MAR 17, 2026

INSIDE: Belt Bags, Career Advice, and Cats.

TODAY I WILL:

Let confidence feel quiet, not performative.

We’re into the week and chatting glamor, comfort animals, and a few delightfully niche internet fixations.

• Still obsessing over every Oscars red carpet look.

• Fur babies are keeping bestselling authors going.

• Women are relying on dopamine patches to help with ADHD.

• Are you planning to eat popcorn out of your bag at The Devil Wears Prada 2?

• There is an old school character coming for Labubu’s spot.

Big Belt Energy

For years, the belt bag had a reputation problem. Somewhere between tourist fanny packs and festival gear, it became shorthand for purely practical style. But lately, the silhouette has quietly returned to the fashion conversation in a much sleeker way.

The new version feels intentionally grown-up. Instead of nylon pouches clipped around the waist, designers are leaning into structured leather, minimalist hardware, and silhouettes that sit more like a tailored accessory than a sporty add-on. Think slim belts with built-in micro pouches, sculptural hip bags layered over trousers, or belt bags worn crossbody like a compact shoulder bag.

Part of the appeal is how well it fits into the current hands-free era. As wardrobes lean toward relaxed tailoring, oversized outerwear, and elevated basics, the belt bag adds shape while still being functional. It cinches a blazer, breaks up a monochrome outfit, or replaces a traditional handbag altogether.

In other words, the belt bag isn’t back in the same way it left. This time, it feels less like a convenience piece and more like a styling trick.

Tracking Your Career Evolution 

The gender pay gap isn’t just a starting-salary issue—it widens across a woman’s career, according to data from a new Glassdoor report. Women’s earnings often plateau around age 35, while men’s wages continue to grow. After about 10 years of experience, the overall pay gap can reach roughly 19%, and later in careers, it may grow even larger. Researchers say much of the difference comes from structural factors: fewer promotions into higher-paying roles, occupational sorting into lower-paid fields, and caregiving responsibilities that interrupt career momentum.

But there’s ways for you to stop the cycle:

• Audit your total compensation (bonus, equity, benefits, flexibility) rather than focusing on base salary alone.

• Negotiate trajectory. Ask about promotion timelines and leadership paths before accepting a role.

• Do your research. Pay transparency and employee reviews (like on Glassdoor) can reveal whether women advance into leadership. Look into market benchmarks, so you aren’t accepting a salary that’s below the norm.

• Think strategically about career moves. Sometimes the biggest pay increases come from switching roles or companies, but don’t be against lateral moves that can build higher-paying skills.

From period underwear to premium cat food, Veronica Del Rosario has built a career around brands that don’t just sell products—they reshape culture. 

As one of the earliest employees at Thinx, she helped transform period underwear from a taboo topic into a mainstream movement, later bringing that same creative instinct to women’s health at Dame Products. Now, as co-founder and creative director of Smalls, she’s bringing that cultural lens to a category that has historically been a little stale: cat care. 

And cats are having a moment. From indie cat zines and fashion editorials to the rise of popularity for bodega cats, the once-underrated pet is suddenly everywhere in culture. We caught up with Veronica to talk about building brands that move culture, why cats are the ultimate cultural barometer right now, and what our feline friends can teach us about creativity.

As a cat and dog parent, what does your own pet parenting philosophy look like?

My pet parenting philosophy is pretty simple: Their well-being is more important than our convenience. And honestly, that philosophy came before our actual parenting philosophy (which is the same)—we had pets for years before we had my daughter Alma, so if anything, the animals trained us first.

When you think about the products/companies you've worked on, what does it take to move culture instead of just market within it?

Marketing could be simple. For Smalls, we could just talk about product benefits—fresh food wins over kibble, better ingredients, better health outcomes. But that's not enough, because people have had their cats forever, feeding them traditional cat food for 20 years, and their cats are alive and seem well. It's hard to convince someone there's a problem when they don't see one.

So, you have to tackle culture as a brand. You have to remind people of the importance and significance of this special being in their life, and of their unique needs, so that the "upgrade" makes sense—whether or not it seems necessary on the surface. And after that, all it takes is for them to see the benefits for themselves.

What signals do you look for to know when something is a real cultural shift versus a fleeting moment?