251: Hey Upper East Siders
Plus new Rachel Comey, La Garçonne sale-on-sale, and $50,000 Balenciaga couture.
I love the Upper East Side. It’s a foreign place full of things that mean a lot to certain people and that I know almost nothing about. Windows full of Ginori porcelain and Cesare Attolini shirts and Carmina leather shoes handmade in Mallorca. Its women of all ages make up the American fashion tradition with a strength of identity that reminds you that after 250 years, this country does indeed have a culture of taste, if you know where to look for it.
Over the weekend, a friend and I bunked off museum plans in that neck of the woods and walked up Madison for the shopping instead, where a few less-obvious-than-Bottega storefronts bridged the gap between the UES’ old world sensibilities and this newsletter’s core interests.
I stopped into Manolo Blahnik—a recently identified gap in my footwear wardrobe that I’m very interested in filling—and was inspired. What I liked best and which passed the comfort test (they were surprisingly comfortable) were these flocked checkerboard mules, ruched leather sandals, and jester-like suede heels, which are on better sale at Net-A-Porter right now than they were in store.
Further up was Veronica De Piante, also currently running a private sale (more on that below). VDP is such a welcome addition to the New York brandscape, her tailoring chops so crystal clear when you’re inspecting a jacket like this close up.
Destree, which I knew previously as only “a Net-A-Porter brand,” has quietly opened up shop in that midst: a therapeutic chartreuse zen space that houses its structured, raw silk and cotton pieces made in France and Romania. The bags, satin and leather buckets with spiraled rope fronts, are an IYKYK token in the making.
And then, naturally, comfortably, familiarly, downright Clinton Hill-ily, I landed at The Row. You guys ever heard of this place? Kidding. The staff was on their best behavior and the stuff on the racks was, by definition, better in person that it could ever translate on the screen. If I didn’t already have one unworn The Row wedding dress, I’d get this one that looks like a half-dressed pillow. These satin heels, although I absolutely claimed to have sworn off TR shoes for the time being, are über-cushy to the point that I might have to renege my vow of celibacy. I also tried on this sporty quarter-zip top made for people whose biggest worry is losing half a day of skiing. The top of the zipper doesn’t poke into your neck and every seam lays so correctly against your body.
Last thing I’ll say about The Row is a word of caution on the dangers of engaging with a Margaux in the leathery flesh. There’s a 17” black suede and a patent croc of the same size in store right now, and the former was a greater test of resistraint than the 70% off cashmere Priske coat I tried on at Bergdorf’s earlier in the week—it’s down to $3,300 and is I think identical to the Prisheella coat retailing for $12,500. Not a typo.
News Editor em seely-katz takes over this week
What’s new
Rachel Comey’s PF24 collection feels fundamentally “aprés.” That might sound overly abstract, but it has to be, because it’s a multifaceted impression: a semi-sheer, tomato red knit cardigan and midi skirt gather and settle on the skin like liquid while this season’s bag lineup, all perforated leather, suggests drainage—aprés-swim. Layering is a priority, with full suits from cargo vest to blazer to self-belting trousers all hewn in the same dark olive fabric—aprés-summer. Then there’s a pair of slingback, square-toed sandals that feel, like an after poem, tapped into a spiritual precedent, in this case situated in the realm of Prada circa ‘03. Comey is special in its conviction that effect, response, and remains aren’t necessarily diminished forms of a Thing Itself—here, the poignance of aprés is brought into our present.
The 53rd couture collection from Balenciaga, remarkably available for purchase online at eye-watering prices that surpass $50,000, furthers the label’s ostensibly Demna-led charge into obstruction where most brands strive toward visibility. —iInstead of highlighting the “windows to the soul,” wearers’ eyes are crossed out like a defaced yearbook photo with “Superthin” polyurethane eyepieces; arms disappear into spandex opera gloves; Ghesquiere’s beloved neoprene is invisible as lining meant to stiffen hand painted faux-metal t-shirts, literally covering up the brand’s history, for better or worse.
