On Saturday I went to the launch of the Rosie Assoulin x Target collab and watched things sell out in real time: the braided belt, the bucket bag, even the dress I was wearing was at-risk inventory!! Luckily, the collection is still largely available online, at the same everything-under-$50 pricing that gagged shoppers at Target Soho (who were rightfully also gagged by the branded froyo truck parked out front, which they stood on line for carrying their event-day bouquets).

The partnership makes perfect sense: Rosie’s color-forward and pattern-embracing eye are both summer and Target incarnate, total bon vivance from garden party to packing list. But, especially held in contrast with her equally joyous mainline PF26 linesheet (this $3,995 wedding-guest dress has crossed this page multiple times already), it’s hard not to boggle at the insane deal at hand.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori

What’s new

• The first runway pieces from Miu Miu FW26 are now available online, and it’s like the brand released its breakout singles before the rest of the sure-to-be-acclaimed album. What we mean: the stretch nappa leather boots with the late-’90s bubble sole (priced at a not-so-modest $2,300), the similarly ’90s tech-fabric pants, and that one long-sleeve minidress made entirely out of leather.

• Jamie Haller continues rolling out styles for fall, with this edit inspired by another filial JH: her late grandfather, Julius George Haller. There’s the usual emphasis on relaxed masculine silhouettes, but the oversized blazer and kick-flare trousers take it to a more sophisticated grandfatherly place. There’s also the George slipper, an easy loafer inspired by papa JH’s house slippers.

• Chan Luu’s first bridal collection is for tying the knot wearing ribbons tied in bows. Fare includes handmade jewelry featuring crystals, freshwater pearls, and taffeta ribbon. The ready-to-wear pieces are more nuptial-inspired than altar-ready, but they’re just as special (see: the white Dupioni collarless coat, million pleats skirt in techno taffeta, and sheer Chloe sequin tunic).

• Almost perfectly timed to the announcement of Lisi Harrison’s continuation of legendary girl-YAF series The Clique, Tory Burch has reissued the crystal tunic from 2008. The silhouette is one of the first brand signatures, done up in a fine linen that gets worn in over time, lined with bands of crystals (hand-appliquéd, because TB really does think of everything).

• A lot of exciting newness for the impending fall season at Net-A-Porter, across quite a forgiving price matrix, as far as luxury goes. Saint Laurent’s new arrivals run the outerwear-footwear gamut, from wool-blend tweed jackets to those kinky TPU pumps sending the internet into a tizzy. Pleats Please also joins the brand network with some all-season staples in fall colors, like the Plissé midi skirt in a dark jade green and midi dress in a pastel orange. Valesque also unveils a new season of handbags, introducing some crushed velvet iterations of both the shoulder bag and tote.

• There’s also: the wear-it-backwards-and-forwards reversible Rollneck cardigan from J.Crew; a sporty boho-beach collab between Free People and surf brand Rusty (the campaign features rashguards styled with lace skirts, a rad and quirky combo); and the latest Dragon Diffusion drop at ssense, featuring a new burgundy colorway of the small Santa Croce tote.

What’s on sale

• Attersee is currently hosting a private sale—something that only happens once a year, if we’re lucky. There’s a reason the brand has limited access to those signed up for their email list; the sale is expansive, ranging from pieces like the washed silk nylon drift shirt to the structured wool-silk Albers dress both 30% off. Any discount is a rarity from Attersee, so we welcome this 30% off as a late summer treat.

• There’s currently 20% off Jude’s SS26 collection with ‘SUMMER20’ at checkout, just in time for the annual August-OOO exodus that raptures all creative-adjacent industries. We recommend targeting staple sandals and mules, like the Yaga flat in black suede and the paw mule in truly any color, but the red patent is that classic hot block heel.

• There’s a lot of stuff in the Lauren Manoogian sale worth shopping, and a solid chunk of it is 50% off. More cold-weather-ready pieces see greater discounts, like the Suri brushed woven alpaca trouser and soft Alpaca-cashmere blend hoody and matching pants (essentially, an entire outfit for the original retail cost of just one piece). However, there’s still a bit of everything in the 30% range, like the linen planes tank and net wrap halter.

• Hill House’s stockroom sale just deepened in the best way: in addition to some pieces marked up to 75% off, there’s an extra 30% off applied to your whole cart with ‘STOCKROOM’ at checkout. Some pricing perspective: the Lila nap dress marked down to $99 from an original $228 gets down to a calm $69 with the compounded discount. A great incentive from HH to get multiple colors of, say, the Matilda dress.

• There’s also: an expansive edit of beloved summer styles from LoQ on sale up to 60% off, in the case of the Elisa sandal in taupe; and an additional 10% off at the Le Monde Beryl seasonal sale, featuring everything from the already 50% off Babouche kitten heel to multiple variations of the Stella slipper, discount dependent on color and fabric.

Men’s sales

• It’s time for Colbo’s end-of-season sale, featuring what feels like the full color spectrum of brown-y neutral linens. While technically unisex, there are a lot of men-driven products nicely discounted, like the light pants in mahogany down to $207 from $345, and the metrics shirt in ivory down to $219 from $365.

• Aimé Leon Dore also currently has an end-of-season sale running, with, like, hella T-shirts. Micrologo tees go for nearly 50% off down to $43 from $85, whereas season specials like the Yankees tank and Regatta tee are both 40% off.

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Buccal facial massage, TMJ, physical therapy, MOCEAN, fight or flight, radiofrequency, Morpheus8, Thermage, DENSITY, UV damage, Shafer Clinic, Dr. Macrene Alexiades, collagen production, osteopathy, Porsche, Yinova Center, TCM, acupuncture…

Can you believe it? It’s In Vivo time again. In case you need reminding, IV is our monthly franchise about what the High Touch community are getting up to across the worlds of aesthetics and longevity—i.e. what my group chats are actually doing.

In today’s send, a lot of journeys are launching. Most of what’s worth doing in this space isn’t one-and-done, it takes reps. begins a months-long physical therapy process to rediscover her parasympathetic state, I recap a deeply restorative introductory acupuncture session and share initial findings from my adventure with the device that Dr. Macrene says “prevents the need for surgery”, and Broderick shares the Parisian lymphatic masseuse who “finely tunes the body like a vintage Porsche”—the one she tells me is THE lymphatic guy everyone in the know goes to.

But first, a few conversation starters from the High Touch universe.

Journeys

Holistic physical therapy with MOCEAN

I’ve been an anxious person all my life, but once I hit my 30s, the physical consequences have officially started to announce themselves. The worst part is having this persistent clenched jaw. It’s messing up my teeth; it’s leaving me with constant neck pain and headaches. I’ve tried everything from acupuncture to buccal facial massages to TMJ treatments to regular physical therapy to a completely souped up exercise regimen. Everyone eventually tells me that, at the end of the day, I just need to “stop stressing out” lol.

Finally, on the recommendation of , I made an introductory appointment with MOCEAN (which they comped, courtesy of being a FOC—friend of Chris), and I’m feeling hopeful. As part of my initial evaluation, they did all these tests and scans that showed how my posture is making everything 1,000% worse (see scan above). Okay, fair! But there was also a lot of “data” from these tests showing that my nervous system is out of whack, that I’m spending far too much time in “fight or flight” mode versus “rest and digest” mode, which checks out. It felt validating, somehow, to see my inner chaos bear out on all those charts and tests. (For example, it turns out that, even laying down on a Thursday afternoon, my breathing patterns more so resemble that of a rabbit running for her life.)

I’m going to try out a couple of months of membership to access MOCEAN’s physical therapy in addition to their various recovery/optimization protocols, hopefully to enact some kind of factory reset to my nervous system. Even typing that sentence out makes me pretttttty skeptical enough of myself. I’m not usually one to get some crazy machines and equipment get involved, and honestly, I simply can’t afford anything longterm with them. But after that first session, I can’t deny that I left feeling wildly gooey and relaxed. It’s been a week since, and I can tell I’ve been sleeping better (and deeper), and at least seem to have a greater awareness for how I’m holding myself. Cross your fingers for me?

–

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Dumbo on a 90-somethingº day is about as strollable and authentically New York as JFK Terminal 2, but as I took the scenic route from my acupuncturist in Brooklyn Heights to my mom’s place in Clinton Hill, I found myself on Water Street with only one place to go.

L’Ensemble is the district’s de facto oasis. It used to be an appointment-only store located on the upper floor of an industrial building nearby its current location, which was very chic, but I’m glad that it relocated to street level so that I, and others, can experience the spontaneous discoverability contained in its excellent buy.

Three good ideas I picked up on my unplanned visit yesterday:

• Flip-flops as bag tag. Reuben Perin, L’ensemble’s store director and buyer showed me his The Row Park, which he’d accessorized in a stroke of genius with the Literary Sport x Xero sandals (that he purchased through this newsletter!). The flops—which I also own and wear aplenty—come with a carabiner, which he’d taken as a suggestion to keychain them to his everyday carrier. You’ve heard of sneakers-strung-around-a-gym-bag, now meet barefoot-sandals-clipped-to-a-tote. The sandals are all but sold out, however the originals (which I also own), are just as great and only $49.

• Piano shawl as top. C/o this La Collection piece. Picture a long rectangular embroidered silk scarf with fringe at both ends, folded in half, held together with buttons at two points on the top side. A stroke of genius on La Collection’s part for how many different ways of wearing emerge from those two little tacks—sitting on both shoulders, slung forward, one-sided, as a top, over a dress, probably sleevelessly, and of course, as a scarf. Everything that can also be achieved with a vintage shawl or other such shawl in your collection by attaching a button or two, or with brooches.

• Bag as irreducible fraction. These incredible, affordable Valesque bags take bag form to its simplest conclusion, with straps so clean and fine they look drawn on by Illustrator and in the shapes and colors of a early education toy set. Gestures of ‘90s Prada, The Row Cecily, and the velvet versions in particular speak to Dries. I left with a black velvet evening style with a camera-strap handle. Sounds complicated, but is actually refreshingly simple.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori

What’s new

• Those wool-cashmere crewnecks with cotton shirt cuffs peeking out from the Prada FW26 runway were actually a sweater with a removable poplin shirt cuff accessory? What will Miuccia and Raf think of next? The first pieces from the collection just dropped online, dispelling the layered-shirt allegations, though there are actual cufflinks and poplin shirts (intentionally wrinkled, delicious) also available to layer for real if you’d like. The antiqued leather pumps with colored laces are also just…wow.

• Literary Sport FW26 is online now as well, a beautiful mixture of clothing built for the studio—Pilates, art and design, or otherwise. By that, I mean that the brand has extended its technical-clothing-but-not-true-athleisure ethos. You can see it in the coordinating tartan pieces, like the Dori short and Tove jacket, as well as more structured outerwear, like the Eleanor barn coat.

• The FW26 collection from The Row looks to be, dare I say, the most real-woman wearable fall collection they’ve done. Instead of austere blacknavywhitegray, there’s a rainbow equivalent of autumnal tones like the Iza coat in driftwood, the Duvan pant in grey taupe, and the Phef sweater in fudge (an interesting auburn-y rich brown). There’s even a very “The Row” bowler bag, sub $2k.

• Two new offerings from Jamie Haller: the Ledger bag (RIP Heath) and the brand’s first foray into belts. The Ledger is a hybrid top-handle messenger bag that can be worn structured or slouched, depending on the amount of stuff you put in it. Then there’s the wave belt and its thinner counterpart, aptly named ‘Slim,’ each in four colorways of Italian bufalini or suede with brass hardware.

• Nili Lotan’s first-ever footwear collection is here. It’s all boots, and it looks exactly how you think it would: heeled booties somewhere between sensible and dramatic heights, from the Chelsea Cuban heeled Joplin (like Janis) and the stiletto Lucinda (like Williams). Intentional rock/country references or not, each silhouette has Western-inspired topstitching—the most literal in the calf-height Towns (kinda like Van Zandt) in a tan suede.

• Some new jewelry for grown-ups with the bank accounts to match. Meet Authorne, a fine jewelry brand founded by creative director Rachel Bu based on systems of solid gold and pave stone sculptural chains and locks, some of which cost up to $45k. Then there’s a summer jewelry collection by Jessica McCormack full of what she calls “day diamonds,” like the beaches pearl and diamond bracelet. Finally, the arrival of Piaget at MyTheresa, christened with a few variations of the Sixtie watch and the Possession Decor Palace rings.

• There’s also: New Italian-crafted luxury lingerie brand Evangelista, with romantic Leavers lace pieces designed for the divine feminine;; a limited-edition collaboration between skincare titan Augustinus Bader and bag brand L/UNIFORM featuring a travel-sized skincare edit and artisan canvas pouches; the modular strappy collaboration between indie brand VETTESE and Skims; Aeyede’s leather tassel-laden PF26 collection; a new collection of handcrafted hair accessories like an 18k safety pin for your hair, by David Mallett; and Francesco Risso x GU, a collection that reads like a cosmopolitan how-to guide on preppy dress (complimentary).

Men’s releases

• Designer sneakers are gorp-adjacent again. While you can’t get either the mesh and corded-lace Prada Speedrock or the Lemaire gummy grips at REI, nor should you rely on them for outdoor activities, both sneakers are made to look like you hike and/or are a member of a climbing gym.

Home releases

• Antique textiles expert Katharine Pole now has a Zara Home collection, which is both an interesting move strategy-wise for the retailer and an interesting collection on an aesthetic level. Zara and deadstock fabrics shouldn’t go together, but they do in furniture pieces like the striped accent chair (only $459?), floral pillow cases, and house coats like the mixed-print robe.

• The Erwan Bouroullec-designed Maap lamp by Flos is now available in the US, which is one of the more genuine reinvent-the-wheel pieces of consumer-available home decor in the past year. Composed of an iron frame, a lightweight, paper-like fibre “shade,” and large magnetic buttons (designed to be recrumpled as you like), the lamp is really more of a functional lighting installation, which is delightfully rare.

What’s on sale

• There’s currently an extra 15% off the COS sale at check out, which is a plethora of fairly priced linen and poplin. Examples currently in-cart include: this ruched dropped waist poplin midi at 40% off and these current season elasticated linen barrel-leg pants 20% off—both deals all their own only sweetened by the extra discount.

