Hope you are sleeping in long and late today.
Tomorrow, I go in for #minimagpie’s c-section (!!!!!!!!!! — all the feelings!!!!!!) and, later today, my beloved mother flies in. Before she arrives, I’m getting myself a blowout just because it’s one of my favorite ways to feel pretty, and I’m nervous, and I wanted to do something luxurious for myself today. I’ve scheduled a BUNCH of amazing content for the next two weeks, so you’ll still be hearing from me, don’t ya worry, little ladies. I’ll also try to pop in with some good news soon.
Thank you, my lovely Magpies, for all of the support and encouragement!
My Latest Score
I saw these silky floral-print jams ($59) and had to have them. Ordered instantly.
P.S. The book I snapped above is one of my top 10 life changing books.
You’re Sooooo Popular
The most popular items on Le Blog this past week:
+My favorite summer jeans. I’m hoping/assuming a lot of you are taking advantage of the Shopbop sale (all of my favorite pieces here) featuring up to 25% off your purchase, which ends tonight. (And P.S. — I’d add these UNBELIEVABLE gold heels and this cute botanical print dress to the list. The former will do you right all wedding season long; the latter is so on trend right now.)
+This velvet hair bow — so chic RA NOW. And in case you need inspo, you know my feelings about Tory Burch’s latest collection. And these street style snaps ain’t bad either:
+This Self-Portrait stunner. LOVE.
+These adorable dalmatian letterpress cards, found on Etsy.
+This gingham one-piece swimsuit from J. Crizzle.
Beauty Sleep
I’ve talked many times about how much I hate blow-drying my hair (some thoughts on what I might do about that here — I’m contemplating everything from a keratin treatment to various blow-dry balms), and I recently remembered hearing about another potential solution: a silk pillowcase. This brand, Slip, is supposed to make the best out there ($79). Apparently, they help extend your blow-out and prevent frizz/breakage. (For something a little more affordable, DryBar also has a $45 silk pillowcase available, and this $16 style from Amazon got strong reviews.)
#Turbothot
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a piece on the demise of Nasty Gal, an online fashion retailer with which you may (or may not!) be familiar, and which was founded by the entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso (I read her memoir, #Girlboss, a few years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it). I fully recognize that my reaction to this article is over-burdened by my own baggage around founding a business, but I found the thrust of the article frustrating and patronizing–especially the quip by some rando analyst about how “just because you’re a fashion designer doesn’t mean you know how to run a business” (or something along those lines). While the observation is empirically true, and it’s somewhat common knowledge at this point that founders do not typically make the best CEOs once a company has scaled (such a different skillset required!), something about the analysis rubbed me the wrong way. First, while it does seem (based on quotes/comments by employees that worked there, and my own reading-between-the-lines vis a vis the founder’s memoir) that the company suffered from a toxic culture–and, more often than not, organizational dysfunction stems from the top–it seems unfair and even ill-natured to entirely frame the failure of this business as the result of the ineptitude of its founder. Surely there were innumerable occasions for board members and investors (typically one and the same) to step in, advise changes, and, if needed, oust the founder. The latter is not abnormal in the start-up world; I’ve personally met with a handful of founders that have been through this experience. And surely there were other forces at play: changes in fashion trends, changes in customer preferences, changes in the e-commerce landscape over the last few years. Finally, the company was not that old, and it can be incredibly challenging to understand when changes need to be made from a leadership standpoint from within when you’re still in growth mode. (I have worked for three startups, and, believe me: things are blurry and fast-moving from within.) So, it’s reductive and even vindictive (?) to casually write off the bankruptcy of the business as the result of the inexperience of its founder. And I personally cringe at the thought of an analyst who has almost surely never built a business herself being afforded the opportunity to comment on this in a publication as reputable as the WSJ. Bad reporting.
Re-reading this to myself, my biases are clear as day: I’m obviously over-empathizing with the entrepreneur. HA! Hitting a little close to come, I suppose.
What do you think?
Also, for those of you approaching a c-section, one of my readers recommended this candid blog on all things pregnancy (thanks, X!), and I found her account of her c-section incredibly helpful and reassuring.
Shopaholic
+Love love love the ruffle + lavender hue of this sweet Anthro blouse ($88).
+Love all the wrapping paper from Etsy store Paula + Waffle, especially this floral style and this dachshund print.
+The chic-est embroidered dress ($130) — I want to wear this all summer long. Love the length, the color, the everything.
+This Scandi-style wood-and-mint-green arm desk lamp ($38) is such a steal.
+A fellow blogger swears by this baby toy ($40) as the ultimate baby mollifier. (It makes noise and is chew-proof.)