Tove’s debut footwear collection delivers three colors each of almond-toe ballet flats, tumbled leather slippers with collapsible heels, and minimalist T-bar sandals, the most compelling shades a cloudy cream primed for illicit post- Labor Day wear and a crimson that reads “popsicle” in the context of summer but will skew “papal” come fall.
The summer swimwear lineup from Bevza is shell-oriented: scalloped “swim bras” both with and sans underwire match smartly low-rise bikini bottoms and reflect into cut-out one piece suits, all in black, white, and contemporary shades of dusty ice blue and marigold.
Net -A-Porter’s vacation edit isn’t exactly revelatory—seersucker Hunza G one piece swimsuits; crocheted Bode camisoles; an overabundance of raffia, as in this sunset-shaded Rabanne bag woven with the brand’s signature metallic medallions—but it’s not trying to reinvent anything, smartly clocking that one of summer’s greatest joys is the measure of familiarity we feel with its signifiers.
RIP Alexander McQueen, you would’ve loved Gimaguas’ PF24 collection, full of pieces that bear an uncanny resemblance to the designer’s 1999 collection better known for spraying Shalom Harlow with robot liquid. Gray shift dresses cinched at the straps with tiny belts are especially on the nose, as is the drapery used in pieces like a white miniskirt—even McQueen’s cagey headpieces reflect in tote bags made of stainless steel wire. An unexpected, welcome reminder of an unimpeachable collection.
Another unexpected move: Skims dropped a sprawling collection of lounge, swim, and underwear in partnership with the USA Olympic and Paralympic teams, with everything from cropped rash guards to poplin pajama sets to high-cut thongs and much, much more.
The dresses in Kamperrett’s “Volume 13” are some of the most clever on the market right now—tulle camisole dresses with verdant, lush hemlines layer perfectly under similarly sheer sheathes, brutalist shifts play with perception without feeling gimmicky, a gauzy choker cape makes a case for a fundamental redefinition of “dress,” and at least a dozen white-to-cream options make “marrying for the dress” feel like an understandable compulsion.
The scalloped-edge napkin halter tops and embroidered coat/robe hybrid that serve as Brooklyn-based label Kahle’s introduction to Maimoun tap into the Picnic at Hanging Rock-type aesthetic that threads a needle through femininity, wistfulness, romance, and an invigorating hint of cult-y horror: the brand, with just three pieces, weaves a compelling story and foretells an exciting future.
There’s also: The latest Telfar x Melissa collaboration offers jelly iterations of the iconic Shopping Bag in Brat green, tangerine, and other summery shades; Todd Snyder works with Gardenheir on a capsule of very Brooklyn Dad [positive] summer pieces including a pair of garden clogs apropos of our last AMA; and Medea’s Erin Taylor collection features necklaces and bracelets pieced together from romantic selections of enamel charms.
What’s on sale
It’s easy to forget what makes trends compelling: a special sauce mixed from novelty and community, like a months-long, open invite costume party. With XTRA20LG, take an extra 20% off La Garconne’s sale section, where crocheted Simone Rocha ballet flats are decked with silver bells, pleated shorts by Sacai belie whispers of pinstripe, and more now-familiar styles are given the chance to feel fun again (at up to 40% off, nonetheless) in the hands of brands with proven staying power.
The La Collection archive sale is a great example of the trickle-up properties that characterize fashion in 2024—the label’s version of this summer’s much-opined-upon white maxi skirt is hewn in a stark sheaf of cotton poplin, a silk halter dress is similarly mature, as is a woolen take on the ubiquitous tailored bermuda shorts. All the already-discounted styles get an extra 30% discount that increases to 50% off if two or more are purchased together.
At the point in temperature that seems to uncork a dam of anti-summer sentiment, Cawley’s online sample sale provides a pacifying, autumnal array of its sturdy-but-sensitive unisex outerwear at uniquely low price points: a caped trench in khaki oilskin hovers around the $400 mark, as does a Peter Pan-collar coat in heathered gray wool, a hearty blazer in cream pinstripe, and more.
