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Just one day after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, newly-minted Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, has apparently filed articles of impeachment against him. Ironically, Greene’s aggressive action against the new president comes amid calls from advocacy groups for her own resignation. 

In a video she posted on Twitter on Thursday, Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, announced, “I just filed articles of impeachment on President Joe Biden. We’ll see how this goes.” Greene added in a statement that she believes Biden should be removed from office for “enabling bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors, by allowing his son to influence the domestic policy of a foreign nation and accept various benefits — including financial compensation — from foreign nationals in exchange for certain favors.” 

Despite repeated claims from some right-wing Republicans that Biden used his position as vice president to promote his son Hunter’s business interests, a GOP-led investigation into the matter found no evidence of any such wrongdoing, The New York Times reported. The FBI and federal prosecutors issued a subpoena in 2019 for a laptop and hard drive that reportedly belonged to Hunter Biden, but upon examination, federal agents found nothing to further their investigation into Hunter’s alleged money-laundering. Most of Greene’s impeachment filing hinges on unsubstantiated allegations, based on a New York Post story placed last year by Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. 

Nevertheless, Greene appears to be using the impeachment filing against Biden as a fundraising opportunity — as if QAnon influencers haven’t already grifted enough. The congresswoman asked her supporters to sign a petition and donate funds to her push for an impeachment; however, the donation page states the funds will go to “Greene for Congress,” according to Business Insider. 

The congresswoman faced calls for her own resignation this week from several gun safety advocacy groups after the progressive media watchdog, Media Matters for America unearthed various false and insulting statements Greene made about the Parkland school shooting. The comments came from a 2018 Facebook post where Greene agreed with a conspiracy theory that the shooting was staged. She also claimed without evidence in another post from December 2018 that “Nancy Pelosi tells Hillary Clinton several times a month that ‘we need another school shooting’ in order to persuade the public to want strict gun control.” 

As of Thursday, advocacy groups, including March for Our Lives-Parkland, Moms Demand Action, and Everytown for Gun Safety, had called for Greene’s resignation. And they’re not alone. The NAACP also started circulating a petition in the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, demanding the immediate resignation of lawmakers, including Greene, who objected to the 2020 presidential election results, even after the siege. 

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The Italian brand Golden Goose makes some of the most coveted sneakers around. The signature star detail and scuffed appearance makes them hard to mistake. Influencers say the quality and comfort makes these sneakers worth the price; in this case, $530 for the Super Star Low Top sneaker shown here.



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I recently started the process of having a suit made with the Edward Sexton offshore service. (Starting at £2500 for a two-piece suit.) This has been around for a few years, and is similar in many ways to the offshore products being offered ... > Read more

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Outfit Details:
Le Lion Sweater, Little English Heart Dress, Mark Cross Bag, Olivia Morris Slippers, Fanm Mon Cardigan, Lake Pajamas, Heritage Jewelry NYC Necklace, Of Rare Origin Earrings (similar here and here), Choosing Keeping Notebook, The Green Vase Flowers (similar here)

I can’t believe that February is just around the corner, bringing with it Valentine’s Day.  I cherish the important people in my life – family, friends, and especially Thomas and Clementine, and gift giving is one of my favorite ways to show it. I’m looking forward to making Valentine’s Day cards and crafts with Clementine this year (like this or this), and creating heart shaped goodies to enjoy together as a family. Finding thoughtful gifts to celebrate love, happiness, and kindness on this special day is something else I look forward to. Below is a collection of ideas that everyone in the family will love.

The post Valentine’s Day Gifts For The Family appeared first on Julia Berolzheimer.

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We all know President Joe Biden and Madame Vice President Kamala Harris aren’t going to fix everything wrong with this country overnight. They are not perfect, nor do we expect them to be. We also know that we can’t just swipe left on the previous administration. It happened and, now, here we are. 

But where is “here,” exactly? Let’s be real, the problems we face in America didn’t all originate in the past four years. Discrimination and inequality are woven into our nation’s fabric by design, and the recent violence at the Capitol wasn’t hate’s debut — it was a continuation of a legacy not only of white supremacy, but of an institutional willingness to ignore it until it boils over.

Things might have calmed down a bit in the two weeks since that impossible-to-ignore moment, but that doesn’t mean we’ve healed. That’s why, for many, yesterday’s inauguration was a lot to process. On a group chat, a friend said, “I don’t know how I feel today… I’m just still sad about the last four years. It’s hard to shake that immediately.” I didn’t need a census survey to know he wasn’t alone. The historic firsts we were celebrating were only one part of the day. 

And yet, I woke up feeling joyful. For me, this transfer of power is also the start of a psychological transformation. As a Black woman and Howard University alumna, Kamala stands as a symbol of realized potential, and makes the future look less dim for future generations of young girls, including my 17-year-old step-daughter and seven-year-old daughter. 

