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STORY: Choose the style that's right for you. "Don't give a card unless you mean the message that's written inside." ~Jane Machut 1- Romantic/old-fashioned. Gold ribbons surrounding crimson hearts. Elegant script lettering. Embossed messages of lifelong devotion. A classic look for a dignified loved one. 2- Historical. Cherubic Cupids flying around dainty lace hearts. Edwardian couples in their finery, bending over for a dainty, discreet little kiss. Romantic scenes from the art of Chagall or other classic artists. Beatrix Potter-like animals courting and blushing. Images representing dignity and taste, even in the middle of brain-disrupting crushes. 3- Impressionistic. Modern, deceptively simple-looking hearts and people, drawn in broad brush strokes or delicate cartoon-type illustrations. The modern (if borderline-dull) way to show your affection. 4- Parent-to-kid cards, or expressions of other non-"couple" loves. Love makes the world go 'round, but not boy-meets-girl romantic love alone. It takes all kinds of affection to keep a community or a family going strong, and they should be remembered too. 5-E-cards. Thanks to the net, you can express your secret devotion to that special someone without anybody else knowing, including his girlfriend. 6- Jokey. Love can hurt, and there's nothing to soothe a broken heart like a joke given by a close friend. That, and the knowledge that all the good Valentine's candy will be on sale starting the 15th. 7- Cute-cartoony. Boy and girl teddy bears traipsing through sunlit meadows. Wide-eyed little girls proclaiming "I love you THIS much!" When your affection is too big for subtlety. 8- Kids' cartoon cards, Not just for kids anymore. The single most memorable valentine I ever got was well into adulthood, a tiny image of the Incredible Hulk with the slogan "Don't Ever Change!" 9- Naughty. Hairless, buff male chests with lipstick shapes painted on. Women in lingerie promising to make just a brief statement. And many, even ickier images than that. 10- Naughty-jokey. "Peephole" cover images of bathing beauties who turn out inside the card flap to really be long-faced dogs. Gags about how people who haven't had any lovin' can start seeing spots before their eyes, accompanied by garish polka-dot designs. And many other jokes that were just as unfunny back in the '70s. |
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