My First Story on Substack (by ALICE HURLEY, Reporter)

I drove five hours (traffic, lightning) to Sag Harbor Thursday to see 

the play "Mister Halston." Photo by Phil Merritt.

My first Substack post is live, about "Mister Halston."

Review of the one-man show here.

It's been a long time blogging....since 2010, to be exact. I followed my friend Kim onto the Blogspot platform, captivated by her reports. I loved posting my own, and now they also serve as very useful looks back, not just as a writer but especially as a mother on a sometimes rocky road.

Now my writer/editor friends Kim Flodin and Fay Ellis both write on Substack. And I love to follow icons Amanda Hesser, Dorie Greenspan (baking) and Kim France (fashion) there. I just subscribed to Sam's Plate, by nutritionist Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD, a contact from Good Housekeeping days. Seems there are free subscriptions and paid ones ranging from $5 to $8 monthly. And I just cancelled an $8 feed written by a style society maven because she wrote a catty comment about a fashion writer I adore. I don't like that.

I hope you will check out my first post.

Thank you. I still don't know how I will balance Substack writing with blogging. For a long time, and through the pandemic, I wrote on Medium, but mostly earned just pennies there, except for one controversial "Other Side of Karen" post that brought in about $500.

More to come.

Photos by Phil Merritt.

Still a Writer

To relax between work and life tasks, I sometimes daydream about the

 Emilio Pucci Marmo Print Bath Cushion in turquoise terry cloth. 

Beachy blue vibes all around.

 (It has two suction cups in the back to secure it to the bathtub.)

I wrote for aspire design and home about the interior style of JouJou, 

a new French restaurant in San Francisco. 

Link here. Photo by Douglas Friedman.

My friend taught me to “Rest to Succeed” in a workshop she led this winter. It was about goal-setting and tailored to each of our lists about what is important to us, what we value.

It seemed counterintuitive. How could I rest to succeed? Wasn’t I already napping enough, feeling flattened (and fattened) by life, finding that lifting a toothbrush or bar of soap was too much to manage?

But A. was right. For example, today I worked on an article assignment, called in an RX, updated my meds (and took them on time), sent a funny coffee text to Figgy, her BF, etc. I clipped some sweetly scented pink roses to bring inside.

While I ate lunch in the kitchen, I boiled some wilting rainbow carrots in the microwave to make banana carrot loaf cake later. It contains healthful ingredients. I would have whirred the raw carrots 🥕 in a food processor but I don’t have one, so will mash them instead. I don't have cream cheese on hand for the frosting so will skip it.

Work, do task, rest. The REST may be napping, playing Wordle, window-shopping or reading at my favorite sites (but not in an endless funnel of time). Remember, I'm being productive in between. 

Some beloved window-shopping and writer's diversions listed here. Pls. note: My passions and pleasures often overlap with my work tasks and goals. I plan to send (more) article/essay pitches to The NY Times (3) and also have my eye on Vogue (5).

1. Diptyque Paris. Started in Paris, obviously. Pronounced DIP-TEAK. A brand Sis and I met through Sniffapalooza and love.
2. Sweet Laurel Bakery. Santa Monica, pretty in pink, fresh flowers on GF cakes. Laurel even shared a great recipe to make cleaning spray with water, vinegar and essential oil. I did. (She also showed a pink, of course, refillable glass spray bottle and when I asked, told me where to find it.)  I came across Sweet Laurel during the dark pandemic and it lit my way with small orders winged to New Jersey, such as a beautiful scented candle in pink glass and a niche unsweetened dark chocolate bar in the loveliest pink floral packaging (both not available now).
3. Vanessa Friedman fashion writing in The New York Times. Best, best, enough said.
4. Net-A-Porter. Only for sales, dreams or maybe a trendy, mid-priced brand, like a SKIMS Fits Everybody Push-Up Bra in Cocoa (dark brown), on its way to me as I type. I will let you know if it fits everybody.
5. Vogue. Proud subscriber, $15 a month but print issues in store cost A LOT. I plan to write for Vogue one day.
6. Aerin. Estée Lauder's granddaughter, style icon, seems to have good heart.
7. Jamagansett. Fresh fruit jams made with less sugar, from Amagansett in the Hamptons. Figgy went for a weekend there with her girlfriends this month and brought me a jar. Very pricey, very well-branded.
8. Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) on instagram. She demos her family's chicken parmigiana recipe. It looks simple and delicious. Will sub in eggplant for vegetarian Dan but plan to make the homemade sauce this eve.

