Boden Lottie Pumps in Soft Lime and Blue Stripe
▪ Currently loving these striped flats from Boden that I bought a few weeks ago. Sizes have become limited online, but check for pop-backs if you are interested. They fit half a size big in length but are TTS in width.
▪ “Supreme Court Weighs Internet Sales-Tax Case” (The New York Times): “Several Supreme Court justices appeared reluctant to overturn a pre-internet precedent exempting many online merchants from collecting sales taxes, despite broad agreement that the e-commerce revolution made the rule ‘obsolete.’ … There is no dispute that states can require residents to pay sales taxes, or that they are hemorrhaging billions of dollars in revenue because they are barred from requiring some online merchants to collect them.”
▪ “You Won’t Have to Wait in Line for Micromerch” (The New York Times): “… micromerch: personal merchandise for niche public figures and celebrities (or even not-yet celebrities) made possible by innovations in manufacturing and distribution, and with mechanisms greased by the ease of the internet … micromerch may be the pretense for providing an undersupported creative with some revenue, a cousin of Patreon subscriptions or Twitch micropayments … It can also be a way to extend a moment that might otherwise be fleeting, give it physical form so that it might travel far beyond where it began. And it can lead to bigger things.”
▪ “Bon-Ton to Liquidate Stores” (The Wall Street Journal): “… a sale to a group of bondholders and a pair of liquidators, which will begin closing more than 250 stores across 23 states, putting about 24,000 employees out of work. All stores are set to be closed no later than Aug. 31.”
▪ “Moncler Transformed Ski Parkas With $1,000 Price Tags. What’s Next?” (Bloomberg): “Moncler’s profit margins are second only to Hermès International SA’s among publicly traded fashion companies, its shares have returned an average of 30 percent annually since its initial public offering in 2013, and sales last year jumped 17 percent to €1.2 billion … Ruffini’s strategy now is to ditch fashion week runway shows and instead offer new products almost monthly … rounding out the lineup by applying his trademark quilted down to everything from puffy backpacks to scarves and adding items such as alpaca sweaters, mink house slippers, and logo caps and T-shirts. To stay relevant year-round, he’s introducing sporty rain shells and new shapes for his ‘long season’ models—slimmed-down jackets that are light enough for a chilly summer night on Nantucket and can be layered for more warmth in the winter.”
▪ Hundreds of new styles have been added to J.Crew‘s sale section, and they are all an extra 30% off with code SHOPNOW. I am averaging two orders a week this month, thanks to a friend’s timely alerts of massive stock replenishment. Some picks: Silk Twill Button-Up in Tiger Print, Stretch Tailored Perfect Bodysuit in Silk, Open-Front Blazer, V-Neck Camisole, Striped Button-Shoulder Turtleneck, Relaxed Boy Shirt in Crinkle Gingham, Short-Sleeve Keyhole Dress, Tissue Turtleneck T-Shirt, Merino Wrap Sweater, Long Open Cardigan Sweater in Stripe, Shirt-Jacket in Buffalo Check, Lurex® Wrap Sweater, Contrast Ribbed Turtleneck, Off-the-Shoulder Foldover Top in Stripe, and Ribbed Mockneck Bodysuit.
▪ “Farfetch Launches Start-Up Accelerator” (The Business of Fashion): “Corporate-backed accelerators have become increasingly common in recent years as a low-risk way for large companies to discover emerging technologies — or head off potential competitors.”
▪ “Dry, the Beloved Country” (Highline Huffington Post): “What was going on … was not just a drought, but a kind of vast, unplanned, crazy—and fabulous—social experiment … Over the past year, unexpectedly, the city has cut its water consumption by 40 percent … People put out ungainly tanks in their yards to harvest rainwater, smothering whatever grass might be left. Wealthy South Africans, traditionally, have had fastidious cleanliness standards, a way of distinguishing themselves and of tapping the vast labor reserve of cheap maids. Now, being able to show a visitor day-old urine ripening in your toilet bowl, proving you do not flush, is a proud moment. Body odor is less taboo … the drought has liberated people, at times, to acknowledge a wider range of helpful behaviors and forms of knowledge … It could be that human beings are just waiting for something that gives them a challenge, a chance to rise above their politics-exhausted cynicisms and prove they can be good neighbors, stand for more than just money and success, and find ingenious tricks, together, to outwit their new tormentors. It could be that certain kinds of disasters—particularly the natural, which feel more neutral and acceptable than politically driven ones—may wedge open spaces for change in other areas in which we feel stuck.”
