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Hi! Apologies for my absence last week; parenting duties called and I’m only now catching my breath. Just in time for the Oscar Nominations Announcement and to realize that I am woefully behind on watching the nominated films. What did you like? What should I skip?
This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about taste: how one cultivates it, refines it, and shares it. (More on that below.) I like to think this newsletter is an exercise in just that—bringing together things I like and spotlighting people I admire. If you’ve been here from the beginning, you’ve stuck through 99 dispatches. Thank you! Here’s one more to round it out:
Well Heard
I was brought up by a mother with very strong, distinct personal taste, and I’ve always enjoyed the process of discovering and redefining my own—whether that was through people watching or window shopping or just rifling through magazines. Lately, with more time spent online and at the mercy of algorithms, our tastes have arguably become dulled by more of the same—whatever “same” means in your digital world. In mine, it’s neutral sweaters, Adidas Sambas, healthy Meditteranean cooking videos, and parenting hacks.
Which brings me to this week’s rec: On his podcast, Ezra Klein invited New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka to discuss personal style and authenticity. These days, living by your own taste, Ezra says, “feels increasingly like a kind of superpower, like a kind of act of resistance.” I found the episode thought-provoking, putting into words the general fatigue I’ve been feeling about social media as of late.
In a way, taste is akin to a muscle and, these days, we’re not required to flex it all. Kyle says:
“I think these ecosystems and platforms prevent us from experiencing difficult content in a healthy way. We don’t have to fight through something. We don’t have to be patient. … It’s almost like boredom doesn’t exist, like difficulty doesn’t exist, scarcity doesn’t exist. And I think a feeling I’ve been having a lot lately is that scarcity is often what creates meaning.”
So where do we find that contrast, that space of boredom and difficulty? How do we get back to figuring out what we like? This year, I’d like to try.
Well Read
This week, The New Yorker published a profile of filmmaker Sofia Coppola several years in the making. It’s written by Rachel Syme and shot by Thea Traff (a super-talented photographer who I worked alongside at the magazine years back), and dives into several of Coppola’s works, from The Virgin Suicides to Lost in Translation. Syme also spent some time on the set of her latest, Priscilla, about the early private life and loneliness of Elvis Presley’s wife.
Critics deem Coppola’s work superficial, all surface and no substance. On Marie Antoinette, specifically, the reception has been very divided. Personally, I love every lingering moment, every visual cue that Coppola has imbued into her eight feature films. I even wrote my Master’s thesis on the element of silence in her movies. And so, I couldn’t help but smile when Coppola emailed Syme at one point, unprompted: “I don’t understand why looking at superficiality makes you superficial?!”
If you haven’t yet bought Coppola’s new book of photographs and ephemera from her career, I recommend it! And to give you a sense of Coppola’s visual approach, here’s an excerpt from the piece:
Well Fed
Earlier this week, my friend Katherine and I went to a chat between food writer Ruth Reichl and chef Nancy Silverton. We left with Silverton’s latest cookbook, The Cookie That Changed My Life, which, Silverton says, all started after she tried a peanut butter cookie in her kitchen one day and was forever transformed.
I haven’t made my way through the tome yet—it’s a long one—but I’m already excited to try her almond biscotti, her coffee cake, and her carrot cake, made with roasted carrots and brown butter cream cheese frosting. I’ll report back. In the meantime, should we all try our hand at the cookie that started it all? Here's the recipe! Silverton, in an effort to improve on the original recipe from baker Roxana Jullapat, adds peanut butter and roasted peanuts on top of her version. Which sounds, and looks, ridiculous. (See above.)
Well Drawn
This week’s pick, by Sarah Kempa for The New Yorker. Am I the only one whose night is never complete without something sweet?! My usual picks lately: Tony Chocolonely milk chocolate caramel, Trü Frü chocolate-covered frozen fruit, or Magic Morsel tiny brownies.
Well Worn
This weather (in the northeast anyway) begs for close-toed shoes. For me, that’s often sneakers or boots, both of which are perfectly fine. But sometimes there’s space for something in between. Something not quite as casual as a sneaker, not quite as hefty as a boot. Enter the loafer! I’m not quite sure what the difference is between a driving loafer, a travel loafer, a boat shoe, and a mocassin, so the offering below might just be a mix of everything. It’s basically what I want to be wearing on my feet with a good, thin pair of socks:
I love the way this soft ATP pair scrunches at the toe; it kind of feels like a nod to the Row ($$$). Also, Aeyde has a square-toe patent pair that balances masculine and feminine nicely.
Jamie Haller makes a loafer that is, in my mind, the most perfect shape. I have this pair in black (but oxblood is great too). They’re pricey, but I think they look even better as they wear over time, which means you’ll have them for years. I also like the simplicity and the edges on this Vince pair.
This buckled loafer by Massimo Dutti is a fresh addition to the genre.
Hereu brings us a loafer that doesn’t feel so muted. The color, the leather, the crinkle! If you’re looking for even more color, the Office of Angela Scott has a magenta metallic pair. J.Crew has a gold croc-embossed pair that I tried on and still think about.
G.H. Bass makes me wonder why I haven’t owned rain loafers before. I especially like them in yellow.
I’ve recently learned about Belgian loafers and I’m into them. Del Toro makes a solid pair in many colors.
I was kind of shocked to see Miu Miu offer up boat shoes, and while I’m not on board just yet, this Sebago pair will save you $800. (Although I think I like this Minnetonka pair even more.)
If we’re dreaming, Loro Piana makes a shearling charm loafer in olive green that looks utterly cozy and chic. Aurélien approximates the Loro Piana look for (slightly) less.
Signing off with two snapshots from Schiaparelli’s spring 2024 couture collection (it’s Paris Haute Couture Week!), featuring a dress made from electronic waste and a bionic baby:
More next week!
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Weekly links and musings from my little corner of the Internet