The early 80s were hard for me. As a young girl, I wanted nothing more than to fit in and be like everyone else. But I wasn’t like everyone else. All of my friends had something that didn’t. I didn’t have a middle name. Which means that I didn’t have a middle initial. WHICH MEANS that I couldn’t have monograms.
The preppy look was in and monograms were everywhere at Annunciation grade school: on sweaters, on tote bags, on jewelry… And two initials just weren’t enough. When it came to monograms, I was a day late and a letter short.
But I wouldn’t be denied. I loved monograms and if I had to lie, cheat or steal to have one – so be it. Luckily I only had to lie, and just made up fake middle initials to go with fake middle names. First there was M for “Mary” which could be attributed to either the Catholic school influence or my love of all things Little House on the Prairie. But Mary didn’t stick. So I moved onto “Eleanor,” which felt a bit more real to me since it was a family name. And it was the only family name I would consider since none of the others held much appeal for me: Olive, Hazel, Ruth, Reperatta, etc. I don’t remember if anyone questioned my alternating initials, but I’m sure they did. I was a very odd little girl.
While I was once bitterly resentful about my parents’ decision to shortchange me on a middle name, I have to admit that I now understand. When it came time to select names for my own children, I was struck by how superfluous a second first name seems. What is the point of it anyway? Is it like “a spare” in case you lose your first one? When does it actually come in handy? But I couldn’t inflict the same indignity of a monogramless childhood on my own babies. Instead we chose family names to use as middle names so that there would be some relevance to them.
Of course it all worked out in the end for me. When I got married, I was able to make my maiden name my middle name and VOILA – monograms! I was thrilled. But monogram sweaters really weren’t en vogue for the late 20s crowd in the year 2000, so I had to find another outlet for my monogram mania. My first opportunity arrived when we picked out our wedding invitations. We ordered our thank you note paper at the same time, and I had a huge book full of monogram styles to choose from. I went all out and selected a gold leaf Florentine script. My mother initially thought it might be a bit much and tried to steer me toward some more conservative (boring) styles. I was having none of it, and insisted on the gold. And I still stand my by choice. It was my monogram coming out party and I needed something special.
So what does this have to do with my Materialistic Monday theme? I recently found some monogram necklaces online that brought it all back…(hence the frivolous stroll down memory lane).
Last week, I happened upon the Max & Chloe jewelry site. One of the featured pieces happened to be a gold monogram necklace that immediately caught my eye. I clicked on the designer’s page (Brian Danielle) and fell in love with this:
Let’s take a closer look at that:
Swoon. A little expensive (for me) at $385. But I had a very nice daydream about buying it.
Then I started checking out other designers on the site, and I found MORE MONOGRAMS! How about this pretty oval one from Kacey K?
Oh dear – if I can’t afford the first one, then $1,320 is definitely out of my price range. But soooo pretty… I think that calls for another daydream. Hmmm….
Okay – one more try! After a little searching, I found another option (this time from Sonya Renee) that I loved and could even afford if I saved my pennies for a while:
I really like the effect of the monogram as a circle within a circle. Need a close up?
Somewhat of a deco effect? Whatever it is – it brings to mind an old school cufflink. Not sure how an H in the middle would look, but at $112, I might be willing to give it a try.
Don’t worry Chris – I know this isn’t the time to be buying monogram necklaces that I don’t need. But my Monday theme is about things I don’t need but want. So there you have it. Monograms. Wonder if I can find any signet rings online…I always wanted one of those…
Visit me next week for a Materialistic Monday giveaway from another jewelry line: Lisa Leonard Designs!
My kids each have two middle names. Poor things.
These are pretty. I have recently been obsessed with initial necklaces. you know, one with just your first initial… and you totally have a first initial! screw the rest! and just think of all the big stars our there without typical ‘initials’… Madonna! Prince!
love it. i also had no middle name!!! I felt the same as you! Now I have a crazy name Amy Turn Sharp bc I put my maiden in the middle- but i don’t care…at least I have one right? xoxo
I think maybe middle names help those who can’t pick just one name or have to reach some sort of compromise with their spouse :)
Love the monograms. James Avery Jewelers usually has pretty silver ones, too. I have a cool monogrammed ring from there.
My fam always does family names for middle names. Some sound better than others…
I rocked the monogram hard in the 80s. It must have been a Catholic school thing. (I still think of one sweater with strawberries below the monogram that I wore to death).
When I got married I added my husband’s name to mine in a non-hyphenated last name, so now I have 4 initials. So those pretty necklaces are out for me, sigh.
I have a middle name..and growing up my parents gave me a monogram necklace…it was traditional to put the last name initial in the middle for some reason…so it was my first name initial, then my last name int., and then my middle int…which if you looked at it…it said TRD…as a kid all I saw was turd…..lol…never wore it after I figured that out….
