Brb. Booking a flight to these eateries with Instagram likes.
Handmade's Tale
Alena Akhmadullina
The Feed 07:23:17
Paris Couture Chosen People
by Phil Oh, edited by me
About An Hour Mixtape : July
Find the archives here in All The Time
Home Life
Norvell St.
24"x30"
acrylic and oil on canvas
La Tourista
Have you ever heard of "It's better late than never?" Well apply it to this. I just got around to my photos from Prague, but that's not stopping me from posting because I'd argue it's still summer, and photos of me are pretty rare these days — although I may ramp that up again...meh, who knows because I've been doing this for a decade and can they still be fresh? We shall see.
Anyway, this is the first day we arrived in Prague, which has been a city I've wanted to visit forever. It was supposed to be cold when we got there but as you can tell there was definitely a heat wave going on. It was absolutely perfect outside. We were spoiled with the busiest city in the Czech Republic with summer high season weather without the annoying drunk crowds. Prague is one of those magical cities that cater to tourists, unlike Venice or Amsterdam, which are authentically historical and still functioning city centers. Prague was gorgeous but it's got New Orleans vibes (drinking in streets is legal) since you'll get a couple frat types from around the world (including the U.S.) that can't handle their liquor in public.
By this time it was well into the first week of our multi-city European adventure and I overpacked like an idiot and I was a little tired. So I mostly wore this outfit in Prague, which doesn't bother me in the least because it felt simple, dare I say a bit stylish, and most importantly, like me. By this time in my trip I was ready to ditch the dozen other items I squirreled away in my suitcase the night before our flight to Europe and wish I carried a damn backpack with just three things.
Hindsight, people. It's always 20-freaking-20.
The Row top, Levi's stretchy jeans, Viscata espadrilles (courtesy of Viscata), Céline sunglasses, BOYY Karl 24mm bag
Amen
Lucinda Chambers, the former Vogue Editor who was unceremoniously fired from her job after a 25 year long career at British Vogue, has done the thing you're really not supposed to do when you are fired from a job: speak your mind openly and honestly about your former employer. Whether you leave on good terms, or because you needed to get the hell out of there, it's pretty rare to see someone just light the match and set the bridge back to their old place of work on fire because for most of us who don't get regular publicity for doing their job the consequences can be pretty damaging — to your reputation, to your future professional prospects, especially if you're in a small industry. That's why it's so fascinating to see Lucinda Chambers unleash her opinions so eloquently to Vestoj.
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The entire first-person piece is a must read, but I'm more riveted by what she says towards the end:
There are very few fashion magazines that make you feel empowered. Most leave you totally anxiety-ridden, for not having the right kind of dinner party, setting the table in the right kind of way or meeting the right kind of people. Truth be told, I haven’t read Vogue in years. Maybe I was too close to it after working there for so long, but I never felt I led a Vogue-y kind of life. The clothes are just irrelevant for most people – so ridiculously expensive. What magazines want today is the latest, the exclusive. It’s a shame that magazines have lost the authority they once had. They’ve stopped being useful. In fashion we are always trying to make people buy something they don’t need. We don’t need any more bags, shirts or shoes. So we cajole, bully or encourage people into continue buying. I know glossy magazines are meant to be aspirational, but why not be both useful and aspirational? That’s the kind of fashion magazine I’d like to see.
Amen x 1000, right? It's refreshing to know that an industry insider like Chambers is able to reveal that they too think glossy magazines and the fashion industry in general is unrelatable and uninspiring. It's like every fashion-interested fan has been thinking this for years and even yelling it from the outskirts is finally vindicated by having one of the very own insiders who helps shape fashion utter the same harsh realities everyone has known forever.
All I have to say is: Lucinda, you're my new hero. Please continue to speak your mind in a way that doesn't violate whatever paperwork you may have had to sign as you left the Vogue offices! Advertisers, bottom lines, and business pressures are necessary evils to any creative profession, but the fashion industry in particular has caved to them in unprecedented ways, allowing consolidations, streamlining, and profits to completely chip away at the remaining credibility, voice, and authority the once-iconic publications had. It will take more people like you that are unwilling to table their opinions, despite their harsh truths, to cut through the bullshit and actually make fashion aspirational, useful, and most importantly, relatable again.
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