issue #87: weekly recap

Hey friends, happy Thursday!

Thanks to everyone that encouraged me to shop for my upcoming vacation. It didn’t take much arm twisting. I think the sunshine we’re getting here in NYC has something to do with my current insatiable shoppies as well - new season, new wardrobe, you know?

Anyways, there’s been a lot of news lately and it’s hard to keep up. Some of it feels very, very bad, but I am also starting to see very small, flickering, glimmers of hope here and there. Like this recent Pod Save America episode featuring Sarah McBride, who is so well spoken and inspiring. She is a national treasure, and I can’t wait to see more from her.

Below the paywall today you’ll find:

• A few recent outfits, because I haven’t done a “what I’m wearing” recap in a while!

• A list of my purchases this week!!!

• A really great brand I was alerted to in my mom chat

• One of my favorite upstate haunts

• More thoughts on independent multi brand retail

Enjoy!

1. I talk a lot about tariffs as it relates to the fashion industry as a whole, but I don’t talk much about how they relate specifically to women. Fortunately,

   Katie Jgln
   has outlined all of that nicely here, and I recommend reading the whole thing and then sharing it with everyone in your life. The systems we live in were not set up for women, with women in mind, or to empower women, and as women, we need to push back - now. Of course it would be helpful if the men in our lives helped with this as well, but we all know we get things done faster and better when we just do it ourselves.

2. Semi related: I recommend this piece on being “that woman” from

   Victoria de la Fuente
   . It’s incredibly honest and relatable, and something I think about basically every single day. (Fun fact: Victoria and I went to graduate school together, and it’s fun to run into her again here on Substack!).

3. Politics time!! Please read this piece on Kleptocracy from Anne Applebaum. I think it’s really important to understand what is happening now and why it’s so dangerous. I keep trying to convince myself to remain hopeful, but the more I learn the more frightened I am about what’s to come here in America, and it’s necessary to pay attention to it.

   1. Related: there has been a lot of reporting on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but if you’re not up to speed I recommend this from The Daily and this from The Ezra Klein Show. I would also encourage my readers that are not from the States to tune in to this story, because the path we are heading will have global impacts.

4. Listen, I’d be down for a $5000 check, but I also think that subsidized health/child care, student loan forgiveness, maternal support through healthcare and social programs, and paid family leave all might move the needle more. (Written as I dust off my red cloak and white bonnet). Read this from

   Emily Amick
   for more.

5. If you’re here you’ve probably already read this on affiliate links by

   Kelly Williams and this on the same topic from

   Emilia Petrarca
   - but I wanted to just toss in my two cents here as well, since I recently started using them myself and in this weird world we live in I feel like that requires giving some sort of justification and because I always want to be up front with you guys about this thing - it’s all about trust, baby! The number one reason I even started looking into it is because I spend a lot of time writing this and decided it is important to be paid for that time (and I refuse to go all in on paid subs because I also want my work to be accessible to a lot of people). Like any good millennial, I am incapable of having non-monetized hobbies, but additionally, in having conversations with other friends and writers over the last month or so I realized that what I really desire at this stage of life is financial freedom. And the reason I want financial freedom is to have control over my time. I love working, but I want to work when I want to work, and the only way I can do that is if I work for myself. And the only way I can work for myself is if I start making money outside of my 9-5. I realize this might be a long term-ish project, and I’m still working out what it might look like, but the only way to start on that path is to start creating revenue streams for myself. So that’s part of it. But as I started to look into the platform, I also realized that it was a great way to organize all my finds and links, because despite the fact that I am an eldest daughter Virgo, I have not yet managed to create any sort of organization around my Substack writing. The fact that I’m able to create and save collections of products that can serve future posts is so incredibly helpful in getting my shit together, and allows me to do things like put all (or most of, at least) the mom friend chat recs in one place for future reference. Or where I can compile links to all the things I want to buy for myself or keep an eye on. Or where I can gather all the products I’ve recommended here each month to revisit when needed (yes, including those that don’t offer an affiliate payout!!). But anyways, as with everyone that’s written about them before, I hope you trust me enough already to know I’ll try to never steer you wrong. Although there is no world in which I’m able to actually own and wear everything I link and recommend, I will always only link and rec the pieces I’m actually loving, coveting, and shopping, or that I think you might love too.