Rue Sophie’s high summer sale takes 30% off a wide-ranging edit of sundresses, blouses, and more warm-weather basics, but at the end of the day, it’s an ode to the camisole. At $102 each, different styles come with squared-off necklines, silky ruffles, off-center halter necks, and other carefully considered elements that impart a sense of the garment’s luxury typically lost in the fast fashion fray.
The Carmen summer sale offers 30% discounts on a tight edit of this season’s most decisive pieces from brands like Saks Potts, Chelsea Mak, and Baserange, but it feels especially poetic that its highlights blare on screen in shades of carmine—a bazin maxi skirt with shiny, blood-red brocade dropping into a frilly raspberry hem is a Super Yaya standout and a crimson, drop-waist Sandy Liang gown evokes similar passions.
Though the Khaite seasonal sale takes 40% off largely autumnal-in-practice pieces, an oceanic tide overwhelms the selection—why do we pretend that the beach only exists in the context of warmth? High-necked, long-sleeve gowns spread into gill-like skirts the blue of a sunless sea day; crimped turtleneck dresses are knit with a sandy sparkle; metal studs cling to leather wedge mules like barnacles, and more.
A brand that’s passed as unassuming for so long that its recent omnipresence seems at once inevitable and random, Alex Mill, is having a summer sale taking 30-50% off pages and pages of its easy-to-love basics, from the virtuosic Scout t-shirt with its subtle crop and textured cotton for $45 down from $75 to twill, side-slit midi skirts around the $100 mark and pebbly sweater vests for $95 from an original $135.
Spend over $350 to earn an extra 20% off a selection of pieces (no direct link to just these, annoyingly, but they’re clearly marked) in the MyTheresa summer sale—a tie-waist denim jacket by Dries rings up under $500 down from $855, The Row’s Allie purse gets a 45% discount, and knotty, thin-strapped Toteme heeled sandals are $327 down from over $600, among hundreds of other deals.
An under-the radar grail for fans of Lauren Manoogian, Oldebrother, and other ateliers on the right side of crunchy, Rennes, is holding a sale that takes 30% off a selection of neutral, largely natural-fiber pieces from brands as far-flung as Italy and South Korea, like hand-knit vests by Album di Famiglia or boxy cotton hoodies from Nothing Written.
The ‘80s vibes we keep being warned are on their way back (like being threatened with a good time) are actually present in Our Legacy’s summer sale of mostly cool-weather pieces at 30% off—leather trenches, understated tartan knits, corduroy coats, and more run the gamut from Madonna to Meg Ryan.
There’s also: Countless pages of material-focused transitional-weather wear are 60-70% off in the Co sale; Eckhaus Latta takes 50% off spring pieces from lace trousers with attached skirts to tilted tortoiseshell sunglasses; Another Tomorrow’s archive sale collects v-neck cashmere sweaters, chambray shirts, slip dresses and other basics at 60% off; the Loulou Studio sale is still firmly situated in summer, taking 50% off over 100 pieces in tailored linen and silk; Hai’s seasonal sale takes 30% off a selection of mesh, gingham, and eyelet pieces, plus a selection of Mary Jane flats; the knits in Babaa’s summer sale are all 20% off and span from light crewnecks to chunky cardigans; Hereu’s summer sale is mostly woven and fisherman-style sandals with a few colder-weather pairs and leather bags added for good measure; take an extra 30% off Madewell’s already-extreme summer sale with COOLDOWN; Aritzia offers up to 50% off everything on its site, from bike shorts to boat neck tops; Palomo Spain’s archive sale takes up to 30% off a selection of its coquettish “mens’” wear; and the Redone surplus sale offers up to 70% off a sprawling supply of denim and other casual pieces.
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You mentioned you identified a gap in your footwear..What would you say are the main shoe groups to have in your closet?
How can we access the Veronica de piante private sale?