Jeff Stone
interviewed by Mike Agger on August 12, 1996
Related Links
Interview with Jeff Stone, co-creator of "Chic Simple" books.
Review of "Chic Simple Eyeglasses."
Introduction to Chic Simple.
The Chic Simple books are all about paring down information to the essentials, visually, textually, and topically. Their condensed pronouncements on things like cooking tools, bedding, and the human body veer from the practical to the profound. Here is a sampling of wisdom from three different Chic Simple books. Decide for yourself if they are on target.
Hard vs. Soft: When it comes to hardsided or soft luggage, each has its merits. If wrinkle-free packing is your highest priority, choose hardsided. Softsided is lighter, stows more easily, and is gentler on the shins when wrestling it through an airport.Weight Matters: When selecting a suitcase, consider how much it weighs when empty.
Shoes: Change your shoes and you've essentially changed clothes. You could even argue that style begins at the feet. Shoes can say what clothes can't, without risk of embarrassment. Shoes get away with it by working in counterpoint to clothing...quality loafers belie the threadbare casualness of blue jeans, a demure dress acquires spirit with racy dancing shoes.Cufflinks: Think of cufflinks as decorative detachable buttons. Bold, simple designs of durable materials (silver, enamel, gold) are good investments.
Improving Memory: One of the great terrors of aging is the fear that we'll lose our memories; in fact, the brain is one of the few organs of the body that degenerates very minimally with age. Unless memory loss has organic causes - as is the case in Alzheimer's disease - the secret to maintaining mental acuity is, simply, mental activity: just as with the body, it's a case of "Use it or lose it." Read. Listen to music. Watch "Jeopardy" everyday. Be a participant, not a spectator.Cutting Cycle: Hairstylists have established a Holy Law that hair should be cut every six weeks. In fact, hair should be cut when we damn well feel like it.
Read the Tripod interview with Jeff Stone.
Read an introduction to Chic Simple.
Read a review of "Chic Simple Eyeglasses."
