Several newspaper articles this weekend struck a chord with me. In the New York Times magazine, David Amsden wrote about New Orleans-born John Cummings, a white 77-year-old “trial lawyer who has helped win more than $5 billion in class-action settlements and a real estate magnate whose holdings have multiplied his wealth many times over.” Cummings…
newspapers
Being Ugly at 40?
Several people have pointed this out to me: On September 19, the Washington Post’s PostEverything section had a rather depressing essay by Sonia Greenfield titled, “Being 40 has totally changed how I feel about how I look.” But even more of a downer than, “In my 40s, it seems like ‘inoffensive’ is what I should…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry in the New York Post
If you’re in New York, run to the nearest newsstand and get the New York Post. Today’s edition includes the Post’s Alexa luxury supplement, and my Empress Wu dragon earrings are featured in Alexa! I’m in great company, sharing the page with Balmain, Valentino, Christian Louboutin, Erdem and Dolce & Gabbana, among others. Thanks, New…
A Man and His Cat … and His Birthday
A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published an amusing piece by Tim Kreider called, “A Man and His Cat.” It’s about being a Crazy Cat Guy, which Kreider was, even if, unlike me, he didn’t post photos of his cat online. (He did sing to his though.) While reading the essay, I…
Buying Fine Jewelry Online
Folks often ask me, “Do people REALLY buy fine jewelry online?” And I answer, “Hell, yeah!” As a matter of fact, online sales are what have kept my business going since 2005. For more stories about online jewelry shopping, check out the this story in the Wall Street Journal. The piece by Lauren Sherman notes…
Hot Earring Trends in the Mainstream Media
Last year, I wrote a Huffington Post story called, “Not So Fast There! The Surprisingly Long Life of Fashion Trends,” in which I observed that fashion trends don’t come and go as quickly as we think they do. In fact, trends can take seasons — or even years — to develop, and then linger for…
Jill Abramson Out at New York Times; Cue My Side-Eye
If you’ve been on Twitter today, you already know it: This afternoon, the New York Times reported that Jill Abramson, its executive editor, “is unexpectedly leaving the position and will be replaced by Dean Baquet, the managing editor.” Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. made the announcement in the Times newsroom at 2:30 p.m. ET. Abramson, 60,…
The Weeks in Review
The past two weeks have been wild around here! The big news was the announcement that the Columbia Daily Spectator — the undergraduate newspaper of my alma mater, Columbia University — would focus on its website, while reducing its printing schedule from five times a week to once a week. As the chairman of the…
Never Is the Next New Thing™: My Bio and Columbia Spectator
If you’ve read my blog for a while — or simply looked at my header — you know that my personal (trademarked!) adage is “Never Is the Next New Thing™.” It started out as a 2010 observation about fashion trends. I wrote: “I used to say, ‘Never say never’ when it comes to fashion, but…
Be Specific About What You Wish For
People always say, “Be careful what you wish for.” Having read a lot of fantasy and magic-land-type books as a child, I’ve always thought there should be follow-up warning: “Be specific about what you wish for.” A common plot twist in the fantasy genre involves a poor soul who doesn’t word a wish carefully and…