Sleepless: Komen and Planned Parenthood

(from The Decemberists' "Team Jenny" breast health awareness campaign)

There has been so much in the news this week regarding women’s issues, especially in this state. I cannot do justice to everything that has gone on in one blog entry, so with a major update this morning on the Komen/Planned Parenthood issue, I will focus on that today.

As this organization blogged about on Wednesday, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation decided to pull funding of breast cancer screening by Planned Parenthood due to “a new Komen policy forbidding grants to organizations under official investigation.” However, in the court of public opinion, the decision had everything to do with politics, with many feeling that Komen succumbed to anti-choice, and frankly anti-women, sentiments.

This morning however, Komen announced that it will reinstate funding to Planned Parenthood. According to Komen CEO Nancy G. Brinker,

“We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives…We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.”

As with many others, the issue really hits close to home for me having dealt with breast cancer in my family. Even with this reversal, however, the fact that Komen even considered cutting this funding has left many, including myself, hesitant to trust that Komen really wants what is best for women’s health.

As has been the case in the last couple years, social media played a huge part in quickly riling up public fervor over the issue. Julie Stagis of the Hartford Courant referenced Netflix’s recent series of bungled business decisions on her Twitter page this morning, characterizing Komen's thought process as "Oh, wait, you're mad, we'll pretend this never happened!" In today's social media-oriented society, organizations like Komen need to take extra care to make sure that their "business" decisions are completely thought out, or else face harsh backlash.

Perhaps my favorite use of social media in the Komen/Planned Parenthood situation was from the Portland, Oregon indie rock band The Decemberists. One of their members, Jenny Conlee, has recently battled breast cancer; as a result, they have been selling "Team Jenny" t-shirts with proceeds going to Komen. However, when Komen announced their decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood, The Decemberists took to their Facebook page (over 460,000 followers strong) about the issue, saying:

"...it is unconscionable that Komen should politicize this very important issue by bowing to the fear campaign being waged against PP by the right. We've decided to redirect the proceeds of the Team Jenny t-shirts and buttons away from Komen for the Cure. 100% of the net profits of these items will be instead donated to Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Emergency Fund."

My favorite song by The Decemberists is "Sleepless," which was written for AIDS awareness, but I feel that it applies to this situation as well in multiple ways. It's really encouraging to me that in situations like this, public commotion through social media can be used for positive reasons to influence change and progress. But this victory for women's health is only a minor skirmish in what has become a massive war against women's health; once again, we cannot forget that women's issues are everybody's issues. We must never stop fighting. We must be sleepless.

References:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/03/146344674/in-reversal-komen-reinstates-funding-for-planned-parenthood

http://www.courant.com/la-he-planned-parenthood-komen-20120201,0,6858356.story

Komen Breast Cancer Charity Severs Ties with Planned Parenthood

Interesting article in today's Courant:

http://www.courant.com/la-he-planned-parenthood-komen-20120201,0,6858356.story

By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times
February 1, 2012

In what looks to be a break between two organizations dedicated to women's health, a national breast cancer awareness group said it would stop providing funds to Planned Parenthood centers for breast cancer examinations and other breast health services.Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leader in fundraising for breast cancer research and famous worldwide for its iconic pink ribbon, said Tuesday that it was halting all partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates because of recently adopted criteria that forbid it from funding any organization under government investigation.

In September, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) launched an inquiry to determine whether Planned Parenthood uses public money to fund abortions. Planned Parenthood receives federal money but cannot use it to provide abortions.

Komen has a long history of providing funding to various Planned Parenthood affiliates for such services as manual breast exams and referrals for mammograms and biopsies to check suspicious lumps for cancer. Although that money is not used for abortions, the Komen Foundation may have yielded to demands from antiabortion groups to sever its ties to Planned Parenthood.

"We had the sense this was coming and that they were under pressure," said Sue Dunlap, chief executive of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. "I find this really disappointing. I think when women's health is more of a political conversation than a conversation about healthcare and taking care of people, then we've gone too far."

Officials for Planned Parenthood Federation of America said they learned of Komen's new stance on funding late last year and asked the Komen board of directors for a meeting to resolve any issues or questions related to funding. The meeting did not take place, said Cecile Richards, the federation's president.

