Three Reasons to Read the Sunday Times
Sunday, September 2, 2007 at 10:06AM 
Oh, how I miss the Sunday Times! I had a subscription at my old apartment, but at my new place there's no way to protect the most valuable weekend edition from the thieving hands of the general public - yes, it gets left on the front stoop for any friendly neighbor to filch. Today, I did get my hands on a copy though and I remember the love lost.
I'm obviously a "Sunday Styles" and "Book Review" kind of gal, but I try to keep up on things in the more hard-headed sections. I try, and then after a few paragraphs I page onward toward the sections I really enjoy. It's a culture edition for the thinking person - where your love of performance and creativity aren't cast down as frivolous, but are celebrated.
Witness an entire article on this very subject written by Guy Trebay entitled "Admit It. You Love It. It Matters." and headed by an entire banner image of the outrageously-garbed Dior models on runway. Now this is worth waking up for!
When I embarked in my fashion career about six years ago, I remember a conversation I had with my friend Doug wherein I made valiant efforts to justify the career choice from the nobility of software consulting to the glamour of fashion. I told him about luxurious craftsmanship, design, price points - I went on and on. Finally, he put me at rest by saying: "I get it. I mean, it's just another thing that people geek-out about. Like all of those techie nerds waiting for the next gadget - it's just fashion this time." Wow - what a relief. One of my smartest friends whom I respect the most is absolving me of any guilt surrounding my love of the superficial.
Guy Trebay's fantastic article is all about this. He calls upon the fashion academics Valerie Steele and Anne Holander to explain things, and even ventures into a little Antonioni to support his point. Here, Mr. Trebay points out that Antonioni's existentialism is supported by his costuming choices, especially in L'Avventura and Blow Up. I almost swooned. Then, he comes to the point that Doug and I had established long ago:
"Luxury, and not necessity, may be the true mother of invention, as the writer Henry Petroski observed. This proposition is an easier sell when the luxury in question is an iPhone, and not a Balenciaga handbag, but the same principles hold."
As if to prove this point, the beautiful Louis Vuitton advertisement featuring Catherine Deneuve is featured on the same page where the article ends - did they plan this? I often wonder.
If this article weren't enough, there's another one in "The Arts" section devoted to another of my favorite actors from across the pond, Clive Owen. Writen by Caryn James, it's entitled "A Star Without a Charm Offensive." I've been a fan ever since he did those gorgeous little BMW films, and then I think Gosford Park sealed the deal. This article/interview talks about his career, his projects, and his new job as the face of men's cosmetics at Lacome. Looking on YouTube I found this bit of sexiness:
Finally, another weekly best is Bill Cunningham's roundup of street styles in "On the Street" - the original that has spawned so many imitations, the best of which is The Sartorialist, the worst of which...well, there's too many to mention. This week's roundup features the lovely nasturtium color that's running rampant through our dog days of summer...and surely into fall! Sadly, the "On the Street" images are no longer grouped as a big collage online, but as individual images in a slideshow. Personally, I think the entire impact of Cunningham's montages lies in the fact that they're shown all together, not as individuals to page through...
Perhaps this alone is reason enough to go buy the paper edition of the Sunday Times? I think so.
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