Belle’s Weekly Reading: October 17, 2014
Oct 17, 2014
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1) Clementine Daily has some interesting thoughts on acceptance v. self-improvement. Because loving yourself doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s no area of your life that can be improved through change.
2) Sole Society is making their popular $79 weekender in a new cranberry color; it’s gorgeous. I also like this teal tote with a matching pouch.
3) Meet the man who smuggles Trader Joe’s into Canada. The article is a fun read, and if you’re into the law, there are some fun choice of law and intellectual property issues.
4) DvF’s cap-sleeve Bevin dress is on sale for 59%-off. A reader believes that it’s the best dress she’s ever purchased for work. Off 5th has a large selection of DvF pieces including this basic Julian wrap dress for half-price.
5) On his show last week, John Oliver basically summed up how I feel about the pumpkin Spice Latte hysteria.
6) Emily at Cupcakes & Cashmere turned me onto MAC’s Rebel Lipstick. I love the plum hue, but I still think Clinique’s Black Honey is the most versatile lip color in the arsenal.
7) New research reveals that wearing a bra all the time can cause your breasts to sag. (Silent scream.) Here is Stylecaster’s take on the 12 times when you can, and should, go braless.
8) Everlane sells sweaters that are both beautiful and affordable. I love this slouchy raglan option. This luxe long-sleeve sweater is also gorgeous. And don’t miss this must-have cashmere tunic.
9) The photos of Alexander Wang’s collaboration with H&M proves that designer collabs can get weird. Really weird.
10) How fantastic is this $13 scarf? I love the Southwestern print. And I adore this grey-hued leopard print. It will look awesome with a black sweater.
11) If you like art, Business Week has a piece on the growing market for contemporary art. The article revolves around a Christopher Wool painting that originally sold for $7,500, but was recently auctioned for $26.5 million.
12) If you’re looking for a rain boot with great traction that comes in a bunch of fun colors, these Chooka boots are a great option. And they cost under-$75. If you like a shorter boot, they offer this ankle-height option.
image found here.
It usually isn’t the lack of support that bugs me about going braless, it’s the…ummmm…rubbing. I usually put on a yoga bra around the house or even to run weekend errands, cuz I can’t stand all the bouncing around and brushing up against my shirt or sweatshirt.
Wow, those Wang/H&M items include some really wack, impractical stuff.
This is a great series of links overall, I have to say. Loved the John Oliver bit, though I also have to admit to liking pumpkin spice lattes (::shame::). The roundup of Alexander Wang looks is also quite good. It’s a pretty darn weird collection, and I doubt I’m gong to be too keen on running around with a giant hat that says “WANG” on it in bold letters.
#7: Wait, whaaaaat?! I thought the opposite was true, which is why I have worn a bra to sleep every single night since puberty. FML. (Although, FWIW, I’m in my thirties, have two children I nursed for over a year, and they don’t sag. But they are quite small. SO.)
Regarding the bra study, I don’t think there’s a need to panic quite yet. If the researchers didn’t take perkiness into account before the study, then the results are much less meaningful. Women who are naturally perkier are probably more likely to go without a bra in the first place.
I can’t imagine wearing a hat that says “WANG”.
Thanks for sharing the Trader Joe’s article. Fascinating issues there.
The French bra study that garnered massive press has massive problems, including:
1) There is no published study. It’s ongoing.
2) The man leading the study has said that the sample size is too small to make any claims like these.
3) He also said in an interview that the women were young, thin and fit – unlikely to have a larger breast size. Don’t forget people had to want to participate in this study for 15 years and there are few bustier women who would want to shed their bras.
4) The participants were college women who had not given birth and therefore not experienced breast changes associated with pregnancy.
If you look at photographic documentation of societies whose women do not wear bras or clothing on their chests, you can see the female population as a whole does not have perkier breasts than women in developed countries.
The first hysterical press releases about this deeply flawed research came out about a year ago. I am very surprised the misinformation is still being propagated at this blog, which I generally consider a bastion of careful, reasoned, rational thought.
That’s one designer collab where I want exactly nothing. Although a “Wang” hat might come in handy.
The Off5th DVF tip was great-costly but great. Thanks.