T LOunge for March 7th, 2023

Olive Hill Restaurant – Istanbul, Turkey

It seems silly to use a bunch of restaurant pictures to make this point, but much as we did when Ukraine was first invaded, we wanted to devote a LOunge to the people of Turkey, who are reeling from a devastating earthquake. There’s little we can do from our perch except to send our best wishes and urge people to donate to one of the reputable relief organizations. Sorry for the heavy stuff, but it would have seemed a little wrong to pretend like the above space is open and free to us. But don’t worry! The normal rules of engagement apply to this LOunge. Feel free to peruse our buffet of distractions and sit tight while we blast you with red carpetry at the height of awards season.

It’s Been Over Two Decades Since We’ve Had a Non-White Best Actress Winner. Will That Change in 2023?
At the 29th SAG Awards on February 26, Michelle Yeoh—the formidable Malaysian actor who gives an electrifying, multiverse-spanning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once—was named best actress. “I think if I speak, my heart will explode,” she said upon reaching the podium, visibly emotional. “This is not just for me—this is for every little girl that looks like me. Thank you for giving me a seat at the table, because so many of us need this. We want to be seen, we want to be heard.” She made history with her win, becoming the first Asian actor to secure the prize, and marking only the fourth time a woman of color has taken it home, after Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball in 2002, and Viola Davis for The Help in 2012 and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in 2021. That is staggering—but nowhere near as baffling as the fact that only one non-white woman (Berry) has received a best-actress Oscar in that glittering awards show’s almost 100-year history.

Bob Dylan Stars in Celine Homme “Portrait of a Performer” Campaign
The legendary rock star was photographed by Celine’s creative director in his Los Angeles home.
Hedi Slimane, the current creative director of the French fashion house Celine, has always had a knack for the aesthetics of the rock and roll lifestyle: tight silhouettes here, leather there, and the use of large aviator sunglasses everywhere. This affinity for the liberated lifestyle continues to permeate Celine with its newest campaign star, Bob Dylan.
A part of the brand’s “Portrait of a Performer” series, the folk-rock musician is immortalized in his home in Los Angeles, California by Slimane himself. In the black and white images, Dylan is seen holding a set of guitars, one acoustic and another a Gibson electric, as if he’s strumming away. Though photographed in an intimate setting, his appearance remains elusive, as Dylan dons a set of dark-shaded sunglasses.

Inside Riley Keough’s ’70s Rockstar Transformation for Daisy Jones & The Six
Costume designer Denise Wingate and makeup lead Rebecca Wachtel reveal how they turned the actress into the singing sensation.
“I did a lot of visual research on musicians, groupies, and kids on the Strip—I had so much inspiration. It was hard to peg down one thing; it was such a great time for fashion,” costume designer Denise Wingate tells ELLE.com. Not only did Wingate grow up in Los Angeles, but she also toured with The Bangles for a year in the 1980s as the band’s stylist. “When I was a teenager, I was always sneaking out of the house, going to clubs. I had a fake ID, so I knew the scene well. I read the book and was like, ‘I know these people. I know what it’s like to be on the road.’”

Sydney Sweeney Collaborated With Frankies Bikinis to Make You Feel ‘Confident and Free’ in a Swimsuit
Gorgeous silhouettes, lace and ruffle details, and a kiss print using Sweeney’s own lips (more on that later) are just some of the design elements you can expect in the capsule. The accompanying campaign, photographed in Rome by Sonia Szóstak, exudes femininity and romance. It could almost be mistaken for a lingerie campaign—the fact that it’s swimwear makes it even sexier and cooler, not to mention more captivating.

On Daisy Jones & The Six, Style Is the Ultimate ’70s Homage
Costume designer Denise Wingate brought the book’s characters to life with vintage grails, custom designs, and even Free People.
Costume designer Denise Wingate was up for the challenge of getting Reid’s characters dressed for their onscreen tour. She describes herself as an equally ardent fan of the book; the last thing she wanted was to disappoint fellow readers by overlooking a major style moment from the novel. “I felt for sure that Taylor was very specific about her outfit descriptions”—like the men’s shirt Daisy wears with nothing but boots for a recording session or a fluttery caftan that dives into the Chateau Marmont pool with Daisy while she’s on a bender—“and we had to address them,” Wingate tells BAZAAR.

Rolls-Royce and Iris van Herpen Collaborate on a Couture Car
The Dutch fashion designer teamed up with Rolls-Royce to make a one-of-kind car that comes with a matching dress.
When Rolls-Royce’s representatives reached out to her, they quickly discovered they would have an eager and interested partner. Van Herpen has been an early adopter of technology, including 3D printing and laser cutting in dressmaking, and routinely collaborates with artists and artisans who work in variety of non-fashion-world mediums.

