Thrift For An Elevated Formal Look Without Breaking The Bank
Thrift shopping pro Sienna Filippi and her bestie are on the hunt to find the perfect formal gown at a trendy NYC second-hand shop.
Video Transcript[UPBEAT MUSIC]
SIENA FILIPPI: The great thing about shopping vintage for, like, a fancy dress is that a lot of people will donate their fancy dresses after their event's over.
KENDALL HOYT: I also love that every vintage piece is unique. So no one else will really be wearing what you're wearing.
SIENA FILIPPI: Very true. Hey, "In The Know." Welcome to "Thrift Talk." I'm your host, Siena. And today, I have a very special guest, my friend, Kendall, who has employed me as her thrifty fairy godmother, one may say. But she has a special mission for me.
KENDALL HOYT: I have a gala coming up. So I'm looking for a formal dress that's unique and classic. I also am only going to be wearing this once, so I want to be able to upcycle it into two pieces. And bonus points if it's black.
SIENA FILIPPI: Which is why I brought us to Regeneration here in Williamsburg, one of my favorite places to find unique secondhand items. So let's go on inside and see what they got. You ready?
KENDALL HOYT: I guess so.
SIENA FILIPPI: Do you trust me?
KENDALL HOYT: We'll see.
SIENA FILIPPI: I think I actually want to test Kendall.
KENDALL HOYT: Ooh.
SIENA FILIPPI: And see if I can get her in something she'd never wear-- with sparkles.
[LAUGHTER]
KENDALL HOYT: I would not feel comfortable wearing this.
SIENA FILIPPI: That's the point, queen.
[LAUGHTER]
So I was actually thinking we could maybe meet, like, a little bit halfway and find a dress where, like, the base is black but then there's something fun on it.
KENDALL HOYT: OK, I'm liking this one.
SIENA FILIPPI: OK, you like the beads?
KENDALL HOYT: Yeah, it's giving more formal.
SIENA FILIPPI: Yeah, for a gala. Ooh! I love it!
KENDALL HOYT: Is it good?
SIENA FILIPPI: It is good. I still kind of want to get you in something that makes you afraid.
KENDALL HOYT: Uh-- oh.
[LAUGHTER]
SIENA FILIPPI: Makes you a little nervous. Come on, like, that's how you push your style.
KENDALL HOYT: You're right. This is what this is about.
SIENA FILIPPI: Yeah, let's go. OK, come on.
[LAUGHTER]
OK, OK. OK, these are kind of fun.
KENDALL HOYT: Ooh.
SIENA FILIPPI: I know you'd never wear pink.
KENDALL HOYT: I would not. You're right.
SIENA FILIPPI: OK.
[LAUGHTER]
KENDALL HOYT: I like the red. I'm not sure about the shape of this. But I'm intrigued.
SIENA FILIPPI: OK, add to cart. But I am not satisfied till we find a showstopper.
KENDALL HOYT: OK.
SIENA FILIPPI: So let's keep looking.
KENDALL HOYT: Let's do it. Ooh. (EXCITEDLY) Oh, my-- (SOFTLY) stop.
SIENA FILIPPI: Wait, I knew you'd like this one.
KENDALL HOYT: I love that.
SIENA FILIPPI: I feel like you love a halter, too.
KENDALL HOYT: I do love a halter. The texture of this is so nice.
SIENA FILIPPI: Wait, is it shiny? Oh, my god, it is shiny.
KENDALL HOYT: Wait, these earrings with it would be so good.
SIENA FILIPPI: Oh, they do match. That's literally perfect. Oh, my god! OK, what's also great is that if you don't have a lot of events to wear, like, a long dress to, you can always chop it, and you can have a mini dress.
KENDALL HOYT: I love that. I really want something versatile that I can get a lot of wear out of.
SIENA FILIPPI: There you go. We love that. OK, so next, shoes.
KENDALL HOYT: I think I'm going to use a pair from my own closet.
SIENA FILIPPI: [GASPS] Miss reduce, reuse, and recycle over here. All right, so bags?
KENDALL HOYT: Let's do it.
SIENA FILIPPI: OK, great. OK, we have a selection right here-- a handful. What comes to mind for me is, like, a little clutch, like this type of thing.
KENDALL HOYT: I feel this is more cool tone. So this is too warm.
SIENA FILIPPI: Yes, agree. We need something probably just black. I mean, you could, like, hold this as a little, like-- and it kind of matches, too.
KENDALL HOYT: Yeah, the rhinestones match perfectly.
SIENA FILIPPI: There you go.
KENDALL HOYT: This is going to be the one. But we are going to give each one a shot.
SIENA FILIPPI: We're going to try it on. OK, let's go. OK, I know we both think the black one is going to be our winner. So I do want to start with the crazier options first. So I'm thinking, what about this guy?
