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In the Storque, TeenAngster runs a feature on looking like Bonnie Parker, from the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo. In it, they summarize the sordid tale as sexy and romantic.
Bonnie and Clyde are rather infamous characters in U.S. history, and for good reason: honestly, what's sexier than a nefarious duo driving cross country on a crime spree of such massive and public proportion? Their exploits were legendary, their inevitable ends simultaneously tragic and oh-so-romantic.There's nothing more romantic than having your hand blown to bits by gunfire, while the other is clutching a pack of cigarettes, and then end up on display like this:
Yeah, yeah, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty made it a Hollywood hit, but in reality, Bonnie Parker was nothing more than a common criminal who supported her insane boyfriend's murdering spree. She's not worthy of having a trend of fashion for her, and even further perpetuating the falsehood that Hollywood began is just plain ignorant.
Besides, Faye's look wasn't even remotely Bonnie's look. Just look at the pictures of the real Bonnie Parker. It would be more apropos to call the article "Get the vintage Faye Dunaway look" instead of glamorizing a criminal. Its not sexy or romantic to end up like a dead corpse in a morgue.
68 Comments:
Holy F*ck!
What's next?
The Jeffrey Dahmer guide to Plants And Edibles?!
I am starting to really, really full on HATE these etsycorp people.
I love how Teenangster was taken to task in the Comments, both for calling criminals sexy and for her decade blunder.
So much time and effort spent on the Dorque, and so much open backlash...the times they are achangin'...
I get what they mean with the whole Bonnie and Clyde thing but it has been interpreted so many times in other ways they could have made a better choice. What about using Thelma and Louise to make your point? Or maybe take a more mature and educated approach for the swarms of teens that are viewing?? Here are some examples compiled from a simple GOOGLE search that could produce a compelling, interesting and educational article.
Stylish Thirties Fashion History
The Female Form Returns to 1930s Fashion
Daywear Versus Evening Glamour
Madeleine Vionnet and the Cross Cut Bias Method
1930s Skirts
New Ways with Fabrics
Wallace Carothers Invents Nylon 1927, Production 1938
Elsa Schiaparelli
The Zip
The 1936 Abdication of the The Duke of Windsor - Marriage to Wallis Simpson
Beach Fashion 1930s
Women's League of Health and Beauty
The Rumble of War
Etsy, please wake up and realize that the image of your company is not some kind of toy to fool with. You represent everyone who sells here. Remember? There are what, 200 thousand of us making a living off of Etsy? Could you stop and think of us before you publicly glamorize mass murder?
Will the next Storque mustache article be about a dapper small rectangular mustache worn with great panache by a WWII era iron fisted mentally ill dictator who slaughtered millions of people?
Etsy is ridiculous now and some of the people who work there are so stupid they should be homeless.
SIgh......I have long taken issue with Etsy's "fashion" tips. Anyone who has ever worked for a law enforcement or criminal justice agency knows this sort of thing is just not cool. Having seen crime scene photos of murders up close....let's just say it doesn't put me in the mood to dress like any perp.
I see Lizzie Borden with an axe accessory next.
I'm sure all the families of their victims thought they were a fashionable and romantic couple.
Its not sexy or romantic to end up like a dead corpse in a morgue.
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it's not? DAMN, there goes my fall line...
The hell with the Comedy Channel, I'm coming here instead! Oh, I do love the Etsy Community that LIVES on despite Etsy!
I thought the same thing when I saw this the other day. I thought I was being ridiculously snarky . . . but it looks like I'm not alone.
It wasn't just the subject-matter . . . it was the way it was described. I guess that they think Bonnie was a renegade crafter.
Hey Etsy - Faye Dunaway was PRETENDING to be Bonnie. You know . . . just like you PRETEND to have grown-up jobs.
I'm saving my money for the felted Anthrax spores that are sure to be featured soon.
I couldn't resist posting this in the forums, I don't think enough people read the storque and I'd like everyone to be appropriately outraged. I want etsy hurtin' a little bit for this one.
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5754097
Oooh, maybe next they can have a feature article on Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka. How romantic would that be?
Oh. My. Goodness. It just gets wackier and wackier over there.
