♥ 12 Stellar Recipes for Your Next Outdoor Hang (The New York Times): “Outdoor hangs are more spur-of-the-moment, an enthusiastic reaction to spotting a 72-degree day very near on the horizon, while browsing through a weather app. But spontaneity doesn’t mean you throw planning to the wind. Consider channeling some of that enthusiasm into these recipes, which will still stand up and even stand out after a few hours.”
♥ Selling ‘Office’ Clothes to the Work-From-Home Woman (The Business of Fashion): “Women who will return to the post-pandemic office — or those who have shifted to a freelance lifestyle — won’t have the same need for a robust office wardrobe. Fashion can no longer rely on the once-ubiquitous pencil skirts and shift dresses … Brands are banking on consumers wanting statement items. Andjelic said Banana Republic’s fall collection prominently features bright colours, while LaFleur said she’s working on a line of statement work jackets.”
♥ Logomania Is Coming for Your Face (Vogue): … there’s another way to express yourself: monogram face jewelry … Both Gucci and Chanel have shown monogrammed facial jewelry in their resort 2022 collections … The trend for small, monogrammed bits and baubles doesn’t begin or end with nostrils and lips. Micro-monogram prints, like Versace’s new interlocking key motif and Gucci’s heritage Gs, are seeing an uptick in search and sales.
♥ The Complicated Reality of Thrift Store ‘Gentrification’ (Jezebel): “Thrift store gentrification describes the phenomenon of affluent shoppers who voluntarily buy merchandise from second-hand clothing stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army. When those same shoppers resell that merchandise on Depop or Poshmark at significantly higher prices, the prices at thrift stores then rise to meet the demand, or so popular TikTok videos claim … The discourse around this gentrification also broaches the topic of trendy or particularly good merchandise being bought up by such resellers, thereby denying the low-income communities stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army serve access to this merchandise.”
♥ Don’t Wish for Happiness. Work for It. (The Atlantic): “In truth, happiness requires effort, not just desire. Focusing on your dissatisfaction and wishing things were different in your life is a recipe for unhappiness if you don’t take action to put yourself on a better path … people often confuse rumination with self-awareness … It is to dwell on something about yourself, without recourse to new knowledge. Many studies show that rumination can exacerbate bad emotions and deepen depression, because it reinforces your negative emotional status quo … In essence, studying your own mind and pondering ways to improve your happiness takes inchoate anxieties and mental meandering and transforms them into real plans for life improvement.”
♥ What If Everything We Know About Gymnastics Is Wrong? (The New York Times): “… the idea that an athlete must suffer in order to become a top contender in gymnastics remains deeply entrenched … much of the emphasis on obedience and intensity rests on the idea that a gymnast’s body reaches peak condition for the sport while barely out of childhood. Coaches need to be able to extract an adult performance from a talented child. Coaching philosophies in gymnastics often sound a bit like strict parenting … Children are thought to be such good gymnasts in part because they are smaller and lighter, yet tininess is only partly a biomechanical necessity for success … Research has also shown that whether gymnasts can or will stay in the sport has everything to do with how they’re treated while they’re training.”
♥ How Adult Children Affect Their Mother’s Happiness (The Atlantic): “In 2016, three social scientists looked at the life satisfaction of women with and without kids. They found that during childbearing years, mothers and mothers-to-be were happier than non-mothers. However, by age 40 and beyond, mothers’ life-satisfaction levels were generally a bit lower than their childless counterparts … adult children can lower their mother’s resentment and stress by decreasing their financial dependence, which has been repeatedly found to be a significant source of family conflict.”
♥ Can TikTok’s Biggest Stars Build Abercrombie’s Next Brand? (The Business of Fashion): “… Social Tourist … is born out of a multi-year brand partnership with the D’Amelio sisters … The line will take a digital-first approach to selling product: though select pieces will be available at Hollister stores, the entire collection will only be available on the company’s website. Social Tourist is the first new brand Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has launched in over a decade, after launching two in the aughts — Ruehl No.925 in 2004, which focused on 20- and 30-somethings and shuttered in 2010, and lingerie brand Gilly Hicks in 2008, which has since been folded into Hollister’s assortment.”
♥ Manhattan Restaurant Jobs Go Begging, Hobbling Industry Comeback (Bloomberg): “In a city where an estimated 5,000 restaurants have closed since last March, some hospitality workers who moved out during the pandemic aren’t planning to return. Others switched occupations to work in industries where the hours are more reasonable. And there are those who would rather collect unemployment for the next few months than work in a half-empty restaurant. Still more workers are bound for the Hamptons and other hot spots, where diners are plentiful and hefty tips are guaranteed … In the short-term, many restaurants are getting by with fewer workers, cutting business hours or sharing staff with other establishments. Some are pushing off openings until the labor situation improves, customers return — or both.”