• There’s an extra 30% off at the MyTheresa sale as a sort of last call situation for all items over $350. Some of the best steals are in the shoe department, with styles like the Jimmy Choo purple satin Afia slingbacks (down to $557 from $995), and across many traditionally high-price outerwear items, like the Regino wool coat by The Row (down to $2,140 from $5,350) and several others from Toteme and Dries Van Noten.

• Something must be in the e-tailer water, because Net-A-Porter also has an extra discount at checkout, 20% your order with FLASH20. Some of the best finds are in runway pieces, like this Dries polka dot dress (sub-$1k from a starting price at $2,390) and shoes like these Tom Ford purple satin slingbacks which get down to $516 from an original $1,290.

• Find a veritable feast of studio samples, prototypes, and imperfect pieces on sale from A Personal Uniform. For value, we suggest going for the higher-priced tailored pieces at 70-ish% off, like the No. 80 linen vest and No. 19 pleated skirt, but really everything is so worth it if you can find something in your size.

• There’s also: Catbird’s sole sale of the summer featuring 25% off nearly the entire site, even the diamonds; the Neighbour seasonal sale with a small yet mighty edit of 50% off past-season clothing; a significant addition of styles added to the Hai sale, including the 100% dupion silk Leo trousers; and a classic lingerie-lacy sale edit from Else with bras and such anywhere between 30–50% off.

Home sales

• We’re in the first week of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, and before deals get really hot, we’re focused on the home section. All of those things you look at but never actually spring for, like a Blissy Mulberry silk pillowcase or Le Creuset 3.5qt dutch oven in a fun color, are 40% off. A great opportunity for home scents as a well, like this Wood Sage & Sea Salt diffuser and candle set 35% off.

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Yesterday we rolled out the first of our two-part Brand Rank figures for Q3 of 2026. Today’s send does the bigger and more important job of revealing the list’s heavyweights: the top 10 most shoppable brands overall.

Before we get there, though, I wanted to share a few line-specific stats from the period that would otherwise be lost to history. The most-ordered-from link, for example, was Negative Underwear’s Last Chance sale, though that alone wasn’t enough to earn the brand a spot in the top 20. We don’t track beauty or health here, but Supergoop’s Glowscreen SPF 40 and Evolv’s oral GLP-1 biomimetic both landed among the top five most-ordered individual products.

Our most-clicked product, Jil Sander’s Goji Pillow Bag, drove twice as many clicks as the next highest-clicked item, which was Another Tomorrow’s Relaxed Wide Leg Pants. Both Olga Basha and Dresen Studio (personal favorites in my denim stack) clicked especially high for the small, indie brands that they are. Acne Studios was the most-chatted-about brand not on this list.

If retailers were ranked they’d appear in this order: Net-A-Porter (by a lot), and The RealReal and MyTheresa by a close margin. Read ahead for the top 10 brands.

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Top 11-20 recap: 11. Phoebe Philo, 12. Alex Mill, 13. Gap, 14. Tory Burch, 15. Gucci, 16. Jil Sander, 17. Chanel, 18. Leset, 19. Simone Pérèle, 20. Miu Miu

1. Toteme

It’s wedding bells for miss “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” In the two and half years we’ve been publishing Brand Rank (yes! really!) Toteme has cracked the top 20 in virtually every edition, making it to the top 10 in over 50% of rankings, and yet, it has never held the top spot until today.

Let’s take a look at Toteme’s 36.6 score, which we can sort of hijack to review just how our custom scoring system works and why it matters: A Post Score of 8 reflects the number of times we mentioned the brand in our own published materials—this past quarter included reports on a Net-A-Porter-exclusive sale, an on-site sale, and a new PF26 collection “where beige can contain multitudes”—which we value highly as a shoppability indicator; what gets included from week to week goes through rigorous editorial consideration against all other possible news within a cycle.

Remaining score factors are in the hands of the Magasin audience. The Chat Score is weighed identically to the Post Score. So for Toteme, eight mentions in out chat room = eight Chat Score points. Independent of what ends up in our content, any brand driving conversation in our famously chattery chat room can rack up standing in this Rank. Chat mentions of Toteme spanned links to its linen, call outs in a local stoop sale, beach cover-up and raincoat recs, questions about the fit of its boots, someone selling a leather tote, styling suggestions that include its clutches and wedding guest dresses.

The last two categories reflect raw reader behavior—how they click and what they order. The top-clicked and most-ordered link of the season was for Toteme’s private sale (now over, but here’s the current sale selection), with the brand’s top-clicked single product being this long knit skirt (also on sale) and most-ordered single product being these drawstring wool pants (also also on sale).

My read on Toteme’s new standing is that, 1. it was firing on all cylinders this season, no single channel skewed it into the leading position but rather it dominated across all four. And 2. consistency and clarity of vision brought it here, not a celebrity spokesperson or collab strategy.

Key products: Long Knit Skirt, $250 $500 / Drawstring Dinner Trousers, $324 $540 / Mohair Knit Tank Dress, $624 $1,040 / Wide Fluid Trousers, $256 $640

2. Khaite

Khaite landed near the top on the strength of SEA (sustained editorial attention), proving its .1% price points are working to place the brand among the Bottegas and Diors of the world. On average, the chat, post, and order scores are all in the same ballpark suggesting that you all are just as interested in Khaite as we are.

Key products: Karo Jeans, $680 / Verda Jersey Maxi Dress, $616 $880 / Luiza Skirt, $2,480

3. Jamie Haller

An unlikely disruptor of the Toteme-Khaite-The Row trifecta so often pinned to the top of this ranking and in the greater, mis-identified “quiet luxury” discourse. In a way, Jamie Haller as a wedge makes sense. Originally known for her Italian-made leather shoes and now also equally recognized for RTW “basics”: 100% cotton jeans, elegant loungewear, relaxed suiting, broken-in shirting, plus jewelry, too, Haller’s seemingly straightforward pieces have differentiators to the exact degree shoppers look for when buying something from such broad categories. She’s up for CFDA this year. Who’s to say how far her relatable star will rise.

Key products: The Logo Weekend Shirt in Royal Blue, $425 / The Ballet Slipper, $515 / The San Diego Sandal, $498

4. The Row

The Row continues to function as the Magasin community’s North Star. Our coverage led to more engaged chat score, mainly about sizing or whether or not certain pieces are worth a big spend, as seen in relative orders. We anticipate the next sale to shift the needle in that arena, watch this space…

Key products: Terrasse Bag, $2,700 / Sayed Short, $1,250 / Casa Leather Loafers, $990

5. J.Crew

J.Crew has had a great quarter performance-wise in our little corner of the internet, driven by a healthy Orders Score that supersedes chat and post mentions. We really saw how brand familiarity converts to action, whether it be the heritage roll neck sweater, or collab pieces like the Zycloom mixed stone necklace or Xero sandal.

Key products: 2025 Rollneck Sweater, $98 / Gwen Lace Trim Skirt, $84 $118 / J. Crew x Xero Genesis sandal, $59

6. COS

COS continues to ricochet around the ranks, with particularly strong click activity complementing reliable orders, no doubt due to our more focused news mentions (is it just us, or did the brand suddenly get, like, really quality controlled?) From chat mentions: COS remains the brand you send a friend when they ask where to start rebuilding a wardrobe.

Key products: Merino Wool V-Neck Sweater, $69 $139 / Layered Cotton Pima Shirt, $64 $129 / Fluid Straight Leg Pants, $449

7. Uniqlo

Uniqlo was a key topic of conversation this quarter—both in the chat and our news sends—thanks in large part to its stream of thoughtful design partnerships. There was Scandi sweetness from breakout Copenhagen brand Cecile Bahnsen, zippy prints from former Marni creative director Francesco Risso in the F.RISSO collection, and a wide range of preppy staples in a poppy color palette from J.W. Anderson.

Key products: Cotton Culottes, $49 / Shirring Sleeveless Dress, $39 / Graphic T-shirt, $14

8. Comme Si

Jenni Lee’s pajama brand was always a Trojan horse into reached-for “outside” apparel. La Shirt Classica, its keystone product, uniformed the design set in Milan this season (as reported by our own ), and its newly introduced Deep V Shirt, an immediate beach-vacation essential, excelled in clicks and orders.

Key products: La Shirt Classica, $295 / Deep V Shirt, $295

9. Zara

Zara came in with a high orders score on account of its impressive roster of collaborators. There was the sexy Benito Antonio collection with Bad Bunny that pulled inspiration from the singer’s Puerto Rican roots; Marisa Berenson (aka Elsa Schiaparelli’s granddaughter) co-created a glamourous line of home goods; industry-favorite creative director Aaron Levine dropped his second range for the retailer, and Mexican-American designer Willy Chavarria lent Zara some insider clout with his sell-out collection.

Key products: Satin Shorts With Contrast Trim, $59 / Zig-Zag Multipurpose Blanket, $239 / Lace Slip Dress, $65 $219 / Linen Relaxed Fit Pants, $79

10. Prada

It should come as no surprise that Prada scored particularly high again this quarter when it comes to weekly post mentions. There’s always lots happening in the Miuccia-verse, and the Italian house is always in our frame of reference. (Another data point worth mentioning: The Devil Wears Prada 2 was released in May.) Prada is also a top mention when we’re discussing vintage grails, and makes frequent appearances in outfit posts. A forever favorite, no matter the season.

Key products: Route Large Leather Top-Handle Bag, $3,800 / Leopard-Printed Calf Hair Loafers, $684 $1,390

Magasin may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.

With contributions from Maya Kotomori and Alyssa Vingan.

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Congratulations, you’ve landed on Brand Rank, a central square on the Magasin editorial board. Every quarter, we dig into the data to crown winners out of the hundreds of brands that fill our emails to you. It’s all very orderly and scientific, and you can read more about that in the box below. Today’s send reveals brands 11–20, and tomorrow’s will round it out with brands 1–10.

It’s not unusual for me to end up shopping my way through the making of these seasonal reports, and today’s no different. I took the opportunity to re-up on some Alex Mill tanks, lest my favorites sell out after landing here, and I bought a new Simone Pérèle Comete bra after orphaning mine in a Paris hotel room. One thing yet left un-bought…my white (papaya orange) whale…my precious Jil Sander Goji bag.

Scroll on to read how Brand Rank comes together, who made the top 20, and discover the runners up in a new, top 30 honorable-mentions section at the very end.

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11. Phoebe Philo

Collection E spoon-fed us a mouthful of waggish, new items to cash-contemplate: the HI towel (want), the floppy-tongue pumps (need), this funnel-neck leather jacket (the foundational layer of my personal Maslow’s hierarchy). Still, it was the now-quintessential Gig Bag mentioned in our editor ’s introduction that headed up the brand’s click and orders lists, understandably un-impulsive behavior from our shoppers despite the buzz around a brand that mostly starts in the low four figures.

Key products: Small Gig Bag, $3,200 / Flip Flip in Electric Green, $650 / Leather Jacket, $7,300

12. Alex Mill

Alex Mill quietly outperformed expectations through efficient clicks and a dependable order stream, and not just the totes. Data shows editorial inclusions convert to more orders and clicks than chat mentions, suggesting that Mill simply benefits from being surfaced at the right moment.

Key products: Ribbed Tank, $68 / Painter Pant, $195 / Maya Pencil Skirt, $79 $175

13. Gap

Gap has emerged as the leader of the mall brand renaissance by tapping into the zeitgeist in the same way it did in the ‘90s. It dominated the conversation this quarter, really getting the chat going. From a logo hoodie-centric Coachella activation to a pair of buzzy collaborations with Victoria Beckham and Hailey Bieber, Gap is proof that the most successful fashion labels know that entertaining their customers is key to standing out in a saturated market.

Key products: Linen-Blend Easy Wide-Leg Pants, $79 / Breathe Bikini (5-pack), $21 $54 / GapStudio Maxi Dress, $148 / Organic Cotton Vintage Shrunken T-shirt, $20 $24

14. Tory Burch

Tory Burch’s standing as New York’s soft spot—among uptown and downtown girls alike—has been cemented for another quarter, as proven by high scores across both post mentions and orders. While Tory has never veered too far from her preppy roots, introducing items that touch on a wide range of aesthetics, from edgy to sporty to beachy, lends the brand more mass appeal.

Key products: Classic Loafer, $325 / Polo Mesh Dress, $369 $640 / Curiosity Shell Pendant Necklace, $209 $300 / Turnlock Sport Slide, $199 $325

15. Gucci

To state it plainly: I don’t think Gucci has any clarity of vision under its current creative leadership. The collections are wack, the campaigns are cringe, the runway pieces look terrible on body. BUT. By George can they merchandise the hell out of a product. Despite the meandering, the era-shielded brand machinery is putting out bangers. I bought an $890 bikini this summer on the strength of its carefully balanced chavvy-ism and was—nay, am!—hugely tempted to shell out for another. I haven’t bought a designer bag in a year, but this one…makes me think. I’m wearing Demna’s first-collection Vittoria heels, I’m carrying the vintage bamboo clutch. Something about Gucci being critically, socially “out” makes it feel that much more “in” to me.

Key products: GG Bikini, $890 / NY Large Tote Bag, $2,950 / Jackie 1961 Slim Bag, $2,450

16. Jil Sander

Jil Sander’s Goji Pillow Bag in papaya-orange satin, which earned a rare subject line spot, was the top-clicked and top-ordered link across the entire quarter. Does it continue to vex me? Absolutely. Did I discover that it’s listed for 12% less on SSENSE than on Net-A-Porter? Uh huh. And is it further discounted on Cettire, where it’s a full thousand dollars below the on-page retail price? Well, yes. Something should be said about the Simone Bellotti era at Jil, a topic of conversation among many at Milan Design Week, but tbh, the headline is still just: This Jil Sander bag is the only medicine that can cure me.

Key products: Jil Sander’s Goji Pillow Bag, $3,150 / Hood Lace-Up Shoe, $690 $1,150 / Gray Knit Wool-Blend Sweater, $638 $1,250

17. Chanel

Congratulations to the buyer of the underpriced Chanel runway crochet top I flagged from The RealReal, which, at $543, more accurately captures the spending appetite of the Magasin community as compared to the second most-clicked Chanel link for the quarter, this Métiers d’art 2026 skirt priced at $8,150. Fun to see what money and an aggressive markup strategy can conjure, but it’s a much bigger thrill to uphold the inherent design value of past collections—like this mysteriously $310 SS01 Karl-era leather skirt that just listed—and get it for the low. It’s a stake out, not a shell out, over here.

