The world lost a screen goddess today: actress Elizabeth Taylor has died at the age of 79. She lived an amazingly long life considering her myriad health problems, which included a bout of pneumonia and an emergency tracheotomy in 1961. Shortly after that crisis, Taylor won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her…
Arts & Entertainment
I’m in a Rush Today
It’s been like 1982 around here because I can’t stop listening to Rush. “Subdivisions” sure rang true for me in high school. My best friend and I had crushes on Rush vocalist/keyboardist/bassist Geddy Lee. The bassists always get to me.
Syria Is in Vogue, Teen Blogger Is in Jail
I ripped out this small Reuters item from the New York Times on February 15, as a reminder that freedom of speech isn’t to be taken for granted: Syria: Teenage Blogger Sentenced to 5 Years A teenage blogger, brought into court chained and blindfolded, was sentenced Monday to five years in jail on charges of…
Random Nostalgia for Fake Lesbian Teens From Russia
Does anyone else miss t.A.T.u, the Russian pop duo who posed as lesbians, dressed like schoolgirls and made out on stage? No? I’m the only one? Fine! I’m not ashamed. I still listen to their two songs once in a while. I fondly remember their underwear-filled performance at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. I bet…
Great Minds Think Alike: Birds by Rochas, Perris, Hitchcock
I’m always looking for pieces that remind me of this gloomy/gorgeous Fall 2006 bird gown by Olivier Theyskens for Rochas. This bodysuit-and-pants ensemble by Bernard Perris, spotted on 1stdibs.com, immediately brought the Rochas to mind. I prefer seeing birds on clothes to birds on jungle gyms. Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds has been on television quite…
On the Town: Pre-Oscar Party in Los Angeles
MrB and I are on a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles. Last night, we went to The Weinstein Co. pre-Oscar party, where we discreetly ogled the dashing actor Colin Firth, who is sure to win an Oscar for his work in The King’s Speech. I continued my non-wardrobe-remixing tradition by wearing nearly the exact same…
On the Town: Huffington and Didion at Columbia Spectator Dinner
I work on a lot of non-jewelry and non-blog projects, but I don’t always write about them here. One of those — which I alluded to in this December post but didn’t name — is my chairmanship of the board of alumni trustees of the Columbia Daily Spectator, my alma mater‘s student newspaper. I was…
Lady Gaga Gives Me Crazy Jewelry Ideas
Last year, I made myself a special set of rings to wear to a Lady Gaga concert. I’ve posted them before on this blog, but here’s another look at them just for the hell of it. After I saw the photos of Gaga’s egg-tacular entrance at the Grammys on Sunday, I kept thinking, “This reminds…
Crossing My Fingers for Eminem, Lady Gaga at Grammys
Someone asked me for my “girl and boy crushes” at the Fashion Group International Rising Star Awards lunch last month. You know you’re at a fashion event and not the Council on Foreign Relations when you’re asked that question. The query is practically mandatory among the stylish set now: “What do you do?” and “Who…
Jewel of the Month: Black Swan Ring
Phew! January’s Jewel of the Month sneaked in just under the wire. Fine jewelry, like the cheese in Cheez-Its, can’t be rushed into maturity. A jewelry designer without her own factory must work with other people’s schedules. Last year, I wrote about lost-wax casting, a process in which a design is carved in hard wax….