A Guide to the Healing Hot Springs of Kyushu, Japan
Today, Kyushu is best known for its nature—where Japan’s quaking, volcanic earth unfolds into a dramatic flourish of steaming mountaintops, lush overgrown forests, gurgling springs, and mud pits. Rich clay is spun into fanciful ceramics, famous across the country; local produce, including a panoply of unique citrus fruits, grow abundantly; and boiling rivers are cooled and corralled at resort towns where visitors from all over the world come to soothe their weary bones.

The Girl Scouts Would Like You to Please Stop Selling Your Cookies on eBay
Third-party sellers are offering the extremely popular Raspberry Rally for upwards of $100 on sites like eBay.
The Girl Scouts organization is known for many things, including helping young women learn about business and entrepreneurship through selling masterfully crafted cookies. So when it discovered some rather unethical cookie fans reselling their baked goods online, undercutting their hardworking members, it was, in a word, “disappointed.”

Pillsbury Launched a Ton of New Frosting Offerings, Including a Few Coffee Lovers Will Adore
Looking to jazz up your next cake? These new coffee-flavored frostings will do the trick.
There are a few things that make a day a bit brighter: an especially friendly dog, an extra dose of sunshine on a rainy day, and a spoonful of frosting. If the latter is the kind of thing that puts a smile on your face, strap in for some good news.
For more than 100 years, Pillsbury has been serving up baking essentials that make it possible to whip up a cake (or cookies) in less than two hours. (Just think of the forgotten birthdays that have been saved!). Now, the Pillsbury Doughboy is adding a portfolio of new frosting flavors to his roster that span a wide range of tastes.

Secrets of the Stylish: Getting ready for the Giambattista Valli show with Fan Bingbing
“As long as you’re having fun with fashion, that’s all that matters”
Giambattista Valli is a designer whose work truly embodies the idea of fashion as art – his trademark tulle and dreamy, feminine gowns have a reputation for expert craftsmanship thanks to Valli’s eye for detail, and his dresses appeal to some of the most famous and well-dressed women in the world.
This includes Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who was among the beautifully-dressed guests his autumn/winter 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday afternoon. Bingbing is a huge of the brand; she refers to Valli as “an incredible and creative designer” and has worn both his couture and ready-to-wear designs on many occasions.

Margaret Atwood on Loss and Storytelling
For the release of her new story collection, Old Babes in the Wood, the author talks Victorian murderesses, The Handmaid’s Tale’s TV adaptation, autofiction, the expectedness of death—and much more.
In the past decade, Atwood has been increasingly treated as a kind of oracle, asked in interviews to weigh in on the most newsworthy topics. “A very good rule of thumb is that whatever Margaret Atwood is worried about now,” Ezra Klein said in the introduction to his 2022 interview with her, “that’s what the rest of us are going to be worrying about a decade from now, or more.”

The Most Breathtaking Chanel Fashion Week Show Sets
A look back at Chanel’s most otherworldly creations…
Bringing home the final day of a month of fashion shows, street style spectacles and one too many cocktails parties is the pinnacle of French fashion – the Chanel catwalk show.
The Grand Master, King Karl, had the power to upstage everything that had happened in the previous cities in such a way that your entire Instagram feed was flooded with the Chanel mall, Chanel airways, every colourful car in Cuba and of course the Chanel casino. And his successor, Virginie Viard, is no stranger to an ethereal show set as well.
With extraordinary feats of architecture, alongside next level fashion, the Chanel show has become an iconic moment on the fashion schedule for years, and long may it continue. Read on for the most otherworldly Chanel show sets…

Ali Wong Gets Dramatic
The boundary-pushing stand-up tests her limits with an intense part on Netflix’s ‘Beef’ and a new real-life role as a divorced mom: “Whatever happens, I’m in my first trimester of life right now.”
“I really miss being pregnant,” sighs Wong, 40, who famously was with child for each of her first two stand-up specials, 2016’s Baby Cobra and 2018’s Hard Knock Wife. “Sometimes it feels a little lonely to be onstage without them,” she says.
Her career, too, is growing up. On April 6, Netflix will premiere A24’s dark comedy series Beef, in which she stars opposite Oscar nominee Steven Yeun as Amy, a high-achieving working wife and mother whose road-rage encounter pushes her into increasingly destructive territory. Her first dramatic lead, it’s a career milestone, and a personal one.
“For me — and I’ll leave it up for interpretation what this means — it was a way to say what I’ve been wanting to say about relationships and being a working mom that I haven’t found a way to talk about onstage,” Wong says.

12 Renovation Ideas That Will Turn Your Bathroom Into a Spa
What’s worth the splurge when you’re already creating a construction zone? From steam showers to built-in shower niches, these bathroom add-ons are so luxurious, say interior designers.
There’s something magical—if not life-changing—about going to the spa. From the moment you walk through the door, you’re hit with an aroma you can’t put your finger on and transported to a calm, soothing oasis. Everything, from the steam showers and warm towels and robes to the calming music, soothes your senses.
Though a daily massage is likely out of the question, if you’re already upgrading your bathroom, some add-ons might be worth the splurge to recreate this luxurious experience at home. From heated floors and specialized toilet seats to ambient lighting and more, here are 12 bathroom renovation ideas that will turn your space into a spa, according to interior designers—they’re always worth the splurge, they say.

