Weekend Reads #40

In my home office, I have a gallery wall of music festival posters, concert tickets, and some personal photos. I use this wall as a. bit of a bulletin board, tucking thank you cards, photos, and tear-outs from magazines between the frames and glass. This week I was cleaning up my office and found one item fell down and I tucked it back in. Emerson noticed it and asked who was in the photo with Big Bird. We started Friday morning with an introduction to the awesomeness that is Diane von Furstenberg. Above is the two-page spread from the September 2009 issue of Bazaar that sparked this discussion. I had the original issue but lost/tossed it at some point, A few years ago I sought out the issue on eBay to have a high-quality version of the image. I keep meaning to get that page framed, this conversation with my daughter has brought that task higher up on the to-do list.

While sharing DVF fabulousness with Emerson, we came across this photo of her with Oprah and both gasped at how lovely it was, so I had to share it as well.  Here is the link to the interview of DVF by Oprah, which is where the image comes from.  Isn't Diane's office awesome? 

January WO2 Bestsellers

I'll admit I snagged this idea from Grace at The Stripe.  I found it so interesting and thought you may too.  At the beginning of each month I'll recap the previous month's bestsellers on Wardrobe Oxygen so you can see what other readers are also enjoying.  As always, leave a comment letting me know if you got these items and what you thought of them!

1. SOMAINNOFIT Bra: Thanks to this post, this was the top seller for January.  It's a really cool concept and I love the idea of being able to fit yourself for a bra at home.  A lot of people asked, and yes you can share this with friends and family.  The personalization is in the app not the bra so pass it on.  And for those who said they don't want to keep it after one or two uses, consider donating it to a charity that could benefit from it like I Support The Girls!
2. Jenny Bird Factory Drop Earrings: I make a little mention in Weekend Reads that I found my $110 earrings for $30 at Nordstrom Rack and y'all got excited! I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy mine!
3. Barefoot Dreams Circle Cardigan: I mentioned this as a top seller in 2018 and with that one mention many more of you decided to buy this super soft cozy coverup.
4. Everlane Cashmere Crew: I wore my citron Everlane sweater in this post and it sparked quite a lot of sales.  I do think it's a really nice sweater at a great price for the quality.
5. Trouve Twist Front Dress: Another item that was a bestseller in 2018.  While olive was the most popular color purchased in January, the dress was also popular in black and burgundy.  A weird thing, the dress now says it's by Chelsea28; the same link works so I have to assume it's the same dress?

Sale Updates

• Banana Republic: 40% off all pants and denim through the weekend.  I am a fan of their ‘Ryan' pant, it fits me extremely well and is the pant I choose for all my BR suits. They're also offering 30% off sale items; their sale collection is worth a look. There's some amazing pieces available.  My picks?  This blouse which is chic with ankle jeans and flats or tucked in on its own or under a blazer for work. This dress which I ordered and my F boobs are a hair too big for it but it's otherwise elegant perfection. This sweater dress which is chic and cozy.  This machine washable merino (yes you read that correctly) sweater. This chunky awesome cashmere sweater available in two of the hottest colors for 2019.  As an FYI, Banana Republic now goes up to a size 20.
• J. Crew Factory: They're offering 40-50% off New Arrivals and there's some awesome things in their current collection part of the promotion. This striped sweater jacket that would be chic with jeans or worn to the office. This long-sleeved T-shirt with a scalloped neckline that will make your weekends chic. This striped tee which is in my virtual shopping cart. This utterly adorable cotton shirtdresss. These jeans which are super cute but it confuses me that the site says they're only an 8″ inseam (typo!). This ponte blazer and the matching ponte slim pants. These utterly perfect fun sling backs with only a 1.5 block heel that will glam up ankle pants and jeans and look cute with all your spring dresses (they also come in glitter).  As a reminder, J. Crew Factory now has many of their items up to a size 3X.
• Lands' End: They're offering 25% off full-priced styles with promo code RED and PIN 7894. I ordered this jumpsuit I mentioned before and will be sure to report back (BTW here's the link for the plus sized version). Speaking of which, didn't Lands' End used to have regular and plus at the same link? I'm digging this striped scoop, a great layering piece or on its own (plus link), and if you prefer a crew neck here you go (misses link). And can I just say I love the idea of a wrap dress concept for a beach coverup? Genius!
• ELOQUII: 40% off your entire purchase and an additional 10% if you spend $125 with promo code YESPLEASE. You know I love this printed wrap maxi, and the new prints available are divine. I love this printed wrap top with black pants to work, jeans for the weekend, and white jeans or pants come spring. And this dress is so flattering and versatile; wear to work, for date night, to church, a day wedding, and more!
• Talbots: They have 70% off their sale sweaters and this is sooo worth a look! I adore the Audrey Cashmere Sweater and it's on sale for less than $45. Their classic cashmere crewneck is also fantastic and also less than $45. Get your not-ugly Christmas sweater now for less than $25. And I adore this cable crewneck, the shoulder buttons are a chic touch.
• Bloomingdale's: They are offering 20% off items on the site marked with “LOVE.” Since we just discussed these jeans earlier this week, had to share that AG Jeans “The Prima” is part of this promotion; here's the link to them in a dark wash, here's the link to them in black.

