Everything, Everywhere, All At Once?
When health and longevity aren't your genetic benchmarks, it can feel like you're in a race against time. But finding balance is as essential as checking items off your bucket list.
Maryann LoRusso
Maryann LoRusso is a San Francisco-based journalist with more than 25 years of experience covering fashion, culture and lifestyle. A former executive (editor-in-chief) at Fairchild Publications/Condé Nast and editor at Time Inc., she has written and edited miles of editorial copy, spoken at global fashion-industry events, and interviewed hundreds of CEOs, celebrities, change makers and fashion icons—including Vera Wang, Manolo Blahnik, Anna Sui, Kenneth Cole and Kate Spade. Maryann's most recent endeavor is More Beautiful, a podcast and website for women navigating midlife.
A native New Yorker, Maryann earned her journalism/creative writing degree from Northwestern University outside of Chicago. After graduating, she returned to the Big Apple to chase ambulances as a reporter at a weekly New York newspaper. She eventually transitioned to the dynamic world of magazine publishing, where she collaborated with some amazing talent at Condé Nast (WWD Group) and Time Inc. (InStyle). After the birth of her first child, Maryann moved to San Francisco with her growing family and continued writing for both print and online media (American Baby, WWD, The Knot, Parent Map, Racked, the Bold Italic, the Nob Hill Gazette and more).
While Maryann loves California’s weather and laid-back vibe, she does miss New York bagels and thunderstorms. When she’s not writing furiously or spending time with her brood, she enjoys running, traveling, singing, volunteering at her kids’ school, and cooking—as long as someone else cleans up the kitchen. She can't stop herself from mentally editing everything from restaurant menus to public restroom signs, and won't be caught dead without a red pen in her purse.
The Space Between
Putting distance between things is essential for living—and appreciating life.
MTJ Style Icon: Elizabeth Taylor
Taylor catapulted to stardom after her appearance in National Velvet (1944) at age thirteen. She went on to star in dozens of films including A Place in the Sun (1951), BUtterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), nabbing Oscars for the latter two. During the filming of the scandal-ridden Cleopatra (1961) she began her passionate affair with Burton, who later bestowed her with the 33-carat Krupp diamond.
At events, decked in Valentino, Halston, or Dior, her porcelain skin wa
Who Are Your Golden Girls?
I share almost everything with my closest friends. But what they don’t know is that, tucked away, deep inside the recesses of my brain, is a running list of candidates for the role of Maryann’s Golden Girls.
Chemical Attraction
As an olive-skinned girl, I spent years wondering why neither gold nor silver jewelry looked exactly right on me. Until a friend gifted me a circle pendant dangling off a blackened silver chain. I put it on and—voila!—it was instant chemistry. I had finally met my metal soulmate.
Oxidized jewelry is made by treating sterling silver with sulfides to speed up its natural tarnishing process. The resulting hue can range from light gray to gunmetal or even matte black. Like other patinas, oxidized s
MTJ Icon: Diana Ross
From her legendary turn as lead singer of the Supremes to a magnificent half-century-spanning solo career in music, film, TV and stage, the incomparable Diana Ross has had us in awe for, well, forever. While her style has fluctuated throughout the years, she has mostly favored classic accessories— allowing her body-hugging outfits (and enviable figure) to shine.
In the 1960s, she paired matchy-matchy girl-band frocks with feminine brooches and chokers. The ’70s called for slender hoop earrings
How We Lost the Art of the Signature
I recently took my teenage daughter, Ava, to the post office to renew her passport. After waiting in a long line, sorting through legal documents, and paying a slew of fees, the clerk behind the counter handed Ava a pen, slid the last form in front of her, and asked her to sign her name.
Ava held the ballpoint pen in her hand for several seconds before panic spread across her face. “Can’t I just print it?” she asked, which made the lady behind the counter scowl. “No, I need a signature. And not
How Long Does It Take to Become a San Franciscan?
San Francisco is my city and I love it. But our 16-year relationship — at first superficial, then rocky, and at times tumultuous — took a long time to gel.
My husband’s job brought us here in 2003. We showed up with a small moving truck, a 10-month-old baby and, admittedly, a “what the hell are we doing on the West Coast” attitude. Torn from my family, friends, and career in New York, I made my husband promise that our Bay Area stint would be two years, max.
