{Style} In the Pink...

Outfit details: blazer- Zara; t-shirt- Club Monaco; faux leather skirt- H&M; pumps- Shoe Mint; polka dot tights- Forever 21; bracelet- The Bay; watch- Michael Kors; necklace & ring- Forever 21

Creamsicle

This skirt started out life as a strapless dress, which I found at the Goodwill in a size 2; way too small for me to ever hope to fit into. But I loved the fabric and the print so much that I decided to buy it anyway and figure out later what to do with it. After languishing over the winter months in my closet, I finally took it to the tailor and had them convert it to a skirt. Isn't it delicious? I love the saturated orange and creamy white together; it reminds me of an orange Creamsicle, which was one of my favorite treats as a kid.

Converted skirt: Banana Republic
Cardigan: Noa Noa
Top: Michael Stars
Sandals: Paula Urban (from a shop in Lisbon)
Dog: Georgie

Adjusting

I'm still adjusting to dressing for my new gig; not so much for the workplace itself, but for the outdoor climate and the amount of walking I now do. In general I'm dressing in a more relaxed way than I was at my previous job, in part because working downtown gives me loads of options for lunchtime, and if I'm going to walk to them I want to be comfortable. But the other thing I've discovered is that I can easily walk to work, which takes just 10 minutes longer than riding the bus (my nearby bus routes aren't the speediest, and driving isn't really an option). My trip is 3 miles each way, so I get some welcome exercise, but consequently I have to create outfits with breathable fabric (to avoid sweating with my backpack on) and shoes that are either easily swapped once I get to work, or are comfortable enough for miles of walking. This is a challenge, because I'm not the sort of gal who will throw on sneakers with anything and swap them once I get to work -- the walking shoes have to look reasonable too.

This was not a 'walk to work' outfit, though it maybe could have been with some minor modifications. It was definitely before I got my latest haircut though, and you can really see my color growing out, as well as how long the back was getting (hence the recent post about Janet). Thankfully I've gotten it cut since then.

I've got a post in the works that will show you some of what I see on my walks to and from work. Believe me, it's a walk that I'm very grateful to be able to make! Working in the city is truly a dream come true.

Top: Forever 21
Skirt: LA Made
Shoes: Born

Fallacies

I don't want to talk about Anthony Weiner. The man has gotten more than his fair share of press already, and the reports of his tasteless social media interactions make me queasy. However, I do want to talk about his wife, and what some of the comments I've seen floating around in the interwebs about her say about our society's feelings towards women.

This discussion isn't just about Huma Abedin. Inevitably when any high profile man gets caught in some sort of bad behavior that humiliates his spouse*, the talk eventually turns to how beautiful the betrayed wife is or isn't (Tiger Woods is another recent example). Huma Abedin is gorgeous, leading the online community to cry out, "How could he do this to her? She's hot!!" And this is the sort of talk that gets under my skin.

Why is so much emphasis placed on the wife's looks? If she were ugly would his behavior have been more acceptable? If she were merely ordinary-looking would it have made her somehow more deserving of being humiliated and betrayed? Her worth as a human being and her value as a wife are not dependent upon her looks, any more than a misbehaving man's looks are tied to some sort of sliding scale that determines how outraged people ought to be about his behavior.

Whether you feel that Weiner's actions were completely reprehensible or that they merely demonstrated a lack of judgment and incredibly poor taste is beside the point of this discussion. The part of the story that disturbs me is when people focus on the wife's looks as if they're something that needs to be accounted for in the body of evidence.

The other fallacy I've noticed in the online discourse is more subtle: the underlying expectation that beautiful women are supposed to be immune to the hardships of life, that they don't get manipulated and lied to and have their hearts broken just like everybody else. That if you're hot and your husband sexted someone else, then you must be a nagging, overbearing shrew because beautiful women don't get cheated on unless there's something really, really wrong with them. Being beautiful does not endow women with a superhuman ability to detect cheaters; it does not prevent them from falling in love with the wrong person or making bad choices; it does not mean that their spouses will love them more or treat them better.

Beautiful women get betrayed for exactly the same reason that other women do: they get involved with men who are liars and cheats. And that sort of man will lie to and cheat on whoever he's with, no matter what she looks like. A man is either a good man, or he's not; what ultimately saves women from the bad ones is discernment, strength, a belief in one's self, maybe even a little bit of luck. Often these things have to be acquired the hard way, too; beauty may bring other advantages in life, but it won't help in this arena.

Huma Abedin is beautiful. But bringing her beauty into the discussion of her husband's behavior is disrespectful to her as a wife and a woman. Beauty will not help her handle this situation; only her character will.

I'd love to hear your comments. And hey look, I wore clothes today too!

Top: Forever 21
Jeans: Level 99
Bracelet: Nicole Miller
Boots: Jo Ghost

*ETA: I didn't mean to make this a hetero-exclusive discussion; obviously people get hurt in same-sex relationships also, just as wives can sometimes treat husbands badly. But when we're talking about a powerful, high profile person doing something shitty to their spouse, 9 times out of 10 it's a straight man doing it to his wife.

Convergence

I just loved the way the soft cream, yellow and black of these platform sandals matched so perfectly with the pattern of this skirt. It was another one of those serendipitous wardrobe convergences; I didn't buy the shoes to go specifically with the skirt, but it happily worked out that way.

Blogger had some issues last week and seems to have eaten a bunch of comments, so I apologize if yours was deleted.


Top: F21
Skirt: unknown
Jewelry: Betsy Johnson
Shoes: Pour la Victoire

Random Assortment

I saw Sal wear this beautiful color combination awhile back and immediately vowed to duplicate it. And as luck would have it I found this pretty fuchsia top shortly thereafter. But the weather was cold, and it was hard to imagine putting on this mere wisp of a top and leaving the house with arms exposed (especially since it was cold enough for me to bring out the bullet-proof sweater I posted yesterday!). Finally impatience prevailed, so I layered a t-shirt underneath and hoped for the best. I froze, but it was worth it to inject such a vibrant burst of color into a drab winter day.

Have you ever noticed the random assortment of stuff that ends up deposited on the shelf behind me? I'll give you one guess who is responsible for their appearance there (hint: it isn't Georgie.). Usually it's in-progress leather items, but this time it's a set of solar-powered Christmas lights, a man's hat, and a tube of caulk. You just never know what might turn up back there.


Top: Forever 21
Skirt: Sunhee Moon
Boots: All Black