"We are alarmed and saddened that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation appears to have succumbed to political pressure," Richards said in a statement. "Our greatest desire is for Komen to reconsider this policy and recommit to the partnership on which so many women count."

Over the last five years, Planned Parenthood has provided about 4 million breast exams and referrals for 70,000 mammograms nationwide. Funding from Komen covers about 170,000 of the breast exams and 6,400 mammogram referrals, Richards said. Although mammograms and biopsies are referred out, Planned Parenthood doctors manage their patients' cases.

Officials from the Komen Foundation could not be reached for comment. But in an earlier interview with the Associated Press, Komen spokeswoman Leslie Aun said that the decision was based solely on the Stearns investigation and did not imply wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood.

"We want to maintain a positive relationship with them," Aun told the Associated Press. "We're not making any judgment."

In Orange County, the loss of Komen grants will end programs to reach out to special groups in need of breast cancer education, said Stephanie Kight, senior vice president of the Planned Parenthood affiliate for Orange and San Bernardino counties.

One Komen grant funded outreach to Vietnamese women in which Planned Parenthood workers would provide breast health education in hair and nail salons and other gathering places for Vietnamese women. Another allowed the chapter to fund referrals for biopsies for women who had suspicious lumps discovered during breast exams at a Planned Parenthood clinic.

The $120,000 annual grants the affiliate received from Komen made up half of its yearly budget for breast health care, Kight said.

"We've been long-time partners with Komen in taking care of women's breast health," said Kight, who added that her affiliate had not yet been informed of Komen's decision to halt Planned Parenthood funding. "If this decision was brought on because of political pressure, that would be really disappointing."

Antiabortion groups lauded the decision and described it as the result of years of lobbying from Americans who oppose abortion.

"I know that hundreds, even thousands, of people reached out to Komen to request they stop giving to Planned Parenthood. That was constant over the years," said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League. "Pro-life people object because Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion chain. Every dollar they take in facilitates their operations.

"Planned Parenthood has become the central target of antiabortion groups, Scheidler added. Last year, the organization, which serves about 3 million people a year for reproductive healthcare and other primary-care services, was the focus of a bill introduced by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) that would have halted its federal funding. About one-third of Planned Parenthood's $1.1-billion national budget comes from the federal government.

The bill was defeated. But the Komen Foundation decision "really shows that when pro-life people make their views known in a vocal way, through all of those phone calls and emails and public protests, it can have an impact," Scheidler said. "It's really encouraging and, hopefully, will be followed by other corporate donors to Planned Parenthood.

"The decision spurred vigorous comment on websites across the country Tuesday night.

"Shame, shame, shame on Susan G Komen. I thought you cared about women's health," wrote one visitor to the Susan G. Komen "Sound off!" message board. "Betrayal," wrote another: "I have had friends and family members who have survived breast cancer and other cancers. ... I will never make another contribution to another SGK event or cause."

"Thank you!!! Susan G. Komen for breaking your ties with abortionists!" wrote a third. "Never should you have supported them, regardless of their non-abortion activities."The action is bound to stir up feelings of torn allegiance, Kight said. Orange County's Planned Parenthood and the local Komen Foundation chapter have had a close working relationship designed to support common goals, and women's health advocates are likely to feel baffled by which organization to align with.

"Our affiliate always sponsors a team of 30 to 40 people who participate in the Race for the Cure," Kight said, referring to a major Komen fundraiser. "I don't know what we'll do now. When we go to the Komen race, we're all just women."

What Does Beyoncé's Recent Birth Tell Us About How Much We Value Mothers?

I've got to be honest, I did not understand why there was so much hype about the birth of Blue Ivy. I actually found it annoying. I am still pondering what it all means, but the below article has some really interesting facts about what women who aren't Beyonce face as mothers.

To all the mothers and mothers-to-be in the world, I salute you.


