284: Leisure suits me
Plus the FALL SHOPPING SPREADSHEET needs your input.
You know what I hate that I love? This stupid expensive polo-sweats set from The Row. It reminds me of something my Irish Catholic grandmother who retired to Hilton Head, SC would wear (she was not a good person).
My experience with comfortable things from The Row is that when I buy them, I wear them. The ROI is there, but at $4,540 (!), it’d be like bulk buying all of the toilet paper I’ll use in my lifetime to get it at wholesale prices, or not financing a home purchase and just paying cash to save on interest fees—impractical and improbable. Instead, I’ve been fashioning leisure suits out of pieces from my closet: Leset’s Margo Tapered Pant and FM 669’s Driving Polo (my go-to); Lauren Manoogian’s Double Knit Trench and tapered pants; Skims’ fleece hoodie and joggers in mismatched neutrals; an Aritzia zip-up and yoga pants for active days (if I once snarked Aritzia, I have since eaten my words a million times…this workout gear is godly).
The leisure suit suits me lately, largely because my greater fall wardrobe has not coalesced just yet, and in the meantime I’ll gladly have comfort. It always takes some time for the new season’s formulas to make themselves known. Not only that, but I’m feeling confident things are going to come together soon, because I’m just about to ask you to share all of your fall shopping plans, which should spark some inspiration.
Longtime Magasin readers will remember the Fall Shopping Spreadsheet, a pillar of this newsletter that’s been published around this time for the past two years. Essentially, it is a crowdsourced document that aggregates raw info collected from this community about how we’re approaching shopping for the season—what pieces we’re wishlisting, buying, have already bought; which brands are at the top of our awareness; what we’re bringing over from summer; the trends we’re anticipating; and the specific stores and sites we’re spending time and money.
The Fall Shopping Spreadsheet will be in your inbox next week. But in the meantime, I need to hear from you on all of those points above. Last year’s spreadsheet had thousands of submissions, and with this community being so much bigger now, I can only imagine how rich and useful this years’ will be.
Help me out by sharing your fall shopping plans here. However baked or half-baked they may be.
Spreadsheet season is a fun time at Magasin. I truly can’t wait to see and shop all of your responses. Until then, here’s the news…
What’s new
Did you know you can just walk into an Hermes and buy something? They have cash registers and everything. I went to the Madison Ave flagship this morning, which has been reimagined as an homage to New York by visual artist Lucia Hierro and hosts a city-exclusive collection of small leather goods through the brand’s Petit H metier. If you haven’t heard of Petit H, it’s a newer division of the company that takes scrap material from the other 15 metiers that make up Hermes (bags, clothes, home, etc.) and fashions it into the most whimsical—cheeky, even—items of debatable practicality. My favorite among them was a terracotta pot made by an artisan in the south of France finished with a Kelly handle. On other items, you can see the leather from which core components have been cut, leaving behind a negative of Hermes’ iconic finishes (they recall the inside-out Birkin from the latest SS25 runway, but much more affordable, especially on resale). No other luxury house is having this much fun. The collection is only available in person at the Madison Ave location, and prices start around $500 for leather tags.
Reformation founder Yael Aflalo is right in saying that it's hard to find a well-made, quality-material brand as flattering and easy as Reformation is (she'd probably say “was” to reflect the time when she was actually still with the brand). Her new eponymous venture, Aflalo, aims to do just that, with familiar fits made between China and New York City that land in the now-mythologized middle, as far as price goes…with the exception of a $10k coat.
Literary Sport, a new brand that debuted during NYFW, has launched. Its new-guard atheisure pieces feel primed for the times, but do you ever get the feeling that there's too much right about a brand? Right photography, right models, right name (although also a bit desperate and Tumblr-coded). I might happily wear some of the pieces but still feel like they're the outcome of an algorithm.
Remember when premium denim used to mean Joe's Jeans? It's a whole new category now (which I'd say includes Still Here, Khaite, Auralee) and welcomes Rùadh, the B-Corp, LA-made obsession project from longtime denim consultant Jac Cameron.
