*A big thanks to reader Chris W. for sending this article my way. Archaeologists think they have found confirmation that early “modern” humans — but seemingly not Neanderthals — adorned themselves with polished shells (http://theconversation.com/decorated-snail-shell-in-a-cave-in-iraq-could-be-evidence-of-paleolithic-bling-79380). James Laver is one of my favourite writers and is known for stating that the earliest clothes were likely shells…
Best Dressed Company Award is a conceit for ranking which clothing and design companies are the most moral. Brunello Cucinelli comes out top and companies like H&M come out bottom. This read was an exciting discovery (http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/9944/inside-the-factory-producing-silk-for-fashion-royalty). Gainsborough Silks is a contender for top spot! To be top, a company must conform to Max Scheler’s…
Readers of V&R know that the anarchist Agamben, the Jesuit Przywara, and the “fashionable” pope Benedict are important touchstones for thinking about the moral and political significance of fashion. Taking up Plato’s skepticism towards fashion, Agamben believes that fashion is one cause of the crisis in Western democracy. We are in thrall to the…
This is not a post about one of the most beautiful cars ever built — the Citreon DS — but about a Father’s Day gift I got 🙂 This is a really super Scotch: explodes in the mouth. A most welcome gift and one that includes the name of my mother! Like most…
Papal tailors are feeling the pinch. Pope Benedict is well-known for his ecclesiastical style and during his reign business was booming. Francis has lectured his priests that if they are to be true shepherds they must smell of the sheep. Priests are listening and business is suffering. The tailors all say the same: ecclesiastical glamour…
The last image of V&R is a play on the Madonna and Child motif of Western art: David Beckham holding Harper. Becks is a national institution in Britain. Regarded as a “top bloke,” he is well-known as a proud Briton. Something of a clotheshorse for classical British tailoring he is also a style mentor to…
This article contains wonderful images of YSL clothes and drawings, as well as the beautiful museums being built to house his archive (http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/suzy-menkes-pierre-berge-ysl-should-fashion-legacies-be-controlled). The article is misnamed somewhat: Suzy Menkes only arguing that the museums need to offer the context in which YSL’s creativity flourished. This might be right but I imagine there are arguments…
I have written about bots and robots before and how to think about the religious attitudes they might spawn (http://www.ethicsoffashion.com/trans-humanisms-false-hope/). Two recent articles show the consolation and desolation they offer. Stitch Fix uses bots to build a profile of a consumer’s preferences not only to offer good clothing matches for the customer’s tastes but to…
https://vimeo.com//220649299 This is a video I made explaining a principle of emotional valuation developed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It’s quite short — only about a minute and a half — so I thought I’d add a bit of context here. V&R Chapter 4 explores Adam Smith’s theory of moral sentiments and it would be…
https://loyola.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e6d065fa-c1fd-41ee-af0e-7f123346dd77 The noise in the background is my cats!