What Does Beyoncé's Recent Birth Tell Us About How Much We Value Mothers?
Posted: 01/24/2012 11:00 am

by Clare Winterton

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clare-winterton/global-motherhood_b_1223877.html?ref=global-motherhood

As we look at the prominent and adoring coverage of celebrity moms and babies -- such as the recent media excitement that surrounded the birth of Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy -- how can we doubt that motherhood, and the health and welfare of all mothers, is a cornerstone of our culture?

Today the International Museum of Women launches MAMA, a new online exhibition on motherhood that suggests a far more complex and confusing picture.

Both the global statistics and our exhibition tell a story that is very different to the glowing and positive picture that surrounds each new celebrity birth.

Every 90 seconds a woman somewhere in the world dies from a complication of pregnancy or childbirth, and most of these deaths are preventable. And while it is true that the vast majority of these deaths occur in the developing world, the U.S. significantly lags other developed nations: the United States' rate of maternal mortality is the highest of any industrialized country. The United Nations rightly identified reducing the number of global maternal deaths as a key millennium development goal. Yet of all the millennium goals this one has made the least progress.

And it's not just issues of mothers' health that offer cause for doubt. Countless women around the world, in the U.S. included, still find that their work as mothers and in the workplace is not only under-valued, but under-paid as well. The U.S. campaign group MomsRising found that moms earn 27 percent less than male colleagues (compared to 10 percent less for non mothers); and single mothers earn between 34 percent and 44 percent less. Women in developing countries work 12 to 13 hours more per week more than men, and much of that work can be attributed to the childcare and domestic work involved in 'mothering'. What's more, the different aspects of 'mother's work' are so hard to juggle that many moms end up short changing their families, their careers or their health. Young women around the world tell us that one of their biggest anxieties about the future is whether they will be able to combine motherhood with a successful professional life.

Becoming a mother also brings other new hurdles and realities that are too often absent in the media's rosy depiction of celebrity motherhood: a changed body, new emotions and a realization that one's identity will never be quite the same. Women also discover that many of society's greatest remaining taboos are reserved for the journey towards and beyond motherhood -- from miscarriage to infertility and postpartum depression.

Our exhibition shows the starkness of these realities -- from Chantal Andersen's moving photographs of birth experiences in Bangladesh to Alexia Nye Jackson's documentary about working mothers in the U.S. and Humaira Abid's sculptures depicting the hidden disappointment of miscarriage. But it also illuminates areas of hope and optimism. A health worker in the Democratic Republic of Congo shares her vision for advancing maternal health in her country, a documentarian from Hungary looks at how men are increasing their share of parenting and domestic responsibility and a film-maker from the U.S. elicits women's realistic -- and positive -- reflections on their postpartum bodies. Two contributors share the critical role that mothers in Haiti played in rebuilding their country after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

These visions of hope and change are accompanied by art that spotlights the true beauty and diversity of modern mothers around the world -- through breath-taking images that are often a million miles from the "look how fast I got my body back" pictures of celebrity moms in swim-suits, mere months after giving birth. We see the contours of pregnant and postpartum bellies, the daily lives of mothers inside and outside the home and myriad glimpses of the love, hope and admiration that pass between mothers and children. We see the strength of mothers who are leaders their families and communities -- from Maasai mothers in Kenya to grandmothers in Bangladesh and midwives in Ecuador.

By sharing portraits and stories of motherhood that are too often unseen, we give women a space to define the true realities of 21st century motherhood and to share what needs to be done before mothers are truly valued in our country and in our world.

Perhaps when we can all see -- with clear eyes -- mothers and their lives as they really are, the world will come closer to valuing mothers. Valuing not just their role in families or even their beauty, but their health, their economic potential and their leadership. On that day, we dream that every mother and every baby will be celebrated with as much acclaim and veneration as Beyoncé and her daughter.

Clare Winterton is the Executive Director of the International Museum of Women.

