45 replies to this topic

[Epictete92]

Hello friends,

I have been throught a lots of topics here and I have not seen topic about this lovely subject.

Talking about history of fashion and pens, i'm surprised not to find many informations about how women used to wear fountain pens around their neck ( i have not seen yet any real picture of this ).

It is an open topic !
Why and when this trend stopped?
Who launched it?
If you are a woman reading this line, would you wear your pen as in the 30's?

and now?
Have you seen any evolution on design or functionnality for women market?

A huge hello from the most romantic place on earth,Paris :-)
Best
Jean Elie

[scratchy]

Bonsoir!

I've been wearing a VP (Pilot Capless) with gold trim, clipped to my neckline. I don't usually wear a necklace but I think it is nice to wear a pen with a bit of gold showing to catch the light. Because it is capless it is secure and won't leak on my clothes. I would have trouble wearing other pens.

[Epictete92]

Hi Scratchy,

So you are from the one still doing it now, great !
You are right about leaking problems.
Thank you very much et merci encore pour ce délicieux petit mot en français :-)
Best
Jean Elie

[LedZepGirl]

I might if I could only get my hands on a filigree ring top. But then again I'd be worried about damaging the pen too.

[jar]

The ring top pens were used by both men and women. The women often attached them to a necklace or more often, a broach while the men kept them in a vest pocket often attached to the other end of their watch chain.

AbE:

The other thing I remember is my grandmother and great aunt with their 'purse pens'. They had a small purse where they kept their calling cards, a few note cards, some stamps and coins and their pen.

Edited by jar, 10 October 2009 - 16:22.

[Epictete92]

Thank you Ledzepgirl and Jar.
That s a surprise for me! i ve always been told that ring top were for women only, thank you for this !

[ToryLynn]

I would wear my True Writer, but only because the cap screws on and I know it won't come off. It's one of my favorite pens. It wouldn't be too bad to have it handy while I wander around my classroom either.

[sumgaikid]

Lanyards were actually made for ringtops. The lanyard would be put
through the ring on the cap. All that a woman had to do was unscrew
the pen from the cap,write whatever she was going to write and screw
the pen back into the cap. She wore it like a pendant around her neck.


John

[Epictete92]

Thank you ToryLynn,same for you Sumgaikid for this technical element.
By the way, if someone could upload advertising or real picture showing a woman with a pen around the neck it could be great :-)
Thank you.

[Iranna]

To change the topic slightly, last year I came across an old Sheaffer ad made into a postcard. The ad was targeted at women saying (translated from Finnish) "Christmas present hint for women!" and indicated that men appreciate a quality fountain pen. It just made me wonder. Do fountain pens have a history of being something very masculine? I mean why are women suggested to buy a pen for their husband/boyfriend/brother etc., instead of buying one for themselves or wanting one themselves? Unfortunately there's no date on the ad or anywhere on the postcard so I have no idea how old the ad is, but my guess would be the 40s or 50s.

Edited by Iranna, 23 January 2010 - 11:13.

[satrap]

I wear huge, gaudy earrings, so I would not wear a pen around my neck. However, as I do enjoy nice purses and leather goods, I am always happy to use one of my many pen cases, tucked away inside my purse du jour.

[steersbylitning]

Levenger makes leather pen sheaths with leather thongs so you can wear pens around your neck, in red and black. I use mine at work when I feel like having a fountain pen handy and am not at my own desk (I'm a librarian).

Debbie

Hello friends,

I have been throught a lots of topics here and I have not seen topic about this lovely subject.

Talking about history of fashion and pens, i'm surprised not to find many informations about how women used to wear fountain pens around their neck ( i have not seen yet any real picture of this ).

It is an open topic !
Why and when this trend stopped?
Who launched it?
If you are a woman reading this line, would you wear your pen as in the 30's?

and now?
Have you seen any evolution on design or functionnality for women market?

A huge hello from the most romantic place on earth,Paris :-)
Best
Jean Elie

[sharonspens]

i do not wear modern FPs around my neck, but i almost always have one with me in a notebook or in a pen case (by "one" I mean typically "three"). I do have a Monteverde BP/gel pen on a chain that I sometimes wear around the office. I also have an antique brooch with a teacher's pencil on the extending chain that I sometimes wear (and use).