Weekend Reads

Thursday, I did a Facebook Live with Mediavine, my ad company.  We chatted about how I took my blog full time and how I make it work financially.  If you wish to see it you can view it at this link. I learned from this that a speaker off my earphones doesn't work if you make a lot of hand gestures and that I need to use my proper webcam instead of the one in my Mac. But it was a lot of fun and I was happy to share what I know and how I got here!

If there's only one piece from Weekend Reads you open this weekend, make is this one by Robin Givhan for The Washington Post. What a powerful and important read by a woman who is such a master with the written word.

If you don't know about Lizzo, educate yourself. You're welcome. (The Cut) BTW pissed that bots snagged all the tickets to her shows in DC later this year. I soooo wanted to go! 

Karl and I did a shoot Thursday.  I wasn't feeling well, the previous night I was up until 1am, I didn't go to the gym and boy did it show in my face.  I don't know if those photos will ever hit the blog but they did inspire me to drink a ton of water and do a hydrating mask (I looooove this one from Colleen Rothschild, it's so good). I put on the mask, got on the computer and in my inbox was this piece from Man Repeller – I Went to a Senior Center and All I Got Was Fascinating Beauty Advice. Pretty perfect timing.

Middle-aged women and the men who disdain them. (Dame)

I'm trying to buy less but Boden is making it difficult with their uber versatile and flattering dresses like this jersey midi, this wrap dress, and this shirt dress! 

I found this interivew with several popular advice columnists so interesting. As somone who receives questions daily in her inbox and occasionally answers them on this blog, I could relate to some and thank my lucky stars I couldn't relate to other aspects! (Buzzfeed)

Gosh I hate it when good articles are on crappy sites. USA Today is practically unreadable because of the ads and the weird click in the wrong place and the content disappears layout. But if you can weed through their crap, it's worth it to read this: Good ol' boys network, meet black girl magic: Black, female entrepreneurs are changing Silicon Valley.

Spoiler alert, I'll be doing another Trunk Club review of a trunk I received.  This bag from Clare V. was in there and I'm kinda sorta completely in love and trying to justify keeping it.  I do have a decent amount of referral credit… A spring replacement for my beloved ALLSAINTS tote?

Oooh, here's a piece for discussion: Is clean beauty a skincare revolution – or a pointless indulgence? Interesting information and quotes from lots of popular skincare founders. (The Guardian)

Inspired by a sweater on Instagram… an interesting piece on the knitting community on the social media platform.  Even better, it quotes my fabulous friend Dana from the blog Yards of Happiness (read her beauty routine that she shared o WO2). (The New Yorker)

For Your Entertainment

And this is why I like Instagram Stories. I had never heard of Nao. But this week she performed at The Fillmore and a few of my friends attended the show (I know at least Carletta and Libby, can't recall the others). I've been to shows with these people, or have followed them long enough to get their music vibe so I was like ooh I need to check Nao out. And now, it's my duty to now share her with you.  Please note, this first video is NSFW.

I didn't want those of you at work to miss out, so here is another I love that is safe for being in an open workspace.