The MAMA: Motherhood Around the Globe exhibition is available at http://mama.imow.org/

The Naked Face Project

At first glance, the name caught my attention, naked face project? What could this mean, aren't our faces always technically naked? Intrigued, after a little more digging I came to find out that the Naked Face Project embodies far more than a clean face. In fact for the next 60 days co-founders Caitlin Boyle and Molly Barker will be refraining from shaving, makeup and primping, meaning no haircuts, dye jobs, waxes!! Which begs the question, could you make it 60 days without engaging in either of these habits? The below post, by Caitlin, chronicles how the Naked Face Project came to be, I hope you find it as thought provoking and inspiring as I did :)

The Naked Face Project

Written on January 30, 2012 by Caitlin in The Naked Face Project

Last season at Girls on the Run, I sat cross-legged in front of 15 little girls and held up an advertisement for women’s shaving cream. The ad showed the model’s disembodied legs up in the air, smooth and shiny. “What do you think this ad is trying to say?” I asked. The girls carefully studied the image, and then one piped up, “That we should buy that shaving cream because pretty girls shave their legs.”

“That’s definitely the goal of the advertisement,” I replied. “Do you all think that women have to shave this legs?” Instantly, all of the girls squealed back, “YES,” clearly pleased that they had gotten the question ‘right’ on the first try. “Wait, wait, wait!” I said. “Women don’t have to shave their legs!” Fifteen pairs of eyeballs fixed on me like I was an idiot. “Yes, they do,” one girl said, pointing at my crossed legs. “You shave.”

“But I don’t have to,” I said slowly. “I shave because I want to. When you’re older, shaving is fun.” The girls all nodded, like what I had said was perfectly acceptable, but to be honest, I thought my response sounded completely fake. I started to shave when I was 11 because I wanted to be a ‘pretty girl’ and seem older and more attractive. Shaving isn’t fun – it’s a chore. Sometimes, I cut myself and bleed all over the bathtub. And I don’t continue to shave because I want to – I do it because it’s expected of me as a woman. That moment with the girls rolled around in my brain for weeks. Something about the exchange really nagged at me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what, exactly. After all, I had given the girls the politically correct answer – they don’t need to shave now, and if they don’t want to shave later, they don’t have to. But I knew that all fifteen girls would inevitably grow up and shave their legs. Because in our society, that is what women do.

About a month ago, I woke up after a horrible night’s sleep, stumbled into the shower, got out and dried off, and looked at my face in the mirror. And than I actually said out loud to my reflection: “Thank God for makeup.” I meant it, too. There’s no way I would’ve wanted to go out in public with my naked face that day. I had dark circles and a pimple on my chin. Without makeup on, I looked dead. But my remark caught my attention – Thank God for makeup? Like my naked face was really so horrible?

Like the vast majority of women, I wake up every day and engage in Beauty Habits designed to improve my outside appearance – I wear makeup nearly everywhere; I get my hair professionally cut and dyed hair (about $160 every three months!); I shave my armpits, bikini line, and legs; I get my eyebrows waxed (for $40 a month!); I do my nails; I wear uncomfortable clothing. In short, I spend a lot of time, energy, and money on ‘improving’ my looks (I’ll write more about this in the future, but I think a lot of this has to do with where I was raised).

Suddenly, I remembered the shaving conversation at Girls on the Run and realized why it – and the makeup moment – had made me feel so uneasy. It all felt really… inauthentic. After all, my work with Operation Beautiful and my experiences with Girls on the Run is about being comfortable with yourself, embracing your inner beauty, and focusing on what really matters – who you are, not what you look like. Heck, I’ve written two books about this very topic, including one geared towards children (which is now available for pre-order!). I believe this message with every fiber in my body, but in my life, I don’t fully walk the walk. I don’t know if there is something inherently wrong or contradictory with my Beauty Habits, but I feel so dependent on the intention behind them, like if I don’t wear makeup or shave, I’m not a ‘real’ woman. It has gotten to the point that I am not sure why I do it at all – or who I am doing it for. And trust me, I don’t wear makeup, shave, pluck, and wax because it’s ‘fun.’

I recently had coffee with Molly Barker, the founder of Girls on the Run (you can read her Wikipedia page here), and I asked her, “What do you say when a little girl asks you why you wear makeup?” She replied, “I say because it’s fun.” I asked her if that was the truth, and she paused uncomfortably and admitted, “No, it’s because I feel like I have to wear makeup.” I felt so much relief that another woman who works in the same ‘field’ as I do experiences this strange contradiction, too. As we opened up to one another about this complex issue, Molly and I found the difference between what we preach and how we choose to act on a day-to-day basis troubling… so we decided to do something about it. And thus… The Naked Face Project was born.

