020: Juliana Goldman's sweats are coming with her
020: Juliana Goldman's sweats are coming with her
Plus Black Friday and Singles Day sales collide, SSENSE's unpublished gift guide, and SKENDI.
Today’s feature, Juliana Goldman, said something absolutely devastating during our interview, and it was that she wasn’t “trying to make busy a personality.” Just like that I was bald, naked, left for dead with absolutely no one coming to help me, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.
I’m busy (as a personality), but as it happens, not too busy to shop. This week, I brought home a Tomas Meier nylon blazer, and would it be sacrilege to say I still liked him better helming Bottega than Daniel Lee? CUUP’s new metallics also just hit my step, as did these Vagabond thigh-high boots but in denim—I admit I have at least four pairs from this brand and really do love them for slightly on the trendy side shoes that know just when to stop, plus they’re pretty cheap. And finally, I attended what was basically Chanel Nº5 on Ice, a celebration of the fragrance’s 50th anniversary complete with a Mary J. Blige performance and mini hot dogs, and yes, they sent us home with goodie bags.
Scroll on to shop, share this post, and let me know what you think by hitting reply (if you’re not too busy, of course).
What’s new
First there was Fendace, now, Skendi. The common denominator of these rocky portmanteaus, Fendi, seems so insecure in its own identity that it’s taking design house dilution to its natural conclusion: collaborating to the point of invisibility. Lending its Karl Lagerfeld-era Zucca motif to a much-hyped collection with Kim Kardashian’s Skims in its latest move, I have to wonder where one goes from here. Will it be Danielle Bernstein or Arielle Charnas for Nordstrom Rack next? Skims comes out on top here, by a landslide, but it’s at Fendi’s expense. With the hard lines around Fendi’s brand blurring, Skims comes through crystal clear.
It’s always a thrill to shop Margiela—via a saved eBay search for women’s tabis, for example—but SSENSE is transforming the experience to be more in step with the house’s off-kilter, brutalist aesthetic. Through an off-set domain (as with Tom Sachs’ S.P.R.L.) fashioned like an early-web link index, shoppers can click through to see partnerships and browse collections, treated intermittently to Margiela-themed Captchas (SELECT ALL IMAGES WITH TABI SHOES).
Acne relaunches its beloved print project Acne Paper with a 500-page issue on The Age of Aquarius, spanning fashion, ecology, politics, and feminist and anti-racist essays from contributors including Lotta Volkova and Hilton Als. The tome, a collector’s item in the making, costs just $45.
Everlane made a big deal about its (now-defunct) under-$100 cashmere, but Universal Standard’s latest launch puts the limitations of Everlane’s value proposition into focus. Bringing to market the most size-inclusive 100% cashmere collection in sizes 4XS to 4XL, Universal Standard’s two-style (v-neck and crew), 11-color lineup also costs just $98.
There’s also: Glossier’s limited-edition holiday collection touches down; even though they might strike you as obvious partners, Lee and Pendleton are teaming up on their first ever collaboration; mezcal brand Madre releases a new Espadin spirit and a tandem recipe book featuring Devendra Banhart among others; Luar’s Large Ana bag, poised to be the next Telfar, has landed on the site—and it’s under $400; Offhours, maker of the Home Coat, a robe that frankly can’t be improved upon, has collaborated with West Elm on a limited colorway (bone with tasteful orange and green accents) and three quilts, a category first for the brand; and sex-tech brand Maude launches a butt plug that’s as aesthetically engineered as its best-selling $45 vibrator.
What’s on sale
Nordstrom started its early Black Friday deals already, and the fun-for-the-whole-family retailer sooooo excited about it! The sale is being advertised as 40% off, but designer pieces are actually going for as much as 65% off—like this Acne Studios skirt, this Meryll Rogge top, and theee Simon Miller blackout platforms.
Similarly, Our Place is live with its biggest sale of the year, and the Always Pan is cheaper than it’s been, even through third parties, pretty much ever at $99. A lot else is on sale, too, including the also-cult-amassing Perfect Pot, when bundled with the Pan.
