499: Flip-flops as keychain
Plus Prada FW26, more Lit Sport love, and the COS sale².
Find a list of only-here discounts up to 25% off in the Magasin Code Index.
Dumbo on a 90-somethingº day is about as strollable and authentically New York as JFK Terminal 2, but as I took the scenic route from my acupuncturist in Brooklyn Heights to my mom’s place in Clinton Hill, I found myself on Water Street with only one place to go.
L’Ensemble is the district’s de facto oasis. It used to be an appointment-only store located on the upper floor of an industrial building nearby its current location, which was very chic, but I’m glad that it relocated to street level so that I, and others, can experience the spontaneous discoverability contained in its excellent buy.
Three good ideas I picked up on my unplanned visit yesterday:
Flip-flops as bag tag. Reuben Perin, L’ensemble’s store director and buyer showed me his The Row Park, which he’d accessorized in a stroke of genius with the Literary Sport x Xero sandals (that he purchased through this newsletter!). The flops—which I also own and wear aplenty—come with a carabiner, which he’d taken as a suggestion to keychain them to his everyday carrier. You’ve heard of sneakers-strung-around-a-gym-bag, now meet barefoot-sandals-clipped-to-a-tote. The sandals are all but sold out, however the originals (which I also own), are just as great and only $49.
Piano shawl as top. C/o this La Collection piece. Picture a long rectangular embroidered silk scarf with fringe at both ends, folded in half, held together with buttons at two points on the top side. A stroke of genius on La Collection’s part for how many different ways of wearing emerge from those two little tacks—sitting on both shoulders, slung forward, one-sided, as a top, over a dress, probably sleevelessly, and of course, as a scarf. Everything that can also be achieved with a vintage shawl or other such shawl in your collection by attaching a button or two, or with brooches.
Bag as irreducible fraction. These incredible, affordable Valesque bags take bag form to its simplest conclusion, with straps so clean and fine they look drawn on by Illustrator and in the shapes and colors of a early education toy set. Gestures of ‘90s Prada, The Row Cecily, and the velvet versions in particular speak to Dries. I left with a black velvet evening style with a camera-strap handle. Sounds complicated, but is actually refreshingly simple.
With News Editor Maya Kotomori
What’s new
Those wool-cashmere crewnecks with cotton shirt cuffs peeking out from the Prada FW26 runway were actually a sweater with a removable poplin shirt cuff accessory? What will Miuccia and Raf think of next? The first pieces from the collection just dropped online, dispelling the layered-shirt allegations, though there are actual cufflinks and poplin shirts (intentionally wrinkled, delicious) also available to layer for real if you’d like. The antiqued leather pumps with colored laces are also just…wow.
Literary Sport FW26 is online now as well, a beautiful mixture of clothing built for the studio—Pilates, art and design, or otherwise. By that, I mean that the brand has extended its technical-clothing-but-not-true-athleisure ethos. You can see it in the coordinating tartan pieces, like the Dori short and Tove jacket, as well as more structured outerwear, like the Eleanor barn coat.
The FW26 collection from The Row looks to be, dare I say, the most real-woman wearable fall collection they’ve done. Instead of austere blacknavywhitegray, there’s a rainbow equivalent of autumnal tones like the Iza coat in driftwood, the Duvan pant in grey taupe, and the Phef sweater in fudge (an interesting auburn-y rich brown). There’s even a very “The Row” bowler bag, sub $2k.
Two new offerings from Jamie Haller: the Ledger bag (RIP Heath) and the brand’s first foray into belts. The Ledger is a hybrid top-handle messenger bag that can be worn structured or slouched, depending on the amount of stuff you put in it. Then there’s the wave belt and its thinner counterpart, aptly named ‘Slim,’ each in four colorways of Italian bufalini or suede with brass hardware.
Nili Lotan’s first-ever footwear collection is here. It’s all boots, and it looks exactly how you think it would: heeled booties somewhere between sensible and dramatic heights, from the Chelsea Cuban heeled Joplin (like Janis) and the stiletto Lucinda (like Williams). Intentional rock/country references or not, each silhouette has Western-inspired topstitching—the most literal in the calf-height Towns (kinda like Van Zandt) in a tan suede.
