My Latest Score: The Pom Sweatshirt
I wrote about the sweatshirts I have been eyeing recently, including ones I want for mini, but when this cherry one went on mid-season sale at Jacadi, I had to snap it up. Also darling and on sale: pair of bloomers (die) and this sweet Liberty print romper.
You’re Sooooo Popular: The LWD.
The most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+This absolutely stunning broderie anglaise Zimmermann dress — on sale!
+This darling white sundress (I guess we’re all planning for warmer weather’s imminent arrival!?!?)
+This affordable Clare Vivier circle bag lookalike — perfect for pairing with aforementioned LWDs.
+This pearl-encrusted statement sandal (under $80!)
+This ready-to-party jumpsuit makes me want to go dancing. And I never go dancing. When was the last time you went dancing??
+OMG these mini faux Gucci mules for babies. I am dying.
+The most darling umbrella for a kiddo.
#Turbothot: The Ethics of YA Writing.
I winked at this topic when I shared that I am unabashedly reading my first young adult novel (P.S. – please read the comments on that post — so many stirring provocations, like what gender and generation have to do with the concept of highbrow/lowbrow culture!), but I have been thinking a lot about whether the authors and publishers of young adult fiction have adopted a “code of ethics” when it comes to the crafting of their novels. In Grace and Becca’s most recent podcast on The Selection, Becca mentions that she is put off by the protagonist’s celibacy. Indeed, I had noticed that The Selection is suggestive but chaste in its portrayal of the physical relationship between the protagonist and her beaus, but this seemed natural and “as it should be” to me given the genre. I haven’t read enough YA fiction to know whether this is a line that all YA novelists have drawn in the sand — “kissing and heavy petting only!” — but, once Becca brought it up, I started to think about it a bit more critically. It made me wonder what the chief demographic for these books is: tweens? teens? The book portrays a sixteen or seventeen year old girl, but it’s entirely possible that most of the novel’s consumers are twelve year old girls, many of whom will not have even had a first kiss yet (right…?), and that might explain why the author chose to draw the line where she did. Maybe there are also sets of regulations I don’t know about (sort of akin to G/PG/PG-13 ratings?) that govern the authorship of teen literature: are you even allowed to talk about sex directly in books targeting teens? Would parents be outraged? Would anything more than suggestion warrant a book ban on the behalf of parents and teachers and even libraries and bookstores?
Or, maybe there are other explanations: in The Selection, at least, the protagonist explains that physical relations are to be saved for marriage because the state enforces it as such, and penalties can occur if transgressed. As elsewhere in the novel, “the authorities” and the threat of their intervention when rules are broken feel like a convenient trope for the parent-child dynamic so many teens and tweens will relate to: the feeling of being watched, regulated, punished for seemingly unfair and nebulously defined directives, including those around physical relationships with boyfriends and girlfriends.
Or, maybe there is a consciousness around promoting abstinence in this book?
If the latter is the case, I am doubly perplexed by the portrait of femininity in the novel — if the author took care in crafting a specific message around sexuality in the book, then I would have hoped she might have taken the time to reflect on the portrait of womanhood she presents as well. I was put off by the swoon-y, flight-y, gasp-y damsel-in-distress vibe her heroine gave off. “Oh, Maxon, save me! My delicate ankles might give out as I trot around in heels!” “Oh, Maxon, I’m so horribly homesick, I’m fainting into the arms of your guards!” Ick.
What are your thoughts? Those of you who have read more YA, please share your thoughts on this topic!
#Shopaholic: The Organization Hack.
+In my perennial quest to achieve ultra-organization, I added a few of these to my cart to keep my medicine cabinets tidier. I like the idea of stowing my brushes, lotions, and potions in these!
+This pommed sweater is amazing.
+Cute and affordable way to get that embroidered tee look.
+This looks like Missoni or something — love the idea of throwing this on over my swimsuit this summer.
+Just switched up my candle routine at home and bought this Montauk scent, which is described as “fresh salt air and sea grass.” It smells beachy, fresh — like a turn in the seasons.
+If you haven’t yet gotten your LWD fix in advance of spring, check out this adorable Gap style!
+Adorable eyelet top for summer (under $70)!
+This sweater is super chic.
+IMPORTANT PSA: THESE CASHMERE JOGGERS ARE BACK IN STOCK.
P.S. ICYMI — what I’ve been reading.
P.P.S. Do you believe that people are either life-enhancing or life-diminishing?