The editors at the glossy fashion magazines have had a hard time deciding how to approach the economic downturn. There have been some forced-sounding articles on shopping at Target and “in your closet.” It’s time to bring in Ice-T. My main pimp, looking stylish in a $100 suit, sounded off to New York Magazine about…
Business
Where Are You Now, Gold Bugs?
Continuing my thoughts from a week ago…. Gold is down below $800 an ounce (yay!) and headed for a big weekly loss. Naturally, I haven’t heard from any would-be gold investors today, because THIS would be the time to buy gold. I only hear from them when gold is at a high. Speaking of investing,…
P.T. Barnum — Or Someone — Was Right
I always thought Dick Fuld, the chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers (my former employer), was an arrogant S.O.B. But I’m not really taking any pleasure in his being scapegoated for the current financial crisis. Lehman wouldn’t have failed if the government hadn’t decided to stick to a “tough love” approach for all of 24…
I Feel a Little Famous
I did a double take over a story in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine about the websites of troubled financial institutions. There are about four paragraphs on the Lehman Brothers website — and that site was one of my responsibilities when I was Lehman’s managing editor for e-commerce. Image from the New York Times The…
Buh-Bye to Lehman Brothers
I drove by my old Lehman Brothers office building this week and saw that the giant screens on the outside of the building now display the logo of Barclays, the buyer of bankrupt Lehman’s core businesses. Photo from the New York Post I expected this to happen, yet I was still a little sad. I…
In the News: Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers, the investment bank, filed for bankruptcy protection. I worked at Lehman from 2000 to 2005. In the past, when people asked me about my work history, I used to say that I worked at “the Wall Street Journal, CNN, People Magazine and an investment bank” because no one except people in the financial…
The Printed Page
Anyone who is a fan of the ’90s supermodels (or, as I think of them, the ONLY supermodels) needs to check out September’s Vanity Fair. Scan from Fashion Week Daily And if you’re too young to remember a time in fashion before actresses dominated magazine covers while wan, bug-eyed teenagers drifted down the runways —…
The Cost of Living
Last month, I bought 16 inches of heavy 18K chain for $444. The same chain cost me $255 in 2006.
About This Blog
If you are a new reader who is visiting due to my Marie Claire story, you might be wondering what the hell is going on here. If you’re an old reader who joined me at some point since I started this blog last July, you might be wondering the same thing. A second photo from…
A Few Remarks
My long-awaited website is sort of launched. Important changes are still being made — including changes to the ordering mechanism — but if you happen to see it, you’re not hallucinating. If you want to order something but have trouble, contact me at wbjewelry at hotmail dot com. If you try to order anything that…