Sharon in Indiana

[richardandtracy]

My grandmother used a silver (with gold plate) retractable pencil clipped to her necklace - about 1.5" long and up to 3mm diameter at its widest. She never had a ringtop FP. The pencil was used enough to wear through the barleycorn tooling.

Regards,

Richard

[lamarquise]

The only pen I have ever worn as a pendant is the M400 White Tortoise as it is small and light enough to do so. Some co-workers actually think it is a pendant!

But my taste leans towards MB 146 sized pens, so they are pretty impossible to wear as a necklace.

[satrap]

The only pen I have ever worn as a pendant is the M400 White Tortoise as it is small and light enough to do so. Some co-workers actually think it is a pendant!

But my taste leans towards MB 146 sized pens, so they are pretty impossible to wear as a necklace.

==========================
The Pelikan M400, you wear as pendant? Seems long for a pendant, but you are right, it is very light. Does the cap ever come undone?

[Elaine]

I love ring-top pens but won't wear them for fear that the caps will unscrew and I'll lose the pen. I do have a leather pen holder with a thong (Franklin Cristolf not Levenger) which I use frequently. I mostly use it for my Waterman 412 1/2 Baby safely. I don't like carrying that pen in my purse because my purse doesn't always stay upright and I want to keep this pen upright. I bought the pen holder at a pen show and was happy to find it. I'm always jealous of the men who walk around with pens peeking out of their shirt pockets.

[lamarquise]

The only pen I have ever worn as a pendant is the M400 White Tortoise as it is small and light enough to do so. Some co-workers actually think it is a pendant!

But my taste leans towards MB 146 sized pens, so they are pretty impossible to wear as a necklace.

==========================
The Pelikan M400, you wear as pendant? Seems long for a pendant, but you are right, it is very light. Does the cap ever come undone?

I find myself fiddling to check on that cap. It stays closed but it always feels like it's about to fall.

My jewelry tends to single statement pieces worn with black clothes. So the M400 fits right in.

Nice signature! I am an INTJ.

[italicnibfan]

Hello friends,

I have been throught a lots of topics here and I have not seen topic about this lovely subject.

Talking about history of fashion and pens, i'm surprised not to find many informations about how women used to wear fountain pens around their neck ( i have not seen yet any real picture of this ).

It is an open topic !
Why and when this trend stopped?
Who launched it?
If you are a woman reading this line, would you wear your pen as in the 30's?

and now?
Have you seen any evolution on design or functionnality for women market?

A huge hello from the most romantic place on earth,Paris :-)
Best
Jean Elie

[italicnibfan]

Hello friends,

I have been throught a lots of topics here and I have not seen topic about this lovely subject.

Talking about history of fashion and pens, i'm surprised not to find many informations about how women used to wear fountain pens around their neck ( i have not seen yet any real picture of this ).

It is an open topic !
Why and when this trend stopped?
Who launched it?
If you are a woman reading this line, would you wear your pen as in the 30's?

and now?
Have you seen any evolution on design or functionnality for women market?

A huge hello from the most romantic place on earth,Paris :-)
Best
Jean Elie

[italicnibfan]

Hello friends,

I have been throught a lots of topics here and I have not seen topic about this lovely subject.

Talking about history of fashion and pens, i'm surprised not to find many informations about how women used to wear fountain pens around their neck ( i have not seen yet any real picture of this ).

It is an open topic !
Why and when this trend stopped?
Who launched it?
If you are a woman reading this line, would you wear your pen as in the 30's?

and now?
Have you seen any evolution on design or functionnality for women market?

A huge hello from the most romantic place on earth,Paris :-)
Best
Jean Elie

[Feanor]

Nice signature! I am an INTJ.

Not to get offtopic but I'd guess there are a lot of INTPs and INTJs on this site. I'm right on the border between them.

