February 10, 2006
Rent a Period Date!
The best Valentine's Day related story we've seen yet must be this one from the Columbia Spectator, which looks at the Anachronistic Gentleman Rental Society. Now, while the men are actually free of charge, they can be dressed in period clothing. No joke - Columbia sophmore Genevieve Yang told the Spec why she founded the service: “One day last year I was thinking, what if instead of a one-night stand, you had a one-night-walk-in-the-park-hand-holding?” Other fun facts: Yang uses a parasol on sunny days and wears a corset, and seventeen guys have actually signed up but no one has ever rented them! This must mean there are very few aspiring ladies out there - and we thought you were suckers for Merchant Ivory films! Anyway, Gothamist recommends this as the basis for a short film at least, since the rent-a-date has been a film staple: See Can't Buy Me Love, Pretty Woman, The Wedding Date, and The Man from Elysian Fields. Also, this reminds us a little of Kate & Leopold, which we did see in the theaters and can justify seeing because it featured awesome Brooklyn Bridge mentions.
Remember when some students tried to rate Columbia ladies? And Gothamist tried to get our brother to try to find Yang's Facebook page and more about the AGRS, but he told us he was too busy instant messaging, wearing a jeans, t-shirt and sneakers, and living life to bother.




My violin repair guy and maker of my viola was in Kate & Leopold. He's the percussionist in the band by the Brooklyn Bridge. I have yet to see the movie, but this what he told me. His band also played in the Civil War PBS series. Quite cool I think.
http://www.columbia.edu/~gjy2102/AGRS/
We know it's the twenty-first century. We don't have to dress like it.
Return to the age of pocket watches, fob chains, quizzing glasses, and dashing walking sticks, where guys are gentlemen and women are ladies.
The AGRS provides the perfect touch of old-fashioned style for all your anachronistic social occasions.
If you wish to become a Gentleman, please contact Miss Genevieve at your convenience.
Messieurs,
Pictures of you in gentlemanly attire would be greatly appreciated, for the sake of decorating the AGRS website. Send them to the gmail email when you can, or indicate that the AGRS can use one of your facebook photos.
Also if you want something specific for your AGRS alias (see the Gentleman section of the website if you don't know what I mean), please contact me. Otherwise, your alias will be left up to the creativities of the site designer.
Merci,
Miss Genevieve
I hate to tell you what I first thought when I saw "period date".
Patrick, I had the same thought.
Genevieve Yang is a "he"? is it me, or am the only one who thought Genevieve was a girl's name?
Where does it say "he"? There's a picture of her at that Columbia Spectator site. Here's a larger version. Pretty cute if you ask me.
Miss Genevieve is a beautiful girl!