I laughed hysterically through the comments on the article; so glad they are not moderating them (yet). I give the comments a thumbs up...the article, not so much.
They even turned Bonnie and Clyde into "Cupcakes". Romantic and Glamorous my ass. Romance and Glamour don't usually involve bullets and blood but hey, what do I know?
Out of curiousity- does anyone in Etsy approved things before they are published? Like maybe a second opinion saying "hey, ya know what, people MIGHT be offended by that? "
Maybe "How to dress like the Manson Family " is next! (Rolls eyes)
Btw, Etsy is much more FUN once you have your account closed and sit back and watch all of their screw-ups.
Etsy is ridiculous now and some of the people who work there are so stupid they should be homeless.
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(hijack)
Um, what? I happen to know people who've been homeless and they aren't "stupid". They just happened to be born in crappy circumstances and fate didn't see it fit to ever give them a break. I get that you're trying to emphasize that these people are so stupid it's a wonder they get through life successfully, but there are ways to do that without disparaging or perpetuating stereotypes about homeless people.
(/hijack)
Reading through all the comments, I think that MagicJelly summed everything up very well. I'm going to quote her comments here, just in case they get deleted from the Storque:
"I agree that the article is unfortunately worded - there's nothing sexy or romantic about violence, murderers & thieves. These are not things to be glorified for the sake of making sales.
Maybe you should rewrite the article purely focusing on the "Faye Dunaway as Bonnie" angle...or refer to her & others for the 60s/70s interpretation of the 1930s/gangster moll look (such as Jane Fonda in "They Shoot Horses Don't They?" from 1969). Or maybe even reference some 1930s original film stars.
It's also important to get your facts straight. "Bonnie & Clyde" is most definitely a 60s film with a very 60s look & feel - not 70s at all.
This article could be more sensitively/sensibly written, & better researched. Nothing "chic" about criminals.
PS. You also need to be careful about making derivative works (in this case vector illustrations) from photographs that are probably not in the public domain!"
* * *
Thank you MJ for your eloquence! I love that you made a point about Etsy's cavalier use of (likely) copyrighted images. They have done this way too often.
Just the id, TeenAngster, of the Admin who wrote the article should tell us something.
Urban Dictionary definition:
"angst
Angst is about downtrodden teenagers thinking they're the only bloody people in the world who have it tough, and thinks that gives them an excuse to wallow in their own self-pity instead of actually doing something about their situation."
Hey, I remember that film when I was in grade school and I so thought the clothes were cool! Had to have a 'maxi coat' when they came out and wore it with a scarf and beret.
However, a great place to see 'depression era chic' is in the old Hollywood musicals of the era (like the GOLDDIGGERS series). Which would have made a better article considering the popularity of musical films right now.
I luv the Etsy vintagers swooning over the article in the Dorque, though. What a bunch of empty-headed arse-lickers. Please please please someone separate the vintagettes from the rest of the site! Like tomorrow? Carthago delenda est....yo.
I had no idea my etsy-aimed-bitching needed to be politically correct.
*rolls eyes*
*gag*
I love fashion and the 30's are one of my favorite time periods in movies and style, can you say screwball comedy? But to glorify criminals is just wrong. Etsy, put a muzzle on the idiots you have working for you or fire them!
impetuous, re: your ideas for articles, Yes, Yes and more Yes.
I know you like to wear your steam punk helmut ( ;p ) but this isn't rocket science so I'm sure you didn't need it to come up with those ideas.
The core of so much of what is wrong with etsycorp seems to be a lack of mental editing.
If you're lurking here etsyworker, in the future please ask yourself, ion your users behalf, is this in bad taste?
Will action this alienate customers and their buyers?
Will my actions HURT someone, be it emotionally, financially, spiritually or mentally?
I *shouldn't* have to tell you this, but obviously, your Mama failed in raising you or you failed your Mama in growing up.
Either way, you gross me out.
"Will the next Storque mustache article be about a dapper small rectangular mustache worn with great panache by a WWII era iron fisted mentally ill dictator who slaughtered millions of people?" haha!
its so true, again, another lackluster & unprofessional pseudo- journal entry in the dorque.
please, either hire someone who's taken at least one basic journalism class or read a book- hell- an article about journalistic ethics or keep them off of what has become a daily PR embarassment for el dorque
can i have a witness?
