We found so many interesting stories this week that we decided to share some of them with you.
In an effort to keep up our spirits, we suggest reading the article from Forbes magazine about two women who set out to update and give style to our front line medical workers. It is true that medical scrubs are not the best look even though we see college kids wearing the “med scrub” look on campus. It also turns out that our medical workers now have to pay for their own scrubs as hospital have tighten their budgets.
Although these women entrepreneurs developed FIGS before the pandemic, their timing couldn’t be more perfect. They are an interesting story themselves, one with an extensive design background and the other in advertising, branding and source funding.
They asked themselves the question why so much emphasis on athletic wear and none on hospital scrubs that have not changed in look and quality for years. They are now seeing sales of over $150 million. Three cheers for these women and, of course, for our front line medical workers:
To put a smile on your face, check out the following New Yorker story:
And Borowitz added in his previous commentary:
Seriously, as I spend more and more time cloistered in my home, I find I am able to take comfort in the quiet and slower pace of life. I now really hear different bird sounds on my back terrace. I heard one in particular last night that I thought to record in order to ask my birder friend what it was. Then I realized that it was my chirping bird clock mounted in my garage that sounds different bird noises on the hour! So much for my skills as a birder.
With the storied Neiman Marcus going under and other high end retailers looking at the abyss, it is time to more carefully vet online retailers. Our generation is becoming more and more comfortable and accepting of this way of shopping since the lockdown. We continue to hope that small local businesses will receive renewed support from their local customer base and that specialty fashion and accessories stores will rise as the place to go for the unique and festive additions to our wardrobe.
We researched three shoe sites that offer style but most importantly comfort:
Rothys, Birdies and Vionics.
Rothys
Rothys, a direct-to consumer fashion company, makes washable shoes from recycled material.
Their flats are great and comfortable and come in beautiful colors.
www. Rothys.com.
Birdies
Founded by two young women originally for attractive at-home wear. But they became so popular that women wanted to wear them out as well. Their flats and slip-ons are quilted inside so they really do feel like slippers. There is an interesting site that compares Birdies and Rothys: sincewen.com/rothys-loafers-vs-birdies-slippers/
www.birdies.com
Vionics
A friend turned us on to Vionics after her daughter stepped on broken glass, deeply cutting her arch. The shoes are designed with built-in contours and arch support and are designed to encourage natural alignment. These shoes help provide relief from plantar fasciitis & heel pain. www.vionicsshoes.com
We tried all three brands and found them to be great for different reasons. Let us know what you think.
One last fun adventure to enjoy is to watch the Essex County Greenbelt live camera keeping an eye on a pair of Osprey who are nesting in Gloucester. The pair, Annie and Squam, have returned to this same nest three years in a row and the live-cam watch began on April 29th as the pair prepare the nest for their offspring: https://ecga.org/osprey-cam
Stay safe and well
Ciao
Lucy and Claudia
I look forward to reading your posts every week. Thank you !
Thank you for vetting online retailers with the demise of Neiman Marcus and probably others, and noting that perhaps these new developments will foster women-owned businesses that can be conducted remotely and effectively.
Great story about the two women redesigning medical, outfits especially during these times….anything to uplift the spirits of those on the frontlines!