My Latest Score: The Duster.
I saw the snap above on Pinterest and stopped in my tracks, knowing I needed to replicate her all-neutral-everything look, and STAT. We’re finally steering towards warmer weather, and I like the idea of pairing white skinnies with an ivory/cream duster sweater — specifically, this one (on sale for $50!), with it’s lightly blousoned sleeves.
You’re Sooooo Popular: The Statement Blouse.
The most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+This stunning statement blouse.
+The chic-est melamine plates for the upcoming summer.
+This lovely white blouse — perfect for a bride-to-be, and on super-sale!
+The most sophisticated espadrille I ever did see — now on sale!!!
+My new favorite foundation. I am legitimately OBSESSED with this stuff. It blends so well and looks absolutely radiant!
+A children’s book with the most darling illustrations.
+Heavily discounted Caroline Constas — one of my absolute favorite designers. I own three of her blouses and cannot get enough.
#Turbothot: Facebook, Dark Advertising, + the Parliamentary Inquisition.
Have you been watching the British Parliament’s interrogation of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica executives with regards to Facebook’s possible role in affecting the outcome of the Brexit referendum? We watch the news every morning and, several days this past week, CBS has interrupted its normal reporting to broadcast the examinations. I’ve been sucked in, in large part owing to the eccentric and theatrical inquiries from members of Parliament. There is showmanship and drama in their questioning: at one point, one member of the interrogation committee commented that in preparing his notes for the day, he kept returning to a quote from Rolling Stone‘s 2009 harangue of Goldman Sachs, which described the bank as “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.” The Parliament member looked directly at the Facebook executive and asked whether it “bothered him” that Facebook seemed to be the 2018 version of such villainy.
WOW!
The tenor of the conversation, the charge and theatrics of it, shocked me, and while I share Parliament’s disgust and distress over the fact that political outcomes may have been tampered with owing to “dark advertising” and data manipulation made possible by Facebook — I can also see that there are some complicated nuances to the issues at hand. How does one draw the line between freedom of speech and divisive political marketing? How does a corporation enforce such lines operationally — how do they identify, isolate, and punish bad actors, especially in the context of a platform that sees millions and millions of ads circulated every day? How does one define what’s ethical vs. non-ethical in the use of ad targeting, which can (plausibly) be used for good, too — Cambridge Analytica cited the fact that charitable causes were able to raise more money for disaster relief when they could more carefully target likely donors. At one point in the examination, in response to a disturbing example of the impact “dark advertising” has had on recent political events, the Facebook executive commented that the social media platform has also enabled good, citing the example of a close friend who had been diagnosed with a rare disease and was able to connect with and find solace in other patients through a Facebook group centered around it. The member of Parliament shrugged that off quickly, eager to return to his diatribe.
I suppose my feeling is this: there are clearly ethical problems at hand in the use of Facebook for political means, but the Parliament committee’s oversimplification and ad hominem attacks felt a bit blunt, a bit like trying to hammer a nail with a six by six foot piece of plywood: in the end, it probably gets the job done, but there’s a lot of awkward bludgeoning involved. I’m certain that there is an intent here, though: the commission wants to make a statement, wants to position itself as completely, pristinely ethically opposed to what’s transpired, and they will resort to drama to underscore that position.
Have any of you tuned in? What were your reactions?
#Shopaholic: The Versatile Shirtdress.
+Love this versatile shirt dress, especially in the khaki. Wear to work with pointed toe flats and pearls; wear on the weekend with simple slides or Supergas; wear in transitional weather layered over a striped long-sleeved tee!
+Swoon: this would make such a lovely mother-of-the-bride dress, or drop-dead gorgeous wedding guest dress for a garden wedding.
+Dying over this flashy little pouch.
+I love the delicate pattern on this pitcher — I’d use this for bouquets of flowers!
+I’m drawn to this chunky knit cardigan — would look chic with white skinnies for a cooler evening at the beach.
+Cannot get over this splashy jumpsuit!!!! CHA CHA CHA! I want to go dancing in it!
+Take your next picnic up a notch with this.
+Contemplating buying these and some non-toxic paint for mini — the big question being whether she’ll just try to eat it the whole time…
P.S. I LOVED reading your comments on this post, which served as fodder for many conversations in our household this week. Mr. Magpie texted me to say: “You have some really smart readers.” Um, YAH. (He reads every single comment on the blog, too.)
P.P.S. ICYMI: an epic dupe for a high-end must-have.