The August Edit

Before we get started, please rise and remove your hats for a moment of silence for the cancelation of the “and just like that” series and the end of my hopes that at some point Carrie would wake up from a heavily medicated slumber and go back to living the life that resembled more closely what we all imagined for her and the girls we all knew and loved.

Anywho, last time we gathered, we were discussing the 4^th of July, corporate summers, and rebrands. It shouldn’t come as a shock to you that I have been working on a few behind the scenes changes of my own. Not necessarily in the form of a traditional rebrand (I will never get rid of the GIRLY TWIRLY pink), but more of a shift that will allow me to more powerfully step into this next phase of my career. However, this past month consisted of many exciting and equally consuming events (work travel, new business, community developments and much more), so I am still finalizing some things behind the scenes that I have been lightly teasing and hope to be able to fully share soon.  

With all of the movement this month, I have had to work overtime to squeak in selfcare. As someone who is very in-tune with their mind and body, I will go to the ends of earth to stay on top of my wellness amidst a packed schedule. They say work hard, play hard, but it is also imperative to recover hard too. Moving at what feels like the speed of light creates opportunity to neglect yourself but there is no flex bigger than physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Tasteful truth: ai cannot become your only professional skill

I say this as not only someone who says “please” and “thank you” upon every request to Chat GPT, but also as someone who has been able to greatly expand her productivity with the power of this tool. However, there is a fine balance between leveraging the power to get ahead and using it entirely too much it becomes painfully obvious.

If you use the tool enough, you will start to recognize its standard formatting patterns, and it becomes abundantly clear when something was made entirely with ai. I find myself getting frustrated when I receive correspondence that should feel personal, but the elongated em dashes and random italicized words are a dead giveaway that the dazzling campaign from a colleague was actually just generated by artificial intelligence. The problem is that if you master the art of the prompt, it can become something you use for everything. BUT if it is the only thing you are using to generate your ideas and emails, you will lose a sense of your biggest super power - what makes you, you. People want to work with people, so there will always be a necessary finesse to keep a level of humanity in work – maybe so much so that grammatical errors will eventually become endearing??

With that said, as we proceed to advance these tools, you need to continue to learn how to use them as a resource to expand upon your productivity but I also encourage you to create boundaries around usage to ensure it enhances your taste, impact, and dare I say wit, rather than hinder your ability to create original thoughts.

Merch Moments

The Mockneck Sweatshirt: Out with the crewneck sweatshirt because a hot new bombshell is entering the apparel villa… the mockneck sweatshirt. For those of you who don’t know what a mockneck sweatshirt is, and are so captivated by my writing that you don’t want to do a quick google search, I invite you to imagine what appears to be the cousin of the classic crewneck sweatshirt with a more prominent collar -  think of a less fitted and more structured turtleneck.

The viral “Parke” sweatshirt was what initially put the style on the map by influencer Chelsea Parke in July 2023. The reason you may not have heard of this yet is because you probably don’t typically purchase $130 sweatshirts and are not knee deep in the GIRLY TWIRLY algorithm. However, what you need to know is that these sweatshirts have been selling out every drop, which has prompted retail brands such as the likes of both Alo, Lulu Lemon, and Tombolo to adopt the silhouette. This means it is only a matter of time before an apparel line in our industry produces it. I predict whoever does bring the mockneck to market will be an innovator in the space AND that it will be the next big thing to hit the apparel space.

Benihana Merch: Without a doubt, my death row meal would be chicken fried rice from Benihana. Every Friday of my Senior year of high school, I met my parents at Benihana for lunch and would get two orders of their chicken fried rice… so when I decided to go to my parents’ for a low key birthday weekend, it was a no brainer to have my birthday dinner at the finest establishment in Stuart, Florida.  Not only is it tried and true, but I knew I wanted to cop some Benihana merch as a nostalgic present to myself. Much to my dismay, after enjoying each and every bite of my meal and still being entertained by the onion volcano, I found out there was no merch for sale at the restaurant.

Needless to say, I wanted to flip a table - partially because I was very much so excited to get something that properly expressed my love of a brand I am so passionate about and partially because I was a few glasses of The Prisoner deep. What I did next, I am not proud of, but I am here to keep it real AND if you are reading this, I consider you a friend … so I took matters into my own hands… and stuffed the branded soup spoon into my vintage Chanel bag and figured that would suffice as my takeaway for the evening. Now, I don’t condone stealing, BUT in my klepto moment, I did have a relevant realization. Even though Benihana was down a soup spoon, they made their brand so strong that people (me) felt the need to take home a piece of the experience, which should be every brand’s ultimate goal! PS – I did end up buying a shirt and hoodie online to make up for my sticky fingers.

The Victoria’s Secret Plush Dog: How exactly would you explain the involuntary rush associated with a Victoria’s Secret purchase in the early 2000’s, other than comparing it that of a mind altering substance? After you secured your 5 for $26, a bombshell bra, and flared LOVE PINK yoga pants, the slightly judgy sales associate would package it all up in beautiful pink striped bag, that you were so excited to flaunt around the mall. However, there was one thing that was the cherry on top to an already euphoric experience and that was if you spent enough money to get the GWP (gift with purchase). Now people typically enjoy a GWP, but people went B-A-N-A-N-A-S, for this GWP. Victoria’s Secret struck gold by producing these cutesy pink plush dogs. After realizing these dogs were not only loved by consumers, but proven tool used to encourage an up-sale, VS started to change the patterns, and it quickly became a collector’s piece that rivaled Beanie Babies. This little dog, paired with the fashion show were two of the most iconic pillars of the peak of the Victoria’s Secret brand.

Since, the VS brand has taken quite a fall and closed quite a few stores as a result. But with the recent resurgence of the nostalgic millennial mall brands (Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle, etc.) Victoria’s Secret is trying to enter the chat once more and they are trying to do so with the beloved dogs. They did in fact produce a Pink Dog in their recent collab with LoveShack Fancy and it was one of two items that sold out in the collection (retailed at $39.95 and on the resale market for as high as $450 new in box) - proving that not only is the precious plush trend here to stay, but that the Victoria’s Secret brand can only be rescued by leaning into their plush paw patrol.  

The Mantra of the Month: Everything is happening for you!

When you move at a fast pace whether it be in your personal or professional life, you start to realize that there are many things outside of your control. It is easy for the uncertain nature of life to feel like a rollercoaster and that you are just along for the ride… and I am actually not here to dispute the fact that you are along for the ride. However, this line of thinking doesn’t account for is the fact that the unexpected turn that gave you whiplash will prepare you to have more of an understanding of the experience for the next one that is just around the corner. This mindset will allow you to not resent when things don’t work out in your favor but rather help you understand that just like the rollercoaster, your life experience is by design preparing you for what is next to come. When you let life happen to you, you victimize yourself by surrendering your experience to the negativity. On the contrary, there is a peace and power that comes with knowing that the universe or whatever you believe in is conspiring for your greater good… so you can work hard, and keep moving forward knowing that you may not know exactly what is next, but that everything is happening for you!