Key products: Longwear Nail Colour, $34 / Métiers d’art 2026 skirt, $8,150

18. Leset

Leset’s strongest signal this quarter came from conversation; the elevated basics have entered the chat, and tastefully so. A lower order score than its peers, perhaps, but plenty of evidence to show that both Leset’s tees (a frequent order we’ve seen data-wise) and more seasonal pieces like the jacquard Pam skirt place the brand as a staple in our matrix.

Key products: Kyoto Carpenter Pant, $280 / Laura Margo Tee, $88 / Pam Wrap Skirt, $580

19. Simone Pérèle

If Simone Pérèle’s order score is any indication, the French lingerie brand’s sexy wares have converted lots of satisfied customers. The bras in particular are a Magasin favorite—both unlined and underwire styles—and with so many at a sub-$100 price point, we’re not surprised to learn how irresistible they’ve been to readers this quarter.

Key products: Heloise Underwire Triangle Bra, $70 $100 / Plume Molded Full Cup, $95 / Essentiel Multiposition Unlined, $85

20. Miu Miu

Miu Miu is at an interesting place this quarter, with the score largely offset by post mentions, most of which come from fashion and design week dispatches in Report Back features and sale-mentions. Miu Miu is all about the world-building, where discussion around seeing it out in the wild establishes the label is, at once, a luxury brand, a “vibe,” and a styling point of reference. Not every brand needs to convert aggressively to shape the conversation.

Key products: Mesh Fabric Slippers, $995 / Cady Eyelet Dress, $4,300 / Apron Floral Side-Tie Dress, $2,400

Honorable mentions

The brands that rank in positions 21 onwards admittedly tell a more diverse and shifting story than the power players that tend to wind up on our official list quarter after quarter. In the spirit of recognizing their relevance in Magasin’s collective shopping psyche, a mini ranking of the top 30:

21. Mango — buoyed by its Eckhaus Latta collaboration

22. Dôen — as many chat mentions as this season’s top-spot holder

23. Aflalo — this silk-cotton shirt drove high clicks

24. Buck Mason — the Buck Mason x G.H. Bass Weejuns were a top-ordered product

25. Emily Dawn Long — up for CFDA, threw a PMW pop-up, sold out of “Spoiled Boys” tees

26. Bottega Veneta — wholesale Louise Trotter greatness

27. Skims — fueled by the still-happening sale

28. Hermès — design week dispatches and The RealReal finds

29. Nour Hammour — people are buying shearling coats in summer (they’re on sale)

30. H-O-R-S-E — cotton activewear that reacquainted us with the Soffe short

Magasin may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.

With contributions from Maya Kotomori and Alyssa Vingan.

Follow us on Instagram at @magasin.ltd.

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Photobiomodulation, Harvard, natural sun, XERF, microwave, stem cells, ZenTite, Macrene Actives, sleep, snail mucin, Mad Cow, K-beauty, Pico Genesis, Neutrogena…

Welcome back to High Touch. You’ve seen Dr. Macrene Alexiades’ name in this newsletter before, when she balanced and brightened my face in all of 10 minutes of sitting in her clinic for PRF injections.

When we met for the first time a couple of months ago, I was bowled over by her—her three Harvard degrees, her pioneering work in so many of the most presently relevant aesthetic technologies, her time management??? She somehow writes textbooks, produces a podcast, has a skincare line, and still lives a fabulous, cosmopolitan lifestyle on top of running her practice. It has to be said that her eye for facial harmony, something that can’t be taught, makes all of those qualifications that much more pressing. After her inclusion in May’s procedure round-up, I had a handful of people who have access to the best providers in the world reach out to say they also see Dr. Macrene.

On a subsequent stop by her Upper East Side practice, I spoke with Dr. Macrene about her background, her philosophy, the common traps in cosmetic dermatology, plus what’s worth the money—the new, virtually painless intervention that’s staving off facelifts, say. Super actionable insights from her ahead, but first, some news from the High Touch universe lately:

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Laura Reilly: How do you describe what you do, and how did you get here?

Macrene Alexiades: I was an artist. I started doing portraits of family and friends as early as three years old. When I was a little bit older, I realized I had been drawing profiles. My mom was an artist and I basically watched how she would draw faces. I started to emulate her and copy the way she was drawing and painting and whatnot. The other thing that really captivated my attention was nature and science. Before I went to school, when I was really young, I put toothpicks in the garden, tracing the path of ants. I noticed that ants always followed the same circuitous path. Even though I was such a small child, I recognized that they were sending signals.

About 16 years later, I was in a Harvard auditorium with E.O. Wilson, a very famous animal and behavioral scientist, saying that they had discovered that ants release pheromones, invisible signals when they find food, and they meander their way back to the hill. All the ants use that random, bizarre pathway, it’s never the fastest or the straightest, but it is the pathway. It’s so cool that I figured that out when I was a kid. That was the competing parts of my mind. It was the artistic side, and then this science and math side. This continued throughout my childhood—I was winning science fairs, but I was also painting portraits.

In high school, I was already in a lab; I was working on plant molecular biology and insect biology. When I got to Harvard, I started as a biochem major. I switched to bio, but the first thing I did was go into a lab. I was working on insect development, finding non-toxic modes of insect control. My idea, which started years prior, was oral contraceptive for insects. It was really brilliant. Then I moved into another lab on plant molecular biology—I did five years on photo regulation, which is light regulation of genes. I started to become an expert on plant biology, photo biology, hence me being a laser specialist.

I ended up in medicine ultimately. I thought I could keep art as a hobby, and I couldn’t. So what I do now, which is basically injectables, lasers, developing technologies—it’s my art, and it’s my gift. I was so good at portraiture, I’m so good at seeing the beauty in the human form and in the world, but mainly the human form. I think that I found a way to give that gift back.

LR: I'm interested in photobiology. I've heard that sitting under LED lights is a crisis waiting to happen, because we're spending so much time indoors and not in natural light.

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Alex Mill 365 Ribbed Tank, $68 / Another Tomorrow Relaxed Wide Leg Pant, $850 / Maximum Henry Wide Standard Belt, $160 / Polo Ralph Lauren Bellport Striped Raffia Basket Tote, $449 $598 / Xero Shoes x LS Genesis Sandal, $150

Worn to: Oof, so many places, so often. My back-of-the-chair outfit for 90º days doing things in New York.

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Emily Dawn Long The Crunch Hat, $578 / Tropic of C Equator Top, $95 / Fruity Booty Backgammon Sarong, sold out / Christopher Esber Jo PVC Flip Flop Sandals, $300

Worn to: St. Martin, from the villa to the beach club at Belmond La Sammana.

Rubirosas Paris Shirt, $300 / Rowie In Season Organic Sarong, $129 / Metier Private Eye Bag, $5,250 + Aquilone Ball Charm, $390 / Jamie Haller The San Diego Sandal, $498

Worn to: I joined Margaux on a day trip to Pine Plains for a floral arranging workshop and dinner at Stissing House.

The Line By K Foz Dress, $139 / Gucci Bamboo Night Bag, $1,895 / De Beers Jewelry

Worn to: De Beers dinner at Caffe Zaffri.

Renggli Organza Cami Dress, $545 / Steve Madden Tracie Jelly Heels, $59 / Eliou Diero Necklace, $235 / The Row Dahlia Bag, $1,515

Worn to: Donald Judd Furniture Unscripted Conversation Series hosted by Montez Press Radio at the Judd Foundation.

Emily Dawn Long Spoiled Boys Tee, $200 / Leset Margo Tee, $78 / J.Crew Slip Skirt (similar from Leset, $205) / Alaïa Le Teckel Small, $3,390 / Scarosso Pauli Heels, $490 / Polo Sport Oval Sunglasses, $88

Worn to: In Paris during Men’s Week—appointments at Turn, Lauren Manoogian, cocktail with our erstwhile men’s guy and for Thistles + Olga Basha, dinner at Bar Omi.

Polo Ralph Lauren Polo Dress, $263 / Polo Ralph Lauren Metal-Accent Leather Belt, $598 / Polo Ralph Lauren Bellport Striped Raffia Basket Tote, $449 $598 / Aeyde Daphne Heeled Sandals, $545 / Polo Sport Oval Sunglasses, $88

Worn to: A Polo breakfast preview. Not sponsored, I just love the look!

Nu Swim organic Cotton T-Shirt, $84 / Commission Skip Skirt, $390 $555 / Alaïa Le Teckel Small, $3,390 / Scarosso Pauli Heels, $490

Worn to: A ladies of Madison Avenue watch event with Brynn Wallner and Delia Cai’s media mixer at Public Records. I know I’ve shared this look already, but giving it some more time in the spotlight because of how many people messaged me about the skirt, which is now on sale.

Lexx Finger Marché Shirt (similar from Studio Nicholson, $690) / Still Here Slacks, $295 / Alaïa Le Teckel Small, $3,390 / Aeyde Daphne Heeled Sandals, $545

Worn to: Get a haircut with Ashley Javier.

Donni The Baby Rib Baby Tee, $108 / Another Tomorrow Relaxed Wide Leg Pant, $850 / Maximum Henry Wide Standard Belt, $160 / Scarosso Pauli Heels, $490 / Neous Pardalis Bag, $805 / Polo Sport Oval Sunglasses, $88

Worn to: Drinks at Casetta with the girls. Everyone wore red that day (or did I only have eyes for red as a red-wearer myself…?).

Christian Dior Fall/Winter 1999 Collection Dress by John Galliano, $9,620

Worn to: The RealReal Upper East Side fitting rooms and nowhere else! To my chagrin!

Róhe Pankou Closure Silk Top, $1,010 / Doen Silk Lace Floral Midi Skirt, $147 / Aeyde Daphne Heeled Sandals, $545 / Gucci Bamboo Night Bag, $1,895

Worn to: Friends and family opening of Oberon, the New Museum’s new restaurant.

White Slip Dress (similar from Bondi Born, $145) / The Row Gala Pants, $1,090 / Khaite Loop 35 Beaded Leather Sandals, $960 / Cordera Handmade Beaded Net Bag, $329

Worn to: A Nécessaire dinner at ’s Nyack estate.

Flor eFlore Hannah Racerback Tank, $95 / Tibi Tropical Wool Maxi Trouser Skirt, $395 / The Row Marlo 12 Bag, $4,900 / Jamie Haller The San Diego Sandal, $498

Magasin may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.

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Last night, I went from a fine jewelry-watch event for Marli hosted by my friend Uptown, where some tongue-in-cheek was made about being the ladies of Madison Avenue, to Public Records in Gowanus for an old-school media mixer hosted by and featuring a matrix of my generation’s most upwardly mobile in-house editors and name-brand Substackers, plus new journalism grads with whom to network “vertically.” The temps hung just under 89º.

For a split-brain occasion of codes and cohorts, I wore a Nu Swim t-shirt (my recently discovered category end-all-be-all—more on this soon), a Commission skirt that plays the Prada trick of pressed fold lines and adds the piece de resistance: a fabric version of the paper tag stapled on by dry cleaners. It says “C S26.” With these, my evergreen The Row Dahlia bag and new regulars, Scarosso silver Pauli heels.

A posh gentleman at the watch function told me he likes my skirt, appreciating the creases, which he clocked as intentional: “it winks.”

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori

What’s new

• Some sexy summer shoe updates: There are the Ibis slingback and the fold over upper bloom sandal from Jude, both with a square peep-toe for showing off pedicures that had the Magasin News Crew in stitches. Jamie Haller just released two new versions of the penny loafer—a mule and an unlined penny loafer, each heat-wicking—and there’s the Olympe ballet flat by Repetto, a ballerina version of the Zizi Oxford shoe that’s built to mold to the foot.

• Two new brands are on our radar—both small batch, massive impact. First we have Doze, a new loungewear brand inspired by the Australian landscape. Online now are two sets of silk-cotton blend pajama-like button-downs and pants, plus two pairs of shorts. Then there’s Svarian, a new handbag brand by Anika Pandey whose Italian artisan-crafted bags arrive sub $500 (!) for any gal on the go seeking totes with long shoulder drops, and fold-over clutches that double as handbags with a detachable strap.

• Shanghai-based label Ruohoan is now at Net-A-Porter, yet another independent brand added to the e-tailer’s growing matrix. Fifteen pieces are available, all sub-$1k; our favs are the Savai cotton-gauze dress and the Aeris pleated silk-crepe midi.

• There’s also: Leset’s tencel-blend-filled July collection; the cluster pendants and lapis drop earrings from Sophie Buhai’s R27 collection, now available for pre-order; Charlotte Chesnais’s very first bridal collection, with some seriously sculptural engagement rings; the new jelly bags by ERL, available on the Cali-based brand’s website; a collection of one-of-one skirts by Britt Liberg at Carmen Amsterdam; and the Merit x The Ritz-Carlton collaboration, including beauty carts at Ritz-Carlton lounges, turndown amenities, and even in-room product bundles for guests, along with the Getaway set, a 4-product bundle of top-rated minis.

Men’s releases

• There’s a new Our Legacy Work Shop Sport collection for Summer 26, and this one is dedicated to ripstop. The collection consists mainly of water-resistant track jackets and matching shorts, as well as a few accessories, like a five-panel running cap and a parachute bag. The sport blouson is also really interesting, built for layering on post-workout.

What’s on sale

• La Garçonne is having a spring sale, and it rewards a good dig. The average discount is between 30%–50% off, like this Margaret Howell merino wool cardigan—but there is the occasional gem, like this Issey Miyake technical cotton jacket 70% off, from the $1,700 range to just over $500. Something to note: The bigger the discount, the more likely there’s only one left in stock, and that it’s final sale.

• The Agmes archive sale is here, and you can access it with the password ‘spring2026.’ Fare includes a lot of experiments and samples of all different materials, from the onyx lariat pendant to the XL Esther brooch in silver (shaped like the heads from Esther Island, genius).

