We were on the way to a dinner with some relatives in from out west, and so we stopped in the Harris Teeter in Reston to pick up some groceries. And while standing in line there--actually, I was on Diet Coke duty, so I finished my shopping in about 35 seconds while my wife and the kid were hunting condiments, so I had a bit of a wait--I happened to spy a copy of Men's Vogue on the rack.
Now, with all due respect to the fine, fine people of Conde' Nast--and I mean that, since I actually know several of them, and I know them to be fine people, who produce many outstanding products, and I have even written for Conde Nast publications from time to time, and I count it as much of an honor as a freelance magazine article can afford--anyway, a magazine that requires a man to make all kinds of excuses for why he picked it up is not long for this world. Hate to tell you. Even if some artist friends were profiled in it at length, and given two-page photo spreads, I ended up not buying it. Sorry.
BUT, now that I've given all the excuses I can think of, let me give a shoutout to Men's Vogue for featuring a profile of Luke Janklow, a literary agent [like his dad], who was photographed with his son [name escapes me, sorry, kid] in the family's downtown abode. [By sheer coincidence, Janklow reps Vogue's Andre Leon Talley.]
Because I got an answer to a question that had been bugging me for almost five years--and even more since the kid was born: Would it look good to upholster a classic armchair with the high-quality, 17-screen chintz fabric called "Herb," which was commissioned in 2001 by the wacky people at Nest Magazine, and which features the delicate and pretty distinctive buds and leaves of the cannabis plant?
Judging by the picture of Luke & son in their Herb-covered nursery chair, the answer is yes, absolutely.
Which is good to know, because we bought just such a chair for when my mother came just after the kid was born, because she wanted someplace softer than an Eames rocker to sit on with her precious granddaughter. And frankly, since then, it's been in the corner with a sheet over it, waiting to get upholstered.
And since it takes at least 10 yards of fabric to cover, and $950 is a lot to gamble on pot-covered furniture, especially for a non-toker, I've passed on the only upholstery decision I've ever really had to face. Until now, that is. I encourage you all to go check out the picture in Men's Vogue at a newsstand near you--just not the one you usually go to...
"Herb" linen/cotton chintz fabric for Nest Magazine is $95/yard [nestmagazine.com]
Isn't diplaying a copy of "Men's Vogue" in Virginia analagous to selling issues of "Field & Stream" at Soho House? By the way, I hear that the "Herb" linens are passe now. The hippest linens are from the "Coca" line.
{you and the coca and the meatpacking district, you're as inseparable as the Bee Gees. -ed.]