Landscape with Water Buffalo

The Materialist's private plunge pool

Before traveling for work, the Materialist has taken to seeking the opinion of her colleague Priscilla "Pud" Eakeley, who is not only the WASPiest person the Materialist has ever met--the Materialist always thinks that Pud is what Annie Hall would be when she grew up--but a voracious traveler and a woman of discernment and curiosity and humor. Like many of her coworkers, the Materialist thinks of Pud as the embodiment of the magazine's reader, given how closely she fits the demographic profile, and how admirably frequent and ambitious her trips. Several years ago, Pud undertook an extended version of the SE Asia tour the Materialist is on now, using the same travel specialist, the fabulous Sandy Ferguson, a great favorite of the magazine's staff. 

One Night in Bangkok

A crocodile bag found in Bangkok's La Sourire

OK, give the Materialist a break. She's always wanted to use that hed, and besides which, she's feeling a bit cooked.

Don't get the Materialist wrong--Southeast Asia is fabulous! Great food, great infrastructure, genuinely great service, great orchids (a great profusion of all tropical flora in fact, that is making the Materialist long for Honolulu, where she WOULD be renting a house this summer were her friend Rupert not such a tightwad).

Green is the New Black (really!)

By Nandita Khanna

Like many other eco-conscious, but equally style savvy counterparts of mine I never realized the sheer number of forward-thinking designers that have turned their attention to producing socially conscious clothing. I'll admit, I had always thought that clothes made from organic cotton were rather hippy-dippy for my personal taste. Breaking through that stereotype is Brit designer Stella McCartney, who has always churned out stylish PETA-approved pieces and accessories made from synthetic materials (even the shoes, which are outfitted from a leather-like plant derivative and stamped with the Suitable for Vegetarians slogan). But it appears, Stella isn't alone, and there are plenty of other designers who are stepping up to bat for the cause, or simply developing their lines based on sustainable practices.

Traveler hearts La Farm Bakery

By Mollie Chen

A regular Parisian feast "Mm. Runny, gooey." Features editor Alison Humes closed her eyes in a mock swoon. "So good." There are days when my job seems just too good to be true. (Which makes up for the days when the expense reports and unanswered queries seem neverending.) This lovely Wednesday is one of them.

Why the Materialist Feels Like Elizabeth Berkely in "Showgirls"

Greetings to the Materialist's faithful readers from the American Airlines' Admirals' Club at Tokyo's Narita Airport, where she's whiling away just a couple more hours before boarding her next flight to Bangkok and beginning a LENGTHY Southeast Asia adventure.

The Materialist has to apologize in advance for any gaps in logic/repetition that may occur in this entry (above and beyond the usual, that is) -- despite her friend Blondine's advice ("Ativan is the answer!" said Blondine), the Materialist was not able to sleep more than an hour or so on the twelve-and-a-half hour flight and as a result feels somewhat like she's moving underwater. Noises sound far-away and cottony, and the Materialist's eyes are as dry as bones.

If you give a girl a cookie...

By Mollie Chen

She is likely to agree to a meeting-even if it involves airplane food at ten a.m. I recently had a deskside (magazine-speak for when very nice press people come to visit you at your embarassingly messy desk, usually bearing sample products, press kits, and, sometimes, food) tasting with the folks from Midwest Airlines. Then again, I am on the never-ending quest for the perfect in-flight meal. I was intrigued by their tales of restaurant-quality food 20,000 miles up. Plus I had heard that they bake chocolate-chip cookies in air.

The Materialist's Lament

Before the Materialist left for India, she asked her friend Sheila for advice. "I only have one thing to say," Sheila said. "Buy everything."The Materialist giggled.

But once the Materialist got to India and began her tentative explorations, she realized that Sheila was right: the riches of India are too numerous and too diverse to sift through anew at every stop.  Sure, you may see that lilac-and-silver watered silk scarf again (or something like it, at least), but are you really willing to visit stall after stall in bazaar after bazaar until you find its equal when you could have just bought it on the spot in the town where you first saw it? The Materialist thinks not.

So here, another story of the Materialist's folly: the Materialist and her mother took an afternoon in Jaipur to go shopping. They were both feeling good. The Materialist's mother had stopped vomiting, and the Materialist was blissfully unaware that her own torment was about to begin.

The Materialist ensnares another victim into her blogging ring

Gap's Design Edition pieces by Thakoon. Nandita bought the petal shirtdress (center). Source: The Gap

While the Materialist is busy "working," her colleagues are busy WORKING. This applies in particular to the Materialist's younger, fresher coworkers, who have been heard saying such things as "In 1990, I was nine!" and "He's really old! Like, thirty!"

After briefly considering going all Miranda Priestly on their asses, the Materialist has decided that the better punishment is making them blog--after all, they are part of this famous Web generation of which the Materialist has heard so much! Joining the Materialist's roster of contributors therefore is Nandita "Deets" Khanna, who is one of the only people the Materialist knows who can wear hot pants to work and get away with it. She also recently started wearing a very chic pleated silk top by Thread Social that the Materialist knows is a top but that Deets insists is a dress. More importantly, though, Nandita has a great eye for fashion, and a great, unchecked curiosity about it and how it affects the way we move through the world, socially and physically. She'll be weighing in once a week or so on all matters fashion, with Q&As, tips, store openings, and other worldwide fashion notes, helping the Materialist look somewhat relevant, and freeing her up to pursue more aggressively that elusive $12,500.

The Materialist's Gastronomist

Nibblicious cakes at Scialo Bros. Bakery

The Materialist is very excited. Why? Not because her loyal readers have sent her $12,500 (they haven't--though her friend Seth did promise to give her $20). Not because of Phunk15's nice comments, nor the incredibly sweet and flattering post from fellow materialist blogger Travel Gal (both of which made the Materialist's week). No, the Materialist is excited because today, she gets to introduce her colleague, Mollie Chen, who will be blogging once a week here on all matters food.

Mollie is one of those people who not only keeps jars of candy on her desk (dangerously, just around the corner from the Materialist's), but who seems to subsist on a diet of artisanal cheeses, foie gras, lard, and granola, and yet never seems to gain an ounce. Mollie--who the Materialist thinks should run off and be a chef--also happens to be one of the most adventurous eaters that the Materialist knows, and one of the most promiscuous in her tastes: she likes Boqueria (the Materialist's favorite Spanish place in New York) and Per Se, but also Spam musubi (but jeez, who doesn't?!) and even airplane food (more on that later). She'll be sharing with you true tales of restaurant openings, food trends, chef Q&As, and even the occasional food pilgrimage--as she does here. Take it away, Mols!

The Materialist needs $12,500!

"Spring/Summer" by Asuka Ohsawa. Click the image for a larger version

So the Materialist was going to write about this Indian designer she's become infatuated with, but such things will have to wait because the Materialist has more pressing matters to consider, specifically: her need--stat!--for $12,500.00!

Many years ago, when the Materialist was in her 20s and more energetic, she used to spend her evenings going to small artistic co-operatives looking for new talent she could buy on the cheap. Back then, the Materialist was living a life of white-collar, liberal-arts poverty and suffering daily humiliations and belittlement as an assistant editor in book publishing, which remains the worst and most soul-crushing job the Materialist has ever had. After a long week of standing over the Xerox machine, copying Robert Caro-length books page by page because the company she worked with was too cheap to send things out to Kinko's, the Materialist found that the only consolation life offered was buying a nice work on paper, which is where her current troubles began.