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| Bow-Shoulder Dress (additional colorway here) |
▪ J. Crew brought back one of my favorite work dresses, the Bow-Shoulder Dress, to its factory store. The dress in black is 60% off and still available in all sizes; it’s also available in “fresh lilac,” but sizes are more limited in that color.
▪ The Secret Life of Secrets: “Secrecy … is less an activity than a state of being. We don’t keep secrets; we have them. And what’s harmful about a secret isn’t the content so much as the mind’s need to keep revisiting it and turning it over—not the murder itself but the incessant beating of the telltale heart.”
▪ One criticism often directed at the Democratic Party is that it’s too focused on “identity politics,” but really it’s the GOP who has perfected galvanizing groups using identity politics. Though what turns out voters isn’t frustration, but anger (and a few other things). Joan Williams makes an argument in “The Dumb Politics of Elite Condescension” that, “to win in 2018 and especially 2020, Democrats need more identity politics — not less. They must address the widespread working-class revolt against global elites.”
▪ I am as annoyed with the Trump family as any politically left-leaning person, and I’ve avoided shopping Ivanka Trump’s brand, but this Bloomberg headline and report read like a not-so-subtle dig at her: “Rich People Don’t Want Ivanka Trump’s Fashion.” The Trumps are excellent at painting themselves into a corner all on their own, so there’s no need for respectable journalists to devise petty gibes to discredit them. The story could easily have been written with a neutral tone.
▪ (All links here are very NSFW) Laura Dodsworth, who last made headlines for photographing 100 women and their breasts, is back with a new book (“Manhood“) which tells the stories of 100 penises. (All links here are very NSFW)
▪ Here are some discounted Salvatore Ferragamo styles that I found online (sizes are incomplete): Bow Bag, Carla Bow Kitten Heel Pumps, Mini Mara Satchel, Large Sofia Tote, Varina Lace Flats (sizes 4.5 + 9), Anna Vara Leather Shoulder Bag, buckle bow ballerinas (sizes 8.5 + 9.5), Dark Purple Bow-Embellished Leather Pumps, Suzanna Shoulder Bag, Varina Patent Raspberry Ballerina, and Emy Bow Flats (size 6).
▪ A very unpopular opinion on why wage growth is “stagnant”: “The Question Isn’t Why Wage Growth Is So Low. It’s Why It’s So High.”
▪ I love this headline: “My Smart Beta ETF Premised on Cats Rang Up an 849,751% Return.”
▪ I’ve shared before that, were it not for a lack of free time and extra resources, I would be a “prepper.” And I would fit right in because “preppers love clothes.”
▪ This American Life reran one of my favorite episodes (about being fat) from last year this week. I was especially touched by Elna Baker’s confessional (Act II) about how weight loss showed her the inequity of the world: “I was happy when I was overweight. I had no idea I should be sad. I was free before. I had trained myself not to care what people thought, and I’d done a good job of it. I learned how to do the worm, and I would do it in dance circles. Only I wasn’t actually physically capable of it. I just thought it was funny, and it made everyone laugh. I would never do that now. What if I look stupid? I wore the most ridiculously bold things– vintage neon green and pink Hawaiian print dresses. I didn’t constantly take the temperature of the room. It just was. That’s the person I sold out to become this person.”
▪ I started to read Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman last year after I googled Lindy West, one of the subjects of the TAL episode from above. I’m unsure why I abandoned it a quarter of the way through, but listening to a replay of the episode has motivated me to finish it.
▪ Random 70(+)% off finds: Catherine Malandrino Floral Lace Pencil Skirt, Demylee Rita Turtleneck Sweater, Bailey 44 Tie Front Sweatshirt Skirt, Chico’s Utility Pocket Skirt, Betsey Johnson Don’t Be Tarty Straw Lemon Crossbody, Romeo & Juliet Couture Cap-Sleeve Ruffled Lace Dress, Keepsake Two Fold Mini Dress, Free People Alana Sweater, and Intermix Brit Slit Sleeve Sweater.
▪ I am currently obsessed with Smush and Henry’s Instagram account, after I belatedly discovered this video of the two of them in action (video link). I especially enjoy that Henry is the one with the smushed face. (Smush and Henry are cats.)
▪ My favorite planet in our Solar System is Jupiter, because it’s the prettiest (really how I determine if something should be my favorite). NASA recently released a photo of Jupiter taken with JunoCam, and suddenly the only thing missing in my life is an extra large print of it for my wall/ceiling. When I find (and buy) one, I will be sure to share a link.
▪ Under pressure from hospitality startups (and with shrinking profit margins), major hospitality companies are making moves to reclassify aggregators from friend to foe.
▪ For those (like me) who are plotting summer road trips: “A Seafood Lover’s Road Trip in Coastal Maine.”
▪ One of my favorite books (ever! I highlighted like every other paragraph) is Andrew Solomon’s Far From the Tree, which examined families shaped by differences (physical and cognitive). One question left unanswered by the book is: while hardships can unite families, if given the choice to reset (or neutralize the difference), how many of us would make that call? I was reminded of the book’s themes when I read this New York Times opinion piece, “Trying to Embrace the Cure,” written by a mother who struggles to disentangle her embrace of her condition (dwarfism caused by XLH) from the knowledge that, in developing a cure, the outside world has rejected her as “inferior,” and deemed her condition a “disease.”
▪ Recently purchased: H&M Short-leg Jumpsuit, Flora Nikrooz Erin Charm Pajamas, Tory Burch Whitney Leather Strap Watch, Ann Taylor Paradise Strapless Maxi Dress, and Victoria’s Secret Daisy Lace Romper.
