Robin Abrahams's Blog, page 13
October 18, 2011
I love my friends
Last night, I wrote on Facebook "See, I woud never survive the zombie apocalypse because I would say things like, 'Shane, you mean the FEWER guns we have floating around, the better, not the LESS guns.' And Shane would shoot me."
My friend Matt responded:
I dunno… I mean, if you shoot an etiquette columnist, that pretty much destroys any credibility you have in social situations later on. Imagine if he gets into a relationship and his significant other disagrees with him about the type of gift to bring, or the appropriateness of a comment he made. He or she would only have to say, "well, remember that time you shot the etiquette columnist" and he'd pretty much have lost the argument. It's like a mummy's curse or something! That type of thing stays with you!
Against which my friend Huey argued:
Ah, but throughout history there are many traditions that hold that when you kill someone, you take some or all of their power for yourself. If this turns out to be true, then the person who has killed the most etiquette columnists would have the most authority on the subject.
Of course, to substantiate this one way or the other, I'm going to need a government grant to do sociological research on everyone who has ever killed an etiquette columnist, to find out how polite they were, whether they knew which fork to use, if they knew the difference between a business card and a calling card, and so on. Could take years. I'll probably need at least a quarter of a million dollars. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION, ARE YOU LISTENING?
October 16, 2011
October 14, 2011
Palette: Make like a leaf and display an ever-changing symphony of rusts and golds
I haven't quite figured out the calculus of this, but sometimes colors that don't "go" can be made to harmonize if surrounded by enough other colors. I wouldn't normally pair a rust-colored tank with an orange cardigan, but here it works as part of an autumnal theme.
Brown tights: We Love Colors
Rust tank: Chicos, eBay
Orange cardigan: Max Mara Weekend, eBay
Brown skirt w/zippered gussets: Looks boutique
Denim jacket: Levi's, Oona's
Brass & crystal bracelet: eBay
Pearl & grosgrain necklace: Talbot's
October 13, 2011
Palette: Pattern fix
What patterns do you like to wear? Do you mix patterns? I wear stripes, florals, animal prints, geometrics, and lacy/architectural patterns like the below. No polka dots, plaids, paisley; no whimsical teacups or high-heeled shoes or Eiffel Towers. Nothing against those patterns, which do show up occasionally in my scarf collection, but overall but I find them harder to integrate.
Stripes and animal prints are so easily assimilable, visually, that they can almost function as solids. You can easily pair a floral print with a subtle stripe, or wear a leopard or tiger scarf over a houndstooth blazer. Lacey, gothic patterns also blend well with all of the above, and with each other. These two shirts go together so well I keep them on the same hanger.
The white t-shirt is from Target — I bought two of them, and wish I'd gotten a couple more. (No good finding them online, as the brand/manufacturer's name is LOL. You try googling that.) I often wear it under this v-necked cotton hoodie from Raspberry Beret.
I wore this over jeans (Marc Jacobs, Second Time Around) with bracelets by Victoria Tane and Ettika (Ideeli).
October 11, 2011
“Social Studies” on The Emily Rooney Show
I discussed the complexities of helping and being helped on “The Emily Rooney Show” today (no visual; it’s radio).
Some relevant links:
An op-ed on compassion fatigue in The New York Times
The book Helping by Edgar Schein
"Social Studies" on The Emily Rooney Show
I discussed the complexities of helping and being helped on "The Emily Rooney Show" today (no visual; it's radio).
Some relevant links:
An op-ed on compassion fatigue in The New York Times
The book Helping by Edgar Schein
Robin Abrahams's Blog
