Coco Chanel had no precedent in fashion. Her forerunners were the saints who denounced society and attacked the flesh. In her unrelenting seriousness, her allergy to frivolity, her “puritanical blacks” (as she called them), we recognize the Calvin who conquered Paris. The most precious relics this dubious saint left behind are handbags, dresses, and jewelry. More affordable—and only slightly less compelling—is Paul Morand’s The Allure of Chanel.
I am old enough to remember David Bowie from his Ziggy Stardust days but was never much of a fan. Before his death, I couldn’t have named a single one of his songs. I, therefore, was surprised and fascinated by the outpouring of emotion that surrounded Bowie’s death. Jeffrey Blehar opines on . . . . Continue Reading »
Dispatch from Sundance
Alissa Wilkinson, Christianity Today
What Do Anti-Abortion Demonstraters Want (Besides An End to Abortion)?
Leah Libreso, Five Thirty Eight
The Trade-in Society
Alan Jacobs, American Conservative
Purity and Intelligible Light
Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist., Sancrucensis
It's Time to Rebuild New York's Original Penn Station
Justin Shubow, Forbes
The Inside Story of the Turnpike Mass, from the Priest Who Led It
Fr. Patrick Behm, Church Pop
Does Europe Have a Future?
Daniel Johnson, Mosaic
The Ideal Marriage, According to Novels
Adelle Waldman, New Yorker
The Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey (where I work) is now accepting applications for seven summer seminars, on topics ranging across ethics, politics, law, medicine, religion, and metaphysics, for every age cohort from high school students to young college faculty. Brief descriptions . . . . Continue Reading »
The press styles John Kasich as a moderate rather than a conservative Republican. That’s weird. Moderate? Schmoderate! Kasich has a decades-long record as a strong conservative. He stands for an authentic form of American conservatism, one I’d argue is its best and truest form, even if it . . . . Continue Reading »
From the Art of the Beautiful lecture series, to summer seminars organized by the Elm Institute, we've got you covered for events coming up in NYC and beyond.
I want to tell you a story. Part of it is my story. But the important part isn’t mine. It belongs to a North African woman named Fatima. And to countless others like her.I first met Fatima at Dollar Tree. It was her bright clothing that caught my eye. A colorful piece of cloth called a malhafa was . . . . Continue Reading »
John Seel's review of Revisiting Faithful Presence mischaracterizes the book. Continue Reading »
First Things and Encounter Books are excited to be hosting an upcoming event with Michael Novak and Paul Adams, at which they will be discussing ideas from their new book Social Justice Isn't What You Think It Is. This is not the first time Mr. Novak has addressed the topic of social justice at . . . . Continue Reading »
First Things is pleased to announce the opening of ‘The Jordanian Woman (Die Frau ohne Schatten)’, an exhibition of paintings by Jörg Madlener. A private student of Otto Dix, Jörg Madlener has remained faithful throughout his long career to his original fascination for the human face. His latest series, ‘The Jordanian Woman (Die Frau ohne Schatten)’ is the fruit of the artist’s years in the Middle-East, an experience which led him to touch the human drama behind the political conflicts.
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