Some people loathe Valentine’s Day. “It was invented by Hallmark to sell cards!” they complain. That’s not true, though. The holiday can be traced back to the kinky ancient Roman holiday of Lupercalia, which was then adapted by early Christians, who liked to de-kink pagan holidays by co-opting them and giving them a new backstory…
Valentine’s Day/Anti-Valentine’s Day Countdown: #1 of 14
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, I’m going to go crazy and give you a countdown of 14 Jewels of the Month instead of the usual one. Of course, not everyone feels the love for this holiday, so I’m going to alternate between Valentine’s Day suggestions for the romantics — and anti-Valentine’s Day designs suitable…
My Best Dressed at the 2016 SAG Awards Is …
Another Hollywood awards show has come and gone without a good candidate for my coveted Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award. Like the Critics’ Choice Awards earlier in the month, Saturday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards had a lot of attractive red-carpet looks, but none that gave me that special “so wrong it’s right” feeling….
The Week in Review
In case you missed it, here’s what was on the blog this week. Monday: Seen in New York City — the perfect man! Tuesday: A vintage Moschino that should be in my collection. Wednesday: RIP, Cindy Edelstein. Thursday: Juana la Loca — and me — in Spain. Friday: Do great artists steal? Over on Instagram,…
Great Artists Steal. Or Do They?
Pablo Picasso is often quoted as saying, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” If he really did say that, he wasn’t the first. Quote Investigator, which hasn’t confirmed the Picasso attribution, reports that T. S. Eliot expressed a similar sentiment regarding poets in 1920. Eliot, in turn, may have been influenced by an 1892 line…
Throwback Thursday: Juana la Loca in Spain
MrB and I have been visiting Madrid and Pamplona so that MrB could speak to journalism students and alumni at the #CelebratingJournalism events organized by the School of Communication at the University of Navarra. For those who don’t know, MrB (also known as Paul Steiger) was the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal for…
RIP, Cindy Edelstein
When I write an obituary for this blog, it’s often for someone with a household name, such as David Bowie. This time, it’s more personal. If you’re not in the fine-jewelry community, you may not have heard of Cindy Edelstein, but I encourage you to read about her anyway, because she is a role model…
Bitch Stole My Moschino!
I’m mad that I didn’t see this vintage Moschino dress on 1stdibs.com before someone else bought it. I already have two Moschino “message” dresses. I wore my “You Can Dress Me Up But You Can’t Take Me Out” dress for the first time in 2010. In 2014, I got the “Not Just a Pretty Dress”…
Seen in New York City
While doing errands last week — before the big snow — I took a few photos of things that entertained me. This No Parking sign on 5th Avenue always makes me laugh. I promise you that if you go to the Rockefeller Center skating rink on Valentine’s Day, you’ll see at least one proposal if…
The Week in Review
In case you missed it, here’s what was on the blog this week. Sunday: Judith Light brought the fierceness to the Critics’ Choice Awards. Monday: I wore red velvet Lemington Ridley to the GEM Awards. Tuesday: My high-school friend Jim still has his 1983 David Bowie concert-ticket stub. Thursday: Found a 1980s photo of Madonna…