Anthropologie

I'm not a huge fan of Alex Kuczinsky, the NY Times writer of the "Critical Shopper" column. Aside from just the annoying tone of the articles themselves, it doesn't help that the paper ran a really really obnoxious piece a while back about her ridiculous spread in the River of No Return Wilderness Area that can only be reached by plane or boat and the fabulous rustic getaways (complete with private chef, natch) she enjoys there. (Yes, I'm very very jealous.)

But today she went too far. She called depressing one of my absolute favorite stores - Anthropologie. She claims that:

ON a philosophical level, there is something about Anthropologie that is well intentioned but makes me profoundly depressed. The old bicycles, the old-fashioned Marvis toothpaste, the etched-glass candleholders, the calico pajama sets, the teacups and saucers — all are the trappings of a grandparent's or a parent's home.

But the 30-something generation that shops at Anthropologie, among the first to be widely defined as children of divorce, no longer has access to those homes, which have long since been dispersed. There is no longevity in their parents' houses. The romantically weathered chests of drawers and stacks of pristinely aged National Geographic magazines were all put into storage, sold or dispersed among the various interested parties.

Don't link my Anthropologie fetish to my parents' divorce! Dude, that's sooo not cool. Every good store sells not just items, but the idea of a lifestyle, and Anthropologie's lifestyle is . . . casually charming garden teas, bohemian travel adventures, eclectic and witty dinner parties, and, yes, coffee sipped in a Parisian cafe after a trip to a flea market. That's why I shop at Anthropologie. I want the clothes, objects, and assorted fripperies that would complement a lifestyle I very much don't have . . . because I (1) don't have a garden; (2) the idea of throwing a dinner party throws me into a panic; (3) I really don't like coffee; and (4) as much as I'd love to wear the leather soled Grecian sandals in Greece, I dress for comfort when I do my bohemian travelling! (Not to mention the fact that I just sorta like what they have to sell.)