Inbox Stylist: How to Relax Like You’re Billing by the Hour
Because this time of year demands a reminder that rest counts as work, too.
Today’s send is in partnership with New Balance. If you would like to work with The Love List, please email lauren@aire-ny.com.
If I have one talent in this life, it’s my ability to unplug. After a lifetime of anxiety, I have become an expert in relaxation. After Fashion Month concludes and we roll into the holidays, many people in my industry look forward to the mundane rituals of care we had to neglect in the service of a hectic work calendar. And as we get into Q4, I know many of you are in your busiest season of the year.
So maybe pocket this guide for your next day off, when winter sets in after the holidays, or when you’ve just been breathing man air for too long and are starting to feel chopped. Whatever! This is a 500-level course on decompression, replete with the comfiest clothes and shoes I could excavate from our friends and partners at New Balance.
Morning
My ideal reset day starts quietly. Phone on Do Not Disturb, coffee in a real cup, skin care, teeth, word games to awaken my brain. Then, I bundle up and walk to the farmer’s market and coffee shop in a sneaker that makes “walking to get a croissant” feel like a moment more than an errand. I’ll throw on nice sweats and take Hank and Birdie for a walk around Gramercy Park, maybe stopping for a green juice or matcha instead of yet another coffee. On days like this, I don’t even check email until after movement and hydration—the rule: no rushing. The morning is 100% mine.
Midday
From there, it’s straight into bodywork. My go-to is a deep lymphatic massage followed by an infrared sauna or steam, depending on how I’m feeling. The point is to turn your body into butter. Bring headphones and zone out to a podcast that asks nothing of you—nothing self-improving, just good company in audio form. This could be a Swedish massage for you, or a pedicure. Whatever makes you melt into your chair. Afterward, I like to rinse off with a peppermint-spiked body wash to wake my brain back up a little and slather on body oil.
Afternoon
There’s a particular genre of errand that only hits on a day off—the kind that feels decadent because you’re cozy and deeply unhurried. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Something as humble as picking up flowers, a refill of your favorite candle, or dropping by a bookstore feels great. Or, indulge in some heavy-duty retail therapy and go shoe shopping. Someone waiting on you hand and foot (literally), a glass of something bubbly in hand, and no body issues in the fluorescent mirror. Just treating your feet.
Evening
The day always ends in water (a bath, obviously) Epsom salts, essential oils, maybe a mask. Lights dim, playlist low. Afterward, I’ll do my whole skincare routine, mist the sheets, and slip into something soft. Dinner is simple: whatever delivery requires the least thought and the most reward (probably sushi). I’ll light something resinous and crawl into bed with a book or TV show, ideally one I already know the ending to.
The Takeaway
Rest, at its highest form, is not the absence of productivity—it’s a humble reclamation of self. It’s a reminder that you can be both ambitious and soft. Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is nothing at all. Just chill out and let your nervous system remember what safety feels like.
ICYMI…
