My Latest Snag: The Rebecca Taylor Blouse.
I had mentioned this puff-sleeved navy floral blouse about 34 times on this blog, and then Rebecca Taylor came out with an extra 40% off all sale items with code SUNSET18 in honor of Labor Day and I finally snagged it for $54! I cannot wait to wear it with high-waisted jeans as we slide into fall. Check out the entire RT sale section! You can score loads of elegant floral dresses (to die for) and statement-making tops (love this one) for under $100! It’s actually mind-boggling. You can still get my beloved Marlena dress (which I wore to book club last month and have been wearing all over Manhattan since) for a little over $100. Trust me when I tell you that the quality of these dresses should preclude such a low price tag! Brides-to-be: consider this!!! $70?! Or THIS! How can you say no?!
You’re Sooooo Popular: The J. Crew Rollneck.
The most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+A classic sweater from J. Crew in the greatest colors. (I own it in millennial pink!)
+A fall wardrobe staple for $25.
+A $100 cashmere crew. What could be chic-er than a classic cashmere sweater with dark wash jeans and loafers or mules?!
+The chicest storage baskets you’ll ever find. (Seriously, they are in literally every home ever photographed for interior design purposes on the Internet.)
+A lovely oversized bow blouse.
+My favorite dress of the season — now on sale and in very limited sizes!
+My beauty secret. (Get it while it’s on sale!)
#Turbothot: Bad Advice.
What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received?
I found myself reflecting on this the other day when I stumbled across this quote by comedian Dylan Moran:
“People will kill you over time, and how they’ll kill you is with tiny, harmless phrases like ‘Be realistic.'”
I’m not normally a sucker for dreamy, reach-for-the-moon type aphorisms about success and self-worth, but this stuck with me. It reminded me of the query I so often received while in graduate school: “What are you going to do with your degree?” (I’ve been thinking a lot about my graduate school experience lately.) Innocuous enough on the surface, and, if I’m being charitable, likely tethered to genuine curiosity on the part of the inquirer. If I’m being touchy, however, I find the question tinged with reproach, laced with a “be realistic” mentality. Though these questions were never “advice” per se, it felt like unwanted counseling. As it turns out, I’m glad I wasn’t realistic with my major, because I can now trace a direct line from my undergraduate aspirations to this blog, an outlet that has given me release and reward beyond my wildest expectations or ambitions.
Good advice, on the other hand? (Most of these gifted from my parents — and invariably proven true.) “Never go to bed angry,” “mother knows best,” and “measure twice, cut once.” “To thine own self be true.” “It’s just hair.” “There’s no such thing as free lunch.” “Sleep on it.” “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” Also, “always pack snacks.”
What about you? Best/worst advice?
(Would you add “Never grow a wishbone where a backbone ought to be” to the list?)
#Shopaholic: The Statement Sweatshirt.
+I’m in love with this trendy sweatshirt. Such a fun way to elevate a jeans and GG sneaks look!
+Glen plaid is BIG for fall this year. This oversized blazer would be so chic with black skinnies and booties! Check it out on the chic Bradley Means!
+Remember my fanatic love of all things Gul Hurgel? The Tot is now carrying the most adorable kiddo dresses in their fruit prints!
+These statement earrings are to die. Imagine with a strapless black jumpsuit or dress for a cocktail party?!
+Love this skirt in the blue and white floral. I’m imagining it with white supergas, a white bodysuit, and a jean jacket.
+These Ancient Greek sandals are 50% off!
+This is a fun bodysuit.
+Has anyone tried Nars’ Orgasm lipstick?! I’m so intrigued. They have the best colors in the makeup world but I find their products aren’t well formulated.
Criticism about utility of college majors drives me crazy. With the possible exception of engineering, which college major in itself prepares students for a specific career? I’m a health care lawyer and I can say with 100% certainty that there is not a single major at my college that would have constituted substantive training for my career.
I think it’s important to draw a line between substantive learning and skills based training – reading, writing, and analytical skills are likely part of most majors and most careers. Whether you’re writing about French literature, philosophy, or politics is probably equally irrelevant to most careers, but still valuable writing practice.
So true. I think that what you’re revealing is that many of us are not on the same page as to the value, or purpose, of education. Some view it as training for a career. Others see it as education for the sake of education — expanding your worldview, broadening your perspective, etc. Others view it as a tool for good citizenship. Still others as a way to shape the way we think. I think that we absorb and accept all of these interpretations (schools market them all to us!), but we cling to certain aspects more strongly than others. Interesting to think about this!
Talk about a “useless” major – I studied classical languages and archaeology! If money were no object, I’d go to graduate school for linguistics – I love how languages are put together like puzzles, how they reflect societal norms and trends, how they evolve and ebb and flow. I probably could have become a lawyer with the background, but instead, I became a Latin and English teacher. I love school too much to leave it.
I am grateful my parents never tried to steer me or any of my siblings to a more “palatable” concentration; in fact, they were proud that we were able to and chose to study that which fueled our academic passions. I do come from a place of privilege – my parents are well to do and paid for our education – I consider being able to study for the sake of learning and thinking to be one of the greatest gifts they gave me with that privilege.
My father, a successful man in the finance industry, was always more interested in hiring people with history or English degrees than finance degrees; having multi-faceted knowledge and interests (and, importantly, the analytical thinking skills that are honed when studying the liberal arts) impressed him far more than a marketing degree did.
Humanities teach you how to be critical, how to think, how to express your opinions thoughtfully and articulately. You can apply those skills in many career paths, and you can use the tools you developed from these studies in your life outside of working hours – even better! People who scoff at the utility of humanities degrees think myopically.
At the very least, they make you quite good at trivia night and crossword puzzles :-).
I completely agree with you on the value of a humanities education. I defy you to find a career that is not enhanced by a strength in writing/communication and reading/interpretation. They are ultra-valuable! In one of my first jobs, the powers that be actively sought out humanities majors even though the work had nothing to do with humanities per se.
xo
Best advice? “Relationships are like real estate. They’re all about timing and location.” I truly believe this.
As a double major in English and studio art, all I ever heard was, “Sure, but what are you going to doooo with that?” I’m still figuring it out. My goal was to make art every day and I feel that I do.
Keep writing, friend. ❤️
Ooh, I’ve never heard that one before!
Thank you for the encouragement. Love that you’ve made your passion a daily practice, nay-sayers be damned! xo