The most ladylike - Montblanc Greta Garbo

Personal Best of, Part 5

(also starring: a Jenni Bick leather journal. Yes, it's getting old, I know. But this pattern just was the perfect backdrop.)

I don't think there's a lot of explanations needed as to why I think this is a very ladylike pen. There are a few pens in my collection - which I will probably show off here over time - which I'd call feminine. That gorgeous Danitrio Mae West which might arrive with me before the weekend (oh, the anticipation!) is one of them. There's also a Namiki Yukari Yozakura Raden with pale pink and purple cherry blossoms. I once had a Montblanc Marlene Dietrich which I sold, definitely a "woman's pen" as well. But when it comes down to the lady factor, none is like Greta.

Montblanc Greta Garbo fountain pen

There is the shape, the colours - black and ivory with an ivory-colored star - and, of course, the pearl set at the end of the clip. There's also the size, which is petite.

I really like the lines of this pen and how that pearl takes center stage. There are also some things I'd like to change about the pen. They are the reason I'd rather hold and admire it than actually use it for writing.

Size and heft, or lack of both, is surely the central aspect. This is a lady's pen, no doubt of it, but even as a woman I like my pens on the heavier or at least a little larger side. It's very light and slim in the hand. Posting the cap would help, but it won't stick securely.
Secondly: Cartridge filler! Due to the taper of the barrel and its overall narrowness no standard converter will fit. It's cartridges or a mini converter (which will hold even less ink than a cartridge. Boo!) My Greta is fitted with a medium nib, which is sensible with regards to ink usage.

I sold the Marlene Dietrich because it had similar reasons going against it - narrow metal section, small ink capacity -, but I can't see myself parting with Greta anytime soon. I'm enchanted by it, even by its flaws.


Sometimes something beautiful just won't follow the rules as to what's convenient and practical. It's content being just beauty.