Meanwhile, a few high-end multi-brand stores have opted into Singles Day with sales ranging from 11% off (Harvey Nichols with SINGLESDAYHN) to 22% off (Farfetch, LN-CC with LN-SINGLE22) to 35% off full-priced items (Luisaviaroma with SD35).
Gen Z’s favorite (too expensive for them) sunglasses brand, Lexxola, is easily one of the most impressive early Black Friday sales I’ve seen so far. The several-hundreds-deep shades are marked down by 60% across the entire site. Meanwhile, just-missed-the-Gen-Z-boat sunglasses brand Le Specs is ponying up 25% off sitewide.
Other Instagram native brands are offering impulse-buy discounts: I.AM.GIA at up to 75% off (I admit I have a couple pieces in my cart for Miami), Realisation Par extending 25% off almost everything with code 1111 (angel numbers, y’all), and Trois the Label at 20% off sitewide.
There’s also: Sephora’s Holiday Savings are on, the deal being that depending on your loyalty tier, you can get up to 20% off on (almost) everything with YAYHOLIDAY; Good American’s having a 20% off sitewide flash sale; Mondo Mondo is offering 30% off its fragrances ahead of some mysterious launch or rebrand; those Nicole Saldaña coats I keep talking about are 10% off until Friday; and Dilara Findikoglu’s chained daisy bikini is 30% off so you better go get it!!!
What else
After weeks of retailers dropping their hyper-curated gift guides in anticipation of the holidays, SSENSE has finally released theirs, too. As with everything the store does, its guide is elegant, provocative, and serviceable, however it’s not public-facing. SSENSE’s gift guide was distributed as a PDF via PR to industry recipients, myself included. For the greater good, here’s a skim edit of what’s included so you can shop, too:
For WOMENSWEAR, there’s the SOFTANDWET Black Wrap Bra, Maison Margiela Grey Tabi Ankle Strap Heels, Santangelo Silver 'The Saint Earring' Earrings, and Marshall Columbia Plush Shoulder Bag.
For MENSWEAR, there’s AMI Alexandre Mattiussi Three-Pack Multicolor Ami de Cœur Socks, Lemaire Black Woven Short Sleeve Shirt, Maryam Nassir Zadeh Leather Birthday Tote Bag, and Molly Goddard Pink & Red Flavin Stripe Sweater.
For EVERYTHING ELSE, there’s the Ann Vincent Tan Soy Wax Candle Set, Fellow Black & Walnut Stagg EKG Electric Kettle (have and love), Natalie Schreckenberg Blue Caê Vase, and Aesop Montreal City Set.
With fewer complications, Shopbop, Matchesfashion, Mansur Gavriel, and COS have also dropped their gift guides.
There’s also: StockX predicts the hottest gifts this year will be Jordan 1 Retro AJKO Billie Eilish Ghost Green sneakers, the PlayStation 5, and Telfar’s Duffle Medium Black; Saks’ It List herds up the top trends of the season, per its buyers and analysts; and, yeah, Tiffany x Supreme is coming this Thursday.
Juliana Goldman is regal in the details
On ‘90s sweatshort rankings, the sock brand she’s trusted for 100 pairs, and how the PR uniform isn’t what it used to be.
Juliana Goldman, agenda-setting public relations artist and founder of Potion PR, shapes the brands that line your drawers, beauty counters, and wishlists. She’s naturally suited for the role, drawing people in easily and magnetically, adopting new connections to her orbit of care as reliably as gravity. Being one to have stumbled happily into her atmosphere, I asked her to allow me to put her—and her well-informed shopping habits—at the center, for once.
J: I think that quarantine for me was about leaning more into my comfort when it came to fashion. Obviously we were all working from home, but I made a conscious effort to get up and get dressed every day and put on some semblance of a professional-looking outfit. L: Like real clothes-real clothes? J: I didn't really ever put on jeans or anything like that, but I got these knit Frankie Shop pants and L’Agence sweatpants that were super cozy, but you could also wear them outside of the house.
