T LOunge for May 10th, 2023

Saint Restaurant – Monza, Italy

Huzzah and hooray, for it is WEDNESDAY. Join us in our journey over the hump. We’ll be observing the occasion in this swanky little Italian place.

“Orders went off the scale”: how the royal touch sends brands global overnight
What happens when a royal wears your label? We meet the people behind the sell-out pieces loved by Kate, Meghan and the rest of the royal family
When it comes to viral fashion moments and sell-out products, it isn’t social media stars or even celebrities who are the most powerful (and enduring) influencers. In fact, the style icons to whom we have all looked for centuries aren’t even involved in the fashion industry at all.
The royals have been popularising certain pieces since time in memoriam, from Princess Alexandra’s tailored looks to Princess Diana’s pie-crust collars. Then as now, people clamoured to copy the styles they saw on their favourite duchesses and princesses, leading to the formation of trends and the hunt for specific, sought-after pieces. These days, the ‘Kate effect’ is the nickname given to the economic influence the Princess of Wales wields – which, in recent years, has been estimated to give a £1 billion annual boost to the UK fashion industry. At the coronation this weekend, it’s fair to say all eyes were on what Kate wore.

Scarlett Johansson Opens Up About the Pain and Triumph of Disney Legal Battle Over ‘Black Widow’ and Wes Anderson’s ‘Liberating’ Cannes Film
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously described Daisy Buchanan, his “Great Gatsby” heroine, as having a voice that’s “full of money.”
Wes Anderson could say the same about Scarlett Johansson, his latest leading lady. The auteur has worked with enough A-list talent to fill a Met Gala — from Meryl Streep to George Clooney to Cate Blanchett — but he acknowledges that star power is somewhat of a mystery. With Johansson, who plays a luminous 1950s movie icon in his film “Asteroid City,” the director thinks he knows the secret: “Scarlett’s voice is so expressive and interesting. I would say it’s her greatest strength.”

The rich history behind hair-oiling traditions
Plus, the 10 best hair oils for growth, hydration and shine
Hair oiling may be trending on TikTok but it’s nothing new, and that’s exactly where its allure lies – few beauty treatments come with tried-and-tested validation as weighty as this ancient ritual. The concept of soaking strands in richly nourishing oils may be 5000 years old, but it remains a prominent beauty ritual for many South Asian women today.

Lea Michele Teases Next Broadway Show After ‘Funny Girl’ Closes: ‘It’s Very Different Musically’
Lea Michele’s run in “Funny Girl” doesn’t end until Sept. 3, but she’s already plotting her return to Broadway.
In fact, the actor-singer tells me she has her next gig lined up. “I already know what it is,” she teases.
But Michele is being tight-lipped on details. “You know it,” she says, hinting it could be a revival of some sort. “It’s very different musically,” she adds.
Michele made a triumphant return to the stage in September when she replaced Beanie Feldstein in the first revival of “Funny Girl” since Barbra Streisand originated the role of Fanny Brice in 1964.

The Queen Of The Supermodels: Linda Evangelista’s Most Iconic Photographs In Vogue
In the ’90s, Vogue referred to Linda Evangelista as “the queen of the supermodels”, an enigmatic chameleon able to pull off any look – and any shade of hair. As she turns 58 today, revisit the aptly named beauty’s most stunning photos from British Vogue through the years, captured by everyone from Steven Meisel to Nick Knight.

From Parasite To All That Jazz: 12 Palme d’Or Winning Films To Rewatch Now
As the grande dame of European film festivals returns, we revisit the 12 best films to have premiered on the Croisette, from the ’60s to now.
Seventy-six years on from the inception of the Cannes Film Festival, its coveted Palme d’Or remains one of the industry’s highest honours. The prize has been bestowed upon some of the greatest auteurs in history – Roberto Rossellini, Orson Welles, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Luis Buñuel – and is staunchly global in its outlook, rewarding new releases that take risks and shed light on urgent social issues, regardless of their origin.
Ahead of this year’s festival, due to run from 16 to 27 May, we shortlist 12 previous winners to rewatch now, from a surreal ’70s musical to a moving Japanese family drama.

11 Roles That Prove Cate Blanchett Is The Ultimate Chameleon
Is there any actor quite as versatile as Cate Blanchett? The 53-year-old double Oscar winner has built a reputation as a chameleonic character actor since arriving in Hollywood from her native Australia. She’s played monarchs, movie stars, a conservative activist, an elf and the goddess of death – not to mention a prolific conductor in Todd Field’s critically lauded Tár. Her next move? To take on the part of a renegade nun living in a remote Australian monastery in the ’40s, of course, in Warwick Thornton’s sweeping drama The New Boy. Ahead of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, we shortlist 11 of her best films and TV shows that you need to rewatch now.

