Lux Lotus

Saturday Night Splendor

Regarding Saturday evening's soiree, from 6 until 8 at Lolita, I have heard mention of a Marimekko skirt and whispers of dream ensembles... me? I'll be the one with the slightly messy hair and the stiff drink, per usual. Also, Emma and I are flying out to LA at 8am on Sunday morning so breezy glamour and a little spring fever is in order. Packing will have to wait...

See also: Beth Stellato's complete Style Party FAQ at Just My Cup of Tea!

The Art of Getting Over

The panel discussion that Bryan moderated at Makor last night, entitled "A Manuscript and a Magic-8 Ball: Secrets to Success in Publishing Today," was illuminating and very cool.

Jonathan Karp of Warner Twelve, Johnny Temple of Akashic Books, and Sarah Weinman of Galleycat and Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, each brought their own, sometimes wildly divergent, perspective on an industry that Jonathan Karp described quite humorously at one point as more or less "legalized gambling."

Levi Asher of Litkicks.com, a Lux Lotus daily read, was in the audience and has posted a comprehensive, thoughtful write-up of the event including incisive commentary on the inevitable chaos that ensues during any post-discussion q&a. I didn't have a chance to meet him in person, but John Mutter of Shelf Awareness, the only daily email newsletter I read consistently, was there, too. Sarah has also posted her account (she was so terrific!), along with a great photo of her prepping over lunch yesterday at midtown media temple, Michael's.

Last night, staffers at Makor said the talk was being taped for Audible.com, so hopefully it will be available soon. In the meantime, tickets are available in advance for Bryan's next event, "Green By Design," which will explore how "the next wave of environmentalism and how it will shape every aspect of your life" now that "today’s fashion flock has ditched the VW Bus and embraced bohemian-inspired luxury with a conscience." That's June 28th in New York, and I do hope you'll join us!

Windowlicker

There is no outfit (or mood) that could not be improved with the addition of

A velvet cummerbund (Chloe, on sale at Net-A-Porter.com for $159).

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST.

You Oughta Know

Tonight: "Secrets to Success in Publishing Today." Join us!

Saturday (4.1): A Stylish Spring Soiree at Lolita.

Thursday (4.6): Quality of Life premieres in New York!  Insider tip: Next Sunday night is the best night to go: see the film + post-screening q&a with Richard Nash of Soft Skull on "DIY Publishing" + afterparty at Niagara = basically the perfect evening.

Comme un Chat, Cherie

Many thanks to Carolita, frequent contributing cartoonist to The New Yorker (whose charms I've been hip to since nearly the beginnings of Lux Lotus) and the fabulous mind behind the new blog -- and LL must-read -- newyorkette, for translating the Maison de Lux house philosophy, "Dress Like a Cat Until You Get What You Want," into French: S'habiller comme un chat jusqu'à ce que vous obteniez ce que vous desirez!

Anyone else? Spanish? Chinese? German? Ours is a decidedly global movement, y'know. Meow.

Previously: The New Meow: Cinema Classics, Cats and The City, Artificial Life(Style), Catty is the New Black, 2006 Forecast: Purr-fect. 

Politics and Prose

• Katharine Weber, whose novel Triangle I'll be working to promote this summer, had an opinion piece in The New York Times this weekend that is essential reading: The Factories of Lost Children.
• Tayari Jones, author of the award-winning novel, The Untelling, which I've been fortunate to publicize twice -- in hardcover, and newly in paperback this spring -- has posted Pearl Cleage's moving remarks on reading at the Margaret Mitchell House.
  

Windowlicker

Forget "Red State / Blue State." I'm much more concerned about the "Red State / Yellow State"  divide between states that have retail outlets carrying Stuckey's Pecan Log Rolls, and those that don't.

Stuckey's 2 oz. Pecan Log Roll 24 Pack $24.99

See also: the "RC and a Moonpie" giftpack and of course, GooGoo Cluster anything.

And I can't wait to get back to Ben's Chili Bowl and sample more of the menu. J'adore my regional junk food wishlist. What particular, perhaps peculiar delicacies are on yours?

I know Emma often laments the poor selection of candy bars in the U.S. compared to the U.K., Claire loves Murdick's Fudge, and Bryan wishes In 'n' Out would have followed him East.

And a special mention for the politically-minded epicure: gay cowboy couture chocolate rabbits. Available only in New York, of course!

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST.

The Smart Set: 3.27 - 4.2

In this week's edition of The Smart Set: shades of Weimar, secrets, Proust, trouble, allure, exile, the female form, dance, and more.

{image source}

Pray for Peace: Clay McLeod Chapman's Junta High at P.S. 122

This afternoon I was fortunate to catch the last performance of The Pumpkin Pie Show in junta high at P.S. 122 in the East Village, and it was simply stunning. Remember Diana Vreeland's infamous request that her decorator make her apartment look like "garden in hell"?  Well, junta high is sort of like a "high school in hell," replete with teachers held hostage, a deranged mascot, a devilish marching band, and a pack of cheerleaders bent on sheer terror, all with a truly dark perspective -- richly dense in metaphor -- on contemporary Americana, and a thirst for blood. This show is brilliant, and undeniable proof that Clay has done it yet again.

Related: read the junta high stories online! Highly recommended.

Van Diesel

Vans are glamorous, a fantasy world of art and interior design, visually ranging from elegance to sheer kitsch. Crafted interiors reveal the taste and aspirations of people who take pride in doing their own thing. -- From Mark Gabor's foreword to Vans and the Truckin' Life

When I was in Maryland last week, I came across a copy of Vans and the Truckin' Life, an ultra 1970s lifestyle guide that caught my eye because of the flap on the front cover that mimics a van's back door: flip it open and reveal the scantily-clad woman lying in repose beneath a mirrored ceiling with her reflection cast in an amber glow above the disco ball.

Houseboats, of course, have a following today, but the idea that vans ever enjoyed trendy, mass popularity caught me completely by surprise.

"'King of Diamonds.' One of the vans on display at the Chevrolet exhibit during the Fourth Annual National Truck-in, Bowling Green, 1976. Van conversion by Gerring (Elkhart, Indiana). Outstanding design and color show the creative possibilities of exterior paint jobs."

"An interior view of 'Lost in a Dream'... Using diamond-quilted crushed velvet throughout, the owner/designer did every bit of work himself. Rear of van has a rotating circular 5-foot-diameter bed, mirrored ceiling, and a homemade light-reflecting ball."

What kind of van would I do my cruising in? Why, a "Miss Van" van, of course!

All images scanned from Vans and the Truckin' Life, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1977. Text by Terry Cook, Photographs by Jim Williams. Edited and with a foreword by Mark Gabor.