How to Use Espresso Powder to Add Coffee (and Chocolate) Flavor to Your Baked Goods
Make like the pros and never brew coffee for baking again.
When it comes to your morning brew, there is a wide range of quality coffee roasters that sell top-notch whole beans, ground coffee, and sometimes even cold brew. Go ahead and treat yourself to the best you can afford for your cup of joe. For everything else that requires the unique flavor of coffee, there’s no need to brew another pot (or waste those precious beans). Instead, turn to every baker’s secret: instant espresso powder. It’s a key ingredient in coffee, mocha, and chocolate desserts.

The Right Way to Clean and Prepare a Fish for Cooking
Learn how to scale, clean, and fillet a fresh, whole fish, courtesy of a cooking teacher and fishmonger.
If you love to cook with fresh, whole fish, then you likely already know that there are several steps to prep the protein for a meal. There are three, to be exact: scaling, cleaning, and filleting. Scaling refers to the process of removing the scales and slimy coat from the fish, cleaning removes its innards, and filleting cuts the meat of the fish from its bones.
Each part of the process might seem tricky (and a little gross), but it’s actually simpler than you think. “Fish is one of the easiest proteins to handle and prepare,” says Trish Whetstone of Trish Talks Fish, a seafood educator, event host, and fishmonger. “While there is definitely an art to cleaning and filleting a fish, for the home chef and seafood lover, it’s an easy and empowering skill to master.”

Why it’s so hard to get answers on long Covid
Even the best-designed studies yield some head-scratching results.
Scientists have been scrambling to understand long Covid ever since the first SARS-CoV-2-infected patients reported persistent symptoms in early 2020.
The condition includes a wide range of symptoms new or worsened after a SARS-CoV-2 infection that last at least three months post-infection and affect a person’s quality of life. A recent estimate suggests about 65 million people worldwide are affected.
Thousands of long Covid studies have hit the preprint servers over the past few years, and literal reams of new knowledge have emerged. But despite the research interest, disentangling long Covid’s symptoms from those of other conditions like chronic lung diseases, autoimmune syndromes, and neuropsychiatric disorders remains a challenge, and scientists still don’t understand who’s at greatest risk for developing long-term health problems after a Covid-19 infection.

The Subversive Art of Phillis Wheatley
A biography by David Waldstreicher offers a radical new vision of the life and work of colonial America’s brilliant Black female poet.
It’s a testament to Black endurance and brilliance that the little girl called Phillis Wheatley became, within 12 years of her arrival in Boston, the most significant African American poet of the 18th century. Yet, as the historian David Waldstreicher shows in “The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley,” his thoroughly researched, beautifully rendered and cogently argued biography, Wheatley is brilliant not merely because she survived and composed some of the most important works of trans-Atlantic literature. Rather, Waldstreicher insists, Wheatley was a supremely gifted neoclassical practitioner of language, an “organic intellectual of the enslaved.” “The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley” is at once historical biography at its best, literary analysis at its sharpest and a subversive indictment of current political discourse questioning the relevance of Black life in our country’s history.

The Height of Domestic Luxury? Designer Ice.
Americans’ long love affair with ice-cold drinks has spawned a new obsession with specialty ice.
Nobody loves ice more than Americans. It’s a running joke, a quirk of the national personality: Iced drinks are as American as rock ‘n’ roll, pickup trucks and to-go cups.
Way back in 1895, Mark Twain wrote that ice had become so inextricably linked with the United States that “there is but a single specialty with us, only one thing that can be called by the wide name ‘American.’ That is the national devotion to ice-water.”
For years to come, all ice was good ice. But now it’s entering a new Gilded Age. Frozen water, which costs most Americans virtually nothing, is being redefined as a luxury item.

50 Genuinely Horrible Albums by Brilliant Artists
Dylan, Lennon, Bowie, Outkast — even the greatest of greats screw up sometimes. These are the epic duds that diehard fans would like to pretend never happened.
“THERE IS NO great genius without a touch of madness.” Greek philosopher Aristotle made this observation roughly 2,300 years ago, long before legit geniuses like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Carole King, Elton John, Madonna, and Prince proved him right. Among the many celebrated masterpieces these artists have given the world, they have also turned in works so monumentally putrid that nothing short of “a touch of madness” can explain their existence.
Some of these albums were the products of way too much cocaine. (Elton, we’re looking at you.) Some of them came from label pressure to move beyond a cult following by creating commercial music. (Hello, Liz Phair.) Some of them were crafted before a band found its true sound (Pantera, take a bow), while others came long after key members parted and the band had no earthly reason to still exist. (Cough-Genesis-cough).

[Photo Credit: naifdesign.com]

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