323: NYFW Day 2 / Soft butch
Plus an Hermés cashmere hack, necessary fleeces, and the jade green bag of my dreams.
Introducing Magasin’s pop-up Fashion Week newsletter-within-a-newsletter, where we’ll be covering shoppable observations from scenes of interest daily: New York Fashion Week, Day 2.
Weather report
35ºF / 2º C — a lot of congratulating ourselves for making it out of the house…at least it was sunny!
Itinerary
10a Theory presentation
12p Colleen Allen showroom — came prepared to suss out my pre-order and left with a whole cartful…the long poplin bloomer pants, the fitted hook-and-eye fleece…not that I doubted it for a second but Colleen’s remains the most desirable name in New York
1p Rúadh showroom
2p Fforme show — the brand is back under new creative direction, which, much like the new Calvin, makes it clear that a woman is now in charge (welcome Frances Howie!), one who can navigate suiting and fluid evening wear with matched complexity. Fold in Daniella Kallmeyer, whose show is coming up this Tuesday, and one can start to see the outline of a soft butch era.
3p Maria McManus salon — imminently wearable updates to many Maria favorites, plus a cool jewelry collaboration with Don’t Let Disco’s Ashley Harris
3p Lafayette 148 presentation
7p Edie Parker's Green Room
9p The Cut party at Wythe Hotel
9:30p The Twenty Two cocktail reception
some skips
The look
Carven Belted Faux-Shearling Coat, $3,850 / Métier Private Eye Suede Tote, $4,150 / Fforme Long Sleeve Top (similar, $645) / Le Monde Beryl Regency Leather Wedge Mule, $349 $495 / Toteme Gold-Tone and Enamel Hoop Earrings, $490
Magasin intel
Ran into the stylist Elly McGaw at Maria’s salon and while we were, as a little group, admiring her outfit of mostly Magda Butrym pieces (including this pony hair skirt), we considered her great tights. Not quite brown, not quite purple. The pair, made by revival brand L’Eggs (Cami Telez’s latest undertaking), appeared to abide by a rule my uncle has for suits: never wear one in a color that can be described in one word.
Scottish cashmere brand Johnston of Elgin may be increasingly reclaiming its name from the supply chain to drive customers to shop its in-house brand, but it’s worth noting that the company also produces knits for Chanel and Hermés. While not cheap, Johnston’s sub-$1,000 sweaters and accessories are ultimately identical in quality to those it makes for the luxury houses who in turn price their pieces at several multiples of that. Even better is that there’s a steady stream of Johnston on The RealReal at under $100 or even $50.
Insane blind spot, but did you know that Judy Turner designer Conley Averett is the head of knitwear at Khaite? And has been for….9 years?
A high-low moment I appreciated: chef Woldy Reyes wearing a brown silk taffeta Valentino coat with a current-season Banana Republic leather tote bag. The lack of visible hardware made the bag look so timeless and elevated (Studio Nicholson does this with its bags, too).
I ran out of my beloved Agent Nateur serum yesterday and happened to have a sample of this Orveda Vital Sap from my facial the day before. I kind of wish I never tried it! It was like refilling my skin’s gas tank this far into however many grueling weeks winter. And then I looked up the price…$210 for 4.2 oz—not even the upper limit of luxury skincare, but enough to make me ration this test size out.
Fashion books are happening. I’ve so far collected one from Prada, a collection of short stories by Ottessa Moshfegh called Ten Protagonists, and Volume I of Summa, a spiritual inpiration journal from Tabayer’s founder Nigora Tokhtabayeva. I have a hunch I’ll add at least one more to my growing collection this week.
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Hey, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but soft butch means something specific in a queer context... For some queer people it is the best approximation of their expression of gender and sexuality within and against a dominant culture that demands heterosexuality, gender essentialism.
My understanding is you're using the term here to capture a shift towards a feminine lens or touch on brands specializing in suiting, but I feel appropriating this term can be harmful in a way you're not intending.
Thanks for the great tip about Johnston's! Of course all their still on the RealReal has now sold...