I usually agree with your gripes but this time you are really grasping at straws to pull something out of this...It's the damn storque already, nobody reads the shit anyway. Fashion has always been delivered via Hollywood glorifying some kind of reprehensible behavior. Whatever.
jmacc, this shit, as well as too many things that have been in the storque lately, are PR nightmares and just ignorant. So far, they've endorsed copyright infringement, murderers, and a negative attitude towards parents. All that's missing is sexism and racism, then they'll have offended most of their customers.
"what's sexier than a nefarious duo driving cross country on a crime spree of such massive and public proportion? "
My boyfriend votes for "big ol' boobies in a wet white t-shirt" or "Scarlett Johanssen and Salma Hayek making out".
I'm voting for "Seth Rogen dancing naked to Spoon".
Now, some may disagree...but my point is, there's LOTSA things way sexier than murdering psychopaths.
Yet another example of why I don't read the Storque.
"Please remember that behind every romantic, well-dressed murderer is a real person".
(Written with tongue FIRMLY in cheek).
Jmacc, this is just one of many blunders the Storque has committed. They also promoted a trademark infringer, referred to people as "breeders", and stated they gave a grant to team when they had actually pulled it, and then they published why they pulled it. Not to mention numerous cases of highlighting mass-produced items in various articles.
The overall point is that the Storque needs better quality control. Fast. It's part of the public face of Etsy, they shouldn't fuck up so constantly.
Oh, and let's not forget about the "midwestern grandma crafters".
There is no grasping of straws here. That was without a doubt the dumbest article ever. What the hell is sexy about a crime spree?
The idea foor the article was good, the featured items are pretty and the movie was very influential for fashions.
Theadora Van Runkle won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for Bonnie and Clyde. The Storque article is really more of a tribute to the movie's costume design, not to the real life murderers. So they should have just focused on the movie and the costumes, instead of saying there's nothing sexier than a killing spree. The introduction was just so stupid and poor judgment! There are 100 ways they could have written this article with good taste and more educational value. They didn't even mention the name of the costume designer they are inspired by! They only mention Faye Dunaway. Do they think actresses pick their own costumes?
Also the sentence "Thus, the film version of their lives, Bonnie and Clyde came as no surprise" is completely ignorant and incorrect. That movie came as a BIG surprise to the world, the final scene of B&C along with Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" were groundbreaking films for how they portrayed violence onscreen.
wikipedia has this to say about B&C
"Bonnie and Clyde is considered a landmark film in cinema history: it is regarded as the first film of the New Hollywood era, in that it broke many taboos and was popular with the younger generation."
So lets see: ignorance of history, ignorance of film history, ignorance of costume design, what else?
Just too fucking lazy to do 5 minutes of research?
sorry, I should've known that it's ok to stereotype the homeless when you're complaining about glamorizing crime. it's not like the ideas are BOTH offensive or anything...
those etsy folks are so dumb, they should be midwestern grammas... or athletes... or appalachians...
*wonders why a perfectly civil comment warranted eye-rolling*
A MILLION thanks to Etsy Bitch for taking Etsy to task on this! To call this duo and their actions "sexy" and "romantic" is disturbing. I truly have to question the professional skills and capability of someone who thinks these comments are even remotely acceptable in the realm of public relations/business.
As a seller, I send people to Etsy to buy my items. What Etsy puts on the Front Page is a direct reflection of me and my business (especially when the customer is new to Etsy and not familiar with its overall setup). It makes me cringe that someone could see this article and associate these comments with me and my business.
I have known people who have been murdered and to this day I can not find anything sexy about it.
gbtvwzThe funniest thing about the article was that Etsy doesn't have much inventory that reflects either the original 30s styles or the later echo in the late 60s/early 70s. At least based on search. I have seen some circa 1968 poorboy ribknit sweaters in vintage but they don't have the correct date or keywords (tags?). Also, they are often stenciled with some faddish image in the name of repurposing/upcycling/destruction of perfectly wearable vintage items. I believe the pink tie neck sweater dates circa 1980, and one of the other items (no calling out okay) is a new item from a clothing importer/reseller. I mean, everything in her shop is described as vintage and it all looks new to me. Yeah, sure, Etsy should be called 'your place to buy and sell all things vintage...and new stuff from resellers around the globe'. The Dorquettes wouldn't know vintage if it tweaked their titties.
