Belle’s Weekly Reading: March 7, 2014
Mar 7, 2014
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1) Monocles? The hipsters have fashion trends from the annals of history to revive and they choose freaking monocles?!?! Â As my cousin put it, “Can we sell Brooklyn back to the Dutch?”
2) I scratched my face a few weeks ago. Â I’ve tried Vitamin-E and a few other things with little luck. Â It’s definitely going to scar. Â So as a preventative measure, I bought this Kate Sommerville serum for scars. Â Here’s hoping.
3)Â Dear Amy Poehler, I love you. I truly do. But printed skinny pants and a white t-shirt from Old Navy are not appropriate attire for a job interview anywhere, esp. not at a law firm. xo, Belle
4) LOFT is having a 30%-off sale. Â I’m obsessed with this Bib Front Shirt and this Eyelet Trimmed Sheath. Â I also like this Merino Blend Moto Jacket. Â And if you like spring-weight sweaters, this one, with open stitching on the sleeves, has a unique look.
5) I love when bloggers use their platform for good. Â Corilynn has a wonderful piece on why we need to stop using the “r-word.”
6) These Jennifer Meyer pave-diamond bar stud earrings have been on my lust list for a while, but their price put them out of my reach. Â Luckily, Shopbop has these Tai Stick Earrings for just $45.
7) 12 Years a Slave won the Academy Award for Best Picture last Sunday. Â You can read the original news coverage of the story in The New York Times, originally published in 1853.
8) Drugstore brand beauty doesn’t get much better than Target’s Pixi line. Â The soft hues of this taupe-colored eyeshadow quad are fab. Â I also like their Eyebright Primer. Â And if you’re struggling to find good foundations and powders in the drugstore aisles, I used to wear Sonia Kashuk’s products, I just wish they came in more skin tones.
9) If you follow bloggers, fashionistas or celebrities on Instagram you’ve certainly seen a few of WhoWhatWear’s “Fashion Girl” Instagram Cliches.
10) Oh, Helmut Lang, why must you make such beautiful work dresses? Â And be smart enough to make this dress in navy and black?
11) This Politico article, Reinventing Skid Row, is a bit long, but it’s an excellent read on the politics of gentrification and the fight to end homelessness in America.
12) Gap really does make the best loungewear. Â I picked up a Terry Pullover and a couple of their Modal tees to wear around the house, and they’re great. Â I also bought a Pique Bomber Jacket. Â Not sure how I’ll wear it yet, but I adore the “navy seas” color.
I commented on Corilynn’s site as well, but I want to say…The thing is, when any word like this comes in to existence, at first it is just used as a description, and then eventually the negative uses take over. The r word was preceded by moron and idiot, and it was followed by disabled (mixed response to the latter, though). More than banning a word, society needs a fundamental shift in how we view people with Down syndrome or in wheel chairs and everything else. Otherwise, it won’t matter if we stop saying the r word because another word will just take it’s place. Any word to describe them should not be synonymous with “less than.”
YES, YES, YES!
I have 2 special needs siblings, have worked with Special Olympics, and have a lot of other experience with individuals with developmental disabilities. It isn’t the word used, it’s how the word is being used.
Is it just me or are the new Old Navy commercials kind of creepy, in a sort of sexual, female objectification kind of way? Between Amy Poehler having the interviewee turn around several times or the “TSA” officer excitedly wanding a woman’s jean, it just feel kind of uncomfortable.
You are not alone! I find the TSA commercial unbelievably creepy.
Honestly, I think Amy Poeler’s commercial is straight up unfeminist. Her character is a woman who is too distracted by clothes to do her job, how is that ok?
On the part of Poehler’s character, it might be stereotypical but I wouldn’t call it unfeminist. I definitely consider myself a feminist and I definitely have been distracted by clothes when I should be doing my job (and, I’m also an attorney). Most “feminists” I know get distracted AND love clothes 🙂
That being said, totally agree that the ON commercials are creepy.
Thank you so much for mentioning Corilynn’s great post! She always has great posts when she advocates for persons with intellectual disabilities.
DontBlameTheKids – I may be in bed with this movement too much but I do see progress (slow and steady) with the way persons with intellectual disabilities are treated. There has been growth with school based programs to educate people young that everyone is the same no matter how fast or slow you process things in addition to an increase of employment opportunities. There are still “miles to go before we sleep” (as a friend of mine, and Frost aficionado, with Downs Syndrome likes to say about all of this!)
PS I recently had a small surgery and my dermatologist said to use Mederma and also these stick on scar sheets (both found at the drugstore) to help reduce my scar.
If you scratch your face or some other highly visible place again, you should try putting Bach Rescue Remedy cream on it. I can’t promise it’ll prevent scarring, but it heals things so quickly that it just might work. Amazon carries it and so do some Whole Foods, although the Foggy Bottom location does not. I swear by this stuff. I’ve put it on a cut before bed and woken up the next morning to find the skin nearly closed.
Mederma for scars!! I had bunion surgery on both my feet, about 6 months apart. Used Mederma on one foot but not the other. You can definitely see the difference!!! It’s pricey but soooo worth it.
For the scar, you might try the Boots expert scar care serum. It’s about $6 to $8. I got it at target, but it’s also at drugstore.com and amazon.
The Helmut Lang is beautiful, but for work? My goodness, you can see halfway to her pupik and she’s not even sitting down yet!!
For your number 2 problem I recommend “Radical Skincare Antioxidant Serum” It’s a little pricey at almost $200 but it’s worth it! I had a blister form from my last Fraxel laser treatment and I knew I was going to end up with a scratch so I put this on. It was actually gifted to audience members at an event by the founders of this line, who are actually alums at our university. I admit I was a bit skeptical of the benefits, etc of what they said but I use it everyday and I see major improvements.
FYI The helmut lang dress is currently on sale at Saks for $200 🙂 https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446641025&CAWELAID=500002830001369335&cagpspn=pla&site_refer=GGLPRADS001