Working Girl's Guide #21: Microplastics in our brains, LTKCon, Unsolicited Style Advice

We’re talking iPad kids, personal brands, overposting on LinkedIn, and a style hack plagiarized from your next best TikTok follow.

Let’s get into it.

iPad Kids: Get Ready!

There’s a new tablet on the market, and this one folds in threes so it can be used as an iPhone-sized phone, a square phone, or as a full-sized tablet. This big boy costs $2,800, has received 5 million preorders, and is launching in China the same day as Apple’s new iPhone 16. Imagine the iPad kid at the table next to you transformer-style folds his tablet into a phone and starts taking calls. Chilling.

2024 = Year of the Personal Brand

This according to Forbes (and I totally agree): if you think the LinkedIn posts from every founder and founder-hopeful in your network are getting a little out of hand, you’re right: it’s officially the year of the personal brand. I’m all for it! According to the article, 77% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand if the CEO is active on social media.

Microplastics in Our Brains

I wish this was a Halloween prank, but Brazilian scientists have found microplastics in the olfactory bulbs of 15 cadavers. This doesn’t necessarily mean there are microplastics in other parts of the brain — the olfactory bulb is the part of the brain that handles smell, and it’s closer to the nose, and therefore one of the easier parts of the brain for plastics to enter. It is “completely expected,” according to toxicologist Matthew Campden at the University of New Mexico. Um, is it? Not to me man, not to me!

NOT ME rounding out summer wedding season with the start of fall wedding season! The bride is looking stunning and yes we’re all 100% wine drunk (TG for friends who get married in Napa). Such a fun weekend celebrating the bride, and so many good fits from all my girlies, as you can see! I tried wearing yellow which is new for me and I’m very much here for I think? I feel like this shade is light enough to give neither Big Bird nor banana! Right? Anyone?

I spent the week in Dallas for my FIRST LTKCon! If you’re been clicking my links then THANK YOU because who would have thought I would go from writing notes to my neighbor (IYKYK) to attending an event with real live fashion influencers? Couldn’t be me?? I had the honor of hosting the event and the only thing that got me through the absolute spiral of nerves the night before was knowing I was wearing this cute outfit on stage. So much glitz and glam and maybe like 10 outfit changes but WOW did I have fun.

In honor of my first LTKCon, my lazy girl hack this week is a style inspo pointer, which I got from Allison Bornstein (great TikTok follow btw). You might already know about her three-word method (if you don’t, you’re about to binge everything she’s posted, talk tomorrow!), but her maybe lesser known suggestion which is super relevant now that it’s layering szn is, I think, genius. If you have an article of clothing that you don’t really find yourself wearing, try building it into an outfit that’s 100% in your comfort zone. The strapless top in the above, for example, is definitely not something I’d normally wear, and my first instinct was to lean super girly with it and wear it with a skirt — but Queen Allison tells us to match a challenging item with your usuals, or the clothes you always reach for, which in my case is a pair of black dress pants. The outfit felt so ME when I went that direction!!

The life of a corporate intern is definitely not supposed to be glamorous, but the confessions Ross and I heard are pretty shocking, and we’re excited/spooked to share them. We’re talking embezzlement fiascos, putting a night at the strip club on the company card, and worse (if you can believe it). We also get into big four consulting career advice, Ross being really stupid around grizzly bears, and more. Listen here.

Thanks for reading!