Inga Dubay and Barbara Getty have apparently written a series of books on italic handwriting, which is baffling when you consider that their advice can be condensed down to this: don’t use loopy cursive; just attach your letters when you print, if you feel like it.
This deserves a New York Times piece? Anyway, if you already print and occasionally join your letters, you may want to know that the loopy cursive you’ve given up is known in educational circles as the Palmer method.