Eating the Forbidden Ham Sandwich

Social Q’s

It’s All About My Mother

By PHILIP GALANES

Self-consumed mothers, office tattletales and hot versus lukewarm for a prom date.

• More Social Q's Columns

Office Party? Let’s Tweet It

By DAVID HOCHMAN

For rising tech stars, sharing a Brooklyn loft beats searching for a WiFi signal at the local Starbucks.

Critic’s Notebook

Into the Spotlight, Gently

By CATHY HORYN

The royal wedding dress transformed Sarah Burton into the quiet, modernizing voice of the Alexander McQueen brand.

• Fashion Review: Bride’s Dress Is a Flawless Success

Beige Never Looked So Bright

By TIM MURPHY

Beige, the fashion-y, mostly-but-not-all-gay party held every Tuesday at the B Bar on the Bowery, is coming to an end after noise complaints.

Up Close

He Puts the Maximus in the Circus

By JED LIPINSKI

Randy Weiner has pioneered a hybrid form of entertainment that unites experimental theater with the boozy energy of a nightclub.

Gap Dismisses Design Chief as Brand’s Slow Sales Persist

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

Gap’s retail sales in North America have been trending downward, with same-store sales in March down 9 percent.

Front Row

On Her Arm, a Symbol of Freedom

By ERIC WILSON

Susan B. Anthony believed that a purse symbolized a woman’s financial independence. Today’s independent women can buy a replica of one of hers for $250.

Skin Deep

New Stratagems in the Quest for Hair

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

Transplants, lotions, pills: what’s next in the search for a thick head of hair? Cloning, says one doctor.

Beauty Spots

By HILARY HOWARD

Tomatoes fight acne; Jennifer Aniston’s perfume (with a nod to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital); powder purchases benefit Africa.

Nocturnalist

At an Art Party, Baring All While Remaining Dressed

By SARAH MASLIN NIR

Marina Abramovic, known for using nudity in her performance art, was among the guests at an event for Francis Alÿs at the Museum of Modern Art. She regaled with a tale about learning to drive.

Art Review

The Shock of Fashion, When It Turns Into Something Else

By HOLLAND COTTER

A Metropolitan Museum exhibition of work by Alexander McQueen, who committed suicide last year, surveys the career of a designer who used shock to challenge preconceptions.

• Alexander McQueen in All His Dark Glory
• Video: Met's Costume Institute Curator | Photo Slide Show

Boîte

Jimmy

By BEN DETRICK

Jimmy, on the 18th floor of the James Hotel in SoHo, lets patrons pretend they’re in Miami with its rooftop pool and impressive view.

T Magazine

Prep Squad

By MADISON SHIMODA

Tommy Hilfiger's new limited-edition capsule collection, Prep World, was inspired by none other than Lisa Birnbach's book from 1980.

• Related

In Neoprene and Kilts, Remembering a Risk Taker

By ERIC WILSON

The guests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute gala on Monday night honored the late designer Alexander McQueen by arriving in daring dress.

• Slide Show: The Red Carpet at the Met Gala
• On the Runway: At Met Costume Gala, McQueen Reigns

Scene City

No Feather Left Unpreened

By ERIC WILSON

Many guests paid tribute to the outrageous designs of Alexander McQueen, whose work is the subject of the Costume Institute’s stunning posthumous exhibition.

• Slide Show: Scene City: Inside the Met Gala

Critical Shopper

Now, Something for the Body Eccentric

By JON CARAMANICA

The new Henrik Vibskov shop in SoHo is the designer’s first in the United States.

Hermès Is Selling Its Stake in Gaultier’s Fashion House

By SUZY MENKES and DAVID JOLLY

The Puig Beauty and Fashion Group, a Spanish company whose primary focus is perfumes, is acquiring a controlling 60 percent share of the company.

Nocturnalist

Come Party! But Don’t Talk to Celebrities

By SARAH MASLIN NIR

An invitation to a private gathering in the meatpacking district is followed by a warning.

Motherlode Blog

Raising the 9/11 Generation

By LISA BELKIN

What to tell the children when there are no words?

Sites That Send Shoppers What They Might Like

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

Rather than being greeted by an avalanche of shopping possibilities, Internet shoppers can subscribe to shopping sites that suggest items with the user’s style in mind.

The Crowds Are Gone, the Walls Are Next

By TIM STELLOH

The popularity of the Nanuet Mall, once the go-to place for shopping in Nanuet, N.Y., has faded with competition from big-box retailers and the nearby Palisades Center.

Quality Time, Redefined

By ALEX WILLIAMS

The fully wired American living room often seems less like an oasis for shared activity than an entangled intersection of data traffic. But this might not be such a bad thing.

• Post a Comment on Motherlode

Cultural Studies

‘The Good Wife’ and Its Women

By JAN HOFFMAN

The popular prime-time drama explores how several generations of female characters clamber for control and identity in the dense, slippery politics of home and office.