You must have loved Leverne and HSirly with all those nig L’s
I love monograms, too. I actually wear a necklace that has a monogram that isn’t mine. I’m wierd.
Anyway, I totally agree about middles names, and we ended up going with family names for our kids’ middle names, too. But my dad just has the letter C. for a middle initial and I’ve always wondered why. He doesn’t know and his parents are dead so I can’t ask. It’s bothered me for years!
I also grew up without a middle name. No one believed me when I said I didn’t have one. Apparently I almost had one – Van Slyk, but the parents eventually decided to keep it simple since I would “inevitably” get married. I always thought that was a rather peculiar reason not to give someone a middle name.
Amy, my sister-in-law’s name, including the maiden name, is SandySharpRice. That’s kind of fun!
I like the necklace you picked out!
I think we struggled more with choosing our son’s middle name than his first name. In the end, we ended up using his daddy’s middle name to give that middle name significance.
I don’t like my middle name and I’ve never used it. For some reason, my mom has always called my sister by her middle name. My mom never liked her own first name so she’s always gone by her middle name too.
My husband hated his first name so when he was in first grade, he started using his middle name.
All of them still go by their middle names and snub their first names.
To each his own, I guess!
i love monograms too! and i was given a middle name but since i was the first grandchild on both sides and my parents were so young they thought it was a good idea to take both middle names of my grandmothers, smoosh them together and stick me with it for a middle name. my mother soon grew up and grew taste and realized what a blunder she had made so i rarely advertised it growing up! i also changed my middle name to my maiden name once i got married but more so because its a family tradition and i feel much more attached to it than the name i never told people about :)
Middle names are pointless. I got slack from other people about my kids’ middle names (I selected fun and funky names for both of them). But who uses middles names? We never call the kids by their middle names.
What a wonderful post, especially the saga of the middle initial!
The Sonya Renee made us sit up and take notice. (Okay…and we also clicked on the link, we admit it!)
Hope the upcoming week is full of Grins & Giggles,
tp
I don’t have a middle name either so I can sympathize.
Those necklaces are great…..a new twist on the ‘carrie’ necklace from SATC.
Ooh I hope you get that necklace you like – it’s so you! I have always had a different issue with initials – though I do have a middle initial, I never liked my monogram before I was married, and now that I am, my first and last name have the same initial, so I don’t like the look of that either (when the middle initial is my last name…). Anyway, loved the post, as usual!
The necklaces are lovely and classic – like you. I hope you get one very soon.
I read a post recently where the mother’s gift to her newborn was to allow the child to choose her own middle name when she was old enough to do so. It was a beautifully written post.
Adorable that you “played with”
choosing a middle name and changing it. I like Hazel though. She was our first dog when I was a child.
This story reminds me of when I dropped the E on the end of my name. I painstakingly wrote letters to all of my family informing them that I would now be known as Conni…with an I. My dear Grandmother took me so seriously that she still sends all my cards to Conni…with an I.
Monograms are fabulous, darling!
Wow! I never considered what a handicap it must have been in the 80’s to be born without a middle name:-) I am glad that you overcame your adversity:-)
Ok. so I read the first two paragraphs wondering why just because you didn’t have a middle name, you couldn’t get a mammogram. Oy. I don’t have a middle name either, but I have a patronimic, and now I’m going to have to blog about it.
First, I have to pat Marinka on the head a bit for her comment. Am wondering if she is blond.
I gave my kids the same initials. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I can’t label anything for beans. Their names start with the same letter and my maiden name is their middle name.
Oh man… the monograms of the 80’s. My parents didn’t give me a middle name – because I’m the last of the line or something – so my monogram always looked quite queer back in the day. So I understand the nostalgia for the monogram.
My initials spell MAD(or DAM backwards, as people always point out), so I don’t tend to want it on anything.
I think middle names are only used when you yell at your kids, so they know you are serious, but I could be wrong about that.
I love my middle name when I got married (my maiden name replaced it).
The weird thing is that I do miss it sometimes.
Names are so fascinating. I’ve never liked my middle name, but I didn’t replace it w/ my maiden name when I got married. The necklaces are beautiful. My sister just gave all her bridesmaids (including me) monogrammed bracelets with charms a lot like these as her gift to us. I love it!
I am middle-namer, too. I had one, hubby had one, and so will all my kids. Olivia’s middle name is Tyler, after her dad. Everyone thinks it’s so weird, but I sort of like the sound of it. His mom said, “If you have a son then you will you name him after?” Sheesh.
Love the necklaces. And the monograms!
So I guess the monogrammed necklace I have – exactly like the 2nd picture you posted – isn’t that dorky after all?!