Do you think that whole “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” thing was meant to apply to cousins?
Arielle Charnas has been one of the most controversial influencers of this Cancel Culture moment we’re all swiping our way through. Honestly, the fashion blogger turned professional influencer prototype hasn’t been able to do anything right by the digital world lately.
There was her Coronavirus saga, where she tested positive for the virus (at a time when it was basically impossible to get tests unless you were wealthy or had a connection) and then left town to lounge poolside in the Hamptons instead of staying put and quarantining in the city. There were the accusations of her ripping off Juan Carlos Obando’s dress designs for her own line. There was the immediate backlash after it was revealed her brand (which is definitely not a struggling small business by the picture she’s painted) received up to $350,000 in the first round of PPP loans released in April. And most recently, as if all of this wasn’t enough to make a girl go from public to private on social (which she did), the internet borderline exploded after she was made the covergirl for Cosmopolitan Mexico. You know, because she’s not a Latina.
To look at all of the criticisms Arielle has faced – those earned and those perhaps more nuanced – is at its core, a study of privilege. For while her penchant for sporting a different Chanel handbag every day of the week is what initially lured in her 1.3 million followers, it’s now a huge part of what they resent.
Honestly, the epic tale that is Arielle Charnas’ complicated story deserves its own deep dive analysis, but now that we’re all on the same-ish page about what she’s got going on, let’s continue…
Because for those who think that Arielle Charnas lives a charmed life, just throw a follow to her cousin, Candice Miller.
Back in April of 2016, Candice started the blog Mama and Tata with her sister Jenna Crespi. As described in their first social media post, the blog was a “project initiated by two moms and sisters, who want to share their guide to NYC based on their best sisterly advice.”
Four years later and I can promise you that this account, which now has 59,700 followers, is a project solely focused on showing off the fabulous life of just one sister. All Mama, no Tata.
Whether Jenna just didn’t want to keep up with the blog, or older sister Candice took more of a shining to social media, who knows. But the confusing origin story of a failed family venture still looms, as for some reason Candice has never just changed the Instagram handle to a name that actually expresses what the account’s about, @CandiceMiller.
Whatever mission statement Candice may believe she’s currently fulfilling, she’s really just posting photos of her outfits, her kids, and perhaps most interestingly of all, her parties.
Miller’s husband is a real estate developer, and I’m going to reckon he’s not horrible at his job considering the deep pockets she digs into. No one has a sense of occasion quite like Candice – largely because there aren’t many who could comfortably afford to. There’s no park picnic or beach bonfire or backyard dinner party that is not a full blown production.
And yes, it is totally amazing to look at.
And yes, it is so not the least bit normal.
Candice’s event budget this summer had to have been in the tens of thousands of dollars range, if not more. And that’s just a summer when, all things considered, no one was really supposed to have parties.
While opulent displays such as this would for most influencers garner a number of unhappy words, you’ll be hard pressed to find any critical comments on her picture perfect posts. Quite the contrast to her cousin Arielle’s plight, no? I mean, she’s been titled by many The Face of Privilege.
So why is that? Is it that with a great following comes great responsibility? Is there some number of followers at which one is just automatically catapulted into the realm of trolls and unsolicited expectations? Like she’s going to wake up one day and have hit 75,000 followers to find herself instantly cancelled because she’s been partying it up like Marie Antoinette while people line up at food pantries?
Or is there something far more authentic and genuine about Candice compared to her cousin? Does the concept and context of this being a mom blog make it harder for people to take offense when compared against something like Arielle’s fashion blog?
Or, which I’m getting Goldie Lock’s just-right vibes about, is Candice just more up front about the life she’s living?
Arielle launched her affordable fashion brand Something Navy with Nordstrom in 2017. In reality, her wardrobe is really not affordable, and short of a sponsorship deal, I doubt she shops at Nordstrom.
Candice however, a fan of hunting down vintage pieces and collecting designer looks, started her luxury fashion brand Black Iris in 2019. She’s very open that her family’s personal chef is currently teaching her daughters to cook, so yeah, I believe that she’s got a lot of $1,400 coats that look just like this in her closet.
What do you think? Is Candice also destined to be canceled for the privileged life her profile paints? Or, is she actually far more successful with far fewer followers than her cousin?