005: I buy these eBay finds in multiples
Plus a private sale on Our Place, Jacquemus' latest runway, and the wine keg party we're destined to throw.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what influence looks like these days. In the past week or so, I purchased the last available Collina Strada two-piece silk set Lorde wore in her video for “Solar Power” (saving for a special occasion) and a swimsuit from Faithfull’s archive sale that I bought and returned this time last year but never stopped thinking about—both of which I probably first encountered on Instagram.
Social media obviously reshaped the way we perceive and act on influence (and the fact we call it that), but for me, the acuteness with which it once operated is washing out to an Old Navy vintage blue from the ultramarine it once was.
In the ol’ call and response of buying things someone makes look cool online, lately I’m more likely to shop what Rachel Tashjian’s Opulent Tips dubs the “translucent agenda;” or a bottle of Thibaud Boudignon, Anjou Blanc 2019 (likened to “that expensive Spanish water called Vichy Catalan”) recommended in Parcelle Wines’ Picks; or a can of Fishwife tuna per Tim Marchman’s Popping Tins. Tellingly, the other thing I bought this week that I failed to mention earlier was a marinara-giving Miaou bikini I basically talked myself into after posting about it here for weeks (even I am not safe from me!).
Newsletters (and mind you, Kathryn Hahn is whole-face winking somewhere), that’s where it’s at. Maybe its the greater space that allows for nuance or that I’m written-word-minded, but I’m encountering a sense of discovery that Instagram’s Discover page all but anesthetized. Thoughts?
From the previous send of this newsletter, Miaou’s irresistible swim collection was a top-clicked link again, joined by KkCo’s wedding collection, designed for elopements, and my all-time favorite purposefully pokey nipple bra, now a top link for three consecutive weeks—more on this, plus other basics I swear by, below.
If newsletters are indeed the future of discovery (at its best) or influence (at its most unforgiving), I’m sure there’s someone you know who’d enjoy or at least have some anthropological critique of this particular one. It would mean a lot to me if you considered sharing it with them :)
What’s new
Mudd Pearl, the born-in-Mexico wabi-sabi jewelry venture from Mary Anderson and Yasmin Moon that’s landed on the likes of EmRata, Barbie Ferreira, and Maude Apatow, launched its website alongside a heart-clutching campaign shot by friend-of-the-newsletter Carolyne Lorée.
The Jil Sander x Birkenstock collab hit Bergdorf’s for pre-order just in time. Not on any particular deadline, just that whenever your creamy leather rich-girl shoes arrive in the mail will be the occasion itself.
Kim Kardashian might not have passed the baby bar, but at least she’ll be vaulting over them at the Olympics: SKIMS' loungewear collection for Team USA dropped on the site yesterday morning, replete with cool-looking athletic-gray pieces exuding ‘80s Champion energy with a technical edge.
I’d be lying if I said the latest Jacquemus collection did anything for me. The moment’s been a long time coming, but I regret to announce that Simon has unfortunately lost the plot. An unoriginal and poorly developed concept turned out unflattering, sexless pieces that looked like downmarket versions of themselves. But anyone who dares disagree with me can pre-shop La Montagne at Luisaviaroma right now.
Réalisation Par put out a collection with Claudia Schiffer, starring skeleton-hugging slips, sheer separates, and cheeky tees starting at $69. Pick me up a Clementine dress while you’re there, please.
Instead of simply putting an end to its own misery, the house of Karl Lagerfeld has chosen to persevere despite quite literally no one asking for this. Its just-landed gender-inclusive collab with Kenneth Ize, though, includes a few surprisingly relevant pieces that might’ve been wearable if they weren’t $1,000+.
Everyone is looking for fisherman sandals these days, and despite my continued insistence that these Hereu ones are the end-all-be-all, I feel it’s also my responsibility to inform you that Everlane dropped a pair that’s only $98 and apparently they’re selling out fast.
