In the new film The Descendants, director Alexander Payne paints a bittersweet portrait of Matt King (George Clooney), and of everyday life in the Hawaiian Islands. For non-natives, the film is also an education in the modern Aloha Shirt. Taken out of context, some Aloha shirts can be obnoxious, or even comical. But in Hawaii, surrounded by vivid, Jurassic-sized plants … Continue reading →

The cultural avant-garde are the true innovators of their craft. They live to rebel against the status-quo, no matter how limited their appeal may be. In 1969, the freelance stylist Rei Kawakubo started her own brand, called Comme des Garçons (from a French soldier’s song meaning Like the Boys). Her mission was simply to ‘make a business out of creation.’ But what … Continue reading →

Generating $100M per year, with a bottle sold every thirty seconds, Chanel No. 5 has been called le monstre (the monster) by industry insiders in Chandler Burr’s book The Perfect Scent. It isn’t just the most successful and enduring fragrance of all time – the extraordinary scent and understated bottle represent the very idea of luxury around the world, and … Continue reading →

I was expecting to be wowed by the gown of flowers, or something wildy grotesque at the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met. But instead what surprised me was the very first room, called “The Romantic Mind,” which featured his graduation work from Central Saint Martins and selects from his early collections, Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims (1992), and … Continue reading →

I recently purchased my first iPad when the second version came out, and I’ve been avidly exploring what content is out there that has been created specifically for this format. While the iPad may not be the best tool for every task it’s given, the transition from glossy magazines to the digital tablet seems completely natural. If the Kindle is the … Continue reading →