BERLIN — Self-optimization is pervasive in modern life. And why not? Who, after all, doesn't want to become better? Live more healthily? Work more productively? Be, ultimately, happier?

But many self-optimizers take their work on themselves to extremes and end up the worse for it. Instead of just going for a jog, they draw up the perfect ...Read more

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I read a lot of fashion blogs and style magazines and all of a sudden I’m learning that culottes — a “thing” of the 1970s -- are popular again. I was born decades after that so I’m new to this trend for “summer into late fall.” Really? To me, many of the pictures are women wearing what ...Read more

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: The internet is bombarding me with ads of beautiful women in beautiful clothes that genuinely appeal to me and at prices I can afford.

The shops are on sites that I’ve never heard of, but the names sound legit. I keep wondering if these offers are too good to be true: Poor merchandise that looks ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- While serving in the U.S. military along the Iraq-Kuwait border, Ivan Martinez spent long shifts in a guard tower. Looking for something to pass the time, he picked up a copy of GQ from a stack of magazines.

He still credits that moment with changing the course of his life and inspiring his pursuit of men’s fashion.

...Read more

DENVER -- If you’ve never heard of the game called cribbage, you’d be excused. Unlike chess or checkers or even backgammon, it doesn’t hold much of a place in modern culture. The question I often get when I play at a bar or brewery is, “What is that?”

But that doesn’t mean it’s not popular. About 10 million people play cribbage ...Read more

MIAMI -- What do a book of poetry, a cigar humidor, a 1928 map of Cuba, an image of the dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel in a prison uniform, and a Virgen de la Caridad found on an empty raft have in common?

They are all part of a Cuban ritual, though far from sacred, in the middle of Miami on Calle Ocho and 31st Avenue. Sentir Cubano started more...Read more

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Is hosiery — sheer stockings, regular pantyhose in neutral beige, nude or black — making a comeback? I hope the bare-leg trend is over!

--Marina W.

Dear Marina: The bare-leg trend is not “over” but sheer hosiery is making a comeback. Gone for good are the ...Read more

MAINZ, Germany — Janina Krick came up with the idea while she and her family were weighing ways out of the wine crisis.

German vintners are struggling, with lower yields amid climate change, rising costs and changing consumer habits.

Just developing a new Riesling or Chardonnay wasn't really going to cut it, says Krick, 29.

Analyzing the ...Read more

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: At a recent baseball game, I saw men wearing shorts with pockets so bulging — cell phone, overstuffed wallet — that the weight of the stuff was dragging their pants down so much that you could see their naked stomachs and more.

Not a pretty sight! This wasn’t just one guy but many, many!

Please...Read more

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I’m in search of a hair accessory that on hot days will help me manage the unwelcome result of summer weather on my shoulder-length hair. After trying various clips, scrunchies and pins, the one I have found that works best to keep my hair in check is a headband that keeps my frizz away from my face ...Read more

No body

No body

No body

No body

No body

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I’m a faithful reader of your column over the years, but this is the first time I have asked for your help. My partner and I are invited to a birthday celebration for a friend who is turning 97! He’s still vigorous, charming and delightful company. (We all should be blessed with such a good long ...Read more

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: As you have pointed out, it’s wedding season. I am going to a “destination” wedding and the airfare and lodging is $1,300. The bride and groom’s wedding website says, “If you would like to honor us with a gift, we would be grateful for a contribution toward our future together in place of ...Read more