• At the B Sides sale, 60–65% off is the name of the game for the majority of items, across basics and jeans alike. A lot of seasonal colors and patterns pop up across both categories, like the Helen tie-dyed sweatshirt for $58 down from $195, and the Lange Lasso trousers in Japanese Glen plaid twill, half off at $272.

• Happy birthday, Gil Rodriguez! Just like last year, the brand is celebrating with a sale—but for 2026, said sale is in the form of 20% off sitewide. Everything from the tube convertible midi to the corazon bodysuit (the red one, too), and the capri leggings—all 20% off with YAYA26 at checkout.

• There’s also: A 50% off curated sale selection at MKDT Studio; 60% off at Intimissimi from lacy balconettes to microfiber bandeaus; a big summer sale at Vaquera, especially favoring accessories like the lace Chantal hat; a rare Officina del Poggio sale with 30% off pieces like the croc-embossed obi wrap belt; 20% off at J.Hannah jewelry, including certain limited-edition pieces from the JH Editions collection; and early access to the Kamperett private sale, including jade organza pieces like the Anemoia blouse.

Home sales

• The Gardenheir home sale is a chief destination for supplies and all you’d need to look fab while using it. There are brass lamps for indoor gardens, gardening smocks, and even botanical bodycare, like the Wonder Valley hinoki body oil.

Magasin may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.

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Biologique Recherche, Timeline, Dr. Scholl’s, Lumify, WSA, Invisalign, Kaitlin Phillips, compression boots, Metagenics, liposomal phospholipid complex, methylene blue, progesterone, oxytocin, Ballerina Farm, Ashley Javier, wet cupping…

Welcome back to High Touch. Did you even notice we took Independence Day off? That’s wellness. Before I even launched this newsletter, people were telling me I had to talk to . She was, apparently, the beauty industry’s Swiss army knife, a Leónese fountain of knowledge, and at least as enthralled with the worlds of aesthetics and longevity—high tech and low, low brow and high—as I.

Today’s send is the outcome of that inevitable yet still entirely engrossing meeting: a nearly 2-hour interview, which you can watch in full above or read in highlights via her questionnaire below. It’s really good. Surprising and full of threads to pull and refreshingly honest about everything from hand cream to hormones to calisthenics to “RFK-coded” supplements that did for her what other interventions couldn’t.

But first, a few things heard, spotted, injected???? maybe??? in the High Touch universe this week:

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At-Home Products

Skincare

I do product development. I make skincare formulas. I test lab samples. When I’m sick of testing and I need to go back to simplicity, I go back to Biologique Recherche every time. I like a lot of drugstore stuff. Currently I’m using this really lame Cocokind face wash that I’ve written about. I just like the texture and the feel of it. I’ve been using a lot of Timeline products which I think are interesting. I’ve been using the new Goop vitamin C that I think is maybe the best vitamin C I’ve ever tried. I’m loyal to very few things. All the versions of P50 that every brand puts out, it’s not P50.

Haircare

Hair is the one thing that I’ve never gotten quite a handle on. I did the Harklinikken program for a few years. I was using their shampoo and conditioner and then their growth…it’s not even a serum, it’s like a weird liquid. It’s a very annoying process which I do think worked, and then I kind of fell off of it last summer and I need to get back on. Once in a while I have a craving for the Christophe Robin scalp scrub, I’ll have a jar of it that lives in my shower for, like, two years. I’m getting into hair masks, another thing Jen Brill turned me onto. I’ve become obsessed with bonding treatments—like a thing that you spray on before you shower, let it soak in for an hour or something, and then you shower and it gives you smooth, glossy hair.

Bodycare

Prior to Nécessaire launching from Nick Axelrod, who’s one of my closest friends, I would never have spent $30 on a body product like a lotion or a gel. I was using Aveeno and Dr. Bronner’s. He launched, I got a bunch of it. It’s really nice and now I’m spending $30 on body wash. It’s just a different texture and a different experience. I love the Soft Services buffing bar. I think it’s really genius. I go in and out of using oil. The Weleda oil I like a lot. The L’Occitane almond shower oil wash is a top-ten product. I’ve been using Paula’s Choice body retinol, which is neither here nor there. But I trust their formulas even though it’s not glamorous. They also have a weird estrogen line that’s supposed to be for crepey skin.

Hands, Feet, Nails

I hate hand cream. Nécessaire is the only one I’ve used nightly. It feels waxy and there’s a dry down to it. You don’t feel greasy. You’re still using your phone in bed or whatever. It’s really nice. This Dr. Scholl’s stick that I won’t shut up about, which is just like a giant Chapstick for your feet. It’s called cracked heel repair, or something disgusting. I use that a lot, especially in the summer because I like not wearing shoes. I do my own nails at home, I’ve turned into that person. The only shade that I’ll use is one coat of OPI Put it in Neutral. That’s my manicure shade. And OPI Big Apple Red is the only pedicure shade that I use.

Eyes

Lumify eye drops, the purple ones. Lash lifts don’t work on me. I very rarely wear mascara. I like getting my lashes tinted, but I don’t keep up with it. I do it once in a while if I remember, and I just do it at Benefit. Brows I don’t do, I just sort of maintain them myself. I was on a brow lamination journey for a long time and I would go to Jasmine Imani who was in Soho, but now she’s in the WSA building. I love her. She also does amazing lash lifts, I just can’t have one. I’ll dye them at home with Refectocil that I buy on Amazon.

Oral health

For many years, probably a decade, I was just using Crest Glamorous White because I liked the name. A friend told me she bought this new toothpaste and liked it, called Boka. So I tried that. It’s fine. I did Invisalign which I didn’t think I needed, and I felt like it made a huge difference. I had braces in high school and my teeth were sort of fine. I have small teeth, and I felt like the Invisalign actually is helping to hold up the foundation of my face which is nice as you get older. I do think it made a big difference. Not so much visually as sort of structurally.

At-Home Devices

Face + neck

It took me a really long time to get on the LED mask thing. I like the Omnilux men’s. It’s the one that I bought because I read or heard somewhere that it has more lights. I travel all the time. It’s easy to bring with me. I got that Medicube thing. I don’t really care about it. I have a ZIIP, which I do think works, but I’m lazy with it.

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It’s a mailbag week, not like, the answering of reader questions in what usually constitutes a newsletter “mailbag.” But mailbag, as in a stack of brown cardboard packages of varying dimensions and what lies within. I was out of town for a bit there—Paris, Mallorca—and when I came back, I unboxed some new additions to a legendary run of summer shopping…smoking guns of what’s firming up to be the summer’s unifying theme.

There’s the Chan Luu beaded scarf-necklace on white-and-red polka-dotted chiffon. Also beaded, these Tory Burch heeled sandals with chunky gold and champagne gems forming an ankle band. This remarkable Cordera leather macrame-ish pouch has red beads. And this likewise-leather bag charm from Métier has a single wooden bauble, a great piece of punctuation.

A pair of B&W Donni polka dot shorts, embroidered on silk taffetca. (We’re back to spots now.) The Chan Luu ying-yangs with a Realisation Par dress, red with white spots, va-va-voom in the way that RP dresses are. And red rules at large: an Extreme Cashmere long-sleeve, oversized to tie around the body by its sleeves in a hundred ways; Pech bathing boyshorts, tempting to wear in the “real world” with a tucked-in flowing top; and a Comme Si silk twill pajama shirt, the lipstickiest of rouges.

Beads and spots and reds. It’s the summer we all turned to Dries. Did I not just receive a text about a yet-to-be-released Free People duster that’s “so Dries”? (I did.) Have I not been on the hunt for a Carrie Bradshaw knee-length summer coat, repeatedly punching in “dries embroidered silk trench” across resale sites? (I have.) Are this jacquard skirt and fringed necklace not taunting me from my wishlists? (They are.)

Even the Dries van Noten Beauty lipstick set I just got—a kooky half-stripe-half-leopard case with three refill colors—comes in the sweetest pouch: red, spotty florals and bead-like knots along the drawstring.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori

What’s new

• Shark Tank export Xero shoes is back with another collaboration, this time with new indie darling on the block, Literary Sport. Their joint iteration of the Genesis sandal features a knotted thong toe loop, and has a single silver bead to polish up the sporty style. It comes in one colorway, a black sole with navy leather cording, and is only $150.

• Alex Mill x Quiet Town is here, and it’s three pieces of confectionary color-blocked clothing (say that five times fast). Apparel-wise, there’s the Saturday jacket and shorts, and of course, a Perfect tote (in the weekender size), each in a sherbet color palette featuring the color combo of the summer: pastel coral and lavender.

• There are some fresh exclusives at Khaite in the rouge noir colorway, a rich shade somewhere between a merlot-maroon and the inside of a perfectly cooked blood sausage. You can see the full breadth of the hue across the suede Blake crossbody, and the haircalf Audrey clutch.

• Tibi FW26 is now available for pre-order, and it’s a great litmus test for the upcoming season based on variety alone. Some pieces to note are the featherweight viscose neoprene baseball T-shirt, which looks to have an interesting weight to it as well as a dolman-like silhouette, and the vintage-Yohji-like eco acetate viscose front drape culotte, a relaxed pant with the look of a skirt.

• There’s also: Six new Jil Sander fragrances, including an intriguing woody shiso scent; the new Ferragosto edit from Staud, tailored for any Roman holiday; new silk camis (both bias cut and square necklines) from Comme Si; some extra soft and slinky pieces from Aflalo (i.e. the Evie dress in violet); and the new Pandora Wonders collection co-created by Harry Lambert and the jewelry brand.

Men’s releases

• The third Colbo x Sperry collaboration launched this morning, and it’s always a joy to see these brands join heads on some instant classics. This time around it’s a take on the topsider, with three different fabrics: natural jute, washed linen, and distressed leather. (They go down to a men’s size 4 for all my ladies and smaller foot fellows who’d like a pair, too.)

• There’s also: A Maxfield collaboration boot with Guidi, complete with a chunky lug sole; and the pin cord-heavy (it’s essentially like more fluid corduroy) Casey/Casey AW26-27 menswear drop.

Home releases

• Kelly Wearstler debuts a new glassware collection with Serax, and it’s a sculptural complement to her existing Dune dining sets. There’s everything from champagne to wine glasses, alongside a suite of vessels better suited for cocktails. Currently adding 4 of the long drink glasses to my cart to maximize mojito season…

• Jewelry designer Sophie Buhai just released a limited-edition book dedicated to her Jewelry Objects. The tome, meant to live on display, serves as a tribute to some of her most memorable works, like my personal favorite, the magnifying glass.

What’s on sale

• The St. Agni sale just dropped, and from top to bottom, discounts are exquisite. Pieces like the bateau cut out dress and multiple colors of the thong detail slides are 70% off. Plus, there are linen pieces like the fine band Carter trouser from SS26 at 40% off…

• The designer sale at Bergdorf Goodman just got even better, with an additional 25% off this edit. Fare includes: these Proenza Schouler glove lace ballerina flats priced at $307 from an original $820, and even more novelty pieces like the Cult Gaia Dee Dee flower vase clutch which, after additional discount, lands at $261 from $498.

• Altuzarra’s summer sale is here. The majority of it is in the 50–70% off range, which is truly the best news this rainy-muggy NYC day. This includes 100% silk pieces like the funnel neck Blaine top, discounted to $495 from $995, and the 100% lambskin Hayden jacket, down sub-$1k from $2,795.

• We’re officially nearing the end of the Toteme sale, and this discount range is just as diverse as the inventory. Some examples: the classic cut denim in mid blue is 70% off at $114 and the mohair knit tank dress in off-white is 40% off—one of the best kick flare dress silhouettes from all of SS26, arguably. I’m also delighted to report that my favorite piece last season, the detachable cape coat in beige, is now 40% off.

• There’s also: A buy three, get one free deal extending the Organic Basics sale through the weekend; 50% off at Sefr, from halter tops to laminated denim skirts; some new additions to the Rohe sale, including internet-favorite Pankou top; new pieces added to the Jacquemus summer sale like the Bisou Perle bag (in the silver, too); 50% off over at Emilia Wickstead in case you’re looking to powerclash some of her full skirts with her recent Manolo collab; and a very dress-heavy sale over at Beaufille; a lot of merch around the 40% off discount mark.

Home sales

• Working from home is a lot easier in a chic space, and the latest DWR home office-oriented sale presents up to 25% off discounts in your curation of said space. Everything from the Herman Miller Aeron chair to the two-bay Pier library from Hay to all of the best Eames storage pieces are designed specifically for your in-home workspace.

Magasin may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.

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Last night I dined at Oberon, for the soft-opening of the New Museum’s new restaurant, thrillingly located down the alleyway of Freemans, which I described to my dinner mate as “a big place to go on a Raya date with a guy from LA 10 years ago,” and which I was surprised to learn is still operational. It was upper 60ºs–low 70ºs and raining and muggy and cozy on account of being a Monday, and yet the circumstances called for the kind of attention you’d pay to an outfit for running into certain fashion critics and wine importers and architects known to you.

I wore a Róhe pankou-closure silk top, unbuttoned from the bottom to allow for a triangle of skin and skirt to swish open in movement. A Dôen lace slip only a couple seasons old but already relegated to “the hunt” (i.e. on eBay). And finished with a Gucci handheld device—these sleeves have no business with bag straps—and the same old Aeyde heeled thongs I always wear.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori

What’s new

• Carven introduces FW26, and it’s oh so good. Every part of it is fantastic, from the washed out cornflower blue hues to the boxy chunky knits. Mark Thomas is reminding us all what made his Carven vision so special: his ability to take zeitgeisty silhouettes like cargo pants and streamline them into crisp trousers and shorts, or turning lingerie slips into Chantilly lace-trimmed column midis.

• There are some new shoes from Church’s now at La Garçonne, including a winter leather sandal with a stacked heel and thick leather fisherman-style upper that allow for several hosiery options, depending on weather. There are also some silhouettes in distressed leather, like the Sienna and Shanghai loafers—both really represent the not-too-precious sturdy leather of the English shoe brand.

• We all know what new summer arrivals mean for The Row, but we’re always kept on our toes (and I don’t just mean the sandals, though there is a new version of the Malick). Of course, it’s white cotton all day—whether it’s the Keiko dress or the ankle-skimming Artemis skirt—and summer goth all night, in the jersey Danel tank or the silk cady Kael dress.

