Working Girl's Guide #27: Lazy girl Halloween and everything you need to know about the halted handbag merger

We’re talking lazy girl Halloween, a standstill at Boeing, and a weekend in Half Moon Bay.

Let’s get into it.

Battle of the Bags

A federal judge has blocked the contentious $8.5 billion pipe dream of a merger between two handbag giants, Tapestry (parent company of Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman, and more) and Capri (Versace, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, and others). The conglomerates began moving towards the merger in August of 2023, but progress stalled when the FTC said absolutely not: a merger would remove head-to-head competition in the accessible luxury handbag market, and they weren’t here for it. Essentially, the FTC argued that competition between the brands—on price, design, and more—benefits consumers, and if the companies were to merge, that competition would go kaput. FTC is not about teamwork!!

McDonald’s Onions = Problematic (And Icky)

I'm confident we can all relate to the unrivaled supremacy of a crisp Mickey D's Diet Coke, but a fountain beverage will be the extent of my order for the foreseeable future. The CDC announced last week that McDonald’s Quarter Pounders were responsible for an E. coli outbreak in 13 states (omg), which was caused by slivered onions, and majorly affected its stock. They had their worst weekly loss in more than 4 years, at a price drop of just over $22 a share. The outbreak has been linked to onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility, and has since stopped sourcing their onions from there, but I’m personally going to just…stay away for a bit.

Boeing Negotiations at a Standstill

Boeing workers and management are at a standstill in a contract negotiation that’s led to a 6-week strike (and counting). Workers want pensions (guaranteed regular payments after retirement), which Boeing discontinued back in 2014. Pensions used to be much more common—46% of private sector employees were covered by pensions 40 years ago—but are down to only 15% today. Essentially, companies realized that managing the investment strategy for the money they’d pay out to retired employees was too risky; shifting to 401ks places that risk on employees. As of now, it doesn’t seem like Boeing is going to budge on the pension request; in a statement, Boeing said “There is no scenario where the company reactivates a defined-benefit pension for this or any other population. They’re prohibitively expensive, and that’s why virtually all private employers have transitioned away from them to defined-contribution plans.”

Annnd switching gears from pensions and failed mergers to bring you a throwback from this past weekend in Half Moon Bay! We did a little couples’ trip, which basically meant letting the boys entertain themselves on the golf course while we drank wine and took pics. It is so deeply hard for me to understand why anyone would prefer hitting a ball around on grass to sipping rosé and yapping with the girls, but boys are crazy, what can I say. Such a fun weekend, Half Moon Bay is the best!

For those of you following along on my Instagram stories this weekend, you know I went HARD at Aritzia (no ragrets), and I think this dress might be my #1 favorite item in this haul—and the competition was tough. It is literally so flattering and comfortable, which is a hard combo to find in a dress that you can both wear to the office and on a date. The belt takes it up a notch, but the dress is perfect on its own, too! Love that this works with flats or heels or sneakers or boots. Sorry rest of my wardrobe, I will be wearing this dress and this dress alone until I’m 40.

It’s Halloween Eve, so gotta share some lazy girl Halloween costumes for those of you who were prioritizing everything except Halloween (relatable. Also shout out to my mom for always planning my Halloween costumes ahead of time. Organized queen, need that energy right now).

• Moo Deng!! Here’s some inspo, but basically throw on a gray dress, overnight some hippo ears, and you’re golden.

• Brat? So easy? Just put on anything sexy and DIY an album cover and you’re good? Also: no need to do your hair all fancy, it’s way more brat to just let it be, so this one is SUPER perf for the lazy girls among us.

• Pookie/Jett game day look = cute and easy for couples!! Just need to DIY a Pookie hat real quick and grab a vintage Chanel out of the back of your closet (lol).

Riddle me this: is there a such thing as corporate spooky? Yup, there definitely is, and Ross and I are getting into it, with extremely horrifying stories you won’t want to listen to in the dark. From a mind-boggling Google search on a shared screen (literally my worst nightmare) to a carpool flatulence disaster that could bring tears to your eyes (ok never mind that’s my worst nightmare), these stories will give you a fright. We also get into the do’s and don’t’s of celebrating Halloween in the office and what you should and should not wear to your office Halloween party. Listen here.

Thanks for reading!