I’m not naive enough to think the swearing in of Madam Vice President Kamala Harris was a singular antidote for a nation in need of a comprehensive cure. But, it was an invaluable testament to the power of representation and showing our girls what’s possible — and that possibility offers hope.

Despite my happiness, though, I realized I had become numb, fatigued, and — dare I admit it — jaded. And, that’s not what I want to inspire in my girls. With that in mind, I saw yesterday as an opportunity, a rededication to hope in my own heart. When Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Kamala to repeat after her and take her oath of office, it signaled that this country had actually taken a step toward being ready to accept that women and women of color can lead at the highest levels  of office. I felt seen. It meant that when my girls walk into a job interview they might be seen, too. 

Twenty-two-year-old poet Amanda Gorman’s regal and wise-beyond-her-years presence was the icing for me. Amanda stood as the embodiment of promise. My heart is still swollen. It was this line from her poem that impacted me the most: “That even as we hurt, we grew.” 

After yesterday, my girls’ — all of our girls’ — futures feel as bright as Amanda’s sunflower-colored coat. I reveled in that. I went to sleep pregnant with hope and I allowed myself to sit in my complicated chaos of emotions.

Today, my mind toggles back and forth between visualizing the future and our current state. I think of the Black girls who are actively criminalized in their school, the kids who were illegally separated from their parents because of immigration, and the tall tower of chips stacked against girls and women everywhere. 

So, now what? 

With every milestone we need momentum. Leadership is about being accountable to the people you serve, and before this administration’s plot unfolds any further I’m choosing to recalibrate and hold myself accountable. 

Here at Refinery29 we didn’t kick off 2021 with the typical “New Year, New You” grouping of stories that lifestyle publications often defer to. We talked about our “Good Baggage” and how to productively channel your 2020 anger or frustration about the status quo, how to be active. Many of us are still figuring out our own ways to be accountable, to take action, to be allies, to hold it all together.

Because the hardest work begins today, I’m committed to being more intentional in my own journey. I have a voice and a platform, so I’m pledging to help spread the word about people or organizations that are simply trying to make the world a better place. Allow me to introduce Girl Up, a gender equality youth initiative of the United Nations Foundation. They focus on teaching girls skills that they’ll need to become leaders, so even at a young age, girls can be empowered on a global scale to help fight against gender-focused issues — education disparities, gender violence, to name a few. They actively help shape potential with tangible skills. 

We partnered with Girl Up (@girlupcampaign) and Ogilvy, to release “Today We Rise,” a short film that encapsulates what watching Kamala officially become Vice President made us — especially those of us watching with a young girl that is close to our hearts — feel. “Today We Rise” was filmed and produced by a volunteer network of photographers and cinematographers during the inauguration in over 30 households across the country who were driven by the hope of Kamala’s nomination alone and wanted to record the mixed moments of relief, pride, and anticipation when imagining who your daughter, niece, or little sister can become.  

“This moment is about hope and possibilities. It’s about infinite potential – not just that of Madam Vice President Kamala Harris, but of every girl, everywhere. Girls seeing her today will grow up to remember the moment they first believed they could do anything – because of what they saw her do,” said Melissa Kilby, Girl Up Executive Director.

This film illustrates the immeasurable impact that the images of Vice President Harris taking her oath of office, administered by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor — the first Latina to serve on the nation’s highest court — will have on generations to come. 

As a Howard University household (my husband also went there), my seven-year-old has been very in tune with the excitement around the Vice President’s election. Recently, she asked what an inauguration was. I explained, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are making a promise to the country that they will be the best leaders they can be.” An oversimplification, but factual. Then she asked why it’s taken so long for America to have a woman as a vice president. I went into a long, overly complicated explanation about patriarchy, race and whatnot to which she simply replied, “Well, if Kamala is doing it that means I can too, right?”

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If you’ve never seen it before, you should look up pictures of London’s “Big Biba” shop. The seven-story department store opened in Kensington in 1973 following the explosion in popularity of Barbara Hulanicki’s fashion brand. While Biba is often associated with the 1960s (the first store opened in ’64), the interior of Big Biba was, in many ways, quintessentially ’70s. There were loud prints on the home floor, curved edges, soft geometric shapes, and a special commitment to earthy browns and oranges. It was a mishmash of art deco-inspired interiors reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood, animal prints and beaded fringe, with an eclectic mix of trinkets and low lighting that really brought it all together. It was made to feel intimate, almost seductive — an explicit rejection of the stark lighting and synthetic color palettes of the ’60s.