KENDALL HOYT: Let's do it.
SIENA FILIPPI: OK. Tell me when.
KENDALL HOYT: Open your eyes.
SIENA FILIPPI: [GASPS] Oh, my-- stop it right now. You literally look like a Victorian princess. I say you try the beaded one on. (HESITANTLY) OK, it's cute. I'm like-- I feel like it's almost a little bit casual or more for, like, a prom.
KENDALL HOYT: It's giving, like, 1920s, which I love.
SIENA FILIPPI: A little flapper.
KENDALL HOYT: But I need something a little more classic and something I'll wear more than once.
SIENA FILIPPI: Sounds like the one dress that's left. Who would have thought? Get in there. I love it! Are you kidding me? That's romantic. It's elegant. Look at the little slit.
KENDALL HOYT: I know.
SIENA FILIPPI: I love that. Get a knee out there. Don't be shy.
KENDALL HOYT: Serving a little leg.
SIENA FILIPPI: Yow!
KENDALL HOYT: [LAUGHS]
SIENA FILIPPI: You're giving old money.
KENDALL HOYT: I am giving old money.
SIENA FILIPPI: You look rich. It's like, no matter what decade you're in, you're rich, which is great with inflation.
[LAUGHTER]
So I guess only one thing left to do-- transport you to the gala.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Maine AG Obtains Civil Rights Injunction Against Man Convicted Of Threatening Black Women
A Portland man convicted of threatening two Black women last summer has been barred from contacting them by a civil injunction.
Alishah Sayed, 28, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of criminal threatening and one count of terrorizing after he threatened and shouted racial slurs at the women, one of whom worked at a public library and the other at his apartment building, according to court records.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey Press Herald photo
Superior Justice Deborah Cashman granted Attorney General Aaron Frey's request for a permanent injunction through a default judgment last Tuesday under the Maine Civil Rights Act.
Frey wrote in the injunction request that Sayed "intentionally interfered with the victims' rights to engage in lawful activities without being subject to physical force or violence" based upon their race.
If Sayed violates the civil order by contacting either woman or by violating the Maine Civil Rights Act again, he faces a new Class D charge that would be punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
On Monday, Portland police confirmed that Sayed was charged on Friday with assault, refusing to submit to arrest and disorderly conduct. Asked whether the alleged assault would have violated the injunction, a department spokesperson said that Sayed's case is still active and he couldn't provide details about it.
Danna Hayes, a spokesman for Frey's office, said prosecutors brought the civil action "to protect the victims and the community."
"Once a defendant is discharged from jail and probation in the criminal case, there are no formal restrictions in place preventing contact with the victim," Hayes wrote in an email.
While his case was pending, Sayed spent about a month at a psychiatric hospital for a competency evaluation and treatment, according to court records. The Department of Health and Human Services determined the hospitalization was no longer necessary in December 2022. Sayed was then ordered in January to serve 90 days on the criminal charges.
Hayes did not answer questions about whether concerns around Sayed's competency had any bearing on Frey's decision to file a civil action.
Sayed had a history of police encounters when officers were dispatched to the library last August, according to a report written by Portland Police Officer Zachery Grass.
Library staff called to report a man was yelling and refusing to leave. The man was gone by the time police arrived, but Grass wrote that he recognized Sayed from previous encounters, after reviewing security footage.
Sayed had been standing near another patron when an employee said she approached him to ask if he needed help. She told police that Sayed "got in her face" and asked, "Does it look like I need anything?" She said he continued to launch several expletives at her, including racial slurs.
She told police that he followed her as she walked the patron away and got in her face again, telling her to "watch her back" and that he would be looking for her.
At Sayed's apartment that afternoon, officers talked to an employee who said Sayed had been aggressive with her. He again shouted racial slurs at the woman, who said she had to run into a classroom near her office to get away from Sayed.
Frey has requested injunctions for civil rights violations in three other cases this year, Hayes said.
Frey filed a similar motion in June, accusing a Florida woman of yelling a racially charged expletive and threatening to hit another woman with her vehicle in Kennebunkport.
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Tractor-trailer driver in Skowhegan trapped temporarily in truck after utility pole falls onto cab Invasive freshwater zebra mussels creeping closer to MaineThe Taliban Are Entrenched In Afghanistan After 2 Years Of Rule. Women And Girls Pay The Price
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Taliban have settled in as rulers of Afghanistan, two years after they seized power as U.S. And NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.
The Taliban face no significant opposition that could topple them. They have avoided internal divisions by falling in line behind their ideologically unbending leader. They have kept a struggling economy afloat, in part by holding investment talks with capital-rich regional countries, even as the international community withholds formal recognition. They have improved domestic security through crackdowns on armed groups such as the Islamic State, and say they are fighting corruption and opium production.
