Weekend Update

1. Did you all know that Olivia Palermo launched her own capsule collection of clothing, with Nordstrom?

I’m normally fairly leery of celebrity clothing collaborations, but I really think Palermo is so stylish and had to check out the collection (by the way, if you want to read an interesting little article on celebrity fashion lines, check out this one, via The NY Times, on Kendall & Kylie).

My favorite items are this peplum poplin shirt (reminds me of Alaia, he does beautiful ones), and this dark blue shearling vest, also with a slight peplum/flared detail at the waist. I like that the vest doesn’t have shearling in the back – makes it a bit less bulky for layering. The flared hem also makes it less “heavy”.

2. Some interesting food for thought from Paul Graham of Y Combinator  – Life Is Short.

3. A little article from the NY Times, about the designer Jenny Packham, who I’ve always thought designed perfectly beautiful clothes – Why Can’t Jenny Packham…Get More Respect?

4. I thought this op-ed/semi rant via iD, on the state of the fashion industry to have some interesting points. I have to admit that I’ve never been someone whose followed fashion week events very closely (except for when I happen to be visiting the same city, whereupon I’ll avoid the particular weeks like the plague to avoid high hotel prices). The author, Sarah Mower, has some good perspectives though on viewing fashion week shows, versus trying to actually shop: “…we’re constantly looking at clothes which might exist some time in the future, while searching for actual clothes which we might vaguely remember seeing online six months before, amongst hundreds of other runway shows and lookbooks.” 

What are your thoughts?

5. This week, I finished reading the very good When Breath Become Air, by Paul Kalanithi.

You may have already heard of this book, but if not, I can give a quick summary – Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon at Stanford, just about to finish his residency, when he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. This book was written after his diagnosis, and takes us through his process of essentially, dying – what happens when you think you have 10 years left to live, versus only a few months. The first half delves into Paul’s early life, and is makes interesting reading in itself for what it takes to become a neurosurgeon. I highly recommend When Breath Becomes Air – even the title is quite beautiful and an example of the writing that is found throughout the book.

Also, thank you all for your wonderful comments and messages from my last post – I haven’t had time to respond to everyone, but I read everything and deeply appreciate all the time you spent writing to me. Thank you again!