Until the last few years, ’70s home design remained a largely reviled aesthetic. The rise of Britpop in the ’90s created pockets of ’70s nostalgia and a few trends from the decade have taken on a life of their own (hi, houseplants) but for the most part, ’70s home styling, particularly the swirling wallpaper and autumnal palette, was understood to be an ugly mistake. Sneering books have been written about it, such as Interior Desecrations: Hideous Homes From The Horrible 70s. Online, there are forums full of people asking, “Why were such awful colors popular in the 1970s?“

Yet ’70s interiors have come back around. Bit by bit, small trends like macramé, rattan, and houseplants have been leaking into modern home decor and the decade is now being embraced with open arms. But why the ’70s? And why now?

When it came to design, the ’70s was an era of play, eclecticism, and optimism. According to Dr. David Heathcote, senior lecturer in graphic design and illustration at the Liverpool School of Art and Design, the period was defined by the transition from modernism into something much more free-form and forward-thinking. “There was no heterogeneous style or styles — it was a free-for-all. Even where it referenced earlier, historic styles, which it began to do, it was in a very obvious and playful way, a kind of non-nostalgic timelessness.”

For homemakers and homeware consumers, the ’70s marked a shift towards the idea that your home could be playful. “I think there was a lot more broad playing with aesthetic ideas which people accepted,” says Dr. Heathcote. “They got used to the idea they could have things in many, many different styles. It was a massively eclectic period.”

What Dr. Heathcote calls the “dressing-up-box culture” of all the subcultures in the ’60s meant that there were many people coming of age in the ’70s who took their subcultural approach from their fashion to their interior design. “You’ve been a rebellious teenager, you leave home, you find a flat you want to stay in, and then you redesign it — all the effort that you put into your dressing is suddenly put into your housing.”

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This desire to experiment can be linked to a broader sense of liberalism and curiosity about the world which emerged in the ’70s. Much of the craft revival (particularly with materials like rattan and skills like macramé) can be traced back to what Dr. Heathcote calls an “increasing interest in, for want of a better word, ‘ethnic’ cultures.” There was an idea that a liberal outlook involved not just an acceptance but an enjoyment of other people’s cultures, and by showcasing these influences in your home, you were parading your “embracing the world type approach.” It’s the home design mentality equivalent of popular ’70s backpacking route, the hippie trail — seen just recently in BBC One’s The Serpent.

The problem with our perception of the ’70s as dark and dingy is actually not so much an issue of color as of lighting and fabrics. This was the era of dimmer switches, plush materials like velvet and, frankly, explicitly seductive design. The boudoir feel of places like Biba was inviting after the stark, jolly brightness of the ’60s. To design in a way that was seductive, by ’70s standards, was precisely the point. “There was a heavily eroticised angle to a lot of ’70s design,” says Dr. Heathcote. “It’s as if the permissive society that evolved in the late ’50s and through the ’60s turned itself into designs because there was an awful lot of dalliance with dungeon-like interiors at its most extreme.”

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Ultimately, despite economic hardships at home, the ’70s held a sense of optimism about the future as travel and technology grew. This was reflected in home design: things may be bad now but they could be better. Perhaps our renewed interest in ’70s design in 2021 speaks to our wish to return to this sense of optimism and curiosity and even (whisper it) joy. But unlike the forward-looking ’70s, we’re now looking back, seeking comfort in a decade that seems a world away.

Estelle Bilson, the woman behind the much-loved Instagram account @70sHouseManchester, has been collecting ’70s homeware in some form since she was a small child, in part thanks to her father’s career as an antiques dealer. While there is something about the ’70s that she inherently loves, there is also a clear link back to her childhood.

“My parents think it’s really funny because I’m literally buying back the stuff they had in the ’70s. The sunburst rug I have in my dining room is so similar to the one my parents had in the ’60s and ’70s when they lived in London. That style rug was in my bedroom ’til I was about 13 and then it mysteriously got thrown away. I was really upset about that. It took me 15 years to find one to replace it. I had that, and I loved that as a kid, it anchored me in my childhood and really happy times so finding it again was almost like a security blanket. There’s probably some Freudian reason behind why I collect.”

This sense of nostalgia continues with the story that secondhand pieces carry with them, says Natasha Landers, a diversity consultant in Walthamstow who has a love of interior design. “I’m a child of the ’70s and the designs are very nostalgic for me as they remind me of pieces that we had in my home growing up. I am really interested in the fact that each piece will have a story behind [it]. Last year I bought a coffee table from a house clearance and the woman who sold it to me, it was her deceased parent’s house. When I was putting it into the car, she said she remembered playing cards on the table as a child.”

