And away we go...
My NYC hit list, and some things about Dior's sister.
Wow, so that was summer? Was it fun? Fulfilling? Did we get enough of it? Time feels so warped—like an accordion, expanding and then compressing into pleated folds—that it seems impossible to assess. It was what it was…and here we are. It’s Fashion Week (aka NYFW) in New York, and while many designers have pulled back on the big-production, celebratory spectacles they teased a few months ago, the current energy is no less contagious. Yesterday’s Ulla Johnson show at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens was a gorgeous way to start the morning, and Proenza' Schouler’s colorful sunset presentation on the west side’s newest addition, Little Island was an equally inspiring way to close it out. Days like that always make me feel glad to be a New Yorker: for the people, the places, and most especially this overwhelming feeling of resilience and inertia, despite the setbacks.
1.
Speaking of fashion…nano-trend alert (or maybe it’s more like a pico-trend): those slinky leopard print skirts dominating street style pics and everyone’s Instagram feeds back in 2019 has transmuted into the leopard-print mask. No article necessary, you guys are all seeing this too, right? Spots. E V E R Y W H E R E.
2.
My friend Julie and I have had a longstanding a tradition of seeing independent films on holiday weekends since before Netflix even existed. It’s the best. We were both quite game to see the Anthony Bourdain doc, “Roadrunner,” but it was this trailer preceding it that made us rully, rully psyched for our next movie date: Julia Child’s career and life story, told by the people who knew her.
3.
The Dior exhibition opens tomorrow at the Brooklyn Museum, but I’m actually more excited to read Jodie Picardie’s biography of the designer’s sister when it comes out next month. Catherine Dior wasn’t just her brother’s muse, nor the namesake of a fragrance (Miss Dior), she was also a fearless member of the French resistance during WWII, and a concentration camp fighter.
4.
As most of us are cautiously shuffling back to what feels as close to normal(ish) life as possible right now, there’s always those lingering concerns about being out in public amongst strangers: who’s vaccinated, who’s unvaccinated, will there be crowds, are others wearing masks…every day comes with its own lineup of mental risk assessments. I liken it a lot to driving: you can be a safe driver, but you have no idea when it comes to others on the road—but we still drive places. Here’s something I found really interesting: thoughts on the argument that vaccine mandates infringe on Americans’ civil liberties, written by the national legal director of the A.C.L.U., and the director of its program on freedom of religion and belief. (It’s the same reason why drunk driving is illegal.)
5.
Just some things I’m very excited to do these next few weeks: take in the sunset with oysters and a glass of something fizzy at Panorama Room on Roosevelt Island, which I wrote about for Air Mail a few weeks ago; enjoy a long-overdue dinner with my girlfriend Meg at Nat’s on Bank, the latest West Village debut by the gang behind Fat Radish and Orchard Townhouse; and in October, I’ll head north to take in a bit of the south, at Y’All Mart, a multi-brand pop-up shop featuring some of the Lone Star state’s finest goods. (Could they also pack up and ship out some of my favorite Texans? Isadora, Amanda, LJ???)