Ben Barnes Has the Range
On-screen, the Netflix heartthrob is fighting for world domination. IRL? He’ll write a song for you.
Barnes’s accidental specialty is playing really broken people and doing it so well that audiences hold their breath while he broods. There was Billy Russo (aka Jigsaw), the slash-jawed Marvel baddie from The Punisher; and Logan Delos, the calculating Westworld heir with seemingly less humanity than the show’s actual androids. Barnes’s current project, Shadow and Bone, has him playing General Kirigan, a gloomster in black leather whose goal is to plunge the world into darkness.

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Is Being Reinvented—Here’s What We Know
Now dubbed the Victoria’s Secret World Tour, the revamped event will showcase the design talent of 20 global creatives.
he Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is making a comeback—and expect it to be bigger, better, and more inclusive than ever.
The lingerie company announced the Victoria’s Secret World Tour, a reimagining of their annual iconic fashion show that last aired in 2018. The live event, which will be streamed and made into a feature-length documentary, plans to showcase the talents of 20 designers from across the globe alongside custom Victoria’s Secret creations.

Parker Posey Never Met A Scene She Couldn’t Steal
Raised by a chef mother and a father who owned a car dealership in Monroe, Louisiana, Posey displayed a performative streak early. She recalls one memorable summer at the Strong River Camp and Farm, where counselors assigned an eight-year-old Posey the job of putting on a show for the entire student body. “I wrote and directed a version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears where Little Red Riding Hood was a detective,” Posey recalls, citing the TV detective Kojak as her inspiration. In Posey’s version, Goldilocks walked onstage sucking on a Tootsie Pop and delivered Kojak’s famous one-liner: “Who loves ya, baby?” The adults, at least, loved the reference.

The Bold, Inimitable Style of the Kentucky Derby
For many casual observers, the real show at the Kentucky Derby is the parade of hats (although, for the record, jockey Javier Castellano and 3-year-old colt Mage won on Sunday). The official dress code even acknowledges this: “What sets the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks apart from other sports and entertainment events? Is it the world-class horses? The Hollywood stars? The romantic Twin Spires? Well, first and foremost, it’s the hats!”
At the 149th edition of the race this past weekend, the headwear certainly did not disappoint. While across the pond in England, the best fascinators and chapeaus were out at the coronation of King Charles III, those in Louisville, Kentucky, were a bit bolder and brasher (at least in the general-admission infield; attire was a bit more classic in the seated sections).

Agua Fresca Is the Most Versatile Drink You Can Make This Summer
If you have fruit, you can make an agua fresca.
Whether you’re the kind of person who loses themselves in the bounty of fruits and vegetables at the farmer’s market, or simply want to find more creative ways to hydrate as the temperatures rise, aguas frescas belong in your recipe rotation. “Aguas frescas were born out of resourcefulness,” explains Yana Volfson, beverage director at New York City’s Cosme and ATLA. “They are popular in Mexico due to its generous climate, which provides an abundance of different fruits throughout the year. Combining them with water is just one more way to consume the fruit. It is a wonderful fresh tradition shared by the entire country and is a perfect drink to have when a fruit juice would be too much, or plain water too boring.”

Old Bay Seasoned Goldfish Are Back
This time, even Lisa Loeb wants them to “stay.”
Goldfish is bringing back one of its most beloved flavors ever, along with a 1990s musical icon to help spread the word.
In 2022, Goldfish dropped the limited-edition Old Bay Seasoned Goldfish. And holy moly, did fans go wild for it. After the flavor was taken off shelves, fans made their love of the flavor known via thousands of social media posts and even a Change.org petition begging the brand to bring it back. And, Goldfish agreed to resurrect the flavor once more, but this time, with a new jingle created by none other than Lisa Loeb, who also happens to be a mega-fan herself.

Italian Pizza Experts Say This Country Has the (Second) Best Pizza
Outside of Italy, one city in particular stood out over the rest of Europe in a recent ranking.
Barcelona has always been an incredible destination for the food-focused. The Catalan capital has a trio of three Michelin-starred restaurants, is the home to the 3rd best restaurant in the world according to the list-makers at 50Best, and has an incredible number of options for everything from paella to patatas bravas.
But Barcelona is also apparently the go-to spot for some of the best pizza in Europe. According to the illustrious pie-rankers at 50 Top Pizza, the continent’s preeminent pizza comes from Barcelona’s Sartoria Panatieri. The restaurant also picked up an award for Europe’s Pizza of the Year for its wood-fired pizza topped with roasted cherry tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil hollandaise. (Before you raise your eyebrows about a Spanish restaurant winning the pizza crown, we should note that 50 Top Pizza has a separate list for pizzerias in Italy; those rankings will be released in mid-June.)