I better stop listing, have to get back on task. I am more productive, with one can-do thing feeding into another. I am not flopping around like a fish out of water. And one key thing is the word later. If I want to do something but have not accomplished it yet, I prioritize in my mind. I did my article work, for instance, started the carrot cake and then put it on hold to take a break. The carrots were not going anywhere. I made the cake before leaving at 8 p.m. for a meeting.

Still a writer. Links to two May 2026 articles, one lifestyle and one more technical (neurology). Range of vocabulary from paint colors to feeding tubes. Stretching my skills. Here’s to us all moving on with life and using our individual voices. Rest to succeed, indeed.

JOUJOU RESTAURANT IN THE CITY BY THE FOG https://aspiremetro.com/joujou-san-francisco/?noamp=mobile

DECODING HOSPITAL DIETS FOR NEURO PATIENTS https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/hospital-diets-patients-neurological-diseases

This post has been updated and expanded since original posting on May 21.

The New Blue I Want--Just Not the "Naked Dress"

 

Tyla in custom Valentino at the 2026 Met Gala. 

LINK to the image above but I regret I can't find the photo credit. Will try harder tomorrow.

Per Vogue India's Instagram (Click for the reel)

For her third #MetGala appearance, Tyla (@tyla) wore custom Valentino by Alessandro Michele, pairing a satin bleu paon skirt with a deep slit, silver-rhinestone waistline and a tulle top traced with fringe and silver sequins. After moulded sand in 2024 and pinstripes in 2025, her 2026 “Costume Art” look keeps her Met streak very much alive.

No, the "naked dress" is not for me in any way, shape or form, but I adore that fresh, vibrant blue. It is exotic, electric, modern, chic, royal and rich in all the best ways. I dare you to turn away. This blue is a jolt of beauty in a weary world. Breathtaking.

In "The Devil Wears Prada 2," the bedside lampshade in Andy's hotel room in Milan was that same hue and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Love, love, and the striking, satiny clutch Simone Ashley (as Miranda's assistant, Amari Mari) holds near the end of the movie took a dip in that same gorgeous color.

I will be hunting down this blue, most likely for an accessory but yes, even for a lampshade. Will keep you posted!

P.S. Last night, I drove to the 92nd Street Y in NYC to see Stanley Tucci in a Q & A session. When the tickets went on sale a while back, I had to pounce.

"The Devil Drinks Red Juice" and More Frothy Vogue Fun in SoHo

I am always happy in a fashion situation. 

The only Prada I own is hand cream, lip balm and the modern lipstick I love (shown).

I drove to Spring Street from Montclair this afternoon to check out the first-ever Vogue Café pop-up in New York, open for three days ahead of the Met Gala this Monday. It is for fashionistas and also passionistas like me, for whom the Gala is out of reach, and is perfectly timed with "The Devil Wears Prada 2" movie release yesterday. Here are the details: https://www.vogue.com/article/vogue-cafe-new-york-announcement-may-2026.

Lucky me, I found a free parking spot across the way, while town cars and big black SUVs lobbied for position. I took fun photos and aim to post them on Instagram but for now, I misplaced my iPhone charging block, and my phone is dead. So I'm blogging.

I'm fighting a dark mood--dark as my best Majestic Filatures boatneck top in Noir, dark as my coal-black mascara--and going into the city was an excellent antidote, as usual.

Was it worth the Lincoln Tunnel weekend toll and tapping my debit card on the reader for cleverly named Vogue Devil-themed, blood-red juice and Glacial Pace coffee and a couple of treats from Hani's Bakery? Yes. No different from the time I paid to attend a Saturday fashion event led by uber editor Carrie Donovan from The New York Times, or the day I saw fashion icon Iris Apfel at the Montclair Film Festival's screening of Albert Maysles documentary "Iris." 

The ether around Vogue and "The Devil Wears Prada 2" is electric. So many details swirling, so much activity, that part of me, the mother and writer in me, has been wondering how Chloe Malle will manage it all. I hope she has a lot of support. She is Vogue's new Head of Editorial Content and co-host of The Run-Through with Vogue podcast--second in line to the queen, Anna Wintour.