To those who think this bitch is nitpicky, it's really a big-picture thing. This immature piece is another (nearly daily now) example of a corporate culture devoid of vision, planning, experience (life or business) and professionalism. Where procrastination and slipshod work rule. Where hipsterism is more important than publishing a quality blog. Where this piss-poor blog seems to displace the shopping venue as the focus of the company.
Instead of creating an idyllic "anti-corporate" culture, they're just plain lazy and childish.
Etsy should look to its sellers, who are able to eschew the corporate shackles yet conduct their businesses with vision, innovation, creativity AND hard work.
Eclipse said it best, and I completely agree--the tribute should have been to the costuming and style of the film, not the romticiscm of the criminals. This is just a good idea for an article executed by someone who is obviously not qualified to be writing or researching articles.
Taking offense (or not) is only the surface issue, and the PR effects overall are more serious. Since the Dorque is on the front page, and it scrolls away at the bottom, more people see it.
Etsy actively pushes the Dorque in the Finds emails, and in all their press notes and even got Maria to say it's a notable part of the site. (A blatant exercise in self-promotion along with the sanitizing of all Dorque comments.)
But, I still have no clue what the Dorque is, what its purpose is, and why the hell it is written in such sarcastic, bitchy (hell, yes) tones.
Does it give customer service? No. Does it remove flagged items? No. Does it answer seller emails to Etsy for urgent help? No.
Does it sell products? Well, at this point, I think it probably hurts more sellers than helps.
Who the hell would want to be included as a featured store in an article about Breeders? Or crime? The Dorque taints the whole selling community. It is not supportive, it has some other agenda that has nothing to do with selling on Etsy. And it certainly does nothing but tear down, ridicule and belittle the handmade concept.
It reads like Etsy has a death wish. So, maybe that's the crime they all need to be arrested for. They can stencil Etsy Admin on their orange jumpsuits and make popsicle stick cellphone covers in the rec room at Rikers. I'll send a crocheted postcard, C.O.D.
pony-lo, apparently lemmings are hot for fall.
I'm pretty sick of cats and butterflies. Time for a new animal.
Really lovely. Can't they just get a lead editor who reads through this stuff? Sigh.Glorifying violent criminals isn't cool.
Has etsy been bought out by The Onion? That's the only explanation that makes sense to me.
But then again, why wouldn't etsy glamorize criminals? They tacitly condone copyright infringement, take away $200 earmarked for veterans and have a founder who boasts about having lied his way into jobs.
eclipse, dont forget the owls!
hey, and somebody pleeease screenshot those comments before they get napalmed.
i am heartily proud of everyone who had the courage to dispute this article over at the storque.
my own thoughts?
the article is worded VERY unfortunately. oh so unfortunately!
And Rob White has closed the thread with his usual ... articulate ... comments that completely miss the point of the complaint, and the usual plea for respect. Frankly, I would prefer that he call for civility, myself; once can disagree quite thoroughly and still be civil about it. Which, I should add, most of the people who posted in that thread were.
*sigh*
And here's the link to the forum thread, as it has now been closed.
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5754097&page=1
The Etsy Onion
*snort*
little runner--you forgot one:
Is This Good for the Company?
now then, i believe you have my stapler...
*puts on helmet and tries to visualize monday morning around the cooler at Etsy Corp.*
dork one: Well T, it looks like you made a few headlines this weekend with your B&C article! (sips water)
TeenAngser: (laughing) You guys owe me a cupcake!
dork two: Wish one of my contributions was bitch-worthy! (stares at dorky shoes)
TeenAngster: Try glorifying murder dork, it's a great way to get noticed!
the new dork: What are all of those fish hanging on the wall? Rokali is NUTS man!
I would've commented on the Dorque article (LOOOVE that name btw) but I've been muted there as well now.
Geeze, mention something is unmailable and you get a face full of Admin attitude for crossing them.