Speaking of Hereu, the shoemaker just blessed us with two new sandal styles in collaboration with likeminded British brand Studio Nicholson. Minimalist men and androgynes in particular should pay heed.
If you only pay attention to Uniqlo when a Lemaire or Jil Sander collection is back in stock, you’d be missing out on the Mame Kurogouchi collab, live now and full of exceptional, sophisticated intimates and cool, oversized summer pieces, all at those unbeatable Uniqlo prices.
For all my quirky Dries Van Noten girls: Fall 2021 just dropped at Saks and it’s absolutely chock-full of pieces that’ll make you look interesting at parties.
If you’ve moved past minimalism in the kitchen (jah bless), all-star chef Ottolenghi’s collection of painted-face dishes with Serax take no-place-at-dinner-parties seriousness out of the equation without sacrificing style. Imagine Dries on a plate.
The unnecessary but ultimately harmless internet strawberry, Oishii, is partnering with Brightland on a vinegar called Lush, launched this morning at 9 a.m., and doesn’t it just sound whimsical enough to slurp on, maybe dashed atop an oyster?
What’s on sale
Discovering 100% Silk Shop feels like stumbling upon a secret shared by all the most up-to-date expert dressers. Shopping those same brands—Story MFG, J.Kim, Michons Marigot—on sale, even better.
Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, basically its version of Prime Day that’s been running since well before Prime Day ever existed, launches early access today for card-carrying members. If that’s not you, it’s still worth a gander to know what’s coming to the general public starting July 28.
The brand behind the last pan you’ll ever need, Our Place, is running an unadvertised sale on its equally buy-it-for-life knife and cutting board set: Take 20% off with the code SHOPSTYLE20.
Little-known homewares site Siglo Shop is an excellent resource for the types of pieces that seem to take forever to track down. Take 20% off feed-worthy flatware, unique glass centerpieces, and anything else on the site that’s over $50 with code MOVINGSALE25.
If the Story MFG you lust for is sold out at 100% Silk Shop, you might just find it at Highsnobiety’s private sale, which reaches past its sometimes painful streetwear associations and includes relatable labels like Bode and Wales Bonner for up to 50% off.
What else
Dauphinette, one of the shows I look forward to most during NYFW, is retiring its viral Claude top, and there’s only very limited quantities left—looks like just a couple size Ms on the site for anyone hoping to snatch one up in time.
Farfetch is reckoning with a karmic debt and facing the issue of fashion waste. In partnership with ThredUp, Farfetch is now accepting used clothing in exchange for site credit, directing 50% of the value to charity.
By now, you’ve no doubt heard Phoebe Philo is coming back :’) With plans to open an eponymous line under the LVMH umbrella January 2022, I’m praying this is the move that’ll finally correct fashion’s course from the cursed logomaniacal timeline that splintered off over the past half decade. Why not get in the mood early with a little Philo-era Celine?
If female gaze-y minimalism rules your wardrobe, the post-total-sell-out return of Vince x Nu Swim’s swimwear collection is at least worth a click.
Aaaand, let’s try a thing. Parcelle Wine (which I’ve written about before as one of the only online wine shops I trust), is giving away a wine keg to whatever group drives the most email signups. I’m not one to turn down the opportunity for net 26 bottles of rosé, so if you sign up through this link and list me (Laura Reilly) as the referring party and we win, party at my place in Brooklyn and you’re definitely invited. If you’re just there to shop, you can use code DISCOUNT10 for 10% off anything.
All the basics I keep coming back to for more
When you find something you love, eBay it a thousand times.
The Escada Pleated Pant: I got my first pair of these at a thrift store in San Francisco before moving to New York. At the time, it felt like an accounting error that these had fallen into my lap; six years later and they’re still too good to be true. Since then, I’ve eBayed five more pairs (and lost one to shrinkage). Expensive-looking but bulk-buyable, they feature a fitted waistband that sits at your true waist, single pleats, and front creases. They’re at their absolute best when tailored and look devastatingly hot with a nipple-pokey tank and low heels.