♥ The Lie of ‘No One Wants to Work’ (Eater): “Nearly two million restaurant and bar workers lost their jobs between March and April 2020, when cities across the country first began shutting down due to the pandemic. The wave of re-openings and subsequent shutterings that came with ever-changing regulations and individual exposures meant that, in many cases, restaurants were laying off and re-hiring their staff cyclically. Fed up by the instability, some restaurant workers found jobs in other industries and didn’t look back.”
♥ Beyond Disruption: Everlane’s Next Chapter (The Business of Fashion): “As the pandemic ravaged the retail market, Everlane faced a barrage of criticism for failing to live up to its progressive values internally … Everlane wasn’t the only company to face a double whammy of financial pain and social outrage over the last year. But the criticisms struck at the core of its image at a critical moment in its evolution, when it had an opportunity to make the leap from a fast-growing challenger to fashion’s major leagues. The transition from start-up to fashion industry heavyweight has proved elusive for its generation of direct-to-consumer darlings. Many have attracted huge investment over the last decade but struggled to become profitable as look-alike competitors muscled in on their turf and customer acquisition costs spiralled. That’s on top of the universal challenge in fashion to stay relevant.”
♥ The Era of Mass Vaccinations Is Ending (The Atlantic): “… mass vaccinations … sites … are beginning to find themselves idle as the country’s daily vaccination rate falls from its mid-April peak … But with more than half of Americans still unvaccinated, the COVID-19 immunization campaign is far from over. It is now entering a new phase. Instead of in convention centers and arenas, shots will be distributed across a larger number of smaller sites: pharmacies, doctors’ offices, churches, mosques, factory parking lots, barbershops, bars, breweries, even individual homes. This more tailored phase of the vaccination campaign introduces a new set of challenges, but by making vaccination as easy as possible, public-health officials hope to reach those who are hesitant, busy, or simply indifferent. To inch closer to the goal of vaccinating the whole population, the vaccines will have to go to the people, rather than requiring the people to go to the vaccines.”
♥ The Royal Family’s Continental Rift (Vanity Fair): “Public opinion is divided along generational lines: According to post–Oprah interview polling, 36 percent of Britons still support the queen and the monarchy while 22 percent sympathize with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (28 percent are indifferent). But only 16 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds back the Crown, compared to 60 percent of the 65-plus set, who believe Harry and Meghan were treated fairly.”
♥ The Child Care Industry Was Collapsing. Mrs. Jackie Bet Everything on an Impossible Dream to Save It. (ProPublica): “At 53 years old, Jackie … imagined herself on the verge of a big break. It seemed the need was everywhere: Most Americans live in child care deserts, where licensed facilities … have little or no capacity for new kids. Jackie pictured her centers stretching across Kansas City, then the region, and eventually the country, with 24-hour services for the parents who needed them most … It would have been a difficult business proposition even during normal times, in an industry plagued by thin profit margins and high staff turnover. Many families couldn’t afford to pay much, and government subsidies didn’t begin to cover the costs. The pandemic pushed providers to the edge: about 13% of day cares across the country have shuttered in the past year.”
♥ Gap Inc. Sells Intermix to Private Equity Firm (The Business of Fashion): “The American boutique chain, which came to prominence in the 2000s at the height of the contemporary fashion market’s influence, has been acquired by Altamont Capital Partners … Gap has been closing or offloading its smaller lines after deciding against a spinoff of its most successful asset, Old Navy, in early 2020. Hill City, a menswear label, was shut down last year, and the childrenswear brand Janie and Jack was sold to Go Global Retail in March 2021.”
♥ Trading Stock Tips on TikTok, Newbies Are Deeply Invested in Learning (The New York Times): “Newbie investors have been pouring into the market for more than a year now. Robinhood, the no-commission brokerage pioneer, recorded millions of downloads of its app even before GameStop and other meme stocks took off in January. Charles Schwab added 866,000 retail customers in 2020, up 81 percent from 2019. More than half were under 41, and the new customers are funding their accounts with more modest amounts of cash. And Fidelity said new accounts had increased 17 percent in 2020, with more than a third of the growth from people 35 and under.”
♥ Recently purchased: OluKai Pehuea Li Convertible Sneaker, Self-Portrait Pussy-Bow Ribbed Mini Dress, J. Crew Espadrille Flats in Liberty® Eloise Floral, Ann Taylor Striped Belted Midi Dress, Lululemon All Yours Cropped Hoodie, A&F Henley Sweater Dress, and Free People Vacation Day Sandal.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