The very capable and captivating daughter of Candice Bergen and Louis Malle, Chloe has two young children she talks about on the pod--Arthur and Alice. She is candid about trying to balance it all in her New York City life, to craft valentines with the children, have a good marriage, take family vacations, go to fashion shows, make time to see her mother and not bring her cell phone into the kids' bedrooms so she won't be distracted by work. On top of that, she seems to be constantly working, reviewing content, conducting interviews, running events, reading, writing--and looking very pretty and stylish, from head to toe.

The highly anticipated Devil Wears Prada movie sequel opened yesterday (Dan and I caught a premiere Thursday in Montclair). 

Style notes from today's event at Altro Paradiso:

• The flowers. Fat pink peonies in short vases, and a French-looking cart where we picked a bouquet of three blooms (with proof of a Vogue subscription). Exotic tulips, ranunculus (aka Persian Buttercups), roses in the muted tones of fragile antique dresses.
• The crowd. A young blonde Vogue staffer wore faded vintage Levi's blue jeans with a nubby pink Chanel-style collarless jacket. You know the look.
• The charm bar! Oh, I longed to select a leather cord with beaded dangles and such, but it was $295, so I couldn't. Did you see this Vogue story about NYC shop cats and pendant necklaces? The second is a tassel necklace from Don’t Let Disco, the Brooklyn brand that ran this charm bar. The sterling silver Keeper Collar looked so good in person. Want.
• Swag to buy. I got a white ribbed tank with VOGUE in black. Not too pricey, size XL.
• Coffee bar. "Can You Spell Cappuccino," "The Glacial Pace Iced Coffee" and a bottle of vibrant "The Devil Drinks Red Juice." Smart nods to beloved "Devil Wears Prada" lines. A stylish man in a blue trench coat next to me on the flower cart line said the "Cerulean Blue Matcha" was good. 
• Dream pastry case. Instagram-worthy treats from Hani's Bakery in New York. Chic, layered Carrot Cake with Pineapple Ginger Jam and Brown Butter Buttercream, sea salt-dusted, saucer-size Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies that will not help you zip up your designer dress. Also: Cookie Butter Fudge Brownie. I got to chat with Miro Uskokovic, Hani's executive chef/owner. 

Remember, flowers, jewelry, coffee and desserts may not be Prada, but are all quite fashionable, too.

One Snow Battle After Another

This snow and its aftereffects have been exhausting, ever since our world became a frozen tundra starting Sunday, January 25. I know I should be grateful for creature comforts. But this is no innocent storybook blanket of white. 

1. Our neighbors are maneuvering beloved New York City with mountains of snow, garbage and uncollected recycling. The ice-crusted snow is not going anywhere. Many homeless people have died in NY and NJ.

2. It takes forever to get out of this 1924 Dutch Colonial house. I like easy flip flops, not lace-up L.L. Bean boots--though in a reluctant nod to nature, I bought a pair up in Vermont when visiting Meg. Lacing the boots adds a lot of extra time.

3. If I'm thickly bundled up, I can't drive. I can't budge at the steering wheel. So I have to take my coat off.

4. Our car died at least three times, and we spent a lot of money to fix it. I noticed a number of other car hoods up/vehicles stalled in my travels.

5. Too much carb loading, too little cooking. What is a green vegetable? Please remind me. I did manage a batch of Grace's Mushroom Soup, a big pot of chili and a vegan banana bread from the Babycakes cookbook for Figgy, who has been hunkering down and busily writing her PhD application. But otherwise, crackers, deli ham, melted cheese, chilled prebiotic sodas poured over lots of ice and coffee, coffee, coffee call my name.

6. Dogs are out of their element. They can't find a spot to do their business. I know, because I watched my Sis's sweet Galena for nine days (in Connecticut and here) while Sis traveled. I walked that dust-mop darling three times a day, she in a plum-colored parka, and often, we both dreaded going outside. Tail down, shoulders up, let's go.

7. Some families have little or no food, so I should not complain about a privileged $55 Saturday night pizza delivery from a place in Wayne that we used to love. I ordered the special, a plain pizza, salad and Italian hero package; the chicken parmigiana hero with vodka sauce that Punch always loved; and garlic knots. What a disappointment. The $55 included all the taxes and fees and the $7 tip for the driver. None of it was stellar, and the pizza was practically cold. I figured we would have ample leftovers in this snow situation, but am about to throw them out. 

Yet I have never been more grateful for a heated home. When I walk in the door, I thank God that our oil tank is not on "E" (it has sometimes been) and that the old radiators are still cranking out heat. 

