"Eat Pray Love" Toys: Collect Them All!

Piper Weiss


"Eat Pray Love", the memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, now a movie starring Julia Roberts, has gotten a lot of flack for being "Priv-Lit". The message of embracing life and love, through a year-long trip around the globe, is only really a plausible if you're rich and debt free. Never mind the non-stop turning down of various hot young men plot line--which only seems to happen if you're Julia Roberts.

Cost Plus World Market saw this dilemma and took action. If you can't afford a trip around the world, you can at least find your spiritual fulfillment with a block print pattern. Pier 1's West Coast soulmate (Seriously Pier, you would love this gal, you have so much in common) has now made eating, praying and loving easy for all women! Rangelife blog alerted us to the new Happy Meal style merchandising of the movie. There's all this awesome stuff like tea! and prayer beads! and yoga accessories! Really, it's not so different from figurines from the film "Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" in Burger King kids meals. Except there's no burger. There's not even stuff to EAT. Check out World Market's EPL offerings and even more incredible ad copy:



EAT: This tea offers "a sip-by-sip journey ...inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's life-changing journey of discovery."




PRAY: "Use our gorgeous Eat Pray Love™ Buddhist prayer beads to count time during your own meditation practice...Our beautiful Eat Pray Love™ Yoga Bag is an eye-catching and practical tote for your yoga mat. In vivid orange with designs inspired by traditional symbols found in India, and topped with a handy drawstring closure and adjustable strap, our Eat Pray Love™ yoga bag is as inspiring as your practice. The blue pocket emblazoned with the symbol for "om" is a perfect pouch for your water bottle and keys."





LOVE: "Our pretty paisley tunic looks lovely when worn with jeans, over your yoga clothes or as an elegant alternative to a T-shirt as a beach cover up. With a look inspired by the movie, our tunic is block printed in patterns found in traditional Indian design."

A little constructive criticism for World Market: Tea isn't food. Maybe consider selling us that bowl of pasta in the previews? For the pray products, lay off the TM's. We got it. After we saw the first one, we decided not to steal the name. So we're cool. And finally: Show me the man who will love me in a loose-fitting, "Indian inspired" factory-made tunic with an Eat Pray Love label. No really, I'd like to meet him. Because I'm pretty sure he's not a man.

Never mind the fact that the products counter the "fulfillment comes from within" message of the book, these "Indian-inspired" products sure make India seem like the Soho branch of YogaZone. Oh and sorry, Buddha.