Nice eh?
Hey Etsy, way to highlight even MORE mass produced non-vintage "vintage". Let me guess, it was made by her shy "sister" who we never get to meet, right?
verybigjen you got muted from the Storque for saying a knitted postcard can't be mailed? But, that is the truth!
{jack nicholson voice} They can't handle the truth!
In regards to Maria taking the helm, and I never thought I'd say this because oddswise it's like hitting a Royal Flush but here goes...
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss.
etsycorp, where idiots run freely in the halls and there are no monitors to check for passes!
It's a crying shame.
And now a bit abut me.
Unlike the tacky, tasteless and grotesque TeenAngster (who goes all a tingle in her nether regions when she hears murderous gunfire. Oh Baby!), my turn ons include long walks on the beach, listening to Barry White while enjoying a glass of wine in front of the fire and firing all the moronic egomaniacs who work at etsycorp so that I may replace them with people who have a f@#$ing clue.
PS. "mmmmmmm yeah", re: your stapler, ummmmmm, I'm gonna need you to move your desk all the way to the back of the office. OK? Thanks.
;p
RobWhite is definitely smoking somthing these days -- his posts are almost totally incomprehensible. Here's part of the post locking the related Storque thread:
"In the work that each of us do when writing here, we all try to effectively convey the message that we have in in mind. Through sheer quantity, (and the Storque editors produce a tremendous amount of content atop editorial duties and others) not every piece can match the best you've written - I've certainly seen that from some of the things that I've written here in the Forums, and then winced at in retrospect.
Good writers can and do write passages that can be done better. However, the meaning is still not lost; other passages help to cement the intended meeting, and in this case, the items posted provided a clear sense of the style that was the highlight of the article."
I hope you're wincing at this one, Rob. I was a big Rob-booster for a long time, but I think the guy is burning out really quickly.
And as far as the Storque editors "producing a tremendous amount of content" -- well, maybe it would behoove them to produce LESS content of a higher quality? Or is that too radical a concept for Etsy?
"what's sexier than a nefarious duo driving cross country on a crime spree of such massive and public proportion."
An even bigger and bloodier murderous crime spree?
Hey Teen Angster, Sept 11 is just around the corner.
Are you working on anything special? Maybe a piece on some more historical nefarious characters, their sexy murder spree and their fashion choices?
Don't forget to feature mass produced carry on luggage in your article!
Have a nice day SuperCreep!
Thanks dangerous mezzo, I find Rob White's declaration very troubling.
Yes, he admits that Etsy writes tons and tons of articles every day, and they spend CONSIDERALBE time doing so. But, do the hundreds of weekly "articles" bring in any money? Do they result in sales for the few stores that are highlighted? Do they contribute to the overall health and perception of Etsy as others see and use it?
No. The Dorque is an exercise in self promotion and for the promotion of various Etsy personalities, the hell with what the sellers want and need.
You admitted it in print and in a forum directed to sellers. You are also saying, since Etsy is dedicated fulltime to the Dorque, even though it has little effect on sales for stores on the site, which leaves you without
-a customer service department
-swift removal of products that clearly violate the TOU
-a viable retail online sales calendar and promotions schedule....
I am sure that many sellers can add 15 more ecommerce RESONSIBILITIES that Etsy has thrown to the scrapheap because you are way too busy with your BLOG. Which has what, exactly, to do with stores and ecommerce?
Please Mr. White, since you are so eloquent when you scold sellers for complaining (because Etsy has refused to listen) tell us all (in 3 paragraphs or less) WHAT IS THE STORQUE AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
And please, leave the scolding out this time, enough is enough.
Ditto dangerous mezzo.
If quantity is the goal for the ridiculous Dorque (love that!) then they need to back off and go to a more sustainable publication schedule.
And adding an actual editor to the already employee heavy line up would be smart.
Clearly they won't do that since it is "smart" and not edgy or hip.
I'm sure there are crocodile tears at the etsy watercooler this morning from all the hipster girls.
"waaaaaaa. Those mean sellers have no idea what we go through. Where's the black list *sniff* I have to add a few names."
