The New York Times Magazine this weekend has a fascinating story on one man’s search for information on two female blues singers of the 1930s: Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley. There are fewer than 10 surviving copies of their three known record releases and you can hear one of the songs on the New York…
newspapers
The High Price of Oscar Jewelry
In my paean to Elizabeth Taylor’s relationship with jewelry, written after the star’s death in 2011, I mentioned that celebrities today are sometimes paid to wear jewelry, unlike Dame Elizabeth, who owned her own diamonds. March’s Vanity Fair — the Hollywood issue — has more information on the price of red-carpet representation. Here is a…
What Wendy Wore: Katie Couric at Columbia Spectator Dinner
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m the chairman of the board of alumni trustees of the Columbia Daily Spectator, Columbia University’s student newspaper. Every February, the Spectator has a big awards dinner. We always have high-profile keynote speakers. Recent ones have included Arianna Huffington (Joan Didion presented an award at that dinner as well); Julius Genachowski,…
Recommended Reading: Newspaper Series
Some days it is challenging to read the newspaper around here … … but I usually prevail after scooping up FitzRoy and depositing him in another room. Those of you with more recalcitrant cats can catch up with the good stuff online. For instance, last week, the Wall Street Journal ran an interesting series called “The…
MrB, Photographed by Bill Cunningham. Plus, a Casting Call.
The original street-style photographer, Bill Cunningham of the New York Times, also shoots big social events. He was at the Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Awards on Tuesday, where he photographed MrB, the other awardees and guests. You can see the pictures in tomorrow’s New York Times Sunday Styles section … and here….
Good Reading for Aspiring Rocket Scientists (and Other Wimmins)
A fascinating article by Eileen Pollack in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine asks, “Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?” It’s worthwhile reading for all wimmins, even those not interested in science, and I’m going to get to why that is … just as soon as I tell you about the science part….
Recommended Reading, Copy of the Day, Week in Review
There was some enlightening reading in the New York Times this weekend. If you missed it, check out the cover story of the New York Times Magazine: “Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer,” by Peggy Orenstein, about how “awareness” (including mammograms and all kinds of pink shit sold in October) hasn’t decreased breast-cancer deaths. I’ve…
“Covert Luxury”: Jewelry With Secrets in the Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal today ran an article by Jenni Avins called “Falling for the Flip Side” about jewelry with secret details. I so wish I had been included in this story because the first paragraph captures my design philosophy so well: “To the casual observer, jewelry is all about catching the eye—how a stone…
What Wendy Wore: Leopard-Print DVF From 2002
While reading this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, I laughed a little over a story called, “The One That Got Away,” about shopping for past-season, but not-officially-vintage fashion on Yoox, eBay, and a number of recently launched pre-owned clothing sites. In particular, these two sentences amused me: “Buying clothes in this way, however, requires a change…
Fall 2013’s Fur-Skirt Mini-Trend; Plus, Phind Me on Pheed!
The Fall 2013 fashion shows have wrapped up and Eric Wilson of The New York Times, who observed a lot of mini-trends on the runways, picked one that stood out to him: “… most intriguing, both in its pervasiveness and its silliness,” he wrote, “is the fur skirt.” But, Wilson wondered, why does the fur…