Carroll, Clothes and Credibility
During the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump rape trial, every detail was part of building the case. Even the clothes.
It was unclear, to the end, which way the jury would go in the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump trial. Would members believe the 79-year-old woman, speaking up about her alleged rape at the hands of the former president and current presidential candidate? Or would they believe the accused, who never appeared in court and never called a single witness — and whose lawyers held that the trial was a sham cooked up by a vengeful woman to take down a powerful man?
Ultimately they found Mr. Trump liable in the civil suit — both for sexual assault and for defaming Ms. Carroll — and awarded Ms. Carroll $5 million in damages. It’s hard not to think that what they saw, not just what they heard, played a part.

After Seizures, the Met Sets a Plan to Scour Collections for Looted Art
The plan features the hiring of a four-person provenance research team that will help review the museum’s collection for works with tainted histories.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, facing increasing scrutiny from law enforcement officials, academics and the news media over the extent to which its collection includes looted artifacts, announced on Tuesday a major new effort to review its holdings and policies with a view toward returning items it finds to have problematic histories.
The core feature of the new plan is the museum’s decision to hire a provenance research team that is as robust as any in place at an American museum.
The moves come as the Met — one of the largest museums in the world, with more than 1.5 million works from the past 5,000 years in its holdings — has been buffeted in recent years by increasing calls to repatriate works that law enforcement officials and foreign governments say it has no right to.

‘Down With Love’ 20 Years Later: Celebrating the Phoniness of Rom-Coms
The 2003 box office flop has been embraced by a younger generation that understands the role-playing nature of courtship.
Twenty years ago, before the retro-chic sex comedy “Down With Love” was released in American theaters, the anticipation was high. The Tribeca Film Festival, then in its second year, made the film its flashy opening-night selection. Cheeky promotional images of its two stars were ubiquitous: Renée Zellweger was a bona fide It Girl following the success of “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) and “Chicago” (2002); and Ewan McGregor was riding high after the one-two punch of “Moulin Rouge” (2001) and “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” (2002). Then the film flopped.

How Long Every Type of Condiment Lasts After You Open It
Food safety experts detail the fridge (and pantry) shelf life of everything from ketchup and salad dressing to mayonnaise.
Do you have a stash of sauces, dips, and dressings in the depths of your refrigerator? If so, you’re not alone. It’s common to keep condiments for many months, since they’re typically consumed at a slower rate than fresh foods. Condiments are also known to have long shelf lives due to their highly acidic nature—a feature that’s undesirable for harmful germs.
This doesn’t necessarily mean condiments will stay fresh forever. To learn more, we asked food experts to share how long condiments last before and after they’re opened—plus, they shared their best tips for identifying a spoiled condiment.

How to Grow and Care for Lilies, a Beautiful Perennial With Multiple Unique Varieties
A beginner-friendly option for container, cut, and border gardens, lily plants provide color and dimension no matter where they’re grown.
For centuries, lily plants have held a role as one of the most symbolic, beautiful, and popular flowers in the world. The perennial has many different meanings depending on the culture and color. Yellow stands for joy and health, red for romance and passion, orange for confidence and wealth, and light pink for elegance and generosity.
With a countless number of hybrid lilies on the market, a little research and planning can lead you to the type that’s best for your climate—and that will make the biggest impact in your garden. Whether you want to add a pop of color to containers or create dimension in a flower garden, lilies provide stunning interest no matter where they’re planted.

The South of France Is My Favorite Vacation Destination — Here Are Its 20 Best Places to Visit
The lavender fields, quaint villages, and beautiful beaches have my heart.
France ranks among the most popular tourist destinations in all of Europe — of course there are remarkable destinations in the country that gave us boeuf bourguignon, the Eiffel Tower, and Champagne. But with alluring beaches along the Côte d’Azur, magical lavender fields, and the vineyards of the Luberon, the South of France is a superb destination all on its own. I’m a professional travel writer who’s been to 45 countries across six continents, and it’s my absolute favorite place in the world to visit. If you’re planning on spending even just a few days in le Midi, this list will help you choose which of the region’s many, many highlights to include in your itinerary.

[Photo Credit: Marcello Mariana via saintmonza.com, spatial-arch.com]

• T LOunge