Would you buy clothes designed by Snooki? She’s hoping you will, even if it’s not because they’re from her.Regardless of your answer, Racked‘s profile on the Jersey Shore star’s new chapter as a fashion designer selling her clothes online is the picture of the tense balancing act of a celebrity trying to soften a brazen persona, while staying bold enough to keep to your interest.
In capital-M media, Matter published an essay from former Gawker writer Dayna Evans about her former employer’s systematic poor treatment of its female employees. The essay, which was originally supposed to be published on Gawker and was rejected at the last second, is a striking look at just how easy it is for male-run newsrooms to default to unfair treatment, even if when their editors would like to believe otherwise. (Disclosure: The author of this post was an editorial intern at Gawker Media in 2011.)
Not everyone believes in the power of self-help (and self-help books). For the skeptics, there’s an interesting essay from Aeon that not only posits that self-help books work, but that a great one can change one’s general well-being “more than medication or therapy.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still a month away from hitting theaters, but critics are already thinking about the movie. As it turns out, the folks at Lucasarts haven’t been so forthcoming about when or even if critics will get to see the film early. At The Verge, film critic Bryan Bishop has taken the film’s hard and unaccommodating stance with critics as a(nother) sign that expert film criticism may be on its last legs.
Speaking of terrifying inevitabilities, Urban Outfitters is going to start opening restaurants! The clothing retailer, realizing that the demand for physical clothing stores has changed, has started buying various kinds of cafés and restaurants. According to Mashable, the company believes that mixing eating and shopping in a single store will lead to increased sales without increased stains.
Though the chain started experimenting with the idea all the way back in 2009, it seems like the company is ready to mobilize in earnest, with planned shopteraunts in New York, Connecticut and Texas. The only saving grace? The food side of things will reportedly be managed by Philly restauranteur Marc Vetri. Urban Outfitters announced today that they’ve purchased Vetri’s company, The Vetri Family, and that Vetri will be involved in the company’s culinary efforts.