Hi,
What does everyone think of Threads so far? I am enjoying it, but I admittedly have barely been on. I really dislike Twitter though, so I am intrigued by the possibility of an alternative.
Where have I been?
Usually I take this time in my newsletter to share what I’ve written for the past week, but as you may have noticed, this is my first newsletter in a month!
I hadn’t planned on taking a full month off from Substack, but I decided to after my book came out on June 6. Basically, I was exhausted! I spent the month working full-time at Glamour while in the mornings and evenings doing book prep and promo. It was an exhilarating and fun month, but also very tiring! I feel now I have had a chance to catch my breath and come back down to real life.
I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has supported my book and sent kind messages. I have dreamed of being a published author since I first wrote my own stories in first grade, but what they don’t tell you about achieving your dreams is how incredibly terrifying it is and how vulnerable you feel at all times. Every nice word you have sent me really made a difference to me and I so appreciate it!
Here’s some stories I have written since I’ve been gone: this fun feature on the clothing brand Boy’s Lie, a Q&A with the host of the podcast “Scamanda,” and an explainer on WTF this mustard and cottage cheese meal is on TikTok.
I also published a excerpt of my book to Glamour that I’m super proud of:
You can read it here.
This week on the internet…
On the subject of the thorny issue of sharing photos of kids online, comes this horrifying story from the CBC in Canada.
They report:
“A Calgary mom and dad are reeling after discovering a stranger has been taking photos of their young daughter from the family's social media accounts and, police say, using them to convince others he's a single father who is struggling financially.
Brian Keith Strachan, also from Calgary, has been taking the girl's photos for about eight years and posting them on his own social media accounts, claiming he's been raising her since she was born. The girl is now eight years old. He even gave her a fake name — Amanda.
Someone tipped the family off after seeing the girl's photo online last week.”
And this child wasn’t even the daughter of influencers! Super scary stuff. Let’s start regulating this, please?
Bode boys!
The Cut had an interesting feature this week on the rise of Bode, a menswear brand that men are flocking to in a very influencer-esque way.
“If you’ve spent much time out and about downtown in the past couple of years, or at the sorts of peacocking events that necessitate distinctive, don’t-get-it-wrong outfits that might attract a BFA party photographer’s eye, you will have spotted a Bode boy yourself. Although, at first, you might have thought they were wearing a lucky thrift-store find.
Bode was founded on the Lower East Side in 2016 by Emily Adams Bode Aujla, who took a vintage sensibility and upcycled it into a luxury menswear brand that women also love to wear. Some apt words I’ve heard used to describe the Bode aesthetic? Artisanal, grandpa chic, farm to table. Her clothes, inspired by and often made from heritage textiles like quilts, curtains, oven mitts, tea towels, tablecloths, and bedsheets, were an immediate cultish sensation...Bode boys tend to cherish the fact that many of the pieces are one of a kind, just as, I can only imagine, they assume themselves to be.”
It’s a long, but great read. Do you know a Bode boy?
One more thing…
Gigi, NO!
Have a great week,
Stephanie