I went to journalism school, so there are few cows more sacred to me than the New York Times. Like all my other nerdy j-school friends, I was pretty stoked to see “Page One” a documentary focused on how America’s most important newspaper is struggling to survive in the era of digital media. Or, at least, I was until none other but the Times itself eviscerated the film in a review today.
Seems like a conflict of interest, right? Psh, come on. We’re talking about the New York Times here. They wouldn’t fall for that. So they ran out and got an unbiased third party, former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley. Kinsley writes, “Like a shopper at the supermarket without a shopping list, ‘Page One’ careers around the aisles picking up this item and that one, ultimately coming home with three jars of peanut butter and no 2-percent milk. “
I’ll probably see the movie all the same, but I’m a total sucker for a good grocery store metaphor.
p.s. Watch what happens when executive editor Bill Keller let Jason Jones into the Times newsroom in 2009. I’ll maintain it’s one of the best Daily Show segments ever.
Must Read: Tough as Nails
The forever-intrepid New York Times Style section posted an article yesterday about the holy grail of nail care: the indestructible manicure.
Shellac, which is described as “a soak-off hybrid between a gel and polish,” allegedly lasts unchipped for at least two weeks. The biggest downsides appear to be possible nail damage if improperly removed and cost: the Times reporter paid $40 for application and $30 for removal.
And, as the paper pointed out, who can handle that much commitment? My favorite part about nail polish is that I can change it daily, if I so choose. Pedicures, however, may be a different story…
Does anyone else really, really want a Mad Men Barbie? No? Just me?
Yeah, thought so.
Lazin’ on Sunday Morning
Alice Waters was featured in the New York Times Sunday Routine column this week. It’s essentially a brief interview with various semi-famous people about what they do on Sundays. Silly and fascinating, the column is quickly becoming my new favorite part of the paper.
Waters, my personal hero, likes to hike, read the paper, and go to the movies. Oh, and of course: cook.
Start Spreading The News
Awesome profile in today’s Times about Michael Musto, the infamous Village Voice gossip columnist. Musto is perhaps the last of his breed: a gossip hound who actually likes people. Plus, the dude rides his bike from party to party every night. Read it here.
Is Crystal Renn What Fat Looks Like?
The New York Times has an article today on Crystal Renn, the most successful “plus-sized” model in the fashion world. Not to knock The Times, but this sort of article appeared pretty regularly in Vogue, Elle, etc, about two years ago.
Still, it’s pretty cool to see a non-extra terrestrial model get such prominent coverage. It would just be nice if the stories were more like, “wow, this chick is super hot” and less about how she doesn’t look as fat as the writer thought she would.
Required Reading
The case of the missing photographs! Billy Name was the principle photographer at the Factory from 1963-1970. His archive, which includes several thousand images of Andy Warhol and his cohorts, like the one of Edie Sedgwick (above) has gone missing. Or at least that’s what Name claims.
Read the full story at the New York Times.
Cinderella Moments for Less $$$
The technology section of the New York Times isn’t one I normally drop by often, but it featured an interesting, fashion-related article there. The two ladies above are the founders of Rent The Runway, a netflix-style dress service that lets customers rent designer goods for a fraction of the price. You pick a dress online, have it sent to you, enjoy for four days and then return in the mail.
It sounds like a neat idea, but I don’t really think I’d go for it. I just don’t think I could enjoy myself in some company’s Maladrino. A small gripe about this article: it pretends this is a fresh idea. Apparently these tech writers have not heard of Bag Borrow or Steal. God, these Times technology journalists. When will they learn?
P.S. I also don’t really want to be a customer of those girls. The Times comes a knocking for a photo, and the most fashion-y thing you chose to put on is a cocktail dress and heels?
I Heard You Got Pinned (Yeah, Yeah)
I’m (almost) a week late on this one, but the Dining section in the New York Times had a super cute article about downgraded dating. Dates used to come complete with white table clothes, multiple forks and violin music. These days, prospective couples just want to eat greasy food and drink.
Obviously. I would take some beer and a burger over beef tenderloin any day.
Page in Leopard Print Lemonade
This is super cute: The New York Times Style Section has a great slideshow about how to be a vampy pin-up girl. Among its tips:
- To set lipstick: apply lipstick, set with powder, apply lipstick again
-1940s models posed with their legs closely together and lips slightly apart.
- Elbows are better than a push-up bra for the created illusion of a nice rack.
