Tag: Brand Names

Xerox

JACKSON: I have a cousin who owns a Xerox company that specializes in taking pictures and making them into things – calendars, coffee mugs, collector plates, and pajamas.

Xerox is a corporation selling print and digital document products and series, headquartered in Connecticut, and incorporated in New York. They are best known for making photocopiers – so much so that Xerox is often used to mean any photocopier (like Kleenex and tissues), and “xerox” can be used as a verb, meaning “to photocopy”.

Jackson’s cousin owns a photocopying service which puts photos onto gift items. Jackson has a large family, and we learn a lot about them during the course of the show. We also learn that Jackson was on the wrestling team when he was in high school.

Coyote Ugly

LORELAI: I was thinking about opening a Coyote Ugly lemonade stand.

The Coyote Ugly Saloon is a bar which opened in New York in 1993, founded by Lilliana Lovell. It is known for employing female bartenders who entertain the crowd by dancing on tabletops, singing, and giving sass to patrons.

Since then other Coyote Ugly Saloons have opened around the US and internationally, and the bar has inspired a 2000 teen musical comedy-drama film called Coyote Ugly, starring Piper Perabo as an aspiring songwriter who gets a job at the Coyote Ugly Saloon [pictured].

Fritos

These are the chips that Louise and Madeline are eating in the school dining hall for lunch, counting each one to make sure they don’t go over their (obviously tiny) calorie limit. Fritos are a brand of corn chips created in Texas in 1932 by Charles Elmer Doolin and since 1961 produced by the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo.

Baby Gap

LORELAI: Okay, just remember these are PSATs, okay, so it’s like the Baby Gap, they don’t count as much.

The Gap Inc is a worldwide clothing retailer founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher, with its headquarters in San Francisco. The Fisher family is still heavily involved in the company, and own much of its stock. Baby Gap is their range of children’s clothes (not literally for babies).

Fossil Watch

PARIS: The period discrepancies. They were pretty blatant. I mean, forget that the nineteenth century didn’t include recessed lighting or the Fossil watch that your server was wearing, but water in that period would not have been served with cubed ice.

The Fossil Group is a fashion designer and manufacturer founded in 1984 and based in Richardson, Texas. In 2001, they bought Zodiac Watches, a Swiss company operating since 1882.

Stella McCartney and Walmart

RORY: Hey Clara. Nice, is that a Stella McCartney?
CLARA: It’s a Walmart.

Stella McCartney (born 1971), English fashion designer, and the daughter of Paul McCartney and his wife Linda, previously discussed. In 2001, she launched her own fashion house, in a joint venture with Gucci, and now has more than fifty stores around the world.

Walmart, previously discussed. There is a Walmart in Hartford where Mrs Forester could have bought Clara’s dress.

The Iliad and Monopoly

PARIS: Well, my parents are out of town, so my Portuguese nanny will make dinner and then I’ll either get back to reading The Iliad or we’ll play Monopoly. I crush her every time.

The Iliad, an ancient Greek epic poem, attributed to Homer, and usually dated to around the 8th century BC. The poem is set during the final weeks of the Trojan War, but contains so many allusions to past and future events that by the end it has told the entire story.

Monopoly, a board game where players roll dice to move around the board while buying and trading property. First published by Parker Brothers in 1935, and based on the 1903 The Landlord’s Game created by Lizzie Magie, it is one of the most well-known board games in the world.

Paris’ parents have gone away just as Paris goes on her break from school. It’s almost as if they’re trying to get away from her; they’re certainly not including her in their plans … no wonder the poor kid needs a nanny.