I've written about Norlha here on several occasions, but part of me still felt the urge to gatekeep the Tibetan yak wool brand. It's now available at La Garçonne (I figured either they or Old Stone Trade would scoop it up), and no longer my private passion. Separately, Norlha’s collaboration with LA-based Airei, through whom I discovered it in the first place, is finally live.
Is it even October until we consider maybe going for one of the Bode Halloween costumes this year?
Luxury upcycled fur project Nereja, from former Vogue Russia fashion director Sveta Vashenyak, has released its 15th drop of one-of-a-kind coats and jackets via Instagram. I've tried previously to contact the brand to see about buying one (they have the consideration of a modern fit and the neutrality of resale-market fur), but no one answers my emails or DMS. It may be all an elaborate styling project, but if only that, at least I'll have the screenshots for my outfit inspo folder.
A lot of beauty movement from luxury brands lately: Celine Beauté arrived as CD Hedi Slimane left; Courrèges launches a new scent—L’Eau Pâle; and Bottega Veneta’s long-awaited fragrance under Mattieu Blazy has ripped through editorial offices not least because of its devastatingly good packaging.
COS’ Atelier collection for FW24 landed, and it includes this silver belt clip that got my wheels turning in a way a lot of fussier, pricier, and louder accessories have not in a long while.
Everyone’s favorite party boy Mel Ottenberg was such a fun choice for Re/Done, who collaborated with the Interview editor on a denim and tee capsule that’s an IYKYK easter egg (t-shirts that read “Club Mel,” I love it!) and highly wearable all at once.
There’s also: Cuyana releases an over-roller-bag satchel in pebbled leather that’s also well-suited for office commuting; British icons Strathberry and Shrimps come together on a small capsule of leather bags and silk scarves; the Danish jewelry sisters behind Lie release belts; MyTheresa lands a suite of exclusive Magda Butrym styles to align with the start of holiday party season; Attersee supersizes its beloved Brea Bag to create the truly massive Ven—the kind of bag you carry at the end of a stick over your shoulder (complimentary); Moda gets its hands on some exclusive Favorite Daughter; Guest in Residence enters the recycled cashmere category; not sure why this news came through so quietly, by Linda Farrow releases eyewear collaborations with both Magda Butrym and Jacquemus; and Baserange slips into the homewares category, with predictably warm cotton and linen editions of everything from yoga blankets to pillowcases to tablecloths.
Bonus men’s releases
Evan Kinori released new editions for FW24—his core silhouettes remain the same season over season, for the most part, with the variation coming from rotating textiles, sourced most recently from Japan, and assembled between Japan and California.
Mid-priced French brand Soeur introduces Frere, a menswear spinoff of its useful and well-made just-beyond basics. The womenswear was largely menswear-inspired and leaned unisex, so the move was smart and offers a good edit of imminently wearable pieces.
Lemaire’s new Gear Bags are instant classics with unlimited applications—the smallest size a favorable alternative to cell phone-sized crossbodies, the medium more work-appropriate, and the largest primed for a stylish and well-prepared daytrip somewhere autumnal.
What’s on sale
Tory Burch’s Fall Sale was extended by one more day (it was supposed to end yesterday), and the discounts got even more aggressive for the occasion, with pieces now reaching 50% off. This tiny bowling ball bag is down to $250, these hoops straight off the runway are around $200, and I’m feeling influenced seeing chic women at every press event I go to wearing TB shoes.
The going line among all my favorite shoppers is to “never pay full price for anything.” Net-A-Porter is running a 25% off new-season pieces (that’s really good for new arrivals), exactly the kind of promo they take advantage of to get the pieces they want, when they want them, and still be making great buying decisions. You need to log in, but when you do, it’s J.D.Anderson, Norma Kamali, Aeyde, Our Legacy, and Loulou Studio all the way down at really good discounts.
J.Crew’s offering 40% off sitewide, with an extra 20% on sweaters and outerwear since today’s the last day. (That’s a lot, no?) I’m wearing my cotton v-neck a lot lately, if you need to start somewhere.
Ugh. It’s Prime Day.
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I just filled out the Fall Shopping Spreadsheet and I can’t wait to see the results with everyone’s input!!
I would send Nereja a WhatsApp message! It may sound strange but I remember it was the best way when I lived in Russia! It's one of the options on the website too =)