a woman needs a man…

December 5, 2019

tights
big things
quoting,
a woman needs

I’ve said it before, I love tights, and my favorite are Heist. But when I saw this print, by Swedish Stockings, I decided to give them a try.

Although I’ve been railing about the excess of animal prints in fashion, for how many years now, I do like a little pussy cat in my life. And because tights are a part of my winter “look,” leopard tights are a logical addition.

As far as sustainability goes, here’s what the people at Swedish Stockings say:

“We create our pantyhose from both pre and post-consumer nylon waste. The production process is a lot less harmful to the environment than traditional nylon production and we are consistently looking for innovative and cleaner ways to produce – conserving or reusing water, decreasing emissions, reducing and recycling waste.”

big things

I’m going back to Latvia for three weeks, flying in on Christmas Eve. For some unfathomable reason, I can’t remember why I chose this, we’re staying in a fifth floor walk-up. Why this apartment?

Continue Reading

Share

alright millennial

November 20, 2019

Patrick Duffy

alright millennial
global fashion exchange
baubles bangles and beads
quoting


I’m almost over the “ok boomer” thing, almost. Like most “things” these days you’re practically forced to pay attention to them, and when it’s something like “ok boomer,” give it some thought. And my thought is alright millennial.

Just to make things easier, I’m using the term “millennial” here to stand in for all generations coming after boomers. I’m well aware that there are differences between every generation and that the differences are important.

Also, no generation is monolithic, and we should all acknowledge that. But demographics tells us that there are some, widespread similarities between the people in any given generation.

For those of you like me, who forget the exact years associated with the generations, here’s a graphic to remind you. Apparently, no women were born in these eras according to the blog Kasasa? (Insert hand to forehead emoji here.)

First, a “confession.” Generally speaking, I like millennials, and I also like Gen Z and Gen X.

Let’s just say I like the youth, and unlike many other anti-ageism activists, I don’t even have a big problem with “ok boomer.” Mostly, and except of course, when it affects me directly, funny how it works that way. 

*Read a good, short, anti ageism activist’s post here, on Ashton Applewhite’s blog, including my comment.

But alright millennial, there is one instance, when a blanket dismissal of the boomer generation, by those of a younger one, is to be examined very closely indeed. 

Continue Reading

Share

is advanced style advanced?

November 14, 2019

 Kathleen Ryan

is advanced style advanced
kathleen ryan
esquivel, american made shoes
quoting


Is the style known as Advanced Style, the term coined by Ari Seth Cohen, advanced? Is it “over the top,” as some have always believed? Perhaps Advanced Style is simply what it’s always been, a cohort of like-minded women, and men, who like to dress what might be called, “extravagantly?”

Is Advanced Style advanced?

This is what I’ve been thinking about ever since I had a very interesting talk, with a young man, in a coffee shop. He complimented my style, and then we proceeded to talk about what we both “did;” he worked in an art gallery, me, I’m a blogger.

Then we got around to the women of New York and the women of Advanced Style, a perfectly logical transition for this sophisticated town, and besides, we both know some “AS” proponents.

And then this stylish, young man told me he thought the whole Advanced Style thing was kind of “sad.” And I have to admit, I was more than a bit taken aback.

The Advanced Style is not monolithic,

Continue Reading

Share

“cold latex dipped in ketchup and horseradish”

November 4, 2019

cold latex dipped in ketchup and horseradish
quoting

“Some things are the same as ever. The shrimp cocktail has always tasted like cold latex dipped in ketchup and horseradish. The steak sauce has always tasted like the same ketchup and horseradish fortified by corn syrup.”

That’s just one of the memorable lines from Pete Wells, the restaurant critic at the New York Times, writing about the once “famous,” now likely “infamous,” Peter Luger Steak House. 

In some ways I was reluctant to write this post, even though I’ve been feeling like I should for months now. Then, there appeared a scathing restaurant review in the New York Times. No, scathing is not the word, a NO STARS review is the word!

“The Department of Motor Vehicles is a block party compared with the line at Peter Luger.”

“I know there was a time the German fried potatoes were brown and crunchy, because I eagerly ate them each time I went. Now they are mushy, dingy, gray and sometimes cold. I look forward to them the way I look forward to finding a new, irregularly shaped mole.”

Wonderful lines, aren’t they? It’s lines like these that could help bring back the art of criticism, the noble pursuit of telling people precisely why something is not good. 

Inspired by this great criticism; the clear, precise, and indisputable truth put down with great writing, I’m returning to a brand I was once a fan of to tell you why it no longer sizzles, why it’s not good.

Peter Luger Used to Sizzle. Now It Sputters.

To me, the shoe above is the equivalent of this

Continue Reading

Share