Marie Claire is today's magazine for the fashion minded woman. It reflects all areas of the reader's life, providing the time-pressed woman with a mix of information. Marie Claire remains unsurpassed as the best source for beauty advice.
The word “power” brings to mind many things—money, career, influence—but here at Marie Claire, one idea we think about daily, hourly, even by the second, is the power of storytelling. Sharing truths from compelling women and providing a platform to highlight issues, inspire, educate, entertain, or drive change is part of our DNA. Which is why the cover of this year's Power Issue feels particularly resonant to me. Five years ago, New York Times investigative journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor changed Hollywood and history when they published a story. It was a piece that gave a voice to women who'd previously felt voiceless and power to those who'd been powerless. The effect of their words in the article “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades” is still…
In the 1980s, women's participation in the labor force steadily increased. Uncoincidentally, the popularity of the skirt suit also exploded, marketed as a sure-fire way to get a leg-up in the corporate workplace. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, fashion historian and author of Skins: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the 20th Century, explains that the ‘80s skirt set, coined a “power suit,” was intentionally machismo and overtly eye- catching with oversized shoulder pads and neon color combos. “Just the idea of having a uniform is a compelling and influential concept in itself,” she says, “and the skirt set became a symbol of power in the workplace at a pivotal time when women challenged men for equality.” While the power suit is synonymous with the decade that also brought us Reaganomics and scrunchies, skirt suits…
Once a wardrobe solution for ladies riding side-saddle and later a uniform for women in the workplace, the skirt suit has historically mimicked men's tailoring, with oversized shoulder pads and unflattering silhouettes. Today's designs reject outdated ideas of authority. Instead, choosing how and when you'll wear one is its own power move. 18th Century Marie Antoinette and other aristocratic women of the time begin wearing riding habits: men's suits adapted with skirts to hunt and ride horseback. Later, they don them for leisurely pursuits like walking and traveling. 19th Century Men's Tailors begin making jacker-and-skirt combinations for women. Eventually, clothesmakers officially recognize skirt suits and start to specialize in them, making them a more popular and acceptable choice for everyday wear. 1940s Women enter the workforce in large numbers due…
With her startup Nude Barre, an inclusive hosiery and intimate–apparel company, running out of cash flow, founder Erin Carpenter had just returned home and was about to jump into her third and final meeting of the day. She was in the bathroom when she noticed spotting in her underwear. Oh no, she thought, I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means… Carpenter, who was one month pregnant, feared she was having a miscarriage. But the grit she'd exercised for the past decade outweighed that fear, distorting the thought of rescheduling the meeting into proof of her inadequacy. If she couldn't clear this obstacle, how would she ever hurdle the barriers keeping her and other Black women founders from receiving more resources? (According to a digitalundivided study, Black and…
STEP 1 Commit to the decision that you are, indeed, going to take a break. Then review your personal and professional calendar. Do you have a lease to consider? Are you due a bonus or raise in a specific month? Use this info to set a start date. STEP 2 Determine the length of your break and where it will take place, be it in another hemisphere or right at home. “Grab a notebook, sit down, and think about how you want to feel during this time off and what you can do to dig deeper into those feelings,” Dowe says. STEP 3 Determine your budget. CFPs suggest estimating your monthly living expenses and multiplying that by the number of months of your planned break. STEP 4 Create boundaries. For…
Samsung's The Frame TV Is an Actual Masterpiece Bring the Louvre to your living room. It's a tale as old as, well, big screen TVs, and a very clichéd one at that: My husband wanted a bigger TV; I wanted something tasteful. I posed my conundrum to Instagram: Should we buy a gigantic TV to suit our bingeing needs? Or go for something aesthetically pleasing, more Architectural Digest than MTV Cribs? My Instagram community provided an almost universal response: Buy Samsung's The Frame TV. The Frame, my friends and followers DM'ed me, would be the TV of my electronic dreams. What surprised me most about the influx of responses was not that they were all aligned on this one specific TV, but that many people I didn't even know included…
