Hi there! I’m going to share two articles today. I keep dithering because I want to find more, and I have so many 20% finished posts, and then I think I should just combine them all, but it doesn’t happen, but here we are.
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful start to the year. I know it is SO boring to hear about why other people have been busy (and I feel ridiculous saying it as I do spend time staring into space, thinking about stupid things) and yet that is my excuse, I’ve been editing and working and now it is TAX season. The kids are 7 and 9 now and it got easier for a while but now I feel like it is harder? Maybe it is just all the kid activities and the killer flu going around.
Anyway. Two articles for you, starting with one that I just loved and found today, written by Zadie Smith for British Vogue. I love everything Zadie writes and this is no exception…just a thoughtful piece about how she is approaching her closet in her late 40s. Relatable! And I absolutely love her approach that “everything has a season.” It helped me think about some items in my closet, because otherwise I’m also confused about what I can still “wear.” Everything? But what if I just don’t feel good in it? But then what if I don’t feel good about not feeling good? Why do we make things so difficult on ourselves? Anyway..
The second article I’m sharing is less inspiring but still thought provoking, a piece from the NYT: Obscene Prices, Declining Quality: Luxury is in a Death Spiral. I recently had the delightful experience of running to a blog reader at a publishing event (hi V!) and besides being excellent just to meet, we also shared our experience with luxury over the years…how we used to like it a lot and how we still do and yet consume so much less. Some of that is surely life stages but some of it I think is just….the value? It’s always been not a great value but still I didn’t feel I was being so stupidly taken advantage of before…and now I often do. So that’s changed.
As always, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on the two pieces above, or anything else, your life, whatever you want to share with me! I feel this is a little community that we’ve made over the years…thank you for being here, and I hope 2025 has treated you well so far.
2 Comments
KN
March 8, 2025 at 12:44 pmI loved the Zadie Smith article. Good to have you back. I am glad to have checked if you have posted anything new. Keep doing what you can do. Enjoy life as it comes at you.
H
March 8, 2025 at 12:56 pmThank you for posting again!
Loved the Zadie Smith piece (audibly guffawed at the line abotu the denim jumpsuits)– such a lovely way of looking at change. The NYT piece was very good, too. Shopping has become just irritating– poor quality, poor customer service, time sunk into trying to fix those problems– that I am increasingly just opting out, especially from any big American brands or from luxury conglomerates. I have been very happy with a few things from small shops in Italy and Scotland. Prices were very good, they were lovely, and didn’t seem like some trend-driven piece that I’ll be sick of seeing in a few months. So I’ll probably just do most of my discretionary fashion shopping when I travel: it’s more fun, has more memories, and I frankly have enough anyway.