Wear, Watch, Want #53: The Bold Power Cardigan Edition
Wear: Wilfred Free Zlata Sweater
About a month or so ago Aritzia was having a huge sale and I picked up a few staples. Aritzia is a store that's kind of an odd mix of trendy clothes that I imagine only look good on waifish teens and then next to these mystery garments they also have great staples (in nice fabrics and solid colors to boot). I was very pleased that the new Artizia store in Century City is enormous, so that there can be plenty of room for my old man clothes along with the teen trash. The Aritzia in Seattle at UVillage is just as large as the Century City store, and that's where I was shopping when I found the Zlata cardigan. It's a loose cardigan with elbow length sleeves and an no closures in the front. It's fairly lightweight and perfect for warm-ish breezy days or, if you live in Southern California, almost the whole year 'round. The fabric is some sort of proprietary jersey knit, and it is SO COMFY. I wear this cardigan constantly, I have washed it multiple times, and it still looks and feels brand new. I don't know what kind of witch cooked up that jersey recipe but KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Watch: The Bold Type
The Bold Type is Freeform's new "feminist" show about three 20-something women working in magazine publishing in New York. I'm going to have to give some disclaimers right off the top for The Bold Type (similarly to when I suggested UnReal) because man, on the surface this show does not want someone like me to like it. (But guys, I LOVE IT.) First of all the title and the poster.
We get it. They're sassy and loud and they're taking the city by storm! The show may as well be called Brassy Dames. (SIDENOTE: Would watch the hell out of Brassy Dames. THE PITCH: It's His Girl Friday but the entire newspaper staff is Hildy types. It's an Amazon series that will be cancelled after one amazing season for literally no reason whatsoever.)
On the one hand, I'm developing and as-yet-to-be-named eye-rolling syndrome from the rampant capitalization of feminism over the past few years. On the other hand, if seeing a TV show mention the patriarchy is the gateway to a teen girl reading This Bridge Called My Back then I'm kinda all for it. I'm certain there were women in my Gender Studies program who got their first taste of feminism from hearing the Spice Girls scream, "GIRL POWER!" and that's nothing to be ashamed of.
This brings me back around to The Bold Type. It's not in any way revolutionary. These women aren't doing anything that wasn't done on Sex & the City 15 years ago. But there are a few reasons why I'm totally okay with this. First of all, not everyone lives in the world of ultra-aggressive Tumblr activism. There are young girls out there who are going to have their minds blown wide open by Kat's story of exploring her bisexuality, or Sutton getting the guts to demand that her boss pay her the salary she deserves, or even Jane learning that it's ok to be honest about who you are, even if that means exposing what feels like a huge, embarrassing secret (It's about orgasms. Thats why ABC Family changed their name - so they could say orgasm 700 times in an episode. Mazel tov!).
Being aware of real issues and having them discussed on a TV show that feels like it's straight out of Shondaland Jr isn't a conflict of interest, nor is it a bad thing. You can care about social justice and also have fun. The Bold Type is fun. But it also makes an effort, and I appreciate that. My favorite story line so far was when Adena is detained at customs for trying to bring vibrators into Iran. Smuggling vibrators in your luggage is funny. It just is. But The Bold Type points out that Adena is a vibe bandit because in Iran women's autonomy is criminalized. See how they snuck some Real Talk into a goofy storyline? Anyway, Adena is being detained and it's all very scary and upsetting, and Kat announces to the magazine staff that they should all tweet and use the hashtag #FreeAdena. Kat is quickly approached by another editor who tells her to think about the repercussions her actions would have, and to realize that her Twitter storm would cause Adena more harm than good. Kat is torn. She is developing feelings for Adena, and she was the one who helped her pack up all those vibrators! Plus, we are living in a woke world, and she's a woke girl. When there's an injustice, what else is there to do but take to Twitter and denounce it?! Kat realizes that her coworker is right, and she needs to just sit tight and keep quiet. The hardest thing in the world to ask of a millennial. But a lesson that must be learned.
It's unfortunate that the marketing for the show is hitting that feminism angle so hard when The Bold Type is more what I'd call, "A fun workplace friendship dramedy that has plenty of references to real world topics that today's woke youth are constantly aware of." But that doesn't fit as well on a press release. And it certainly doesn't rake in the cash like feminism seems to these days. I find The Bold Type to be so, so fun. How the show got me to be this invested in Kat, Sutton, and Jane in such a short period of time is quite a feat. Each of their stories is complex and fleshed out and I really care about their career paths and relationships. Also, Melora Hardin as the Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline being more of a wise, gentle mentor who's tough when she needs to be rather than an Anna Wintour clone is fun to watch. Unrealistic, of course, but fun. And as I keep saying, WE'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE FUN.
Want: Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid
I didn't want to like The Strategist because it is essentially my blog but with more money and exposure and I'm envious. But it's also exactly the kind of thing I'm into (which is why I made an entire blog about recommending things), so naturally I love it. The recent article by Rio Viera-Newton about her skincare Google Doc had my undivided attention and earned an immediate bookmark. I've already bought the pimple pads and the next thing on my list is this Whitehead Power Liquid that I'm hoping will brutally murder a few tiny closed comedones I have near my hairline that will not seem to get to steppin'.
