Saint Valentine receives a rosary. Painting by David Teniers III, 1638 – 1685.
Valentine’s Day wasn’t invented by greeting card companies. The history is murky but is may date back to the 3rd century in Rome, when Emperor Claudius II outlawed soldiers from marrying, believing men without wives and children would make better fighters. But one priest, Valentine, felt the decree was unjust and secretly married soldiers. Claudius, discovering this, put Valentine in prison and sentenced him to death.
During Valentine’s time in prison, he fell in love with a young woman, possibly his jailer’s daughter, and sent her a note proclaiming his love, signing it “From your Valentine.”
Vintage Valentine’s card
Later, he became St. Valentine. By the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until the Middle Ages that it began to be associated with courtly love and romance. People exchanged Valentine’s notes on the day, and small gifts of affection, but by the 19th century, mass printing production allowed the public access to printed cards, which created a whole industry. It now is one of the most popular days of the year to give a card adorned with hearts and cupids — two iconic symbols of love that I’ve been painting on shirts since I first opened the Angel store in 1978:
Desigual CRISTINA sleeveless dress. $155.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual MYKONOS windbreaker. $155.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual MYDIDAT cottoncoat. $275.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual COACIA t-shirt. $79.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Today, if you’re looking for something to show your love on Valentine’s Day, we’ve got a great collection from Desigual: dresses, skirts, tops, coats & bags:
Desigual LAILA dress. $179.95. Fall-Winter 2015.
Desigual ALBA dress by Christian Lacroix. XL only. $125, minus 20%.
Desigual Xelian dress. $136, minus 20%.
Desigual PULLOVER MITHIAH sweater. $109, minus 20%.
Desigual JARA dress. $135, minus 20%.
Desigual kids OKLAHOMA dress with reversible red and silver sequins. $95.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual TERRANOVA T-shirt with reversible sequins. $59.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual NEW shirt. $105.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual OSCURO camouflage (heart) pants. $139, minus 20%.
Desigual DRUCILLA winter coat with camouflage hearts. $309, minus 30%. Fall-Winter 2015.
Desigual BASTIAAN evening dress with lips pocket. $149.95, minus 20%. Only size 40 left — just sold two today.
Desigual PATRI dress. Heart pattern with one red heart. $144, minus 20%.
Desigual HEART gloves, $49.95.
Desigual HEART knitted hat. $69.95.
Desigual ABUYA dress. $75.95, minus 20%.
Desigual NUBOLS leggings. $45.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual MIREIA T-shirt. $65.95.Has heart on side. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual MIREIA T-shirt, showing heart on side. $65.95. Spring 2016.
Desigual boots with tassels. $179.95, minus 20%. These have a wedge heel that’s hidden inside.
New arrivals: Desigual MARLEN boots. $149.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual VARSOVIA KARLIE bag. $85.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual SIX coat. $279.95, minus 20%. The daisy’s centre is a heart.
Desigual ALICIA dress. $155.95. Spring-Summer 2016.
Desigual is from Barcelona. It’s slogan is La Vida es Chula (Spanish translation: Life is Cool)!
We would love to have these Desigual pillows!
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Angel is a Desigual Wow Shop — the first Desigual boutique in Vancouver.
We have Desigual for men, women and kids — the largest selection of the latest Desigual on the west coast of Canada. Angel specializes in Desigual designed by Paris couturier Christian Lacroix.
Angel also has a 30% off sale on the other Spanish brands in stock: Smash!, Paramita & Compañía Fantástica.
We ship worldwide, with free shipping in Canada for purchases of $200.
Angel also offers personal shopping by appointment at our store. Call Angel at (604) 681-0947 or email me at jackie@angelpaint.com
And finally, Angel specializes in custom hand-painted clothing, including a new batch of fabulous kids T-shirts painted by Justine Brown, who used to paint for Angel when the store was on Robson Street:
Angel Vancouver is located at No. 2 Powell Street in the Gastown district of Vancouver, Canada. We are on the corner of Powell & Carrall Street in Maple Tree Square, where Vancouver began. The photo above shows what the location of my store looked like in 1886 (click on photo to enlarge).
Today’s video is Justin Bieber‘s Love Yourself, because I like the dance in the video:
This is Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld, who might be best known as the child actress nominated for an Oscar in the Cohen brothers’ movie True Grit (she recently did an a acoustic duet with Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes):
And finally, here’s a song from 1969 from Dan Hicks, who died yesterday. He mixed folk, jazz, swing and a bit of humour in his song I Scare Myself:
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