“It’s a little-known fact that women were the original programmers of ENIAC, the US Government’s first ever computer. But while teenage girls now use computers and the Internet at rates similar to boys, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career,” the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said in a news release.

In the past five years there has been a massive push towards increasing girls participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education and careers around the globe. So much so that STEM was the focus of last years' Commission on the Status of Women at the UN. As a result of the increased dialogue, a small shift has taken form that is quickly gaining speed and growing exponentially. No longer will there be a career untouched by woman, no longer will it be socially acceptable (any where in the world) for a career to be for men only. Girls in ICT is one of the driving forces behind this change.

The United Nations launched a new web portal focusing on helping girls and women access job opportunities, training, and career advice for those interested in pursuing technology careers. The website – girlsinict.org – is an inspiration for girls and women from around the globe. The designers are focusing on the age range of 11-25 to encourage girls to choose educational resources to align them with the highest potential for a career in the field. The website includes resources such as links to scholarships, internships, ICT contests and awards, tech camps and online networks where they can interact with women working in an industry. The language and tabs are user friendly and the slideshow of women working in the field covers every race, ethnicity, and nationality. The hope is that the currently male-dominated industry will shift towards a more equal gender split by encouraging girls and providing all possible resources to ensure success.

One of the main hurdles is changing the mentality that computer technology jobs are viewed by girls as being unfeminine, too challenging or just plain boring. However, the demand for these jobs worldwide is steadily increasing with not enough qualified individuals to fill the gap in the job market. "The European Union, for example, calculates that in 10 years there will be 700,000 more ICT jobs than there are professionals to fill them. Globally, that shortfall is estimated to be closer to two million."

“Research consistently shows that girls tend to choose careers where they feel they can ‘make a difference’ – healthcare, education, medicine. With this new portal, we’re trying to show them that there’s much more to ICTs than writing computer code,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.

In order for this portal, mission, and vision at large to take hold and create a sustainable generational change, girls around the globe need to be supported beginning at primary school age to excel in the classroom. (Which also means that all girls must be given their right to attend school in the first place. As well as the right to access the resources to pursue a career of this nature - access to a computer, teacher, internet, classroom...) The truth is that women will not "fall" into these careers, they must be supported and encouraged - and that will require bold cultural changes on behalf of men and women.

"I like that about myself and I like myself and I have a lot of other great qualities as well."

Regardless of gender, I feel that the most important quality any person can have is loving one's self and being comfortable in one's skin. No two people are exactly alike in skin color, ethnicity, personality, or countless other traits. Every one of us is special, beautiful, and just plain freakin' awesome in our own way.

What is unfortunate in our society today is that we are conditioned to judge people who look, think, or act differently than what is considered "normal." But, I have a news flash: there is no such thing as "normal" (shocking, I know!). Subsequently, you are the only person nearly qualified enough to judge you.

As I wrote above, I think the best quality you can have is to love yourself and be comfortable in your own skin, no matter how different you are from what is considered "normal" these days. You will never fully live your life until you accept yourself for the amazing person that you are.

I am happy to share with you a series of two YouTube videos that many of you might have seen already, which star everybody's favorite anthropomorphic seashell, Marcel. In my opinion, Marcel the Shell perfectly encapsulates what it's like to love yourself, be comfortable in your own skin, and make the best of the cards you're dealt.

Be great today and every day.

Substance and Style

One of my most favorite things to do is read about people's lives and how they got to where they are today. I find it inspiring and also helpful when considering the future of my career.

So I came across these profiles on Elle.com of 10 of the most powerful women in Washington DC. A political person, I was pumped to read about these women and how they got to where they are. I read about two or three and found it a bit weird how it's substance, substance, substance, then all of a sudden, talking about shoes.

While I am all about shoes (I've used them as inspiration for one of my first blog posts, see here) and fashion (I have an automatic renewal on my Vogue subscription), the way these articles read seemed a bit, well, odd.

