color photography. Inside, the row is empty (pun intended), just a line of type with the name "The Row" and a photo credit.
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| You have to look very closely... |
What the????? I know what The Row is. Does anyone else? How many readers will assume something went haywire at the printers? What if you DO know The Row? What message is this trying to send?
Mary Kate and Ashley aren't saying. They are notoriously averse to personal publicity and are rarely seen at celebrity events. If I didn't know better I'd think this was a joke, but The Row isn't known for its sense of humor, and they aren't talking.