• There’s also: The arrival of Rescha in all its culturally Indian-and-French glory at SSENSE; the Acne Studios Frédéric Malle fragrance, now available in bath and body scents; the new Charlotte Mary-Jane ballerina at Bottega, with a Nodo Quatro-inspired charm on the footstrap; the arrival of Loewe PF26 at MyTheresa, including leather goods like the oversized Flamenco clutch; and a new collection from Veneda Carter, full of hammered silver cocktail rings, low-rise denim, and some sturdy ribbed cotton staples.

Men’s releases

• Saman Amel is here for high summer with a ready-to-wear line that skates the delicate menswear line between pajama-level comfort and expensive, middle-aged father. What we mean: sky blue raw silk drawstring shorts, styled with camp-style long-sleeve shirt jackets and deerskin slippers. A portrait of an opulent man on vacation.

• Dries Van Noten AW26 menswear is just as pattern-diverse as the womenswear, and for that we give thanks—also for the skirt-like cotton wrap belts. If there’s one thing to consistently cop at DVN, it’s that mid-waist, straight-leg pant in whatever seasonal textile of pattern is available, like this Afghan-style corduroy pair.

Home releases

• Métier introduces luxury…dominoes? This isn’t your uncle’s set, though: the collectible features hand-cut resin double-six dominoes in a calfskin leather case (hence the $950 price tag) for an indulgent gaming experience.

• LoveShackFancy x Target is here, with over 200 pieces—the majority of which are under $25 (with the exception of a few Case-Mate tech items, like this iPhone case). The collab’s greatest strength is in the desk accessories/stationery category, specifically this planner, these tab dividers, and these highlighters—all of which match.

What’s on sale

• There’s a La Collection archive sale running now with a great lineup of steep discounts, the majority of which are around 70% off retail. We’ve got eyes on all the more occasion-leaning pieces, like the Joan dress (was $1,200, now $360) and the Bobby jacket (was $790, now $240). Sizes are going quick, par for the archive sale course, so best to move decisively.

• Janessa Leone is having a more low-key sale, with a whole host of items discounted between 20–40% off. Items to keep an eye out for: Staples like the Bowe belt and anything in the raffia straw, including the Teagan bucket hat and Cami bag, both in the 35% off range.

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Happy Independence Day. On my flight from Mallorca to Paris this morning, I watched a woman in the seat in front of me edit an Instagram Story of herself in a swimsuit with the text “Is it even the 4th of July if you’re not a boat?” Something for us all to ponder this holiday weekend, along with other such calendarily liberated questions like, is November diesel-powered, does Thursday have a 7-year variable rate mortgage, and may the fourth be with you?

In our business, a federally recognized day of rest usually means a loosening grip on current-season full-price. The holy window of summer clothes being on sale in summer. Taste from my watch lists: Rachel Scott’s first-collection Proenza dress that made everyone’s knees weak; Marie Antoinette Manolos for 40% + 15% at checkout; last two pairs of the Sophie Buhai scarab earrings at 23% off; and from my closet, the Tom Ford racerback dress that’s my million-degrees elegant easy donnie wah; 40% + 20% off.

More sales down below, you know where to go.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori

What’s new

• Two major Magasin-universe drops at Net-A-Porter: an exclusive capsule with Indonesian brand Faithfull, and select pieces from Loewe PF26. Both are graphic-pattern-focused: see the Faithfull polka dot co-ords, like the Valeria capri and Ana top, as well as the plethora of stripes over at Loewe, from silk twill pants (there is a matching halter) to crisp poplin shirts.

• We’ve got a drop from Rachel Comey’s PF26 collection, and it’s all about the lacy details. The styling presents a lot of opportunity in each piece (kudos); take the Elmore dress, which can be worn by itself as a sleeveless shift, or alongside a blazer like the Romi for colder temperatures or more professional settings. Even the more out-there prints like the Portview pant or the Swift mini skirt present a lot of mixing and matching options.

• Fruity Booty x CARMEN is here, a fashion-y spin on a grandma’s-couch floral print translated through three swim styles: a one piece, bikini bra-top, and mid-waist bottom. This collaboration is for those who love nostalgic floral swimwear but are skeeved out by wearing a used bikini from the ’70s. Oh, and there’s a sarong, too.

• There’s also: A bead-laden drop from Chris Esber’s PF26 collection; new eyewear from the Jacquemus SS27 show presented by Linda Farrow, boasting hella silhouettes in at least 3 colors each; the arrival of Dar Zero at Moda Operandi, along with an exclusive trunk show; new haircare brand Funner, with a comprehensive range of styling and cleansing products for all hair types; and the Dehanche SS26 jewelry collection, with some added talismanic pieces like the Koru dangle.

What’s on sale

• Extra 20–40% off at Bergdorf Goodman starts now for select designer items in this section. Fret not, the selection is just the right amount of dense, with a good variety to boot (there’s a lot of last-season Chloé). Some pieces we’re eyeing: these t-strap ballerinas from The Row, down to $436 from $1,090, and this Simone Rocha midi priced at $457 from $1,430; both with additional discounts added.

• There’s even more added to the Proenza Schouler sale, which bridges the gap between the Hernandez-McCullough and Rachel Scott eras. The majority of pieces are in the 50–60% off range, like the Adelide dress marked down to $635 from $1,590. There are also a couple of pieces in the intentionally wrinkly memory cotton, like the Hansly top and skirt.

• The sale at Studio Nicholson is a big one, both featuring several new-to-sale items and a lot of further reductions (like the Oates skirt, now 40% off). Most of the goods fall within the 40–50% off range, which is solid for Studio—especially for those light jackets like the Marne, now 50% off.

• To anyone else who remembers the Eckhaus Latta sample sales irl in Chinatown: their current sale feels just like that, but online. Stock includes everything from their signature lapped baby tees (discount varies by colorway) to pieces from spring, like the petal dress. Availability dwindles fast, so best to shop this one with as much gumption as intention.

• It’s a Fforme sale where basically everything in the edit is 50% off. You really can’t go wrong with this selection as long as your size is available; pieces we’ve got our eye on are the forever-closet staples in new colors, like the Agel pant in oxblood, and Bianca dress in fuschia.

• Just in time for the heatwave that’s hopped the Atlantic from Europe to the Northeast coast, two great shoe sales from Hereu and Emme Parsons. While the Hereu sale also includes a host of handbags, the shoes sport better deals; with pieces like the current season Mantella strappy fisherman sandal 30% off, and Raima asymmetrical fisherman sandal 40% off. Find a great breadth of strappy sandals over at Emme Parsons similarly discounted, like the Cecilia in red nappa and Bari in cerulean nappa 40% off.

• Veronica de Piante is having a private sale that is (you guessed it, by this point in the newsletter) nearly all 50% off. We recommend shopping based on color as VDP doesn’t tend to re-do non-neutrals; currently scoping the Belle shorts in technical cotton marked down to $475 from $950, and—though the thought of wearing one is unfathomable in this weather—the Heather coat in plum (also half-off, $1,295 from $2,590).

• There’s also: Up to 50% off at Organic Basics (perfect time for some cotton underwear packs for the summer) with an extra 10% off using MAGASIN10; up to 70% off an absolute time capsule of an SSENSE sale selection, from Lanvin dresses to the Marine Serre leggings; the beginning of the Frame summer sale, including nearly every rise and fit of jeans possible (and some good blouses, too); an additional 25% off everything from suede jackets to silk dresses at Vince with JULY25 at checkout; an Eterne summer archive sale led by several tomato-red loungey silhouettes 50% off; a private sale at Sold Out NYC with 20% off some of the cleanest cotton around using PRIVATE20; and the beginning of the LoveShackFancy 4th of July sale with up to 75% off a sweet (see: heart eyelets) sale edit.

Home sales

• It’s a Hawkins sale, with an additional 20% off all sale styles applied at checkout. For that express reason, the best value comes in the form of anything you’d need a set of, like these tumblers, or these transparent dinner plates.

• There’s also: Up to 50% off at Lulu & Georgia, where home decor and wallpaper get some of the biggest discounts; an additional 20% off sale for Marimekko home when you sign up for their free newsletter (highly recommend the sheets in a graphic print); and 30% off single items from East Fork’s ‘seconds’ pottery section, their line of aesthetically imperfect yet structurally sound diningware.

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My stretch in Paris technically overlapped with both men’s and market weeks, with couture just a few days ahead of us in July. I was there on unofficial business, not the usual shopping gossip recon trip I take during fashion and design weeks. Still, intelligence has a way of surfacing when so many fashion agents come together in one of the most inspiring shopping cities in the world.

My condensed findings from a week:

• Bode’s Fly-Tie release (coinciding with my husband’s discovery of the sport) reminded me of the first time I’d heard of fly fishing…by way of the Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club. An Upstate friend shared with me a growing rift in his town: The locals were becoming increasingly frustrated with LMFFC, which, despite its name, was a social club directed at wide-brim-hat city types wanting to spend more time outdoors and didn’t actually have a fly fishing program of its own, or at least not one deemed legitimate by the townies. It also released towel collaborations and other such offenses The allegation was that the club was an SEO parasite, drawing opportunity away from fly fishing businesses (guides, supply stores), stealing from the honest county man to line the pockets of someone “not even from here,” plus the unpardonable offense of drawing NYC yuppies north, nevermind that any aspiring fly fisher Googling with intention would likely quickly move on to the next search result if they didn’t find what they were looking for. A niche drama of a simpler time online. Anyway, Bode’s Fly-Tie is available exclusively at its Paris store.

• Olga Basha is releasing women’s- and men’s-specific jeans (thus far, all of its other styles have been successfully unisex). The women’s style curves almost imperceptibly in at the inner knee and cuts a wide V out of the front rise. Celine, their designer, also effused to me about the narrowness of the yoke and length of the belt loops, and she was so right to do so, because they make all the difference in how sharp and precise the final product is. Coming September.

• Everyone—no, like everyone, every woman—I asked about their shopping of the week told me they went to the Simple Rainbow popup happening down the street from Emily Dawn Long’s showroom (most of them found it after buying a t-shirt from her). It’s a Shanghai-based shoe brand multiple people described to me as “like Repettos” that came in every color you could want. The brand says its online shop is “soft launching now” and to DM them if you see anything you like. Prices are around $180 a pair.

• Lemaire opened up a new shop off of Palais Royale. Gorgeous, of course. It was private sale week, and I bought this off-white chore coat with a leather collar for 40% off. Also realized how divine the brand’s belts are.

• At Turn Paris, where I bought this limited-run chiffon-sequin scarf (very Dries-ian), I met an olive oil tin unexpectedly merchandised on a mantle. Apparently, legendary designer Emanuel Ungaro’s daughter established an olive grove and estate called La Cavalerie where she, yes, produces excellent small-batch olive oil. There are also two guest houses, several swimming reservoirs, and a culinary program where up to 22 guests can stay and dine.

• Mohawk General owners are moving from LA to Paris. Could they be opening a store there?

• There’s a rumored Thistles x Alexa Chung collab coming (she’s a confirmed wearer of the Jack sunglasses). Also, Reformation x Alexa Chung apparently in the works, too.

• The most absolutely remarkable thing I saw all three days I was there was a Nantucket Basket by Hiroko Takeda at Ogata, the beloved cafe-restaurant-boutique in the 3^eme. Takeda is a Japanese textile artist based in New York who drew upon the traditional straw weaving of Nantucket Island to make these bassinet-like totes with leather trim. They reminded me of Ogata’s in-house leather East-West bags, in the shape of their signature, origami-like paper shopping bags, which I’ve covered her previously. But Takeda’s straw baskets and just total, devastating perfection. €3,000–3,200 each.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori.

What’s new

• Sabah dropped its first collaboration, and with South London fashion studio Cawley at that. The two brands teamed up on a trio of colorways (Cawley pink, black, and white) for the full-grain suede Babet flat, each adorned with a handmade silk rose from Cawley at the toe. These are limited-edition due to their specialness. Who doesn’t love an adorned shoe?

• There are some new belts from Maximum Henry that can make as much or as little of a statement as you’d like—they’ve got options. From the studded standard 1.25” to the very wide standard 1.75”, these hand-crafted leather belts are, like all good ones, made to improve with age. Think of them like your dad’s trusty leather belt, but, like, fashion.

• There’s also: The arrival of clinical-grade hair removal brand Nood at Violet Grey; and select cotton activewear from H-O-R-S-E freshly added to the FWRD brand index.

Home releases

• Target x Hollister is here, and not only is it a legendary collab that feels like my (Maya’s) dream fodder from 2004, it’s also Hollister’s first foray into the home and decor category. Designed for dorm and home (the striped percale sheet set is prep perfection), the collection is study-and-chill, with a couple fun twists, like a decorative pillow made to look like a pullover hoodie and a weighted floral printed teddy bear.

What’s on sale

• There’s a Lauren Manoogian sale on, and it’s expansive. Discounts range between 30% off last season pieces, like the net wrap halter now priced at $360 from $510 (and a skirt in the same geometric open net stitch, also 30% off), to 50% off pieces like the soft alpaca Suri bomber and quilted Tami jacket. Higher discounts favor those shopping off-season, in preparation for fall-winter weather.

• A Gimaguas private sale is now live, one that prioritizes basics just as much as statement pieces (or sets). Example: the trackpant-inspired Tyler trouser and relaxed-fit Max T-shirt are both roughly 30% off, as well as the hole-punch-effect Summer top and viscose Aros skirt (available in red, as well).

• There’s 40–60% off at Alex Mill, and it feels like a summertime greatest hits release. The pointelle Lara tank drops to $24 from $78, the Marie linen dress goes from $195 to $99. Everything marked down is excellent, so this sale definitely isn’t one to sleep on.

• The Tibi end of season sale has got some significant discounts, the average piece hovering at around 60% off, with some even reaching the 70% mark. Nearly everything in this edit is at a great price, but to really take advantage, we recommend going for higher-priced items and fabrics, like this pinched pleat dress (was $875, now $350) and this washable cashmere oversized polo (was $565, now $170).