Back on topic, does anyone know of a more modern pen (preferably cheaper than a white tortoise) one could wear on/as a necklace? I've been trying to get my girlfriend to write with a fountain pen, but she's been resistant. She sounds like she'd be open to wearing one though. Maybe a vista? Nice, colorful, good beginner pen? How would it look on a necklace?

[QM2]

I am fascinated by this topic as well! I have tried many times to find pictures of women wearing ringtops around the neck, but have not been successful. I do wear my vintage silver overlay ringtops on a long silver chain sometimes, but I get very nervous that the cap will twist off and I will lose the pen. There is also a modern version of this setup (ringtop pen + chain) by Laban, and I got one of these last year. Will try to post a photo tomorrow.

[RitaCarbon]

Two years ago I got myself a very beautiful vintage gold filled lady Conklin which I wore on my neck to work for about a year. Then my fascination with the pen faded away and I stopped wearing it.
Also tired from all those stupid jokes from my male coworkers... who were just craving for my attention...

[MicheleB]

I am a bit outside the box and wear a uniform at work which has a breast pocket with a slot for pens so you do't have to open the pocket to get the pen out! Voila! Otherwise I am not permitted to wear any lanyards unless they have my ID. HOWEVER, for those occasions when I am not in uniform and I wanted to wear a pen, I am thinking about this Levenger product: http://www.levenger....2-3|pageid=6826 Anyone try this yet?


Editted to add: ISTJ!

Edited by MicheleB, 10 February 2010 - 06:15.

[RitaCarbon]

I am thinking about this Levenger product: http://www.levenger....2-3|pageid=6826 Anyone try this yet?

That's cool! I need to get some of those. In different colors.

Who cares about those clowns at work...

[satrap]

The only pen I have ever worn as a pendant is the M400 White Tortoise as it is small and light enough to do so. Some co-workers actually think it is a pendant!

But my taste leans towards MB 146 sized pens, so they are pretty impossible to wear as a necklace.

==========================
The Pelikan M400, you wear as pendant? Seems long for a pendant, but you are right, it is very light. Does the cap ever come undone?

I find myself fiddling to check on that cap. It stays closed but it always feels like it's about to fall.

My jewelry tends to single statement pieces worn with black clothes. So the M400 fits right in.

Nice signature! I am an INTJ.

-------------

I stole the quote from what little I saw of Mommie Dearest. That phrase from Joan Crawford's adopted daughter is just so "me".

[Iranna]

Now I am annoyed. A while ago I tried to open a conversation about femininity/masculinity and fountain pens, but all there seems to be connected to "women and fountain pens" is wearing them as jewellery. Women are not that simple!

So what do you think: do you associate FPs with men or women particularly? What's the image of fountain pens - are they targeted at one or the other, both, or neither? Is their image just neutral?

Looking at the old Sheaffer ad I found it looks like FPs are a male thing, maybe because during that time (1930s?) women were mostly at home while men worked and had to have a representative, nice looking fountain pen to sign important contracts with... That's a horrible generalization I know. But weren't there some pens that were specially marketed for women? What were they?

I still think that if there were models designed for women, it means the other pens were designed with men in mind. Now I haven't seen that many FP ads, old or modern, and I don't really know how they are marketed - in a neutral manner or particularly for men/women. Does anyone have any examples in mind?

[RitaCarbon]

Truly, fountain pens are pure human experience.

One of my all-time favorite pens is MB 149. Classic black. How about that hanging from my neck? All the clowns will be insulted, and I might get in trouble with my managers. You can't even imagine how dirty their minds are...

And you say you are annoyed.

Edited by RitaCarbon, 10 February 2010 - 09:17.

[Iranna]

Truly, fountain pens are pure human experience.

One of my all-time favorite pens is MB 149. Classic black. How about that hanging from my neck? All the clowns will be insulted, and I might get in trouble with my managers. You can't even imagine how dirty their minds are...

And you say you are annoyed.

So they are, but that wasn't the question. OK, I give up! But I don't think I could wear a pen as a necklace, it would damage my neck. They didn't have computer work in the 1930s! I admit though, wearing a FP would be a fashion statement!

Edit: Missing word

Edited by Iranna, 10 February 2010 - 19:20.