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There is a wealth of reasons why people are drawn to the ’70s in the 21st century. For some, it’s just a gut pull towards the shapes, textures, and colors of the decade. “If you look at the Evelyn Redgrave piece of fabric I’ve got on my wall,” Estelle says, “with the big swooping colors and the oranges and browns… There’s obviously something in me that I look at it and go ‘Wow.’ I’m sure other people go ‘Eurgh.'”

For others, it is a more explicit rejection of “modern aesthetics.” Isabella Bondo, a student living in Denmark, finds the dominant Scandinavian style “impersonal, clean, and boring.” “In Denmark, it feels like everyone else has the exact same interior style. If that’s what counts as modern design, I’m really not into it. The most important thing for me when it comes to interior design is personality and personal style, and I don’t feel that with modern design aesthetics.”

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It is also a rejection of consumerism. Yvonne Chappell, who works in education and lives in Scotland, was initially drawn into ’70s design when she and her fiancé moved into their house, which was built in 1973. “I was immediately fascinated by retro interior design and particularly the colors seen throughout ’70s homes of the time. Being 24, I’ve grown up in a sort of throwaway society where styles change so quickly and things aren’t often built to last (I realized this after buying SO much flat-pack that kept breaking). Seventies furniture can be found in excellent condition to this day; the quality of furniture clearly stands the test of time. I like the idea of loving something that was designed well and designed half a century ago.”

We can even thank (?) the pandemic for accelerating some facets of ’70s design. With access to outdoor spaces severely limited by a series of lockdowns, the desire to bring nature inside both literally and figuratively has soared. The craze for houseplants and other forms of gardening shows no sign of abating. Equally, a pull towards warmer, earthier tones in homeware and interiors can be linked to a growing movement towards design that brings nature into our homes, says registered interior designer Nicola Holden. “Another growing movement in interior design is that of biophilic design, or bringing a connection to nature into our homes. A lot of the ’70s trends incorporate this, such as wood paneling, shag pile carpets, fringing, the use of natural materials and texture (exposed bricks and textured walls), and curved shapes.”

This ties in intimately with the trend towards sustainability, whether it’s earthenware ceramics made by independent artists to house our cheese plants, taking up hobbies to DIY our own crochet blanket or macramé wall hanging, or using more sustainable materials like rattan and cork. By choosing to support small businesses or buy products with a lower carbon footprint, you are inadvertently embracing a ’70s approach to design.

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Even our pull towards statement lamps is ’70s-esque. Our current desire to create a sense of coziness as well as accommodating home offices has inadvertently led to a return to the low lighting of the ’70s. And the most popular lamp right now, the mushroom lamp, is a direct design import from that era.

The most divisive part of ’70s design is unequivocally the color palette. But after years of minimalism, Scandi chic, and the dominance of cream, grey, and beige, what once seemed gaudy now has a kind of charm. “The ’70s was a time of lurid patterned wallpapers and brightly colored upholstered furniture,” says Nicola. “Today we are definitely moving away from the beige/grey era and towards more color, as people are subconsciously realizing the energy and positivity that color gives us, which has been scientifically proven in the field of color psychology.”

Still, brown needs far more rehabilitation than the oranges, yellows, and avocado greens of the period. 

“People still have a deep hatred for brown,” says Estelle. “It is a really polarising color. But actually, it’s a really good neutral to start from and it’s a really versatile, warm color.” When Estelle found the right shade for her dining room she was delighted to prove to everyone who told her not to paint it brown that, actually, it can look good.

If you want to take a step into the world of ’70s interiors, you don’t have to go all-in like Estelle, Isabella, and Yvonne. Try a softly-softly approach, choosing key ’70s pieces to style as part of a wider eclectic home design. As Camille Montalbo, an American-based thrifting aficionado, told Refinery29, “The way the furniture mixes together is pretty effortless.” Key pieces of furniture like chairs and tables end up being statements, which mesh well with other eras thanks to the simple lines of the design. Camille’s Jerry Johnson Sling Chair remains one of her favorite finds for that reason.

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Plus, finding secondhand goods from the era is made easier by the huge proliferation of pieces available. The volume of designs being produced and a sharp increase in consumption mean that there was a lot of design about. And if it’s lasted this long, be assured it will last well into the future.

Beyond furniture, there is a wealth of ’70s-style home decor — both vintage and modern — to add warmth to a room or a statement to a corner, from lamps to sunburst mirrors to velvet throw pillows. If you’re feeling particularly inspired, why not branch into patterned wallpaper — Estelle has recently launched a homeware business of made-to-order wallpapers and fabrics.

The most important thing is to use your instincts and buy what you love. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a ”90s does ’70s’ lamp or something a little bit silly,” says Estelle. “If you absolutely love it, you will have it in your home and you will never tire of it.” And if you’re still put off by the perceived dinginess of the ’70s, just make sure your space is well lit.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team, but if you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

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