▪ “Are High-School Esports the Next Friday Night Lights?” (The Wall Street Journal): “Some U.S. high schools offer esports programs, but it isn’t clear how many. More than 475 colleges and universities support esports at a club level, and approximately 50 schools offer scholarships in esports, according to the NCAA.”
▪ Take 30% off sale styles at Club Monaco, no code needed (discount taken in cart), for up to 60% off hundreds of styles. My picks: Ladonda Silk Dress, Hermione Dress, Loudra Knit Dress, Rubard Sweater Dress, Donisha Dress, Ellayne Trench, Becaw Lace Dress, Jumbalaya Top, Chavelle Sweater Dress, and Wollstan Lace Dress.
▪ ‘”Beware of Selling Yoga Pants on Facebook” (The Atlantic): “Those being propositioned often think of multilevel marketing as a pyramid scheme or scam; those selling believe the business model is a straightforward way to earn extra income from home … as was the case back in Avon’s heyday of the 1950s and 1960s, the vast majority of sellers are women—many of them stay-at-home mothers … MLM, is experiencing a major boom. In fact, according to the Direct Selling Association, there are more MLM companies in 2017 than there have ever been before. One in six households in the United States participate in a direct-sales company. Experts point to both economic forces and social media to explain this outsized success.”
▪ “Nike Has A New Digital Playbook—And It Starts With Sneakerheads” (Fast Company): “Until last year, Nike primarily saw itself as a wholesaler creating product for retail partners at various levels … But after decades of outpacing its sneaker rivals, the once indomitable athletic-wear company has been losing ground–and buzz–to No. 2 Adidas. In the U.S., Adidas’s market share surged from 6.8% in 2016 to 10.3% last year … During the same period, Nike’s share dropped from 34.5% to 32.9% … In response, Nike CEO Mark Parker announced a plan last summer to overhaul the way the company reaches customers: Though it still works with some 30,000 retailers worldwide, Nike began focusing its efforts on just 40 of them … Even more important, it prioritized selling directly to customers through its own channels, which include physical shops and, increasingly, digital storefronts such as Nike.com, the Nike app, and Snkrs. Parker dubbed the effort Nike Direct.”
▪ “We Tried 101 Pairs of ‘Everyday’ Women’s Underwear—Here Are the Best” (The Wall Street Journal): “… this past year brief sales grew faster than those of thongs.”
▪ “Why a Cashmere Sweater Can Cost $2,000 or $30” (The Business of Fashion): “The price depends on the quality of the yarn, where the garment was manufactured, the number of units purchased by the brand, and the markup.”
▪ Sale styles are currently an extra 30% off at Madewell with code YAY30. My picks: the Claudia Sandal in Suede, Ribbed Swingy Tee Dress, the Juno Circle Crossbody Bag, Tier-Sleeve Pullover Sweater, Mockneck Tank Bodysuit, and Wrap Top in Albury Stripe.
▪ “Style Is an Algorithm” (Racked): “I worry that we are moving from a time of human curation … to a time in which algorithms drive an increasingly large portion of what we consume … This impacts not only the artifacts we experience but also how we experience them … If you know the source of the suggestion, then you might give it a chance and see if it meshes with your tastes. In contrast, we know the machine doesn’t care about us, nor does it have a cultivated taste of its own; it only wants us to engage with something it calculates we might like. This is boring.”
▪ “Would You Carry a Clear Handbag?” (The Wall Street Journal): “The clear bag helps us think about what we actually need with us for the day.”
▪ “Sarah Rutson Talks the Business of Rebranding Joie, Equipment, and Current/Elliott” (Vogue): “I think for brands now the big question is who’s your woman—can you remember how she lives and what she needs and what drives her? What drives me sometimes is something you can just throw in the washing machine, or that isn’t going to be so precious that when I’m traveling a lot it’ll stand the test of time without me using my favorite dry cleaner back home! I think there’s going to be a real move back to being pragmatically dressed and not looking like clowns, dressing only to be noticed, but to instead dress really understanding who you are.”
▪ Recently purchased: J.Crew Drapey Tie-Shoulder Jumpsuit (current closet favorite; I like this enough to have bought a backup), BP. Button Front Camisole, Anna Glover x H&M Patterned Dress, and Lou & Grey Singaturesoft Swingy Tee Dress.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