A Mist of Shalimar: The Nose Knows

Not Your Mother's Shalimar

There’s a new lady in town, and her beauty won’t stay bottled up for long.

The iconic bold fragrance in an Art Deco bottle.

Recently unveiled Shalimar L'Essence Eau de Parfum Intense features 

modern golden lettering and a vanilla-drenched profile. 

Eau de parfum from $115.

BY ALICE GARBARINI HURLEY

Shalimar, the storied French fragrance that has captured hearts and gazes since 1925, was the guest of honor in the Waldorf Astoria on January 31. To fete her 100^th birthday, a rejiggered version of the scent favored by screen sirens Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth was uncapped, passed hand to hand, sprayed and sniffed in the hotel’s new fifth floor Guerlain Wellness Spa.

A clutch of 56 guests of Sniffapalooza, the fragrance fan group founded in 2004, were there to meet and greet the icon's little sister, while sipping mimosas and nibbling on pastel pink and green macarons. Many purchased bottles of either the classic or new Shalimar formula from the gilded Guerlain boutique on-site. Some had loved the scent since their late teens, when their mothers gifted them a bottle, a sign that they were finally women. The classic, time-tested eau de parfum starts at $110 a bottle.

“Shalimar was independence for women,” said Lee Davidson-Xhakollari, Guerlain Manager of Education. In the 1920s, women were cutting their hair shorter and swingy, freer flapper styles were emerging.

Shalimar introduced the first footed perfume bottle, on a pedestal, with a fluted "batwing" design and then a signature blue, fan-shaped Baccarat Crystal stopper.

The glamorous crystal stopper is now a thing of the past, 

though a blue cap, batwing shape and pedestal remain.

Vintage bottles, like this one from the 1940s or 1950s, are collectibles. 

Image from GoldenAgePerfumes, an Etsy seller from Kansas.  

                                                                The fragrance was "conceived in a garden of India."

Shalimar perfume history began with Shah Jahan, the 17th century Mughal emperor of India, who was mourning the death of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. He built the Taj Mahal and the royal Shalimar gardens in her honor as a timeless tribute to their love. Inspired by this story, Jacques Guerlain created the sensual, opulent scent--the first amber--with woody, sweet and floral components. The blue, fan-shaped bottle stopper is said to be inspired by silverware owned by the Guerlain family.

On Saturday, guests passed around the footed and still sapphire-blue capped bottles, waving their wrists, or Guerlain paper cards, for first and second impressions. The intense contemporary eau de parfum “celebrates vanilla in every form,” according to Guerlain, incorporating precious Madagascan vanilla tincture. The “floral heart" blends bergamot with rose absolute and iris.  

“I like the original Shalimar better,” said veteran sniffer Judy Davis of New York City. "But," she cautioned, "you can’t buy a perfume online. I never have. You have to smell it.” 

Snowy Morning at the Waldorf

The group included “noses” who had traveled from Poughkeepsie, Philly or other parts of NYC. 

“This event sold out in six hours,” said Karen Dubin, founder and CEO of the fragrance group, “with a waiting list of 30.” She has collected scents since age 6 (Arpège by Lanvin) and has over 2,000 in her New York apartment. The original Shalimar “was too cloyingly sweet” for her. But the new Shalimar L'Essence Eau de Parfum Intense? “I’m wearing it and can’t stop wearing it,” Dubin said. She plans to spritz it on for cocktail parties.

You will have to mist your wrist and decide for yourself.

Sniffapalooza hosts several events a year, in places from far-flung Provence lavender fields to bespoke boutiques, including Frédéric Malle on Madison Avenue and Hermès. In the Waldorf Astoria lobby, a second Guerlain Boutique is fully stocked with fragrances, makeup (KissKiss Bee Glow Hydrating Tinted Lip Oil in a lavender hue, anyone?) and refillable candles, steps from the historic Peacock Alley Bar.

 

 

Pocket Stages, Spicy Eats and Other Nashville Notes

Standing at the microphone in the Ryman.

The Ryman Auditorium, "the mother church of country music."

Fellow writer Shea spotted this photo op, in front of one of the Ryman windows.

I was in Music City on a press trip with 10 other writers last week. We hit the Grand Ole Opry. We got all riled up with Trisha Yearwood, our hearts buoyant as she smiled and thigh-slapped in a festive pantsuit to a rollicking rendition of "She's in Love with the Boy," with the Nashville Symphony. We toured the old Ryman Auditorium (site of the original Grand Ole Opry), with church pew seating and historic windows and took a super spicy risk with Nashville Hot Chicken near the Brave Idiot. 

