My Latest Snag: Mirth Top.
Have you shopped at Mirth before? I’ve featured this brand a couple of times, mainly for their breezy summer caftans, but I am absolutely in love with their latest fall collection. The brand generously invited me to select something from the launch and I picked this gorgeous patterned top. I am loving all things patchwork at the moment, and this top walks that perfect line between chic/fashion-forward and not-overdone, so it’s ideal for situations like school pick up, casual coffee dates, outings with the children, etc. I like to style with jeans and fun sneaks. I also wanted to mention (given volume of this query in my WYSF series) that they have a number of dresses ideal for maternity / post-partum with loose, flowy fits, in great fall-friendly patterns that would be perfect for maternity shoots, coming home outfits, family portraits, etc.
This Week’s Most Popular: Fall Finds.
CHUNKY RIB-KNIT BLACK MOCK NECK SWEATER…FOR UNDER $50 THIS IS THE PERFECT AFFORDABLE CHILLY WEATHER STAPLE
WARM IVORY CLASSIC COLLARED TOPCOAT MADE FROM LUXURIOUS ITALIAN BRUSHED WOOL
OLIVE GREEN SHIMMERING SATIN 1-INCH HEADBAND
FLORAL PATTERNED PROTECTIVE IPHONE 12 CASE
GIRLS’ FAUX LEATHER IVORY CHELSEA BOOTS WITH LIGHT PINK LUG SOLE — IN MINI’S CLOSET!
WATER-RESISTANT VOLUMIZING BLACK MASCARA FROM TRISH MCEVOY
ZIPPERED FLEECE BELT BAG
BUDGET-FRIENDLY HERMES-INSPIRED LOCK-AND-KEY VEGAN LEATHER MINI BAG WITH DETACHABLE SHOULDER STRAP…THIS CHIC PURSE COMES IN A STUNNING SET OF COLORS TOO
SOLID COLOR 400 THREAD COUNT SHEET SET MADE OUT OF A SOFT PERFORMANCE COTTON FABRIC
LARGE WOVEN ROUNDED TREE COLLAR TO COVER YOUR TREE STAND
HAND-CARVED WOODEN NATIVITY SET WITH FIFTEEN FIGURES FOR A FULL MANGER
COGNAC-COLORED HIGH-RISE VEGAN LEATHER PANTS IN A SUPER FLATTERING DEMI BOOTCUT FIT
LONG SLEEVE NAVY FLORAL BLOUSE
RELAXED FIT HEATHERED LIGHT PINK RIBBED TURTLENECK MADE FROM AN OH-SO-COMFORTABLE COTTON AND CASHMERE BLEND
TAN ITALIAN LEATHER KNEE-HIGH BOOTS WITH A ROUNDED TOE AND A SUBTLE HEEL
Weekend Musings: On Criticism.
The preface of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is, in my opinion, more stirring than the fiction that follows. I read Dorian Gray twice in college and both times (sacrilege to say?) yawned my way through, but the preface I found fascinating.
On a recent re-read, my eyes were drawn like arrows to this particular phrase: “The highest, as the lowest, form of criticism is a mode of autobiography.” He is using the term “critic” narrowly here, meaning a technical reviewer of art, but I was struck by how useful his words are when navigating criticism in general — especially his concept of differentiating between “high criticism” and “low criticism.”
Let me first say that I generally vacillate between two mindsets when encountering criticism. The first, and tougher to swallow, is that “feedback is a gift.” Back in my product design and innovation days, I repeated this phrase to myself and anyone on my team as often as possible. You aren’t going to get everything right; that’s OK. Criticism, well-framed and well-intentioned, enables progress. When someone takes the time to let you know that something is not working, that something was not properly communicated, etc., it is hidden blessing, as much as it can be frustrating, embarrassing, discouraging, and even hard to hear at times.
The second mindset is that “data is not the plural of anecdote.” What I mean by this is — don’t let your head swivel too far to the left or right when receiving one-off criticisms. It could be one idiosyncratic perspective. It could be invalid. It could be misinformed. If a pattern of criticism, or feedback, emerges across multiple sources, this usually indicates that some action or revision must be made. But one person’s point of view is not a data trend. This dovetails with what I have elsewhere written about the human tendency to overestimate how critical people are about us, how bad things are going to turn out, etc. Do not let one person’s perspective derail you entirely! Unless you agree intuitively, or realize you’ve overlooked something, take it as a data point and keep moving. Again, revisiting my product days, we used to keep a “feedback heatmap” in an Excel sheet, where we’d carefully document every piece of feedback, every feature request, every “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” and then add a tick mark in the numerical column each time a particular item was repeated. This made it much easier to form product decisions. If 33 people complained about the placement of a button on a screen, and only 1 person asked for a mobile app — well. You kind of have your answer. The principle applies in personal matters, too. One person’s criticism need not thwart you in your efforts. This mindset can help me “unhook” from criticism that stings but whose validity I cannot easily discern.
Wilde presents a new dimension I hadn’t considered: the difference between “high criticism” and “low criticism.” As I extrapolate it, “high criticism” refers to feedback that is thoughtful, substantive, and — importantly — grounded in some meaningful experience, especially of the “autobiographical” sort. What that means is that when someone who has “been in the trenches” evaluates your work — say, writing feedback from a writer; business feedback from an entrepreneur; management feedback from a tenured leader — it is worth keeping not only an open ear but a willing spirit. That critic has gone through enough to have a respectable, technical opinion on a matter. On the flipside, “low criticism” is autobiographical in a different way. To put it rather glibly, I’ll borrow from an Instagram quote I saw the other day: “What they hate in you is missing in them.” This oversimplifies, but people do cope by projecting. Often times, the nastiest criticisms say more about the speaker than they do the subject.
What about you? How do you approach criticism?
Shopping Break.
+Just ordered these for my husband’s desktop.
+This popular feathered top is now available in NAVY.
+If you aren’t getting dressed up for Thanksgiving, a top like this with jeans would be so cute. Alternately: these brown velvet pants with a chunky knit like this or this.
+Totally obsessed with this marble-effect blouse. Love all things marble ATM!
+Two skirts I’m loving: this blanket style one from Banana (so so chic!) and this pleated paisley from ByTimo.
+Favorite sweatshirts (non-logo) for boys.
+How CUTE are these bags from Meli-Melo?! They come in a bunch of different colors, but I love the brown with green. Not cheap, but look much more expensive than they are.
+$13 braided velvet headband!
+I just discovered these “lobe protectors” from Courtney Grow and want to give them a try for some of my heavier earrings that don’t lay flush against the ear.
+Speaking of, these gold drop earrings are perfect with everything this fall.
+Cute $60 jeans in an on-trend fit.
+Adorable wooden magnets for a little one.
+Fun patent leather lug sole loafers. (More great statement loafers here!)
+Great kitchen gear.
+All my beauty favorites.
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