Ask the Editor: Sweet Sixteen Edition, Pt. 1

Last month, Capitol Hill Style turned 16. This site has been the through line from a career in D.C. to being a lawyer-Mom out West. And I can honestly say that I would never have imagined how much this blog would contribute to my life, my plans, and my personal growth when I started it so many years ago.

As part of the anniversary, we launched a new blog design. It’s a little cleaner and simpler than the design we were using before. And best of all, it’s fully functional on mobile, so y’all can finally read from your phones without issue (bless Blair Staky for building it). We may tweak it a bit more over the coming weeks, but I am so happy for this fresh start.

Also, this weekend, I asked readers to contribute questions to this post on my Instagram feed, and there were so many great ones that I’m breaking them up into multiple posts. So let’s get started.

What products were you using 16 years ago that you’re still using today?

I still use my Conair hot rollers most days.  I’ve been using them since 1996.  If you’re using rollers, I recommend buying a set of pins, since the clips bend and mark the hair.

I also still use the Bobbi Brown under eye corrector and Creme de Corps body lotion.  There are probably a few more, but these are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

What look from the last 16 years would you be thrilled to find out was back in style? Horrified?

See Anna Jane said on Instagram that oversized scarves are back this fall.  I’m really hoping that’s true because I still love a scarf that looks like it’s going to swallow me whole.  This one is especially nice for fall 2024.  For a lighter version, don’t miss this one.

One of the things since I’ve learned is that you can’t get too up in arms about trends you don’t like because you might wind up wearing them someday.  In the early days of this blog, I was very against leggings and skinny jeans — I now own both.  You live, you learn.  But I do laugh when I see young ones wearing Crocs all the time.  I cannot believe these shoes are popular.

What’s the thing you miss most about the old days of CHS?

I miss writing my thoughts on the Internet.  We used to have great discussions about baking cookies for work and feminism and other topics.  For a lot of reasons, I stopped writing those types of posts, and I miss the conversations we used to have in the comments, even though they could be tense sometimes.  I learned a lot from the comments on those posts and I credit all of you with broadening my thinking about certain issues.  So there are times I definitely miss those discussions and that aspect of the community.

Is there one thing you’ve always really wanted to buy and didn’t?  Or did you ever buy something you were dying to own and hated?

Second part first.  In 2011, I made my first and only foray into expensive footwear.  I bought a pair of Valentino Rockstud heels and they were not for me.  It was the epitome of the shoes are wearing you, instead of me wearing the shoes.  That same summer, I bought a pair of Chloe scallop flats and they were worn out after just a few short weeks of commuting; I was devastated.  If you can’t afford to ruin it without regret, you can’t afford to own it.

There is only one purchase that I still think about: a Cartier watch.  I may splurge on one if I make partner.  But until then, I’m seriously considering this much more affordable Kimsey watch.

What app did you meet your husband on?  How does he feel about the blog?

Kyle and I met on Tinder.  He was my first and only in-person Tinder date.  Now we have a child and a mortgage and bicker about whether food in the fridge has expired or is still edible.  It’s a modern love story.

He didn’t really understand it at first, but it’s become a part of his life as well.  Every night after Sloane is in bed, I’m laid out on the couch with my laptop, writing the blog.  He does find it funny when people creep his LinkedIn because they’re curious about my life.  Sadly, he lacks the photo skills to be the Instagram Husband that I truly deserve.

Forever lamenting that your sheet recommendation was discontinued. New ones?

Macy’s still makes the sheets but the thread count is a bit less, so we still buy the Hotel Collection sheets.  But we also own the Costco sheets, which are a good buy and fairly thick.  

Did you have any close calls where your identity go revealed when you were Anon?

For those who weren’t here pre-2011, I originally wrote this blog anonymously.  That wasn’t the plan, but I was working for a Member of Congress who insisted I make sure writing a blog called Capitol Hill Style was allowed under the staff ethics rules.  Looking back, it was foolish that I had to ask, but it was 2008 and no one knew anything about blogging and he was concerned.  So Ethics sent me a decision a few days after I started writing that said I needed to be anonymous because they were concerned that lobbyists and special interests could use the blog as a vehicle to influence me by buying ad space or giving me gifts under the guise of product placement.  So “Belle” was born.

It wasn’t impossible to figure out who I was, there were enough breadcrumbs — Republican, Western member, House Appropriations staff — that you could figure it out if you wanted to.  But there were a couple of close calls, usually caused by my Boss, then Rep. Denny Rehberg, who was so proud of me that he would often tell people I wrote the blog.  

More often than not though, we would hear people talking about my blog in the cafeteria line, the elevator, or in the halls.   It was kind of fun to walk through the Capitol campus unnoticed but occasionally talked about.  I remember vividly being in the back of a Member elevator and listening to a female Representative from California and her staffer discuss whether polka dot tights were fine for work and what “Belle” had said about it.  When they exited the elevator, my Boss, Deputy Chief and LD all started laughing uncontrollably.  It’s one of my favorite Hill memories.

Look for parts II and III over the coming weeks.

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