Nine Nashville notes, and this is just for starters:

Number 6. I could see the pretty lights from my room.

1. Ernest Tubb Record Shop downtown. Near 10 p.m. Tuesday, a band of four played on the front stage, by the window. On a pocket stage hidden in the back, two pretty, honey-voiced women strummed guitar and sang. You can hear live country music for much of the night, even into the overnight. And find the bar for a nice spicy margarita. (Stylish blonde writer Erica, from Philly, said it was good. It had sliced jalapeño and a salty rim. But it was late, and our third bar stop that night, so I resisted.)
2. Born Bathing. That's the magical/mystical beauty brand of hand, hair and body wash products in the rooms at the Fairlane, a luxury boutique hotel (pet-friendly!) that was just refurbished and reopened. My skin felt soft and pampered and smelled good, too. Even with puffy eyes and urge to stay asleep after a night out, I felt refreshed and renewed with the body wash. I just ordered two (aluminum, not plastic) bottles online.
3. National Museum of African American Music. Interactive displays. So much to see and celebrate. So much history. Shoes, dresses, jackets that belonged to music icons. Two women from our group donned (new, not vintage) gospel robes and sang along with a video in a breakout room.
4. Hot Chicken, hellfire hot. The heat scale at pinball dive lounge No Quarter starts at 1 and goes to 10. My new friend and fellow writer, Geri, and I chose 7. Brave idiots, like the name on the food truck outside. Writer Shea said my face and mouth were getting red and I better get a shot of cream, but the bartender didn't have any. Geri said salt is supposed to help, so I got a spicy margarita with salt on the rim. Ample servings of chicken, tender and juicy under the fire, served on a slice of white sandwich bread, a welcome bland foil.
5. Voodoo Doughnut in the Nashville Airport. The chain started in 2003 in Portland, OR. I had never seen it, but the pink packaging caught my eye. Bedeviling varieties include Maple Bacon Bar and Churro Cheesecake.
6. Gaylord Opryland Resort, with room terraces that look out over lush indoor gardens. A concierge suite our group could use with The Wall Street Journal, big pots of orchids, Goo Goo Clusters, coffee and chilled water. Beautiful Christmas lights and fireplaces to sit by. A family favorite. 
7. Ice, ice baby. The annual ice show at Opryland, this year with a Peanuts theme. Very cute, characters and doghouse all carved from ice. Loved it. It's one to three degrees in there, so everyone (kids and adults) has to don a blue jacket with hood. Also: Ice slides for adventure.
   
   
   
8. Housemade coffee liqueur in the espresso martini for Friday brunch at Cafe Roze. Check the top-shelf cocktail list, including Root of All Evil, with vodka, carrot and beet juice. The house-baked chocolate croissants were big enough to feed 3 or more people. (Sold out by the time we arrived.) The bacon was excellent, as was the Country Ham Toast, with a snowfall of more than an inch of finely grated Parmesan on top. 
   
   Espresso martini.
   
   
   
   See what I mean about a snowfall of grated cheese? Amazing.
   
   
9. "There will be a surprise in your room." That's what the Modern Love chef at the Fairlane said when we left breakfast. Later, by our nightstands, we each found a large, rich, architecturally crafted candy bar. White and dark chocolate with praline, caramel and pepitas. 

And that doesn't even touch on my fellow travelers. A colorful group, including food writer Rai, a beautiful young Black woman with curly hair, lovely long dresses, great accessories and shoes and a rich knowledge of food and cooking, from biscuits to bone broth. Chris, a chivalrous car aficionado who drove to meet us in Nashville. He calls himself "Christhewheeltor" on Instagram. Erica, that blonde mom and actor/writer/editor from Philly (see spicy margarita, above). And many other spirited, smart observers. 

______________________________

Below, my NY Times piece about the Loveless Cafe in Nashville in 1989, when I was a young writer in the promotion/marketing department at Seventeen Magazine and joined Dan on a short work trip to Nashville. We ate at the Loveless and then I interviewed the owner by phone from my apartment on the Jersey Shore. (I've been pitching other food stories to the Times again. It's more involved than making a call at my desk on lunch hour to Eric Asimov, who edited "At the Nation's Table." But I will keep at it.)

https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/15/style/at-the-nations-table-nashville.html