Staunchly, vol. 10: Staunchly Picks for January

(Originally posted: 1/13/17)

Dearest Staunchly readers,
 
I'm excited to introduce a new Staunchly feature: Staunchly Picks!
 
Each month, probably near the soft-middle (isn’t it kinda fun how unpredictable the Staunchly timing is??), I'll send out a curated list of products, people, places, novels, drag shows, La Croix flavors, dog Instagrams, life philosophies, etc. that are really speaking to me.
 
Of course, I have no authority to make recommendations to anyone, but in a week Trump is president, so imposter syndrome literally does. not. exist. anymore.
 
Check out my January picks below!
 
Staunchly yours,

Carey

1. March. 

The Women’s March on Washington just released its official agenda and it is, excuse me for sec, fabulous. Fiercely intersectional, progressive, and uncompromising, it name-checks Bella Abzug, Dolores Huerta, Sylvia Rivera, Audre Lorde, and Gloria Steinem and commits itself to an inclusive fight for total racial and gender equality. I encourage you to take a look and know what you’re marching for. Also: I encourage you to march. While I’m sad I won’t be in DC, I’ll be showing up and stomping loud and proud at the march in LA.

I’m having a couple friends over tonight to drink wine and make our signs for the march: a classic Wine & Sign night, if you will. I’m excited to see what radical slogans we cook up after a couple bottles of cabernet… 

2. Woke but Broke patch by Raging Bush - $25

The latest addition to Raging Bush’s already glorious offering of sew-on patches, hand-stitched with love and wokeness.  

3. Equipment Asher V-Neck Cashmere Sweater in Petal Pink - $288

The Equipment Asher, my go-to cashmere sweater, now comes in this soft petal-pink shade. Is my love of all things baby pink a result of gender conditioning and sham nostalgia fabricated by the “Pantone industrial complex,” which sees women of my generation “buying back [our] own re-packaged childhood[s] in the form of blush-toned lip gloss and stickers” and sweaters? Probably! 

4. Pencils from The Wing shop - $10

A six-pack of pencils “inspired by women who write their own paths and defy expectations,” in yummy colors like mint, lilac, and mustard. Use them to write your feminist manifesto or to remind yourself to buy more Halo Top.

5. Rebecca de Ravenel Earrings - $295
 
Getting my ears pierced three weeks ago has opened up a whole new Narnia of jewelry to me. It’s particularly ironic then that the earrings I’ve become enamored with are…clip-ons. My friend Lauren wore a pair of Rebecca de Ravenel Les Bonbons in a stunning blue gradient for her rehearsal dinner in October, and I’ve been obsessed with the style ever since. So chic. So fun. This short peachy pink version, composed of three silk orbs dangling on a gold strand, offers all the whimsy of a Chuck E. Cheese ball pit without any of the measles or random acts of violence. Win-win. 

6. Otherwild

My friend Sophie turned me onto this gorgeous, witchy boutique in Los Feliz (there's also an outpost in New York) that sells everything the modern patriarchy- and gender-binary-smashing warrior needs: graphic prints, silk-screen tees, savory textiles, handmade ceramics, inflatable nips, Magic Hour candles, Fat & the Moon balms, local zines, suspicious tonics, etc. 

7. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson of Chicago, Illinois
 
What’s left to say about Michelle Obama that hasn’t already been said? President Obama’s entire farewell address made a mess of me, but at no point was I more distraught, more balled in a fetal position begging for mercy, than when he wiped away tears talking about the magic of his wife.  
 
I suspect in the coming months I’ll keep returning to this tweet and remembering that for 8 years, America had a queen it neither earned nor deserved.

8. The Trouble With Women by Jacky Fleming
 
I was recently gifted this hysterical little book of cartoons by my friend Alex. Feminist artist Jacky Fleming highlights the historical frailties of womankind in a most delightful way. Read it, laugh, cry, and ponder what the role of satire will be in our looming dystopian future.