Finding Love Through the Art of Combat

Before it was ever put into words, the connection, between Meg He and Margot Ciccarelli was apparent from their movements. Ms. He and Ms. Ciccarelli both practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 2019, when Ms. He first took up the martial art, she searched the internet for accomplished women whose techniques she could emulate. Her search turned…

The Iranian Fashion Revolution

When Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, stepped off the train this past September for her vacation in Tehran, she wore a loose, black chiffon headscarf with five strands of hair showing. The hair was a statement—the five strands symbolizing bold defiance of the regime, en route to a removal of the headscarf altogether. She…

That Mocktail Costs How Much?

On a Saturday night in December, just after sunset, Megan Horton sat at the bar of Nubeluz, a 50th-floor lounge on top of New York City’s newest Ritz Carlton hotel, savoring a drink. She was in town from San Francisco, where she works for Apple in client services, and was in the mood to splurge.…

Is New York Turning Into Los Angeles?

New Yorkers have also adopted another habit of Los Angeles living: early dining. Lauren Young, a spokeswoman for Resy, the reservation app owned by American Express, said that New Yorkers have “shifted a little toward earlier times, whereas L.A. historically already did dine earlier.” From 2019 to 2022, 5 p.m. reservations in New York City…

Welcome to the Live Shopping Era

Nearly a year ago, Zoreen Kabani was consumed by an overwhelming sense of ennui. She felt stagnant, and, quite frankly, bored at the job she’d had for the last nine years. So, the 35-year-old financial advisor switched to another company—and then promptly quit two weeks later. It wasn’t where she worked, she realized, but what…