This year's most unexpected piece of gossip.

Stop it.

Tuesday is our Scurrilous Gossip ep of Outloud and oh boy. This week Holly Wainwright brought the goods.

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It was incredibly emotional. Still is.

Last week I gave evidence at the Royal Commission into anti-semitism. I’m not able to talk about it yet because I am too emotional. Perhaps I never will be able to talk about it. Or perhaps I’m just too fearful. Which is why the Royal Commission is being held in the first place.

It was a closed hearing which is an option for anyone called to give evidence and this was a relief for me because like most people in my community, I have spent the years since October 7th 2023 being attacked, abused, intimidated, threatened, defamed and harrassed simply for being Jewish. Not because I speak or write about geo-politics or the war or Israel. Just……for being Jewish.
This anti semitism is being whipped up and amplified every day for years - even since the Bondi massacre - by people who claim to advocate for peace and who like to talk a lot about being silenced or censored.
Lol.
These people have built personal brands, social media followers and even income around anti-semitism which they have cravenly re-branded as ‘anti-zionism’ as if that makes it somehow different. Twisting our faith into a slur and using it to dehumanise us.
I felt like a coward for giving my evidence to the commision privately. But the truth is I did not - do not - feel safe to speak about my experiences of antisemitic publicly.
Like most Jews these past years, these experiences are shocking, devastating and have real world consequences for us.
I am in awe for those Jewish - and non-Jewish - people who have put their names and faces to their testimony. Anyone can make a submission and it doesn’t mean you will be called to appear - giving evidence is voluntary and I must commend everyone involved with the commission for their kindness and sensitivity. The process was gruelling and emotional and devastating but it is being handled with tremendous care.
Wrapping my arms around everyone who is affected. And if you’re curious, you can watch some of the testimony here. I’ve linked to the day I gave evidence. There’s a union representative. A healthcare worker. A young teacher called Ben who converted to Judaism a few years ago and speaks of how the Jewish marchers at Mardi Gras this year were not able to gather with the rest of the marchers, required armed police guards and were abused all the way up Oxford St. Think about that for a moment.
I listened to Ben’s testimony the morning I was due to give evidence and sobbed my heart out.

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The Chat Formerly Known As Insta-babble…..

Ok, gear shift. I have a few things to show you including a clothes-saving hack, my new jewellery hyperfocus and something else I can no longer remember.

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Yes, I’m wearing Bermuda shorts a lot lately. Fight me.

I know you’ll want to fight me because as my friend Wendy says, “those shorts are hideous”. She’s specifically talking about these babies:

Oh how she hates them so. “Those purple monstrosities” she calls them before urging me to burn them in a fire.
They’re not quite Bermudas though. They’re Adidas running shorts, I think? Not that I’ve ever run in them.
But back to Bermudas - they’re having a moment whether you like it or not and if you’re anything like Wendy……. you will not. So don’t wear them. But I’m having a fun time taking them for a wardrobe spin.
For the purposes of this demonstration, I’m going to broadly define Bermuda shorts in my own way: any pants that finish around the knee. Like a cross between pants and shorts.
Shants.
Let’s go.

The Denim Ones…

Scrolling back through my outfit photos, I discovered that denim was my gateway drug to Shants. Very Avril Lavigne sk8rboi. With the exception of the larger pic, all the smaller ones are from last year. Denim bermudas look super casual and can be tricky TBH. You can look a big daggy dad. And I do in some of these outfits although I still rate the red bag one.

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The Print Ones……

Now this is my jam. Three of my favourite neutrals - leopard, stripes and camo. I’m wearing most of these with flats because that’s mostly all I wear but I really like them with a heel, particularly a heeled thong like the red ones in the top left outfit.
I love this for us.
And because I know you’re thinking it - yes, I know I can wear what I like at work no matter how batshit and most people can’t. Privilege etc. Noted.

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The Suit-y Ones…

Here’s where it gets fun, I reckon. With the exception of the ones with the red shirt, the rest are a pair of Blanca Shants with sparkles. Naturally. I like that they’re kind of gathered at the front and have some volume. I was going to say that the thing with Shants is that you can’t wear an ankle boot because the proportions are all cooked but I discovered that I’d worn these with sparkly ankle boots for the Outloud live show last year and I think it worked! These Shants almost read as a skirt, don’t they.

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The Capri Ones…

Yeah, I know it’s a bit cheeky calling these Shants because they are quite evidently capri pants. But fuck it. It’s the same kind of vibe. These pink ones are quite fun and even though I can’t really wear this colour close to my face (because Autumn etc), I like having a bit of fun downstairs and these are that.

And if you’ve been wondering how my new grandbabies are going, Jessie did the Outloud newsletter last week while pumping, feeding and making dinner for a toddler.
She has so many babies and they’re all delicious…..click below for a glimpse.

What Jessie Stephens' day looks like now...

Love you,
Mia xxx