Weekend Reads for May 10

Weekend Reads

F.D.A approves first at-home alternative to the pap smear. (New York Times – gift link)

Hear me out: What if GenXers are actually the cool ones? (Vogue)

Bill Gates to give away fortune by 2045, US$200 billion for world's poorest. (CNA)

I found your perfect travel skirt. Packs to nothing, dresses up and down, so many pretty colors too!

A lonely young woman in Texas has streamed every second of her life for three years and counting. Is this life, or a performance of one? (Washington Post – gift link)

Barry & Diane: The truth about us, after all these years. (Intelligencer)

For my petite and 4″ shorts-loving friends, these are adorable, highly rated, and less than $35!

West Point graduate becomes first woman to complete Army Ranger competition. (NBC News)

The male shadow self. (Slate)

For my Liberty and floral loving friends, have you seen this collab?

No, you’re *not* doomed to get stiffer as you age. (Well + Good)

The runaway TradWives of TikTok. (Elle)

Love this sundress. Adjustable straps, smocked back, less than $55 and that Fiery Red version is calling to me!

While that sundress isn't available beyond a 16, I found this gorgeous plus dress with the same fiery red color.

The rise of the ‘crunchy teen' wellness influencer. (New York Times – gift link)

Gen Z women are being sold a risky dream: the realities behind ‘investing’ in designer bags like the Hermès Birkin. (Fortune, but free link through Archive)

Plants, skincare, oat milk: Gen Z are the subscription kings. (The Times)

These young people see meme coins as their best shot at the American Dream. (Washington Post – gift link)

And for my local yokels… RSVP required at select Maryland State Parks this summer. (WMAR)

Style Inspo & Sale Alert

Again, my local yokels, I have something just for you. Save $20 on tickets to shows at Broadway at the National (National Theatre for us original locals) with promo code FRIENDS. This code needs to be added before selecting seats. Code works for Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, and Sun evening shows in select seats. You can purchase tickets at this link. I personally am going to see Kimberly Akimbo later this month!

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven | twelve | thirteen

Okay, which one of you bought me the Lele Sadoughi ‘Wilma' earrings I mentioned in my Summer Dreams article? The box from Shopbop arrived this week, and there was no note. I am so honored, so touched, and have been so weepy since receiving them. It made my entire week… my entire month! Wearing them makes me see how lovely non-metal earrings can be, especially in the heat of the summer.

See/Hear/Read

The Four Seasons is an eight-part series on Netflix, inspired by the Alan Alda movie of the same name. Starring Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Steve Carell, Erika Henningsen (Mean Girls on Broadway), Marco Calvani (best known as an Italian playwright), and Kerri Kenney-Silver (Reno 911!), it follows three couples in midlife on their quarterly/seasonal vacations together.

The couples are connected by those who went to Vassar College together, but we're now seeing them decades later. All married, those with kids are in college themselves, we only experience them on the vacations, but see how the time between has affected them and their relationships.

My husband and I both enjoyed The Four Seasons. We both found it relatable, the characters well cast (even Fey, who I don't believe is a strong actress), and it was a good pace (each episode is only about 30 minutes long). The only aspect we felt was lacking was more explanation about Fey and Forte's daughter; it seems as though there was a story there that ended up on the cutting room floor.

And yes, there is an Alan Alda cameo, which made me tear up. Alda and I share the same birthday, and my parents loved him as an actor, especially my dad. Gosh, I am tearing up right now just thinking of Alda's smile in this series (for those curious, he is 89).

I personally fell in love with Marco Calvani and have even more love for Colman Domingo after watching The Four Seasons. Tina Fey is one of the creators (along with Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield), and I think they did a fantastic job. And for those curious about Fey's dress in the first episode (and seen in the photo above), it's from the label Saloni, is silk, and retails for over $900.

As for books, I am about 1/3 through Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook bigwig. Do you remember a decade or so ago when Facebook had a drive to encourage folks to sign up to be organ donors? We could put a little graphic on our profiles showing we participated… yeah that was not as innocent and altruistic as we thought.

This book is having me look into free alternatives to Facebook Groups to maintain the Wardrobe Oxygen community without supporting Meta. Stay tuned, I will be sure to have whatever I choose be easy, free and accessible (and likely built into this site).

For Your Entertainment

On an average day in the U.S., 60,000 women and girls are imprisoned pretrial due to a lack of bail funds. Of these women, over 65% are parents to minor children. Their average income is $11K, and the average bail for these women is $10K. With mothers imprisoned, there is the lack of her income as well as her inability to care for her children. If she doesn't have familial support, those children are taken in by the state. These are rarely women who are charged with violent crimes and are not considered flight risks.

I learned about virtual court watching through Fiona Apple. I don't recall whether it was a video or an article, but it had me looking into court watching programs in my area (Maryland still has a bail system). Being a court watcher means cases are fair and transparent by holding the system accountable. At least in my area, you can be a virtual court watcher, attending by Zoom.

I learned how D.C. eliminated bail and replaced it with a supervised pretrial release system. This means that instead of paying money to be released, individuals are released with specific conditions set by a judge (monitoring anklet, travel ban, etc.). If D.C. can do it successfully, why can't other parts of this country?

In this area, CourtWatch PG and Free Black Mamas DMV organize court watchers and accept donations for bailouts, advocacy, and amplification of the inhumane and archaic process of money bail. I know from signing up at CourtWatch PG, the court watching process is very easy, and everything to participate is sent via email.

Fiona Apple released a new song this week, and with it a new video. ‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home).' This is Apple's first song in over five years and a protest anthem advocating for jailed mothers who can’t afford bail.

Visit Apple's website, https://lethergohome.org/, to learn more, donate, and find a bail fund local to you. This link will send you directly to the national directory of bail funds. You can also donate at National Bailout; I can't think of a more powerful gift for this weekend.