It's not unusual for shoes to be the first thing you see here at The Tote Trove. But this time, they're not just about style -- they're about making strides -- while in style. Because March is Women's History Month, and March 8 is International Women's Day. Which, I'm aware, was yesterday (insert joke about women always being late. What, no girl-on-girl crime, hashtag Mean Girls, when promoting gender equality? Okay, Tina Fey, duly noted.) A few years ago, Stephen Colbert did a bit on The Late Show about this special day, which I remember in a degree of detail because I logged it in my "Stuff to Write about Someday" Word file (most of which is flagged "do not publish until in witness protection"). Colbert was talking about a new Barbie-esque doll that was something worthy but boring, like an ambassador or a crossing guard who moonlights as an accountant. And he was like, isn't it enough that little girls have to deal with all the issues that come with being female? Why, in the name of proving themselves, do they have to play with lame toys too? No one makes boys do that. They get to play with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
This really resonated with me. Because wouldn't the truly feminist move be to encourage girls to play with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles too? Or the frilliest, glitziest Barbie? Or whatever they want, not for the optics, but for the fun of it?
So. In celebration of all things shamelessly -- no, proudly -- frivolously feminine, here's a simply red (cue "Lady in Red") grouping of some of my more photogenic cosmetics.
Note the Mulan compact, which is truly badass in terms of girls slaying it, whether on the battlefield or in the bathroom.
Also, there's a turtle tee!
Girls, hands off Leonardo; he's mine! (Sorry, Tina. I backslid into competitive mean girl mode there.)
It isn't lost on me that the color scheme of the makeup and the tee is Red Hat Society-approved red and purple. Because nothing says female empowerment like a posse of post-menopausal, chapeau-domed women commandeering an Applebee's.
Unless it's Lisa Turtle killing it in a -- what else? -- red hat!
I knew I'd use those Saved by the Bell cards again.
That said, Lisa Turtle Power, although a sick pun if I do say so myself, is too close for comfort to Lisa Turtle Powers. As in Screech Powers (Dustin Diamond, RIP). I blame Mattel for starting it all by forcing Lisa to share a card with Screech. It's not very Women's History Month of them, especially as the birthplace of Barbie. I smell another comic Colbert exposé.
Until then, sorry, Lisa.
And, as always, Tina Fey.