Not BHLDN To This Brand
Image by BHLDN
On Feb. 14, the official day of all things romantical and fluttery-eyed, women’s clothing retailer Anthropologie (and its parent brand Urban Outfitters) launched a new bridal line: BHLDN.
I’m no Anna Wintour, but I think the dresses are swell. (While my wedding has come and gone, I’m thinking of picking up the Pinwheel Tea Dress — you know, to wear around the office and while grocery shopping and stuff.) These vintage-inspired, sigh-inducing creations are interesting and just a little bit edgy — perfect for the line’s target market: sophisticated brides under 30.
But if BHLDN got the product right, it got the brand wrong. First, the name is unpronounceable. Second, it looks silly. Both could have been fixed with the inclusion of a vowel here and there. Just a suggestion.
The problem, however, is bigger than that. Because even without the Es and Os, it’s clear (after a minute) that the brand is “Beholden.” And that’s a pretty loaded word with some negative connotations.
Maybe they were getting at the eternal bonds of marriage. Maybe they thought it sounded old-fashioned and dreamy. Maybe they figured without the vowels, they could pull one over on us.
But to me (and at 29, I’m in their target demographic), “beholden” is a negative way to express the idea of being indebted to someone else. Nothing fluttery-eyed about that.
Perhaps it’s accurate to say when two people marry, they are beholden to each other. But what BHLDN’s marketing team failed to consider was connotation. Words have meanings beyond their dictionary definitions. Cultural context plays a role, too. And women in my generation have grown up hearing that we can do and be whatever we want — so we're going to cringe at the idea of being beholden to anyone, husband or otherwise.
The name’s not going to sink the brand — like I said, the dresses are swell. But it does seem like a misstep. One taken in a lovely bow-topped slingback, perhaps, but a misstep nonetheless.
Comments
Love the intro of this post. Too funny, Abbie :)
For some reason, my eye seems to skip over the "H" and I read it as "building." I guess it's a little too close to "bldg?" I don't know, can't control my own eye, apparently. Bottom line: you're right - it doesn't make sense.
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