Ah, but it was September — San Fran
San Francisco Neighborhood Guide
Free thinkers, reformers, tech-savvy innovators, and the wild and wacky define the San Francisco lifestyle. Here's your guide to America's most dynamic metropolitan area. Fun and research-driven project for a great Bay Area real estate company.
5 Things You Didn't Know About Designer Peter Copping
In the (almost) one year since taking the helm at the House of Oscar de la Renta, and proving he can fill the big shoes left by his late predecessor, Creative Director Peter Copping has given fans everything they expect from the brand. And then some. Feminine, ladies-who-lunch separates? Check. Floral-print cha-cha frocks? Check. Sophisticated gowns and embroidered cocktail dresses? Check and check.
Well-Suited for Fall
Menswear-inspired fashion made a somewhat expected comeback this season, with runways showing everything from wide-legged trousers to bowtie blouses. But the real surprise was the return of a wardrobe staple that seemed to have gone the way of the petticoat: the pantsuit...
Mad About Manolo: The Rise of a Stiletto Superstar
Here are a few things you should know about Manolo Blahnik: He made his fist pair of shoes at age 5, a tiny pair of silver-foil moccasins for a pet monkey called Naginski. He is prone to using dramatic phrases like "simply divine"...
Out of Sight: A Guide to Your Baby's Visual Development
I'll never forget the first time my daughter, Ava, looked at me. Swaddled in a teddy-bear-print blanket, she was a whole five minutes old when the delivery nurse placed her in my arms. As I studied her angelic face and admired her long, dark lashes, her eyes suddenly opened wide.
Putting Her Best Foot Forward: Vera Wang Profile
She's the woman who sent figure skater Nancy Kerrigan gliding down the ice in a sheer mini for the 1994 Olympics. Who has outfitted actress Nicole Kidman and numerous other starlets for awards ceremonies. Who may be seen touting...
The Benefits of Bonding
How important is it to bond with your baby? According to neurophysiologist Daniel Siegel, the way your infant attaches to you during her first months has a profound impact on her brain and helps shape her social, emotional and cognitive development...
Custom Maids: Say Goodbye to Cookie-Cutter Bridesmaids
Luckily, being a bridesmaid is no longer a fashion farce in which several reluctant females—with varied tastes and even more varied body proportions—are forced to don head-to-toe matching outfits. With the options out there now, there's no need for your voluptuous sister to squeeze into a spaghetti-strap top, or your heavy-metal-loving cousin Suzie (who has never worn a skirt in her life) to be wrapped in a pink bow. By mixing and matching separates, playing with colors and details, or allowing your attendants to choose their most flattering dress shapes, you can offer them something much more than a place in your bridal party: the opportunity to look and feel your best in the spotlight.
Is SF Losing Its Fashion Identity?
Two or three decades ago, when a member of San Francisco's elite headed to a red-carpet gala, she'd turn to a local designer for her evening wear. It was a luxurious, almost intimate experience to purchase an elaborate gown from one of the city's few high-end department stores or, better yet, to be fitted at one of the even fewer couture studios. If the client chose the latter, she might have been on a first-name basis with the dressmaker, who probably also clothed...
Home Is Where McCartney Is
I moved to San Francisco a decade ago, and it’s taken me almost that long to start calling it my city. But after attending my first Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park last month, I finally embraced the fact that this is the place I now call home. It was an exhilarating weekend of music, food, art, wine, and community that sealed my sense of belonging to our gorgeous, passionate City by the Bay.
Maybe what moved me was the fog, languorously rolling in from Ocean Beach and over the
10 Feeding Myths Busted
The morning my husband and I brought our daughter home from the hospital, we placed her gently in her cradle and looked at each other with puzzled faces that said, “Now what?” This hungry little creature had some set of pipes, and her protests were making it clear we weren’t living up to her expectations—esspecially when it came to feeding her.
Rivers Wild: Chatting With the Incomparable Joan
In case you've ever wondered what Joan Rivers does when she's not tearing apart some poor starlet's outfit on E!, or shoving microphones into celebrities' faces at the Academy Awards, wonder no more...
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