Oh, Darling!
Yesterday, the NYT Magazine published its annual Food Issue. This is a big deal for me because I’m obsessed with not only food itself, but food culture, food systems and agriculture. I pretty nerdily wait all year for it.
And it seriously delivered. I am still working my way through it, but there was an excellent essay by Mark Bittman, an article about Jamie Oliver’s quest to help teach a West Virginia town about nutrition and a cool little graphic bit from Michael Pollan. The Pollan page (cartoon? item? piece? I don’t really know what to call it) cultivated his favorite 20 rules on eating which had been solicited on nyt.com. My favorite it above.
OH, and basically the greatest Consumed column ever about Mexican Coke and a really touching obit on On Language’s William Safire.
In other food news, I had a boon for delicious homemade eating last week. My favorite thing to eat ever cassoulet, boef bourginon, chicken with pasta and homemade pesto AND quiche all made appearances on my coffee table. The tragic news now is that I spent my entire grocery budget on going out for dinner and drinks this weekend.
So I am hereby commencing an experiment. I’m only going to eat food that’s already in my apartment. No grocery shopping for anything. If I can’t make it out of what I’ve got, then I’m not making it.
This really only has to go on for four days since my mom is coming to visit and I expect we’ll eat out, but it’s a little baby experiment all the same.
Getting Bored is Not Allowed
I grew up reading Eloise. I love hotels. I am now a college student. I love this NYT article about 100 beautiful European hotels under $150.
It’s still probably too much for me, but I don’t care.
Breaking: Anonymous Robber gets 15 Minutes
Millions of dollars worth of Andy Warhol prints have been stolen from the West LA home of art collector Richard Weisman. As unfortunate as the theft is, I’m pretty sure Warhol would have loved this.
Via NYT.
J.C. Penney: Not just for fat people
Speaking of The Time’s style section…
So J.C. Penney is getting quite a bit of play in the New York Times lately. First, the ultra critical shopper Cintra Wilson takes the American chain to task for having the audacity to open a store in Manhattan and basically cater to the fat, tasteless tourists who dare roam New York city. Then, Clark Hoyt aka the Public Editor, takes Wilson to task for, well, being a huge bitch. On top of all this, I (Heart) Ronson, one of the store’s cooler designer collaboration lines, debutes its fall collection with a super glamorous party that gets a lot of positive attention on the fashion blogs.
I’m not normally a J.C. Penney’s shopper. Wilson may have gone for the kill with her review, but some of it rang true to me: the store does generally use cheap fabrics and tends to knock off high end design. But I really admire Charlotte Ronson (sister of Sam and Mark), the designer behind I (Heart) Ronson, for her beachy, California girl aesthetic. Plus, I’m a total sucker for a designer collaboration line.
So I dragged my very unwilling mother into our local dreary mall to check it out. And, boy, we were pleasantly surprised. The clothes were pretty, cool, well-made, and lacked the tinge of ridiculous that usually haunts designer collabs. I went home with a super cute skirt/blouse combo thing, the bottom half of which can be seen on the right in the picture above, and my mom scored a super adorable peacock top. The total for all three was $65. We walked away with heavy wallets, cute clothes and happy hearts.
There was not an obese mannequin in sight.
All the News
In today’s New York Times, veteran fashion reporter Cathy Horyn profiles Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen as designers, not celebrities, tween icons or constant paparazzi victims. Yet, the whole article is basically about how the success of their lines is based totally on their celebrity.
Now, Cathy Horyn has been The Times’ fashion critic since 1999 and is generally a pretty well respected one. She’s even been banned from fashion shows for being “too harsh.”
Still, I was really disappointed in the article from top to bottom. And it’s not just that I really love MK & A. It’s pretty easy to dismiss the success of their lines - The Row and Elizabeth and James - on their celebrity, but it’s not entirely fair, either. If you look at the price points from The Row, they run about $200 to $3,000. That’s a lot of cash for someone to drop just because they know Ashley Olsen is behind the look. Furthermore, as a fashion reporter, I’m really disappointed that Horyn didn’t get into the creative process of the lines. Does Ashley Olsen, who, as Horyn points out, has no fashion training whatsoever, sit there and make patterns? Where do her ideas come from? What are the biggest challenges in making their designs? Inspirations? Who, in their minds, are their customers? Who do they design for?
Come on, NYT. We can do better than this.
p.s. thanks to friends mary ann and eric for the heads up on this one!