• An Aritzia summer sale usually means a generous across-the-board discount, and this year is no different—there’s up to 50% off of everything. A lot of the more West-Village-girly (no shade) pieces like the linen Lodge short, and select colors of the martini satin halter top (depending on color), scale between 20–40% off, while the Sperry collab shoes and smocked tuberose dress are firmly in the 50% off category.

• Last summer, writer, consultant, and pinnacle fashion girl Taylore Scarabelli said it was the season of “cutie patooties,” and the Hai sale is her style prediction, manifold. While the markdown price only emerges once you click on an item from the sale page, clothing (and some accessories, like the Bernadette bag) are roughly 30% off, like the Leo trousers with a ruffled hem down to $170 from $242.

• There’s also: Up to 60% off activewear, loungewear, and all in-between at Athleta; the summer warehouse sale at Frank&Eileen, where luxe cotton dresses like this one go from $578 to $173; up to 50% off in a rag & bone warehouse sale that has so much more than just denim (we recommend checking out the blazers and jackets); and a majorly dress-oriented sale at Simkhai with some runway pieces half-off.

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Upper bleph, brow lift, Upneeq, Dysport, Daxxify, Christian Bale, nootropics, nicotine, microneedling, exosomes, LED therapy, centella, reishi…

Welcome back to High Touch. We’ve made it to the next edition of In Vivo, which, as a reminder, is a column where I share all of the procedures, practices, and products my friends and I are testing. Everything you read here started in a group chat or IRL, born out of organic conversation drift or the urgency to recommend something that “works.”

Below, you’ll hear from me about why Daxxify > Botox and what cult facialist Pietro Simone tells me is “the most underrated peptide” in beauty. Miranda Levitt talks almost-as-good-as-surgery eye drops. And Maggie Jones on the nootropic she takes to write for 10 hours straight. But first, what’s happening in the HT rumor mill.

Non-surgical

Upneeq

I’ve been using this eye drop that opens your eyes, and it’s amazing. I feel like it’s a really nice, gentle treatment for women feeling like they need an upper bleph. But it’s a godsend for people with drooped lids like me. It stimulates the Müller muscle (involuntary eyelid muscle) to contract, giving the appearance of a more awake eye. I don’t use it every day. In fact I’m trying to save it for only occasions. Hugely helpful at weddings. Idk if you can tell as much as I can (before I used it, my gf Polina kept being like, “look how much more awake I look!”), but to me looking in the mirror, the difference is huge.

Each tube is supposed to only be used once, but I usually get 2-3 drops per eye out of each. So you can use for 3 days. For me, no side effects. Polina says it makes her eyes a little tired feeling the next day. It’s by prescription only, so side effects are listed and warnings and everything.

I will eventually get a bleph and brow lift, my mom and grandma both had them partially covered by insurance. But for now this is a safe way to give the appearance of a more open eye on the days when I wake up just looking TIRED. Like if I didn’t get a good night sleep or I have an event, I use it and I suddenly look like I had 12 hours, no drinking, no problem.

– Miranda Levitt

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I landed in Paris 5 hours ago, and everything everyone has said about the heat is true. Still, the first thing I did after checking into my hotel was walk over to Sant Roch, a sauna-cold plunge I’d first visited on opening week earlier this year and left with notes (judging by the improved music and easier access to drinking water—yeah—it seems they took them). The idea today was to test a theory that contrast therapy is actually the best immediate post-flight fix, better than lymphatic drainage or working out. Think there’s something there.

My hotel is within a block of The Row, not altogether coincidentally, so I stopped in on my walk home. All week, I’ve been texting friends on the ground and zooming into their IG stories to try and gauge how people are dressing for the 100º F weather that’s raged on for days. So it occurred to me to notice how the staff here would answer the question. They weren’t far off from my own Another Tomorrow double-pleated pants, Leset Margo tee, and Christopher Esber flip-flops (have to take advantage of the one day a year when Parisians will tolerate toes): one wore a white long-sleeve Ciles tee with black Fiamma balloon pants and ballet flats. Another, all black in an oversize (untucked) Chiara tee and Bermuda shorts—could’ve been the Kalyans or the Falks. Both bangers. Put this way, there’s really nothing to “get.” Wear natural fabric that hangs away from your body.

ALSO noticed at The Row is that 1. the French still can’t make an iced Americano to save their lives. Something endearing about that. And, 2. Happier Grocery, which I’d seen and reported at The Row Amagansett last summer, is also present here. The cafe is selling little packets of mixed nuts and chocolate bars for reasons beyond my understanding of that bizarre relationship.

More from me on the shopping scene when I’ve had a few days to marinate, but for now enjoy this little Parisian amuse bouche!

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori.

What’s new

• Meta Glasses by Kylie Jenner are available now. It’s a smart strategy to collaborate with King Kylie on an AI-eyewear collection, where her signature Kylie style is as accessible as it is subtle. Each of the three frames mix form and function, with ultrawide 12 megapixel cameras with 3k HD video quality, and over 8 hours of battery life. They un-uglied a tech gadget and launched it with a Kardashian…and it only took 5 years since the launch of the original Ray Bans to do it.

• Jil Sander PF26 is now shoppable online, and there’s something for every type of Jil Sander consumer. For the shirting fans: a Millennial pink poplin top; for the clever-separates shoppers, the Radzmir shorts and jacket; for the season-to-season statement piece customers, satin A-line dresses and wool mélange bustier frocks. And, of course, some distinctly Bellotti sculptural low heels, like these pointed toe slingback wedges.

• Speaking of PF26, Cordera dropped its collection for the season. It reads like a brand-safe version of modest dressing, sans-Little House on the Prairie allegations. The down-home feeling comes from the checked oversize shirts and dresses; when worn with bottoms like the chino-esque low rise cotton pants or layered over the curved baggy jean, they take on the attitude of a comfort-driven metropolitan lifestyle. There are some riffs on the core waistcoats too, like the tailored peplum vest.

• It’s a knot-y high summer collection from Le Monde Béryl, replete with some new takes on woven leather as well as the beaded thong, now available in ice blue satin. New to this line up are the Victoria wedge and soft leather loafer in knotted leather, optimal for a bit of summer toe cleavage.

• There’s also: Gucci’s Monte Carlo-themed women’s summer collection, featuring flatform logo slides and an interlocking-G thong bikini; a new tennis-y New Balance x Miu Miu collection with star player Coco Gauff, white pleated skirts, and 530L suede sneakers included; the Violet Gray Poolside box, a curated collection of beauty products designed for body-of-water-side support (including the Sofie Pavitt Face blemish defense mist); Stone Fruit’s new fish motif ceviche collection; and the limited-edition Béri Lif bag by Polène, an exclusive version of the Béri silhouette family featuring leather appliqué leaves.

Men’s releases

• Bottega Veneta just dropped some menswear exclusives on MyTheresa, and it feels like an Easter egg hunt for items from Jacob Elordi’s wardrobe in the final season of Euphoria. For those who (thankfully) didn’t watch, his character Nate Jacobs pretty much wore exclusively Bottega men’s before he met his demise; the orbit flash suede-trimmed sneakers and Intrecciato wool and mohair blouson are pieces we can just imagine him putting on to male-manipulate.

Home releases

• Hill House Home x Williams Sonoma just hit stores, and it’s every bit as farmhouse-utility as we’d hoped. The brands pair with one another naturally; what with the HHH smocked dresses easily translating into tie-back aprons (for just $49). The same sweet floral motifs spread across bed linens and kitchen textiles, like oven mitts and hand towels. The woven outdoor furniture and accents are more subtle, just right for an al fresco high tea.

• Fashion designer Humberto Leon just released his exclusive collection with Ruggable, and to say each is a statement piece is, well, an understatement. There are classic graphic designs like the Helen varsity stripe, but also some with Chuck Bass-level (Season 1) argyle prints or perspective-bending checkerboards. The pièce de résistance that feels most Humberto: the M&E charms rug, which reimagines the traditional rug border with a charm bracelet motif.

What’s on sale

• It’s a seasonal sale for Loulou de Saison, with a nice array of ready-to-wear and some accessories, too. There are quite a few pieces marked 50% off, like the Aidar LDS wool cashmere cardigan priced at $205 from an original $410, and the Tana circular tote bag down to $612 from $1,225. A favorite: the coordinating red suede Engel pencil skirt and boxy Zaida top —both pieces together total less than the original price of the skirt alone, for perspective. The sale section is truly robust, and worth a thoughtful peruse.

• There’s currently up to 60% off at Net-A-Porter’s sale, Manolos included (this pair is 50% off). A whole host of pieces from CK Collection wool dresses (priced down to $2,400 from $4k…and from the previous season’s buy) to Jil Sander runway pieces are half off, like this sage green shell priced at $1,345 from $2,690. As a major e-tail destination, the sale can feel labyrinthian at best; we suggest filtering by designer, and then sorting by newness for easier navigation.

• It really does feel like anything is possible at the Khaite sale, where the average markdown is 50% off, with some items dipping into the 60% territory; a rare occasion for the brand. We’re talking everything from core pieces like the Willem sweater (marked down to $716 from an original $1,790) to favorites from seasons past, like the fine merino wool Alek cardigan, down to $1,300 from $2,600.

• There’s 40% off select PS and SS26 collection pieces over at Jamie Haller right now with PRIVATESALE at checkout using this link. Fare includes seasonal icons like the safari shirt (the pistachio is our fave), as well as shoes like the Jutti slipper (down to $298 with discount) and several colors of the Cove slipper. $360 for a high-quality leather flat? Thanks JH…

• It’s the annual archive sale over at Margaux, and might we say it’s perfect timing for anyone searching for a new pair of summer-appropriate shoes. Take 30% off the slipper-like Clara mule, and 50% off the Mira Jane—the brand’s own take on the Mary Jane for today’s gal on the go. This selection makes it hard to choose between colors, so a suggested practice is to add all to cart and then rule out via process of elimination.

• There’s also: 25% off at Tropic of C for a seasonal sale, limited colors of the top-rated equator top and Praia bottoms included; up to 70% off at Heaven Mayhem for a sample sale that spans archive favorites and everyday icons, like the Odette earrings; an additional 25% off an array of indie brand staples from the likes of Priscavera and Christopher Esber at Maison Rogue with SALEONSALE; up to 40% off at Zara, including ZW collection pieces like this satin dress; the Re/Done archive sale, featuring styles like the mid-rise split denim skirt up to 70% off; and the return of the Banana Republic summer sale, with up to 60% off select styles (or, in the case of the ultra high-rise wide-leg paper bag pant, 80% off).

Men’s sales

• Early access is available to the Our Legacy summer sale for those signed up to the newsletter (and to those reading this newsletter) before the public start date July 1. The selection is discounted 40% off, and includes all the best OL bangers, like the classic shirt in white silk (now prices at $168) to more stand-out pieces like the unconstructed ceremony blazer in pinstripe herringbone, down to $600 from $1,000.

Home sales

• Jono Pandolfi is having a sale in honor of the final season of FX’s The Bear, where all pieces available in toasted clay with white glaze are 15% off. To maximize discounts, the place settings have the best “bang for buck” so to speak; if summer dinner parties are on your horizon, the coupe 4-piece is a strong contender at $181 from an original $201.

• Happy solstice, as brought to you by the thoughtful herbalists over at Moon Juice. Through the end of the day, the brand is taking up to 35% off a whole host of vitamins and supplements, including the top-rated “adaptogen for fire” Sex Dust and hair and nail supplement Pearl powder concentrates.

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I use the Google sponsored products box like a little shopping snack throughout the work day. Like when I just searched “bottega veneta velvet steps” (my bottle of the new eau de parfum just arrived—I sprayed it on while still wearing a hoodie and pajama shorts), I’m also shown a pair of beaded Dries heels on sale at Net-A-Porter and a surprising vintage wire-frame Bottega minaudiére on 1stDibs. I click into both.

I know from past experience when I’ve searched “colbo”—not a brand Google can easily make affiliate revenue off of—the box populates its best AI approximations of the style through monetizable channels. When I test it out now, it shows me ramie Leset pants, a studded organza Wales Bonner skirt, a dusty rose Rachel Comey skirt, none of which read very Colbo to me at all, but that I open tabs for nonetheless.

Last night I was hacking the feature’s people-pleasing tendencies to get around The RealReal’s notoriously useless internal search: “colleen allen trr,” “vintage slip pastel trr xs,” “prada vintage dress trr,” “beaded kitten heels 36 trr.” The point was not accuracy, which it won’t deliver, but a spacial, algorithmic trigger for tangential pieces otherwise buried in TRR’s depths. I am stupid to keep outing my saved items since you keep buying them, but this recognizable Chanel crochet top came up and it’s way underpriced. This Oscar de la Renta mini dress is slightly more than I want to pay for it but is a dream. This clear-sequined Giorgio Armani slip surfaced on Poshmark and congrats to the size 8 who picks it up. Wish I was you.

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori.

What’s new

• Banana Republic tapped vintage sourcer Amy Blanchard, author and co-founder of the iconic Portland-based store James Rowland, to curate a selection of 70+ archival BR pieces from the ‘90s and aughts in a limited drop that hits the site Wednesday at noon ET. (We’re sharing early as it’s a sell-out risk.) Amy sees the brand at the height of its nostalgic power, folding in buttery leathers, era-true raw silks, sophisticated slash-neck knits…as a longtime harborer of the vintage Banana Republic secret myself, it was inevitable that the brand’s lasting quality and timeless fits come front and center.

• Introducing Proenza Schouler PF26, a collection that carries the weight of transitional dressing with an impressive line-up of fabrics. There’s everything from pleated georgette silk dresses like the Paulina, to heavy sable suit separates and textured jacquard dresses for the random 50-degrees Fahrenheit day. There are also many versions of the brand’s universally flattering stretch viscose to choose from—the Nayara and Paz, for example.

• It’s the first drop from 6397’s PF26 collection, and the brand language really carries through in new denim washes and bright, lightweight knit color palettes. The hues in question: the straight leg Icon pant in moss, and the wool-cashmere blend scoop neck vest in an orange-red. 6397 is strategic with their statement pieces, in that there are only a few at a time—like the scraps skirt and S-curve dress—making the basics-driven collection feel like a woman’s actual closet.