Quality should be first and foremost ESPECIALLY if the Dorque is supposed to be some form or PR and especially since "your words live on forever" in The Google and on the Tubes of the Interwebs.
And yes, RobWhite has jumped the shark for me, too.
They force fed him the koolaid so now he has been assimilated.
Rats. I used to really like and admire that guy.
Oh well........
"They force fed him the koolaid so now he has been assimilated."
I'm sure sitting on Rob Kalin's lap at the Christmas photo shoot has something to do with it as well.
etsy Crotch to regular normal crotch transmission=losing your humanity and common sense.
Takes about 6 months for symptons to appear, there currently is no cure in sight.
*Note to self, always use the crane when visiting the loo in the etsyLabs. ;p
"Aw, this seller has made me work so hard sniping at them for being smarter than me and forcing me to delete their hateful comments informing me I'm wrong that my Venti Soy half caff machiatto has gone cold! Damn them! I'm cute! Mutes all around!"
I am speechless that after that long thread, with people talking about their personal experience with the pain of losing loved ones to murder (and I didn't post, but I could have talked about that as well) that the *only* reaction was "Well, they have to write a lot, so some of it isn't that good." (And yeah - maybe cutting down on the sheer quantity of articles might be a good idea if that is the case.)
How about apologizing for the insensitive wording? geez...
The Consumerist picked it up!
http://consumerist.com/5035498/backlash-etsycoms-sexy-mass-murderers
at the end of the day one can not DIY everything and that's really the bottom line for el dorque. DIY does not mean doing simply everything yourself- have you every tried to read by the light of a cardboard chandelier?
what's happened (or seems to have happened) here has happened in many other start ups- the creator thinks one good idea trumps any and all best practices from successful ventures and that concept permeates his or her environment completely- from hiring choices to office supplies to designating job descriptions and duties.
yet cardboard paperclips dont work to well. so in some instances you have to get the best qualified people to make you a new handmade paperclip.
el dorque has the potential and it needs an editorial board, supervision & clear direction about the collective voice of its site or it will continue to be a joke to the inside and the outside of etsy.
cre, have a problem? Take it to e-mail.
classic etsy: create a big screw-up and then shush everyone (incoherently) when they try to talk about it.
I'm just surprised they haven't cleaned out the comments on the actual article yet...
Bonnie and Clyde styles-of-the-era is one thing, but that Bonnie was romantic is just ignorant. It was tragic and pathetic. But, oh well, what do ya expect from the very young? could been a good article -- it was just lame.
Not only is murder not cool, neither is domestic violence, codependence, the lack of opportunities for women, poverty, alcoholism and a bunch of other Really Bad Things (tm) that combined to create the disaster that was Bonnie Parker.
I guess looking at the causes of violence is too 80's, too.
theoriginalwtf said...
classic etsy: create a big screw-up and then shush everyone (incoherently) when they try to talk about it.
I'm just surprised they haven't cleaned out the comments on the actual article yet...
________________________________________
That's because the rah-rah crowd that has apparently never been trained in critical thinking commented en masse at the end. Seriously, do these people simply not understand the power of language?
I was muted over that thread, for being rude and disrespectful to Etsy staff. (I was very rude, but I no longer think of those who work at Etsy to be part of the "community".)
Interestingly enough, I was muted more than 24 hours later, after voicing my opinion on several threads dealing with those damned Olympic coins. The last straw for the Admin, apparently, was when I started a thread entitled, "anyone know where I can find 2008 Olympic medals?" I knew it was calling out and did not care. RobWhite warned me after he closed that thread, but then muted me for stuff I said 24 hours earlier.
I do not respect rules that are not consistently upheld. Until or unless Etsy does something about the blatant reselling of massproduced crap on the site, I will be an anarchist.
Morgansilk
I wrote a long post about how I was muted for calling that article stupid and unprofessional-- a long one, and it's disappered. I guess I don't know what I'm doing, but will try again if this posts.
Morgan
No worries Morgansilk, we have to moderate comments because of trolls.
Your comments were approved and posted! ^__^
I'm so delighted that someone finally noticed that the movie has nothing to do with the real Bonnie and Clyde who did not give poor people their money back, but took their money and murdered them instead.
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