Initial Discomfort (opens in new tab)

“I’d like to add his initial to my monogram.” Once a discreet mark of ownership, the monogram has swelled into an exercise in personal branding. Can it be saved? By Jennifer Noyes There was a time when a monogram kept a low profile. It appeared on a cuff, or the corner of a handkerchief, or a pillowcase that had seen better days, and that was that. If you noticed it, fine. If you didn’t, no one felt the need to circle back and point it out.The custom started, sensibly enough, in 18th- and 19t...