‘Superfine’ Brings Radiant Black Style to the Met
It’s probably too much to show up at one of these Costume Institute shows looking…
Barry Keoghan on His Favorite Performances, Films, Foods and More
How to Be Cultured Menu 1. Greatest onscreen performance? “Marlon Brando in ‘On the Waterfront’ (1954). He’s so calm, and he speaks the way he’d speak in real life, kind of mumbling. Paul Newman, too, in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ (1967). These men were almost father figures for me. I observed them in the absence of…
The Most Essential White Button-Down Shirts
How to Be Cultured Menu Fashion 1. A J. Press men’s tuxedo shirt Nominated by the New York-based designer Nili Lotan, 69. “Tuxedo shirting is rooted in midcentury American men’s wear, and softer and more understated [than the classic white shirt, which dates to at least the early medieval period and has been endlessly tweaked…
The Garments That Altered the History of Clothing
How to Be Cultured Menu Fashion 1. The satin dress in John Singer Sargent’s ‘Madame X’ painting (1884) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, N.Y. “It was designed by the sitter, Madame Pierre Gautreau [the Louisiana-born Virginie Amélie Avegno], an American Parisian socialite married to a French banker,” says the British Turkish fashion designer…
How the Suit Was Remade, From Dandies to Armani
How to Be Cultured Menu Fashion 1. The Dandy An 1886 illustration of the Regency-era dandy Beau Brummell. Pictorial Press Ltd./Alamy The suit as we know it came from King Charles II’s 1666 declaration to nobility of the English court that he’d teach them to be fashionable, starting with a vest. (A long coat, a…
Jeffrey Wright on His Favorite Performances, Films, Foods and More
How to Be Cultured Menu 1. Novel that explains the world? “ ‘We’ (1924) by Yevgeny Zamyatin, one of the first to be censored in the Soviet Union. It’s a portrait of the ways technology serves as a tool of autocratic control, a precursor to George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ (1949) and a stunning read.” 2. Relatable…
Greta Lee on Her Favorite Performances, Films, Foods and More
How to Be Cultured Menu 1. Poem everyone should memorize? “Pablo Neruda’s ‘Ode to the Onion’ (1954). I find his adoration of simple objects appealing. It springs to mind when I’m cooking.” 2. Recipe everyone should know? “Italian ceci, or chickpeas. They should be roasted or fried, so they’re crispy, and garnished with nothing but…
7 Key Works of Avant-Garde Theater
How to Be Cultured Menu Theater What defines avant-garde theater is as nebulous as its origin story, but most scholars point to 19th-century France, when a growing restlessness for social reform led to more provocative types of artistic expression. The term, as applied to the arts, came from the French philosopher Claude Henri de Saint-Simon,…
A Glossary of Fashion Terms to Know
How to Be Cultured Menu Fashion Agrafe “The French word for ‘staple.’ In fashion it refers to a small hook-and-eye fastening. A classic couture detail to close something so perfectly that you don’t see any fastenings.” Appliqué, Intarsia and Jacquard A knit swimsuit with butterfly intarsia from Azzedine Alaïa’s fall 1991 show. Guy Marineau/Condé Nast…
How Iran’s Information War Machine Operates Online
In late March, Iran circulated a shaky video supposedly showing an American F/A-18 under attack. Iranian officials claimed they had destroyed the jet, though the Pentagon denied that. The video quickly earned millions of views online, demonstrating how Iran has exploited the global media ecosystem to propagate an image of military prowess. The New York…
36 Hours in Hoi An, Vietnam: Things to Do and See
9 a.m. Escape to the countryside Start the morning at Café Slow, open since 2023 in Tra Que Vegetable Village, where alleys are named after herbs and plants. The cafe, in a rustic wooden building, has veranda seating overlooking the vegetable patches — ideal for sipping an Americano (45,000 dong) while listening to birdsong. Next,…