These profiles are being used to inaugurate the Style section of Elle.com, so I guess I should expect purses and shoes to intersect with drive and intellect.

Nonetheless, if you can get past the editing weirdness, you'll discover some pretty awesome women you don't get to hear about every day. Maybe some day, your profile will be included.

Click here to read.

Here's a sample profile:

Lovely & Amazing: The Women in DC Power List

For the inaugural of ELLE's new Style section, Lisa DePaulo interviews 10 of the capital’s shiniest stars

Linda Daschle: The Persuader

In a city where lobbyists are the lifeblood (and often considered ruthless), Daschle stands out not only for commitment to her job—when her husband, Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, was in power, she fiercely hung on to her career—but also for her extracurricular activities. While she’s best known as the top woman lobbyist in DC (representing the mighty airline industry; one of her first jobs, before being crowned Miss Kansas, was as an FAA weather watcher), Beltway locals love her for the tireless work she does for the Ford Theatre and the N Street Settlement House (for abused women), among other causes. “My wife has a special place in her heart for women who have had to struggle to survive and have not had many breaks in life,” Tom Daschle says. As for the Miss Kansas thing, she played the piano. Well.

Why she’s devoted to N Street Village, a shelter for abused or addicted women and their children: “It’s one of those miracle places that help women get their lives back, and when I was introduced to it fourteen years ago and met some of these women, it was one of those moments when I said, No matter how busy I am. . .’ But my relationship with them actually started with a horrible tragedy. In my own family. I had a grandmother who was murdered. And this happened in rural Oklahoma. You would never ever think someone who just lived on her farm would ever, you know, meet such a tragic end of life . . . It was a migrant worker; we don’t know why. This was a way that I thought I could honor my grandmother.”

Why she’s equally devoted to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Kevin Costner! When Costner made Dances with Wolves in South Dakota (her husband Tom’s home state), he found out about the devastation caused by fetal alcohol syndrome. “No one really was paying attention to this issue, so Tom and Kevin” started the organization, Linda says.

How she got from Oklahoma to Washington: She lived in 10 small towns in Oklahoma, then in Kansas. (Her father was a minister, “so we moved a lot.”) Then she was crowned Miss Kansas in 1976 and sent to the Miss America pageant …

Who she lost to: “Ugh, now we’re going back 34…we actually don’t touch that anymore. It’s kinda like…” The statute of limitations has expired? Right, “I have not watched the pageant for years and years and it’s kind of hard for me to believe I was ever associated, or—I don’t want to say it that way because for a young woman, I mean, from Kansas, it truly was a great experience for me and I gained a lot, you know, whether it was self-confidence or whatever. But it was Dorothy Benham.”

What she wanted to be when she grew up: “An air traffic controller. That was what my career goal was when I competed in the pageant, which I think the judges thought was a little kooky."

Her first job in the aviation industry (before becoming its top lobbyist): A weather watcher for the FAA. “Every hour I took weather measurements to determine precipitation, what the winds were. And all the information was put in a report and sent out to pilots.” (This was pre-modern computers.)

On being a lobbyist: “People think it’s all just running to Capitol Hill and getting an earmark.”

It’s not?!: “Right now my passion is to get GPS-like capabilities in the cockpit. If the Prius can have GPS, I don’t understand why a commercial aircraft can’t.” They don’t already? “Well, I don’t want to oversimplify it, but ours is much more sophisticated and much more precise. And it’s interactive, because we’re still going to have a live air traffic controller at the other end, communicating with the pilots.” Not that woman’s voice? “Oh no.”

Her personal style: Her daughter in law Jill Daschle describes it as part Jackie Kennedy, part Grace Kelly, all refined elegance. “For me, nothing is better than just a great dress and a pair of pumps,” Linda says. “And that’s it. I don’t know how you define classic Washington. But I would say my style runs probably a little bit more classic. I recently saw a bunch of old pictures of Grace Kelly, and I thought, I could wear every one of those.”

Where she shops in DC: Nieman’s, Saks, Nordstrom’s (“since it expanded”). “But I also don’t mind at all a Banana Republic or a J. Crew.”

Her signature: Black patent pumps.