Richmond, Virginia, welcomed an evening of men’s fashion on Saturday, October 17, as Threaded Men’s Fashion…
Lalique’s Alizé Vase: Where the invisible becomes an object of desire. There is something rather extraordinary about attempting to give shape to something we cannot hold. Air has no fixed form, no colour, no weight we can readily perceive. Yet its presence is everywhere, in the movement of a curtain, the changing direction of a breeze, or the quiet shift of leaves before a storm. For its 2026 Air de Lalique collection, the French crystal house Lalique explores this very idea, translating the movement of air into the language of sculptural crystal. Among its creations, the Alizé Vase stands out for its flowing silhouette and warm coral tones, an object that seems to capture movement even when standing perfectly still. The design takes its cues from the delicate pleating of haute couture. Its surface alternates between satin-finished and polished crystal, allowing light to settle in its recesses and catch along its raised curves. The result is a fascinating contradiction: a substantial object that appears almost weightless. The coral patina is particularly beautiful. Rather than relying on colour alone, Lalique applies pigment to the satin-finished crystal through a technique that recalls the work of René Lalique himself. It brings warmth to the transparent material, with shades that seem to change depending on the light and the angle from which the vase is viewed. Created under the artistic direction of Marc Larminaux, Air de Lalique continues the house’s exploration of nature’s four elements. It is an interesting exercise in restraint. The craftsmanship is elaborate, but the finished piece doesn’t feel overly decorated. Every curve contributes to the impression of movement. And perhaps that is what makes the Alizé so compelling. It doesn’t need an elaborate arrangement of flowers or an extravagant setting to justify its presence. It is already a sculpture in its own right. For October, as interiors begin to take on warmer tones and natural light changes with the season, the Alizé feels particularly appropriate. Not because it follows an autumn trend, but because its coral warmth and shifting reflections make it an object worth observing throughout the day. Luxury, at its most interesting, gives us something more than an object to own. It gives us another way of looking at the ordinary. In Lalique’s hands, even a passing breeze becomes something we can see. Alizé Vase in Clear Crystal with Coral Patina Lalique | Air de Lalique, 2026 Handcrafted in France | 38 cm high | US listed price: $3,900.
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The SALT cap quadrupled and the charity rules changed on both ends. Check your math before December 31. Every spring, millions of people make a five-figure decision in about four seconds. The tax software asks whether you want to itemize or take the standard deduction, and you click the button you clicked last year. For seven years, that habit worked. A $10,000 cap on state and local taxes kept most households from ever beating the standard deduction, so you had no reason to look twice. Back in July, I told you the refs rewrote the rulebook at halftime. I promised October would cover this play, and it’s the one most likely to cost you if you run it on autopilot. The Number That Moved The cap on state and local taxes, the SALT deduction, rose from $10,000 to $40,400 for 2026. It covers your state and local income tax plus your property tax, combined. Put that next to the 2026 standard deduction: $16,100 if you file single, $24,150 as head of household, and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. Now picture a married couple in Baltimore County. They pay $14,000 in Maryland and county income tax, $6,500 in property tax, and $13,000 in mortgage interest. Under the old cap, they could count $10,000 of those taxes plus the interest, for $23,000. The standard deduction beat that by more than $9,000. Under the new cap, they count all $20,500 of their taxes. Add the interest, and they reach $33,500. Give $3,000 to their church and the local food bank, and they land at $36,500. That puts $4,300 more in deductions on their return than the standard amount would, worth close to $950 in federal tax at the 22% bracket. They didn’t buy a bigger house or earn a raise. The rule changed under them. Maryland adds one more reason to get this right. The state generally lets you itemize on your Maryland return only if you itemize on your federal return, so one choice drives both. The Fine Print I don’t sell fantasy, so here are the limits: Charity Changed on Both Ends If you take the standard deduction, you get something new in 2026. You can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts to qualifying charities, or $2,000 on a joint return, without itemizing. Gifts to donor-advised funds don’t count, and you still need the receipt. If you itemize, Congress added a floor. The IRS ignores the first 0.5% of your adjusted gross income in donations. A household earning $200,000 gets no deduction for its first $1,000 of giving. Taxpayers in the top 37% bracket face a second limit: their itemized deductions save them tax at 35%, not 37%.…
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