The Overshadowed Levi’s: 501s get soooo much airtime when it’s 550s doing the real work. I paid about $100 for my first pair of these from the LES Reformation store before realizing I could eBay them for less than $20 (and so I did, several times over). The trick for me was buying from the little boys’ department—converting to the right size from my measurements—which nailed the vintage denim straight fit and rigid cotton requirements, which in turn nailed the segmented butt cheek look. Go for the boys or men’s styles, but avoid the women’s as they’re tapered.
The Crisp Men’s Shirt: First found at a thrift store in New Jersey, the L.L.Bean wrinkle-resistant button-down looks high starch and perpetually just-dry cleaned, like an architectural Balenciaga investment piece. The original, in white, is still one of the most-pulled pieces in my closet, but its found fierce competition in the pale yellow, dark navy, and Murray Hill blue ones I’ve added to the collection since.
The Pajama-Soft Men’s Shirt: Counter point: Lightweight vintage Dior button-downs look and feel like they could simply evaporate off your body. Like you’re Hemmingway on a beach with a boob falling out. Like you’re Carmela Soprano and Furio rolling around, rolled into one. I wear it in white with blue pinstripes, cornflower blue, and indigo, the fewer buttons done the better.
The Only Bra: When I do wear a bra (which is sometimes! I’m not a total anti-bra person), it is, as a rule, this Le Mystere unlined one in black or beige. I wrote about this when it was on sale for Prime Day, and it’s been a top-clicked link for weeks since. The magic of this bra is how thin the cup material is, which lets my boobs look like boobs beneath clothes, nipple and all. The fit is one-to-one, so it’s totally unclockable with no straps or seams or bulges showing through. I’m deviating from the eBay theme here, since this is actually on Amazon, but I really needed to include it because I don’t think I’ve ever had another bra so good I went back for seconds.
The Big Silk Square: I’ve accidentally made a habit of buying expensive new clothes every spring, and then spending the summer not wearing them but putting on a handful of silk scarves in different ways instead. A vintage Hermes square gets the most play time, predominantly folded into a triangle and tied around my torso, but occasionally moonlighting as a sarong or configured the Diana Bartlett way, with the ends pinched around the neck and back. My Dior and Dries Van Noten backups let me get away with not wearing real clothes even longer.
The Little Green-Stemmed Glasses: The devil works hard but Luminarc’s green-stemmed wine glasses work harder. A not-so-small army of the stemware is almost guaranteed to invade Instagram Stories on any given dinner party day, mine included, but also the Posternaks and Alexis Badiyi, among others of a certain pocket. Normally the idea of owning a home good that’s reached virtual ubiquity would stress me out, but the sheer pleasure of sipping from their small, bon vivant cups and the fact that I can and have re-upped after breakages make the glasses a non-negotiable staple in this household.
Footnotes: A place for food and wine.
In the way that salt makes food taste more like itself and a brow pencil can make you look more like you, sometimes New York needs to feel a bit like Europe in order to feel more like New York.
A Downtown tableau this weekend—feat. vindicated Italiophiles ungluing their gaze from the TV at Forgetmenot, a queue of French wine-seekers peering over a pop-up list at a tent in front of Dimes, and at least one person digging into vermouth service at Cervos—was a study in borrowed tradition made native.
Vermouth service allows for the particularity of a martini order (up or rocks? olive or a twist?) without the ABV commitment, and the quenching, day-drinkability of a spritz without the saccharine blow of Aperol or Campari.
My order, “fresh, floral, citrus peel” Atxa Blanco with soda and a twist, is best enjoyed amid a backdrop skateboarders, low-riders, chest-slug bags, platform sandals, tiny dogs, mini skirts, sunsets, and bleached hair, one right after the other.