• We can all admit that the blokette, footballer-hot girl uniform (wearing sports bottoms and team merch with bows and heels) is dead, but Reformation x Umbro found a way to breathe some life into its corpse. Apart from the necessary Umbro-branded pieces (the knit dress is good), there are standouts like the track-inspired Ayer jacket and contrast striped Aitana pant that remind us how the best parts of the sport are perhaps the silhouettes.

• Zac Posen’s latest experiment with GapStudio takes on the traditional white pocket tee, which he’s managed to turn into a limited-edition exclusive. The capsule consists of two items, each a take on the white tee: a structured scoop-back pocket tee, and a boatneck backless maxi dress that turns a simple T-shirt into something much more glamorous.

• Loulou de Saison ushers its FW26 collection online with a flourish of silk twill, ribbed jersey, and fine-knit cashmere. We bring up the materials because of the price points: the Alera pants are $440 for 100% silk, as is the Miles long-sleeve polo in 100% fine-knit cashmere. The ribbed jersey camis sit right at $100, which is only an added bonus to the fact that they’re really, really soft.

• There’s also: A washed canvas drawstring backpack with a luxe suede base from Attersee; the classic LMB Iris heel, now in a mule; a boucle-driven Lauren Manoogian Resort 26 collection, now on-site; a fragrance multi-balm and perfume oil from Diffar, whose hair oils have quickly entered the Magasin beauty brand universe; The Crown Affair x Ilia Out-The-Door Ritual Set, with a little something for several hair types; and UNIQLO’s Peace For All campaign, an initiative using artist-designed T-shirts from the likes of Sofia Coppola and Ke Huy Quan to raise money for international organizations that support those in need.

Men’s releases

• Déhanche launches mens, aka five styles in different sizes and levels of bling. The Baptiste and Jorre are the most day-to-day choices with simple hardware and black leather, while the Hollyhock and Alegra include the multiple-ring detail for those who want to participate in the brand’s signature detailing.

Home releases

• Autumn Sonata just released more colors of their pool towels, and they accidentally reflect the four houses at Hogwarts. There are two stripe variations, the green horizontal Charlotte, and the vertical Helena, available in their host of primary colors: blue clay, madder, and ochre.

What’s on sale

• We love when Moda Operandi does this: take 50% off private sale with JUNE50 until midnight on June 24. Said sale selection includes an array of Prada and Miu Miu pieces from runways past, select Alaïa bags like this studded suede Le Teckel, and hella shoes (for perspective, all the surprisingly comfy leather Bottega heeled mules are now sub-$800). Sizes are already limited, so it’s best to follow your deal instincts.

• Access is granted to Lemaire’s private sale when you sign up for their free newsletter. These linen viscose pyjama pants are nearly 50% off, and bags are included too, like the shoulder gear bag. A favorite is the light nylon hooded raincoat marked sub-$800, which is major for Lemaire outerwear.

• CUUP is having a sale where some bras get…sub-$20? Discount is color and size dependent, but there’s such a variety of styles and silhouettes that you’re bound to find something aggressively discounted, like this mesh balconette for $29 (originally $68). There are also matching thongs, boyshorts, and bikinis for around $5 per pair.

• There’s also: 20­–30% off Ouai haircare for Amazon Prime Day, featuring products like the scalp and body scrub and detox shampoo and conditioner duos (it’s also a great time to get refill sizes for 20% off); a seasonal sale from Aureum that includes gemmed belts, as well as a gold metallic iteration of the Cassandra clutch; an extra 20% off at the Hill House Home semi-annual sale, perfectly timed for smocked dress season; and the mid-year Tangerine sample sale now online, with an automatic 30% off at checkout (our eyes are on these Superyaya trousers).

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Sulwhasoo, Agent Nateur, water-based lubricant, Bottega Veneta, NuFace, Reddit, Vitamin D + K12 drops, protein, The Beauty Chef, Valery Joseph, Spencer’s Spa, Removery, Rumble, magnesium, veneers, LEEP, Brightwood, CGM…

Welcome back to High Touch. It’s been almost a month since we launched and can I just say how fun it’s been. More than ever, you guys are coming up to me at parties and DMing to tell me about what you’re doing to your faces and bodies, what new thing you heard about on TikTok, asking “is this worth it?” Because of this newsletter I can walk through the most private doors in the UES and ask top dermatologists and plastic surgeons anything I want to know; I can reach out to those among us with the je ne sais quoi and hit them with literal hours of questions that, if not invasive, I don’t know what they are.

Brittenelle Fredericks is one of my good friends who really walks this walk and is today’s subject of my prying, although, even prior to launching HT, she was always one of the most forthcoming people I could have these conversations with. Today, in the text below and in our video call (this is turning into a podcast somehow, excuse the rawness of it all as I settle into a new medium), she tells us about getting a mini facelift in her 30s, living with veneers, lasering off all of her tattoos, her LA ob-gyn who steered her away from cervical cancer. Truly a wealth of experience and intel in “this space.” But first, naturally, some gossip.

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At-Home Products

Skincare

I feel like I naturally have such dry skin. As someone who's blessed to receive gifting, I get to try so many different products. I've always had the notion: if it doesn't work right away, I don't use it again. I love Clarins. Their under eye serum and hyaluronic acid serum make my skin feel amazing. And it smells like I’ve just gotten a really expensive facial. I've used some of the U Beauty products, like the resurfacing compound. Sulwhasoo has a really light moisturizer and I really like that. Moussse miracle drops—I wake up and I feel like my skin is feels shiny and amazing. They have a moisturizer that’s unbelievable, but I already used it all.

Haircare

Diffar fragrance hair oil—it smells so good. I don't care how dirty your hair is, put it on; it's what I've been using to style my hair. I’ve been using water balm pomades to style my hair, I find that it gives my hair a lot more flexibility. Any kind of wax pomade makes my hair feel like a Lego man. I use a lot of purple shampoo. Once a month I do a hair mask—I color my hair so much, I have to.

Bodycare

The Agent Nateur body oil changed my life. I use it right when I get out of the shower before I put my robe on. Then I usually use Nécessaire body lotion or something afterwards, it’s my favorite combo.

Hands, Feet, Nails

L’Occitane makes a cuticle oil that I use and I'm obsessed with it. I’m low-maintenance with the rest of that stuff, to be honest. Sometimes I’ll use a hand mask or a foot mask.

Eyes

Clarins has this double eye serum. I use this a lot. I put it on at night or in the morning. They also have this eye lift one—I haven't really noticed a difference with it, but I love their products. Their serums are unbelievable. I have La Mer cold presses for under eyes—the metal things that you just put on and hold. I use those when my eyes feel super puffy.

Oral health

I use Marvis. This is probably going to be controversial, but I like the lavender (Jasmin Mint). I use one of those over-the-counter mouthwashes that are antiseptic.

Sexual health

Maude. So chic, I love it. I use their shine aloe water-based lubricant a lot, I also think a lot of their products, like their mini vibrators, are unbelievable.

Fragrance

Now I'm wearing Bottega Veneta Good Morning Midnight. I think it might be my favorite scent I've ever had. The packaging is very, very sexy.

At-Home Devices

Face + neck

NuFace. It’s a very temporary thing for minor lifts. It works for me, but a lot of people were saying online—I’m such a Reddit person—they didn’t like it. I like it. I use it when I feel like I’m not feeling that great, or my skin feels too held down by gravity, and I'm like, "Okay, I need some help here."

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It’s been a minute, so here are a few recent saves to my wishlists from shopping sites I check every day and rogue ones from shopping news we cover here.

• This satin, papaya-soda Jil Sander bag is the most desperately wantable thing; it hurts to look at, brings me that itch I seek out by trolling these retailers to begin with

• I missed out on this Tom Ford buttoned gillet at MyTheresa, thought about it for weeks, and just found it in my size at Cettire / Senser on sale…

• A twisting craving for a gold, heeled sandal exactly like these Acne Studios ones

• Been wearing these low-and-loose Another Tomorrow trousers like every day since I got them—do I buy them in white, too?

• Maybe I’m boring but there’s new off-white The Row jeans, and I’d like to solve that gap in my denim wardrobe (virtually every other category is covered by my dark-and-straight Auralees, lived-in vintage Levi’s, wide-leg Olga Bashas, fitted-straight Dresens in black, trouser-style Rachel Comeys)

• The $12,000 Galliano for Dior dress I tried on at TRR Upper East Side (big mistake!!!)

• Perfect vintage Prada fur jacket I accidentally discovered in exactly the wrong season and am too immediacy-aligned to go ahead and buy, even though the price is right…but how about a game of wishlist chicken and I buy it if it’s still up by EOD eeeeeee

• A Martine Rose technical cape I aspire to be the kind of person who could pull off

• Best green on a summer shirt, from Aflalo

• Very Jalil Johnson / Marcus Allen-coded cargo shorts from Citizens of Humanity

• Gucci thong bikini? Have seen archival ones go for $3,000+

• A super nice WGD (wedding guest dress) from Roame that anyone could wear and is $520 but ships in OCTOBER, should you have such an even on your calendar

• The Kallmeyer R27 collection I just previewed at Daniella’s studio is up on Moda as a trunkshow—I’m manifesting this beaded-sequiny racerback gown

• Old Stone Trade is doing tie-dye t-shirts now (!)

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori.

What’s new

• Francesco Risso’s latest collaboration with Uniqlo has arrived just in time for summer, bringing Marni’s zappy prints to the Japanese retailer’s famously democratic pricing. The shirts are the obvious entry point: ’60s-electric painterly prints, eccentric color combinations, and the kind of energy that turns a basic outfit into a conversation starter. The shorts, in both a pleated and a wide, strike that elusive balance between relaxed and polished, and happen to look good on virtually everyone.

• Miaou x Roxy is every bit as Blue Crush (2002) as we imagined. There’s a classic low-rise tie bottom and triangle halter top bikini in a navy-and-lemonade tribal Hawaiian print, as well as contrast-paneled and/or piped surf-inspired essentials fit for waves and then some, like the Jinx tank and Elektra skirt. Alyssa manifested this one.

• Introducing Róhe heritage, core pieces lined up in a permanent collection from the brand. Designed for functionality across seasons, we see a spectrum of sharp dressing: a classic fit white oxford shirt, a gray melange wide-leg pant (priced at $690…a good price for 100% wool), and a statement shoulder-padded cardigan. This is a crystal clear way to define the brand’s language, scarves and capes included.

• It’s a MyTheresa pre-sale, featuring exclusive access to FW26 pieces from DVN, Valentino, and Loewe, to name a few. It’s an opportunity to prepare your closet for an impending season change, from a new green suede colorway of a Prada mini Bonnie, to a pair of Alaïa semi-sheer linen and silk pants.

• Here are some new jewels for summer, minimal in design but high-impact in taste. From Dorsey, the enamel collection in high summer colors (including this Knicks-adjacent blue and orange necklace), and from Agmes, the new Arden rings, a sterling silver reinterpretation of the medium and large Astrid cigar rings with the infinite line motifs.

• There’s also: A very paisley exclusive Etro capsule at Nordstrom to celebrate the retailer’s 125th anniversary; some serious mid-century nostalgia in the Posse PF26 collection (see: the Alfie mini); Attersee’s hand-macramed Palomar skirt with a near trompe l’oeil denim effect to the tassels; a raffia-embellished shoe and accessory collection from Aquazzura, available exclusively at Net-A-Porter; Jamie Haller’s new minimal leather jazz slipper; and the opening of Paloma Wool in West Hollywood, an expansion of the cult art-fashion-design brand whose locations in Barcelona and NYC are now united by the Los Angeles crown jewel, a 2,500 sq. ft. space designed by Max Mila Serra.

Home releases

• A new book about Charles and Ray Eames’s residential architecture is now available from Phaidon. It’s the first retrospective tome covering their residential architecture, and now the iconic duo’s design ethos can live on your own coffee table.

• There’s also: An ornate hand-blown glass collection of Kindred Black therapeutic oils in collaboration with glassblower Justine Menard (the altar of three feels like an instant collector’s item); and a playfully colorful beehive-inspired collection of handmade resin jewelry from Dinosaur Designs.

What’s on sale

• We’ve reached the final days of the Khaite seasonal sale, with some pieces hitting 45% off, like the Marfa ankle boot (was $1,350, now $750). There’s also a hefty amount of outerwear, like the Daemon jacket (down to $4,680 from $7,800) and the double breasted leather Dean jacket, shearling-lined and 40% off down to $4,440 from $7,400.

• VIP access to a Liffner summer sale means discounts between 30-40% off on bucket bags, mini bags, and the whole kit and caboodle. Our eyes are on the dome bag, an east-west parabolic fortune-cookie-looking handbag, now 40% off at $415.

• New styles were just added to the Mansur Gavriel sale, like the heeled thong Mari sandal (about 35% off) and drawstring Cabas tote, down to $485 from $745. The double strap sandal is also 50% off—a battle-tested summer vacation shoe.

• We’ve got up to 50% off at Mango in this exclusive sale. Not only is there range, there are accessories involved, too. Some star discounts: this white oversized lapel jacket, now 52% off at $119, and these mid-rise knit pants, down to $39 from $89. It’s a full roster of discounts, so best to peruse for the best deal.

• There’s also: An extra 25% off at the Tory Burch semi-annual sale with some new styles added, like the Miller wedge sandal; a one of a kind sample sale at Cecchi De Rossi meant to highlight all the leather’s perfect imperfettis; up to 60% off at No. 6 store, including pieces from MNZ and 6397; a 40% off sale at Baserange, on everything from undergarments to silk pants; and some appetizing discounts on a good selection of delectable frocks at Mirror Palais, like the red Ingenue.

Home sales

• Hommey’s end of season sale has bed linens for all of your different moods, be they striped, linen, or faux fur throws. Oh, and bath towels are 50% off at $19, in case your bathroom is in need of a refresh as well.

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First up…

• I returned home from a trip the other day to a truly exquisite surprise: a set of 4 teas in a deep burgundy (vegan) leather case, the product of a brilliant collaboration between Clqssique and Conservatoire des Hémisphères. The teas are presented inside the repurposable ‘Vanitea’, inspired by the vanity cases that once accompanied women on their travels. If you’re in need of a stunning gift, look no further.

• The cult-favorite vintage store Ending Soon is launching “Kiosque” this week at the New York location, which is a new section of the store devoted to books, magazines, and prints.

