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Watch

Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist


Here’s a documentary that combines two of America’s favorite pastimes: college football and grifting. Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, currently streaming on Netflix, details the incredible, bizarre story of Manti Te’o, an all-American for the University of Notre Dame and the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2012, his senior year. During that epic season, the drama of Te’o’s on-field performance was heightened when he learned that both his beloved grandmother and his girlfriend had died—on the same day. Shortly after the season ended, details about his relationship emerged, revealing that he had never met the girlfriend; they’d only talked via Facebook. But this is when the story gets odd. It turns out Te’o was the victim of an elaborate catfishing scam, and when the scandal broke, it not only turned him into a national punch line (with some people accusing him of fabricating the drama in order to help his Heisman chances) but it also messed with his focus. It’s a strange story, and the real get is that directors convinced the catfisher to cooperate on-camera. (netflix.com) —Michael Hainey

Read

The Amazing Baby Name Book


If you’d like to save your fetus from the eventual humiliation of sharing a name with several of his or her classmates, a circumstance that forces middle-schoolers to come up with often unkind adjectives to differentiate classmates with the same name, take a flip through The Amazing Baby Name Book. Written by the novelist and screenwriter Amy Ephron and her daughters, Maia and Anna, the book offers a few pages of options for every letter. Plus, the possibilities come with explanations. Go for Amethyst if searching for something “elegant, sparkly, and slightly ethereal.” If you pick Zen, know “it’s asking a lot of a kid.” ($18.95, amazon.com) —Jensen Davis

Sparkle

Bea Bongiasca


Bea Bongiasca’s brightly colored and oh so Instagrammable jewelry have captured the attention of millennial starlets like Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid. She launched her brand in 2013, the same year she graduated from London’s Central Saint Martins with a degree in jewelry design. Now Bongiasca is based in her native Italy, making each piece by hand. (In Milan, her studio is on the same block where her mother works.) Bongiasca’s whimsical pieces with her signature lacquered-enamel designs coupled with peridot, amethyst, topaz, crystals, and more are unmistakably hers. (Starting at $350, beabongiasca.com) —Bridget Arsenault

Cook

The Gourmandise School


In 2011, chef Clémence Gossett, a former assistant at Twentieth Century Fox, teamed up with Sabrina Ironside, a former executive at Fox, to start a cooking school. Located on the second floor of Santa Monica Place, a shopping center two blocks from the beach, the Gourmandise School hosts small cooking and baking classes seven days a week. I recently took their excellent Bread 101 course, a three-hour lesson in which I (and 10 strangers) made focaccia and milk bread. While waiting for the bread to rise, Gossett explained the basic science behind yeast, how to find the best flours, and ways to salvage dough that seems doomed. Offerings range from a two-day sourdough class to croissant- or cheese-making courses. (thegourmandiseschool.com) —Jensen Davis

Eat

The Holland


There’s no shortage of Sunday roasts in London. But the overpriced, overcooked slabs of beef at even the best-rated spots around town often fail to thrill. (And they reek of tourists.) The next time you find yourself wandering around the parks—Hyde, Holland, or Kensington Gardens—make a short detour over to the Holland, a charming gastro pub just off Kensington High Street. It’s so new that you won’t find much about it online, just the address. (Expect to read more about its chef and owner, Max de Nahlik, on your favorite food blog very soon.) All you need to know is this: the service is superb and exceptionally friendly, the joint is gorgeously decorated yet still dog-friendly, the food is unfussy but high quality, and the wine list is alluring. It’s a perfect neighborhood spot (especially for those who live at nearby Buckingham Palace), but it’s well worth a trip across town on Sunday. Or any day, really. In fact, we might be back tomorrow. (hehollandkensington.co.uk) —Ashley Baker

Wear

The Row


Well, here we are: it’s barely September, and we’re already recommending a coat that costs more than a gently used Kia Rio. But when something Princess Grace–worthy shows up, an item that immediately transports us to the set of Rear Window, resistance is futile. The Row designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen understand high drama, and their Gina coat delivers. Made of tussah silk in a vibrant shade of orchid pink, it has it all: an expertly cut A-line shape, a shawl collar, French cuffs with contrasting buttons, and a sleek belt that ties it all together. It’s suited for evening or cocktail hour; if you can come up with a black-tie look that would not go with this number, feel free to lodge your complaint to general@airmail.news. It could also smarten up everything from jeans to a slip dress to leggings. But let’s be honest, it’s too good for Lululemon. ($7,590; net-a-porter.com) —Ashley Baker

Issue No. 165
September 10, 2022
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Issue No. 165
September 10, 2022