absolutely majestic writing, Nancy. What else would someone named Phoebe Philo do if fashion had not been it? I can imagine highly expensive interior design with slender-legged side tables that you can't put anything on, but that's not so far from fashion
I love this article, Nancy! I also love her name, which I always assumed was a nom d'couture! But your analytical description of the name's origins is the best. I did laugh at reality fashion. A separate reality from mine, I'm afraid.
I don't think you mentioned an important influence on modern Phoebe use--it was the name of Holden Caulfield's cherished sister in "The Catcher in the Rye: (1951): "You’d like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it’s a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it’s a pretty good movie."
Phoebe Snow and Philo Farnsworth are also favorites of mine, so this was a bit nostalgic!
I have no beef with the word "influencer"; it does capture a concept that doesn't have an exact lexical analogue. (?) And it's surprisingly direct—I mean, what is the aim, after all, of advertising? But I do find it laughable when people apply it to themselves, since it then reeks of, mm, aspiration.
Also: that name book sounds maybe more than just a tad woo-woo. (Full disclosure: I am whatever the opposite is of "spiritual")
I’ve always liked words beginning in or containing “eff” sounds—so forceful. (And then you add the “k” sound that has been considered key to funny words since vaudeville days and you realize why fu*ck has become a popular word all over the world…
This Wikipedia article on funny words [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inherently_funny_word] notes a study that found that AI could predict average humor ratings of individual words and predict differences in individual senses of humor.
Do you think AI could rate fabulous names like Phoebe Philo? I also wonder about what a chatbot would have to say about her fashions. “Museum quality”?
Guo Pei is another with mind-boggling couture [which I appropriately ogled in a museum]. Another wonderful-sounding name! Do you think how these names sound to people is culture-specific beyond any meaning associations?
I saw the Guo Pei show--twice--and also saw a fascinating 2018 documentary about her, "Yellow Is Forbidden." (I streamed it on Kanopy.) Guo Pei's museum exhibits are art pieces, not intended to be worn. The film shows the other side of her work: actual couture garments for demanding, well-heeled customers.
absolutely majestic writing, Nancy. What else would someone named Phoebe Philo do if fashion had not been it? I can imagine highly expensive interior design with slender-legged side tables that you can't put anything on, but that's not so far from fashion
I love this article, Nancy! I also love her name, which I always assumed was a nom d'couture! But your analytical description of the name's origins is the best. I did laugh at reality fashion. A separate reality from mine, I'm afraid.
I don't think you mentioned an important influence on modern Phoebe use--it was the name of Holden Caulfield's cherished sister in "The Catcher in the Rye: (1951): "You’d like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it’s a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it’s a pretty good movie."
Good one, Ben. Salinger's Phoebe may not have influenced contemporary baby-name trends, but at least she gave “Phoebe” a bit of contemporary polish.
Phoebe Snow and Philo Farnsworth are also favorites of mine, so this was a bit nostalgic!
I have no beef with the word "influencer"; it does capture a concept that doesn't have an exact lexical analogue. (?) And it's surprisingly direct—I mean, what is the aim, after all, of advertising? But I do find it laughable when people apply it to themselves, since it then reeks of, mm, aspiration.
Also: that name book sounds maybe more than just a tad woo-woo. (Full disclosure: I am whatever the opposite is of "spiritual")
I'm with you on "spiritual." Have you read the book/listened to the podcast "Conspirituality"?
I have not!
Fun piece. Indeed a superior name.
I’ve always liked words beginning in or containing “eff” sounds—so forceful. (And then you add the “k” sound that has been considered key to funny words since vaudeville days and you realize why fu*ck has become a popular word all over the world…
This Wikipedia article on funny words [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inherently_funny_word] notes a study that found that AI could predict average humor ratings of individual words and predict differences in individual senses of humor.
Do you think AI could rate fabulous names like Phoebe Philo? I also wonder about what a chatbot would have to say about her fashions. “Museum quality”?
Guo Pei is another with mind-boggling couture [which I appropriately ogled in a museum]. Another wonderful-sounding name! Do you think how these names sound to people is culture-specific beyond any meaning associations?
I saw the Guo Pei show--twice--and also saw a fascinating 2018 documentary about her, "Yellow Is Forbidden." (I streamed it on Kanopy.) Guo Pei's museum exhibits are art pieces, not intended to be worn. The film shows the other side of her work: actual couture garments for demanding, well-heeled customers.
Just wonderful.