• British lifestyle brand Toast held a residency at King last week, hosting groups of creatives each night. It was a chic pairing that reminded me that the restaurant’s roots extend across the pond, and that I need a pair of new summer shoes.

• The venerable Brownstone Boys are hosting a Summer Stoop Sale on Saturday, June 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., offering vintage clothing, ceramics, linens, decor, homewares, antiques, etc. (375 Vanderbilt Ave. Brooklyn, NY)

• The roving art and design fair NOMAD, known for popping up in the world’s fanciest resort towns—in season, no less—is coming to the Hamptons from June 25–28. One wonders what took them so long?

• In honor of my Instagram handle @funwindow (I can’t actually remember why I originally chose that, tbh), I got a new pair of swim trunks from Italian brand Ripa Ripa with an all-over fun window pattern.

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The quest for a forever couch

About 6 months ago, I realized it was time to buy a sofa—a process that felt daunting, even to me, and that I had been putting off for as long as I could. For years I had a sofa that I didn’t like; I draped a large white sheet over it, an age-old creative solution that really should have been much more temporary. (Pottery Barn has recently gotten wise to this hack: they now sell a huge white sofa slipcover.)

Sofas are odd creatures if you think too hard about them, as I evidently have: big and lumbering and clumsy and indelicate. I have always found them among the most difficult pieces to shop for, up there with office chairs with wheels, sideboards, and coffee tables (I hate most coffee tables).

This task of finding a new sofa felt intimidating was because I had already come to know my dream sofa, an aspiration so impractical and unrealistic it threatened to become more of an obstacle than a guide: a “Divan” by artist Franz West, a sofa composed of a richly colored Afghan carpet flung across a delicate metal frame and secured by cylindrical cushions. I’ve sat on one of these, they are not very comfortable. I’ve watched them go up at auction, selling for north of $100,000. However, to me it’s perfection—loose, elegant, free, and expressive.

I tried to translate what I loved about West’s piece into some essential qualities. It had to be unstuffy and unpretentious. It had to feel at home, but not in competition with the antiques and art that would live around it. It had to be well made and worth the investment. And if I wasn’t getting a Divan, it should be comfortable, deep, and plush.

A sofa is, in essence, a casual piece of furniture, intended for lounging and sitting comfortably. The ancient ancestor of the sofa was a kind of daybed, designed for lying down or sitting half-upright—something owned only by those patrician couch potatoes who could afford to assume this luxurious posture. For such an informal fitting, it’s one of the most important and potentially expensive pieces in today’s home.

The sofas I am drawn to tend to be slightly more traditional in silhouette, more country than city. An easy choice for me would be a classic English roll arm—a good version used to be hard to find, but now there are lots of good options out there, like these from Soho Home, Sophie Conran, and English Farmhouse Furniture. I’m personally turned off by the big, sculptural 1970s designs that have been the thing for the past decade; I appreciate them, but they have too big of an ego for any room of mine.

Not to immediately contradict myself, but I did come across this incredible 1974 draped sofa by Kazuhide Takahama, which is a much better version of my sheet slipcover. I kept returning to an image of a fabulously monumental sofa from Cy Twombly’s Rome apartment, of which I'm reminded by House of Leon’s Palazzo sofa. Bridging the gap between contemporary and trad are a thoughtful take on the roll arm by Pinch, a skirted sofa by Nickey Kehoe, and this dramatically skirted bench by Sharland England (which I suppose could be arranged as a sectional, if that’s what you’re into).

As I kept searching, I got the sense that I was going to end up choosing either a very strong color or pattern, or go with a stark white. Everything in between seemed like a compromise that I couldn’t bring myself to make. I kept returning to images of Maureen Paley’s leopard print sofa in Apartamento magazine (someone cooler than I should buy this one), an electric blue skirted banquette, and countless references of English sitting rooms full of chintz. ‘80s chintz is cool again, especially in a non-chintzy setting. Sophie Conran makes excellent chintz and boldly striped sofas that look fresh, not fusty. I also quite liked a sofa I saw from Serena & Lily with a wide ribbon border framing the seat cushions.

Looking again at my Franz West reference, what I really wanted was a sofa upholstered in a kilim fabric—the only suitable off-the-shelf one I could find was by iconic British furniture maker George Smith, and way above budget. If I was going to go in the white direction, I figured it had to be slipcovered. A slipcovered sofa has always struck me as breezy and bohemian, and because they can be washed, utilitarian. But they’re still elegant, as proven by Maiden Home, Rachel Donath, a very deep one from the Belgian maker AM Designs. On the lower end, there’s something beautifully uncomplicated about this classic Ikea model which has been a mainstay since the early ‘90s.

As is often the case, the one I ended up choosing was ironically the first one I looked at: the Dahlia sofa from Sixpenny, before my Franz West reference started playing mind games. Trust your instinct, I suppose! I’d purchased a sofa from Sixpenny a couple of years ago for a project, so I was already familiar with the quality of the build and fabrics (I chose a cotton linen in the pacific pearl color), and the silhouette was just right. It looks great amongst all the clutter, and I’m very happy with it.

Practical notes:

• Most sofas worth their salt are made to order and will have a lead time between 8–16 weeks. I know we all want everything right now, but trust me, the time goes by quickly and your patience will pay off.

• I decided I didn’t have time for this, but if you’re going the vintage route and want to reupholster, be prepared to spend between $3,000 and $7,000+ on labor and material. IMO it’s not worth doing unless it’s a really special piece.

• You can always have a slipcover made, if the sofa allows, which is a cheaper alternative to upholstery. This shouldn’t cost more than $3k depending on what fabric you choose.

The Directory — Xavier’s travel shopping diary

I’ve been on what feels like a never-ending trip since Salone, stopping in NY twice for 3-4 days to repack. Instead of the directory this time, I’m detailing what I picked up on each trip.

Vienna, AU

Vienna was a fab way to unwind after Salone, and was great shopping. I came back with an delicately painted vase from Lobmeyr, an Art Nouveau iridescent glass vase (similar) from Florian Kolhammer, and a sleek lacquered art deco tray (similar).

New Orleans, LA

I was in NOLA specifically to shop for Hotel Peter and Paul, which has a brand new pool just in time for the summer (!!!). I didn’t buy, but should have, a skirted dressing table that was under $200 at Old Arabi Marketplace. New Orleans readers, I bet it’s still there!

Seattle, WA

I was only here for 24 hours. I bought a bag of dried cherries that I meant to bring home for the pantry, but finished before I left.

Los Angeles, CA

This Andie Dinkin x Artists Support limited-edition T-Shirt in support of Oceana, for World Oceans Day!

London, UK

A cashmere cardigan from Vivienne Westwood and a light jacket from Lemaire at Liberty. (It was cold and rainy and I had packed for southern Spain.)

Barcelona, SP

Two essential pit stops in Barcelona: the iconic Bel y Cia where I bought one of their impeccable shirts, a pair of sort of shiny linen trousers from Paloma Wool, and Vermut from Morro Fi. Oh, and two antique leather sling chairs which, in 95 degrees, we boxed up in the parking lot of a Leroy Merlin near the airport, paid a guy outside the airport 30 Euros to shrink wrap, and fought with the check-in counter until it was accepted as checked luggage. One does what one must.

Lahore, PK

This was a dream trip of mine and it won’t be the last! More on this later, but the shopping was incredible as you can imagine. I bought Kilim pillowcases for the new sofa (partially fulfilling my sofa dream), detailed painted trays, inlaid pietra dura coasters, and handpainted silk shawls.

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Inevitably, I want to talk about summer dressing. It gelled for me watching the Knicks win from the back of a pickup truck parked in Dimes Square where a box truck was projecting the game from both sides. No one looked any different than they usually did—jerseys and mini skirts with heeled sandals, basketball shorts and cotton poplin shirts; I wore my H-O-R-S-E Short Shorts and The Row Patti top with Martiniano After-Party heels—because sports gear / low-brow grails / the clothes we wear to clean the house, and yet / in-group signaling is baked into the city’s style DNA. That’s point one.

Point two, relatedly, is the vintage story. I opened an email this morning from Maj Kiosk, the Rome-based vintage dealer New York’s esoteric fashion girls are well-accustomed with. Its summer collection (early access, password protected: SS99) is inspired by the Yohji Yamamoto collection of the same year, with “loads of Italian linens, Japanese designer bits and perfect airy dresses.” It’s amazing and I want everything. MK and its contemporaries (Lara Koleji, O. La Roche, Anna Santangelo in her styling work) carved out an alternative history with archives of Ter et Bantine, Dirk Bikkembergs, Marithé + François Girbaud, etc. that predated the everyone’s-an-expert-ism that pollutes Substack notes and Instagram Discover today. James Veloria and pull a lot of weight on the outrageous ’90s affect that runs in parallel.

The third point segues from here: local talent. Something kind of sterile wearing thousands of dollars worth of Miu Miu when you could be buying from Cafe Forgot. (New) Gucci feels like wearing a plastic raincoat made out of shopping bags in front of someone in an EDL t-shirt and Eckhaus jeans and Presley Oldham necklace. It’s important to have something a little bit off and even “designer” brands that know it somehow end up with offness that feels manufactured.

Anyway, these aren’t rules. (I wear Miu Miu, I wear Gucci.) They are tenets that make fashion make sense to me again when I get bored or tired or uninspired. And catalyzed this week by the Knicks if you can believe that!! What can’t they do!

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With News Editor Maya Kotomori.

What’s new

• Meet Leset’s June arrivals, some bold yet easy-to-style bits and bobs for an ideal summer wardrobe. I’m partial to the marigold jacquard, a textile that will work as a complementary floral backdrop for the season’s brightest yellows, and softest pastel peaches, et al. The Pam jacket and wrap skirt (available for pre-order) are seasonal building blocks, as are the lace-trimmed Barb crop pant, yet another point for team Easy Summer Pants.

• Tres Charvet, non? Jamie Haller introduces the new logo-embroidered weekend shirt, featuring a classically French-feeling logo stitched on the underside of the right collar point. All the more reason to pop your collar and show love to miss JH.

• The second collaboration between Alex Mill and Margaux just dropped, and it’s primed to become this summer’s status sandal. The Selene is a flat slide that comes in three vastly different colorways—a poppy red satin, an espresso crinkle patent leather, and a creamy butter napa—to suit every one of your different seasonal personalities. Each pair is priced at $345, they’ll move fast.

• Neous High Summer 26 is here, containing a cornucopia of shoes and corresponding bags that are trendy enough to show you don’t live under a rock, but not so dramatic that it looks like the algorithm directly picked your outfit. Such styles are: the red-toe-orb Mondor sandal, the woven Atik slip on flat, and the Tercus thonged wedge (the cream colorway feels especially fitting for summer-tanned feet, and the Pardalis 2.0 bag).

• There’s also: the arrival of Metier’s Private Eye bag in luxe soft grain leather; Nili Lotan’s very boyfriend-silhouetted PF26 collection hitting stores; Simone Perele’s Plume collection, an all-over sheer stretch lace range merging shapewear and classic lingerie elegance; and Converse x Collina Strada, a blingy four-shoe interpretation of the Chuck 70 low and XXHi.

Men’s releases

• Vive le France! Jacquemus teamed up with Nike and the French Football Federation on this stylized kit in honor of the World Cup. Of course, it’s fashion-y too: Blue jerseys with white-and-red vertical stripes, coordinating soccer shorts, even a shoe (the transparent gel sole is a brilliant detail).

Home releases

• In the wake of coquette death, Tekla would like to introduce Colette: a romantic new bedding line in luxe 200 thread count white cotton. Colette is defined by sweet-feeling fabric techniques across the duvet and two pillowcase sizes (one for standard size, one for decorative); the delicate needle lace and stitching of broderie anglaise, mixed with an elegant framing border and scalloped edges.

What’s on sale

• The Tory Burch semi-annual sale is here, and it’s the summer’s most exciting event this side of the 4th of July. Take an extra 25% off already discounted warm weather workhorse pieces, like the Ella printed tote which can serve as a beach bag with city sensibility, the turnlock sport slides that are Tory’s twist on a classic Birkenstock style, and the strappy Kira sport sandals for anyone whose aesthetic falls somewhere in the middle of the prep and gorp spectrum.

• It’s an Aflalo sale with range: multiple seasons, textures, and a pretty big variety of silhouettes. Most discounts are around 30%, like the shimmery Leander short, down to $570 from $790. For some perspective, there’s also full-length cashmere coats, like the Obelisk, priced at $1,290 from $1,800; silk pants like the Zanitha are discounted around 40%, taking the original $700 down to a gentler $430.

• Repetto has three private sale sections up right now—one for shoes, one for activewear, one for dance (you know, in case you’re in need of a long tutu 50% off). As for the shoes, there is a baby pink pair of the Garance ballet flats, and six colors of the Cendrillon (including aqua green) 50% off. The activewear selection includes pieces like the silk crop top and studio leotard, both 40% off.

• Kiko Kostadinov is hosting a SS26 sale online, select shoes included—everyone knows KK as patron saint of the Asics collab, but the brand’s in-house footwear is not to be slept on. The best deals can be found in both Kiko basics like the fine gauge cotton Simone knit top priced to £255 from £425, and more off-season pieces, like the tweed Chasseur jacket, half off at £400.

• The only thing better than a Net-A-Porter sale is an extra 15% a Net-A-Porter sale. With FLASH15 at checkout, pieces like the Acne Studios Dassy one-shoulder dress go from $780 (already 40% off) to $663, and these Attico pants go from $575 already discounted 50% off to $488 at checkout. The spread is vast, but definitely worth a considered dig.

• We’re at the beginning of Vestiare Collective’s vintage days sale, which is just like if the 12 days of Christmas were 6 days and stuck smack dab in June. Vintage pieces like the Atlas silver ring by Tiffany & Co. are sub-$400, with only more to come. Discounts are only going to intensify as time passes, so be sure to check your favorited items to see if anything you’ve been eyeing hits the sale.

• There’s also: A private sale edit at Rus that takes 40% off pieces like the Foso skirt and Velo sweater when you use RUSTHANKYOU at checkout; and 40% off an array of knits, bits, and bobs at Elder Statesman (we recommend focusing on the jackets).

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