Some new jewelry for grown-ups with the bank accounts to match. Meet Authorne, a fine jewelry brand founded by creative director Rachel Bu based on systems of solid gold and pave stone sculptural chains and locks, some of which cost up to $45k. Then there’s a summer jewelry collection by Jessica McCormack full of what she calls “day diamonds,” like the beaches pearl and diamond bracelet. Finally, the arrival of Piaget at MyTheresa, christened with a few variations of the Sixtie watch and the Possession Decor Palace rings.
There’s also: New Italian-crafted luxury lingerie brand Evangelista, with romantic Leavers lace pieces designed for the divine feminine;; a limited-edition collaboration between skincare titan Augustinus Bader and bag brand L/UNIFORM featuring a travel-sized skincare edit and artisan canvas pouches; the modular strappy collaboration between indie brand VETTESE and Skims; Aeyede’s leather tassel-laden PF26 collection; a new collection of handcrafted hair accessories like an 18k safety pin for your hair, by David Mallett; and Francesco Risso x GU, a collection that reads like a cosmopolitan how-to guide on preppy dress (complimentary).
Men’s releases
Designer sneakers are gorp-adjacent again. While you can’t get either the mesh and corded-lace Prada Speedrock or the Lemaire gummy grips at REI, nor should you rely on them for outdoor activities, both sneakers are made to look like you hike and/or are a member of a climbing gym.
Home releases
Antique textiles expert Katharine Pole now has a Zara Home collection, which is both an interesting move strategy-wise for the retailer and an interesting collection on an aesthetic level. Zara and deadstock fabrics shouldn’t go together, but they do in furniture pieces like the striped accent chair (only $459?), floral pillow cases, and house coats like the mixed-print robe.
The Erwan Bouroullec-designed Maap lamp by Flos is now available in the US, which is one of the more genuine reinvent-the-wheel pieces of consumer-available home decor in the past year. Composed of an iron frame, a lightweight, paper-like fibre “shade,” and large magnetic buttons (designed to be recrumpled as you like), the lamp is really more of a functional lighting installation, which is delightfully rare.
What’s on sale
There’s currently an extra 15% off the COS sale at check out, which is a plethora of fairly priced linen and poplin. Examples currently in-cart include: this ruched dropped waist poplin midi at 40% off and these current season elasticated linen barrel-leg pants 20% off—both deals all their own only sweetened by the extra discount.
There’s an extra 30% off at the MyTheresa sale as a sort of last call situation for all items over $350. Some of the best steals are in the shoe department, with styles like the Jimmy Choo purple satin Afia slingbacks (down to $557 from $995), and across many traditionally high-price outerwear items, like the Regino wool coat by The Row (down to $2,140 from $5,350) and several others from Toteme and Dries Van Noten.
Something must be in the e-tailer water, because Net-A-Porter also has an extra discount at checkout, 20% your order with FLASH20. Some of the best finds are in runway pieces, like this Dries polka dot dress (sub-$1k from a starting price at $2,390) and shoes like these Tom Ford purple satin slingbacks which get down to $516 from an original $1,290.
Find a veritable feast of studio samples, prototypes, and imperfect pieces on sale from A Personal Uniform. For value, we suggest going for the higher-priced tailored pieces at 70-ish% off, like the No. 80 linen vest and No. 19 pleated skirt, but really everything is so worth it if you can find something in your size.
There’s also: Catbird’s sole sale of the summer featuring 25% off nearly the entire site, even the diamonds; the Neighbour seasonal sale with a small yet mighty edit of 50% off past-season clothing; a significant addition of styles added to the Hai sale, including the 100% dupion silk Leo trousers; and a classic lingerie-lacy sale edit from Else with bras and such anywhere between 30–50% off.
Home sales
We’re in the first week of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, and before deals get really hot, we’re focused on the home section. All of those things you look at but never actually spring for, like a Blissy Mulberry silk pillowcase or Le Creuset 3.5qt dutch oven in a fun color, are 40% off. A great opportunity for home scents as a well, like this Wood Sage & Sea Salt diffuser and candle set 35% off.
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