Quote of the day: Andre Leon Talley on toxic punctuality

Andre Leon Talley and Anna Wintour by Marina Schiano

‘It really piques her when you’re late. Or when you don’t show up and she expects to see you there, she gets really, really upset. She can’t stand absentia or tardiness. She can’t stand people who linger over their food. My first lunch with Anna when we first went to Vogue was at BiCE. We sat down at 1 o’clock, the lunch was over at 1:12. As I was about to bite into my main course [she said], “OK, we’re done. Let’s go back to the office.”’
Andre Leon Talley, Amy Odell’s Back Row newsletter

I’m enjoying Amy Odell’s Substack, including the above outtake from her recent Anna Wintour biography, Anna: The Biography. This nugget tickled me, although if you read the whole interview, it also seems like the Anna-Andre dynamic was somewhat toxic.

On the subject of timekeeping though, here’s another good read, from The NYT. Katherine Rosman pins the revival of punctuality on the last two years of WFH and honing our ability to adapt to conference calls in multiple time zones. As well as a new respect for time and the art of not wasting it – aka ‘an office culture of: “I’m here to get things done, not to chitchat.”’ Another effect of post-pandemic punctuality: earlier dining. 430pm is ‘Rosé hour’ in certain hospitality quarters, allowing for a speedy extra sitting to be squeezed in. Anna would approve (as long as you don’t linger too long).

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGE: Andre Leon Talley and Anna Wintour by Marina Schiano 
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