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Unsurprisingly I was correct in my assumption that it was going to be too overcast to see the eclipse fully which was disappointing, but we got to experience the complete darkness which was both cool and eerie so all wasn’t lost.
It made the cats act weird which was funny.
In case you missed it, I posted my first capsule for the summer season yesterday, and I also talked about my struggles with my own summer wardrobe, and how to properly size yourself for buying men’s jeans.
I stopped by Winners today because I was at the post office which shares the same parking lot, so I figured I would go in to see if they had any raincoats.
No luck there, but I did find a wall print of a very dapper Doberman wearing an 18th-century men’s suit.
So of course I bought it because I am a sucker for anthropomorphic animals.
It was also super windy and I was a little concerned that the print with wood base was going to act like a kite and I would struggle to get it home.
It was a little difficult, but no lift-off.
Bubble hems are a big trend this season again. I remember them in the mid-00s, but the choices this time around seem nicer.
Anyway, I included some bubble hem pieces in today’s roundup, the little black shirt jacket with the bow tie is my favourite. It looks like the extremely popular Ganni shirts that have gone viral which I won’t be buying because they are expensive.
I do really like the animal print version though.
Weekly Reads and Some Videos:
Starting in 1978, a high school science teacher told his students that he was throwing a viewing party for the 2024 solar eclipse. More than 100 of them showed up.
The Big Shrink: Is the era of overfilled lips reaching its peak? Please say it is. I remember reading an article a while back that said the people who depend on lip reading can’t read the lips of people who have fillers because their lips no longer move in the normal way to form words. I found that really sad.
20 Minutes of Charles Schulz Drawing Peanuts Comics
The Great Teen Babysitter Shortage. This was such an interesting read because both my kids don’t babysit, because neither really like kids and don’t want to deal with their shit both literally and figuratively. Not that I blame them. I didn’t like kids either but I babysat because that is what we did back then. It was expected, and you never really considered declining as an option when asked. It’s so weird how things like that change.
The UN’s climate chief says governments, business leaders and development banks have two years to take decisive action on climate change.
A new “less competitive” version of Scrabble is coming soon.
Loft Law: The Last of New York City’s Original Artist Lofts
How to Be a Climate Activist Even Though You’re Too Shy to Interrupt Anything.
Antique Ribbon and Textile Swatches
And just in case you feel like making some fantastical slippers.
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Weekly Reads and Finds 271
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Apologies in advance for any particularly egregious typos, I am on my phone at an amusement park food court. Have we been on rides? No. Have I been eating lunch while my kid runs around the indoor playground? You bet. I brought Kim Gordon’s book to read for precisely this reason but it’s too loud in here.
I always wanted to babysit when I was a kid, mostly because of the Babysitters Club books, but obviously when I finally got old enough I was more interested in other things. I mostly babysat my sister and younger cousins. And on one particularly insulting occasion my cousin Gary who is 2 years older than me. But that is normal for being the oldest girl- you watch all “the kids” regardless of age. Once I babysat my sister’s friend and her four siblings, two of which were one year old twins. I got paid $20, a 12 pack of diet Dr pepper (which I don’t drink) and anything in the mom’s CD collection I wanted. The only thing I remember selecting was the first Korn album, though I left with like half a dozen. I still have that CD too. Anyway, I never babysat again after that experience, haha haha.
I hated babysitting so much. I never seemed to get only one or two. It was always three kids where one would hate me, one would love me, and the third was usually a baby who was needy and annoying and the mothers never showed me how to do anything for it. I literally changed my first diaper babysitting and it didn’t go well. I would have loved to have been paid in CDs back then 😂 I could never afford them.
I know most companies are evil, and I appreciate your trying to find affordable options for us, but Zara literally uses forced slave labor to make their clothes: https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/06/substantial-volume-of-clothing-tied-to-uyghur-forced-labour-entering-eu-says-study-china.
Hi Nafisa,
I have worked in the fashion industry for 25 years and I try to stay on top of the news and information about brands, so I am aware of this about Zara and some of their other practices. I also try to make better choices with the information I have, and I never buy from Shein, nor do I buy any clothes from Amazon. Basically the only thing I get from Amazon at this point are the Kindle editions of books. I also stay away from Joe Fresh which is a Loblaws company and very problematic in all aspects. This season I committed to making my summer wardrobe secondhand first, new second when I am shopping for it, and I am slowly transitioning my wardrobe to secondhand and vintage being the majority. It is at about 60% thrifted/secondhand/vintage versus new now. I’m not perfect, but I am trying.
My shopping at Zara has reduced significantly over the last few years, which isn’t easy because there is a huge store located a block from where I live. I also know that it is easier to place the blame on consumers to make better choices than direct it to the people who should be making those better choices so that we don’t have to. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that consumers are blameless or even helpless when it comes to this topic, but I feel like we are guilted and shamed and expected to take the bulk of the responsibility which deflects from the accountability of these brands.
I can’t promise to completely stop shopping or recommending from there, because from one direction I get told to avoid and do better, and from another I have clients and people who are regular readers too that want wardrobes or personal shops to focus on or include Zara because that is what is accessible for them financially and where they live.
And then we (a general we) start thinking that having money would help to solve this so we can shop at better places and then out comes the stories about one of the most wealth-focused clothing companies Loro Piana exploiting their indigenous workers.
I think this is something that I can’t win with anyone, I can only promise to continue to do better. Thank you for the dialogue.
Sara