But it's their slew of bans on Afghan girls and women that dominated the Taliban's second year in charge. They barred them from parks, gyms, universities, and jobs at nongovernmental groups and the United Nations – all in the space of a few months – allegedly because they weren't wearing proper hijab — the Islamic head covering — or violated gender segregation rules. These orders followed a previous ban, issued in the first year of Taliban rule, on girls going to school beyond sixth grade.
Here is a closer look at Taliban rule and where they are headed.
WHY DID THEY EXCLUDE WOMEN FROM HIGHER EDUCATION, MOST JOBS AND PUBLIC SPACES?
The Taliban say they are committed to implementing their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in Afghanistan. This leaves no space for anything they think is foreign or secular, such as women working or studying. It's what drove them in the late 1990s, when they first seized power in Afghanistan, and it propels them now, ever since they took control again on Aug. 15, 2021.
Their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has praised the changes imposed since the takeover, claiming life improved for Afghan women after foreign troops left and the hijab became mandatory again.
WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO THESE BANS?
Foreign governments, rights groups, and global bodies condemned the restrictions. The U.N. Said they were a major obstacle to the Taliban gaining international recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Overseas aid is drying up as major donors stop their funding, pulled in different directions by other crises and worried their money might fall into Taliban hands.
The lack of funds, as well as the exclusion of Afghan women from delivering essential humanitarian services, is hitting the population hard, pushing more people into poverty.
WHAT ARE LIVING CONDITIONS LIKE IN AFGHANISTAN?
Nearly 80% of the previous, Western-backed Afghan government's budget came from the international community. That money — now largely cut off — financed hospitals, schools, factories and government ministries. The COVID-19 pandemic, medical shortages, climate change and malnutrition have made life more desperate for Afghans. Aid agencies have stepped into the breach to provide basic services like health care.
Afghanistan is struggling with its third consecutive year of drought-like conditions, the ongoing collapse in families' income, and restrictions on international banking. It's also still suffering from decades of war and natural disasters.
HOW IS THE ECONOMY DOING?
The World Bank said last month that the local currency, the afghani, gained value against major currencies. Customers can withdraw more money from individual deposits made before August 2021 and most civil servants are being paid. The World Bank described revenue collection as "healthy" and said most basic items remained available, although demand is low.
The Taliban have held investment talks with countries in the region, including China and Kazakhstan. They want sanctions removed and billions of dollars in frozen funds to be released, saying these measures will alleviate the suffering of Afghans. But the international community will only take such steps once the Taliban take certain actions, including lifting restrictions on women and girls.
HOW LIKELY ARE THE TALIBAN TO CHANGE DIRECTION?
It's largely up to the Taliban leader, Akhundzada. The cleric counts like-minded government ministers and Islamic scholars among his circle. He is behind the decrees on women and girls. His edicts, framed in the language of Islamic law, are absolute. The bans will only be lifted if Akhundzada orders it. Some Taliban figures have spoken out against the way decisions are made, and there has been disagreement about the bans on women and girls. But the Taliban's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid slammed these reports as propaganda.
"The secret of their success is that they are united," Abdul Salam Zaeef, who served as the Taliban envoy to Pakistan when they ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, said. "If someone expresses his opinion or his thoughts, it doesn't mean someone is against the leadership or will go to another side," said Zaeef who spent several years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center after the 2001 U.S. Invasion. "Disagreements are put in front of the emir (Akhundzada) and he decides. They follow his word."
WHAT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION?
Aid officials say the Taliban view recognition as an entitlement, not something to be negotiated. The officials also cite high-level meetings with powerful states like China and Russia as signs that the Taliban are building bilateral relations in their own way. Qatar's prime minister met Akhundzada in the southwestern Afghan city of Kandahar in June, the first-such publicly known meeting between the supreme leader and a foreign official.
Even though the Taliban are officially isolated on the global stage, they appear to have enough interactions and engagement for ties with countries to inch toward normalization. Cooperation with the Taliban on narcotics, refugees and counter-terrorism is of interest globally, including to the West. Countries like China, Russia and neighboring Pakistan want an end to sanctions.
"The political interactions are such that no country in the region is thinking of bringing Afghanistan under their power or control," said Zaeef. He said the Taliban's foreign outreach is hampered by blacklists preventing officials from traveling, and by lacking common ground with the rest of the world.
WHAT OPPOSITION IS THERE TO THE TALIBAN?
There's no armed or political opposition with enough domestic or foreign support to topple the Taliban. A fighting force resisting Taliban rule from the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul is being violently purged. Public protests are rare.
The Islamic State has struck high-profile targets in deadly bombings, including two government ministries, but the militants lack fighters, money and other resources to wage a major offensive against the Taliban.