J: I’m one of those people who actually wears pajamas. I wear Lunya almost exclusively to bed with some kind of ripped up t-shirt from high school. L: That's the thing it's like, no matter how hard brands try, they can never top the one ratty t-shirt we've been carrying around with us for fucking decades, you know? J: I still have a pair of Solow shorts from middle school that I wear. People make fun of me that I've gotten smaller over the years, which is so funny, but it means I can still wear those shorts from forever ago. They should make a comeback. Did you ever have Solows? L: I had Soffes, that was big in our day. J: I feel like Solows were a little bit more elevated. L: Like Soffe’s big sister. J: You had the Soffe and you graduated to Hard Tail and whatever. L: And then you graduated to like Lululemon or something. J: And then all of a sudden, athleisure was in our lives. L: You’re like, reject modernity, embrace tradition. J: Honestly, I’ll wear these Solows until they fall apart.
J: Once we came back to the office and started to get dressed up again, I was like, “How can I braid some of this coziness into my everyday outfit game?” Those Frankie Shop pants are still in rotation but now I just add a blazer and dress it up with real shit that makes me feel a little bit more regal.
L: What was your style before? J: I didn't really come into my own, fashion wise, until recently. I guess I tried a little hard and in hindsight it was maybe forced. I would shop at places like Urban Outfitters or, you know, a lot of fast fashion. I would try to make an outfit too loud because I thought that that was what I was supposed to do. Now my style has evolved into spending on nicer pieces mixed in with thrifted finds and understanding that a great shoe, earring, or jacket can really make an outfit. I'm really comfortable in my own skin and feel really beautiful and powerful when I get dressed. L: Where do you think that change came from? I went through a lot of personal transformation. My agency grew during the first year of COVID, which was really interesting and confusing at the same time, because the rest of the world was suffering. I had to learn a lot of life lessons beyond fashion, and I want the way I dress to reflect the way I show up in the world.
L: What are some pieces that define that new style? J: I have this big, oversized Gauchere button-down. I got it from the SSENSE sale, actually, I think you posted about the sale over the summer, and I was like, “I need a really great button down.” It has shoulder pads, but you can wear it with almost anything. I think I wore it at least once a week for the entire summer of 2021. I would do it with a full black biker shorts and black crop top look, and then I wore it in Miami with white vintage shorts and a blouse. I have to get it dry cleaned finally because it's been around for too long, it needs to be sent away. L: Sent off to boarding school. J: I'm really missing it, but it's such a great piece. I realized that those pieces are something that I wear a lot. Like, I know that I'll wear that button-down for years to come.
J: Another brand that I’ve been loving is OSOI. I have two pairs of shoes from them. I bought a pair of black loafers that I love and I've been wearing them constantly. And then I have a pair of these beige mesh loafers that are really fun. And I don't know if you know this about me: I just love socks. I'm so happy that the trend of wearing socks with shoes is really big right now and it doesn't matter if it goes out of style, cause I'm still gonna wear socks till the end. Like Zoe Kravtiz is always wearing socks with loafers and Birks. L: Do you have a favorite sock brand? J: Yes, Pansy! I have like—this might be a bit hyperbolic—but I think I might have a hundred pairs of them. They're organic cotton with nylon stretch and they have that nostalgic vibe to them, like socks from the ‘90s.
J: And then, Justine Clenquet earrings. I love everything that she makes. I would wear jewelry during lockdown. You know, obviously we lived on Zoom, so I had to look good from the torso up. I also love Laura Lombardi, I've been wearing one of her necklaces a lot. I think I've just been dressing up my outfits with accessories. And of course sunglasses are another big item. I work with Lexxola, so I have so many different pairs of sunglasses from them. But yeah, just happy to be heading into the office again. L: I’m just happy to be here!
J: You know, put me in, coach, please. I'm ready! I mean, we keep saying it's been so busy, and I'm trying not to make “busy” a personality, but I just feel like there's so many things we want to do and so many things that I regret not doing before. And I want to look fabulous when I do those things! I remember going to a meeting with an old boss, the times were changing. I think I was in jeans or just some cool, sort of modern outfit, and she wouldn't let me come in. It wasn't like I was wearing a crop top or anything, I wasn't showing midriff. She was like, “Well, we can't go to this meeting. You're wearing jeans. I'm going to go by myself.”
Now, my entire team has the ability to be fully dressed the way that they want, and it's so fun coming into the office again. We're all getting dressed up—or not, I mean, sometimes we wear sweatpants—but it's free.