The List: Clothes for When It's Too Hot for Clothes
Let's lighten the mood a little bit.
Before we get into today’s letter, thank you for the thoughtful and challenging comments on yesterday’s send. They serve as a good reminder that, at the end of the day, my value proposition is simply that I help you shop. Everyone buys stuff, everybody synthesizes the market differently, and the only people who truly matter to me are you, the person I’m here to serve.
I know the Internet is overwhelming, and I hope the edit here feels like a combination of that glossy magazine you miss and a boutique you enjoy perusing—where I’ve taken the time to filter through the noise and present a point of view that I hope is useful.
Leandra wrote some compelling thoughts in a similar vein yesterday (no, we didn’t know the other was chewing on this), and then Diana at BoF had some great points this morning as well (I didn’t know her piece was coming out either). And now Emily, ever the omniscient presence, is knitting it all together, too. So I’m not crazy; it is something that needs addressing! I hope pulling back the curtain helped. That said, I’m done defending my existence online for a while. If you don’t like the show, change the channel.
Thank you also to Elle for spotlighting our chat channel. So many of you are shopping second-hand on Substack, which is a surprising use case but nothing if not resourceful.
The List
“You’re like, really pretty.” - Me, to Laura Harrier. Her capsule with Reformation dropped this week, and it’s full of sexy summer bits for the young-at-heart minimalist. Collection highlights include the louche Danielle Pant, a come-hither cardi and boyshorts set, a goes-with-everything silk mini skirt, and a Prada-esque satin mule. Cute for you clubby types who go to Ibiza.
The girls went feral for Doen’s online warehouse sale yesterday, which is still going on. A friend at the brand told me things are going insanely fast— you know that I usually tell you to tune out the urgency trap. But if you see something you want, it will likely be gone by Sunday. A couple of people sent me DMs and asked if I would parse through the links and pick a couple of good things still left. I tried to find you things with broad size runs still available as of publish date. There are still lots of great bottoms on hand, like these covered-button shorts and this silk skirt in a match-nothing, go-with-everything shade of chartreuse. I love things in that shade of yellow-green because I get tons of mileage out of them. These pull-on black linen shorts also look appealing, especially in New York, where it’s 92 degrees today. These cute flats still have a full size run, and yes, there are dresses still to be had.
I’m not a huge Amazon Prime Day person, but I did get two staple refills: 1. Clean Skin Club’s towels. A clean, bacteria-free swipe every night really does make a difference for me with breakout frequency. 2. Biodance’s Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask. It’s as good as everyone says it is and one of the most unique home skincare experiences you’ll ever have. Its collagen serum sinks into your skin overnight, and you wake up positively plump and dewy. Shopbop, also under the Amazon umbrella, has some gems on offer for the occasion as well. Most notably, these Prada sunglasses for 25% off. This is a good time for a reminder that you probably won’t wear sunglasses if they’re too small for your head or have lenses that don’t actually block any sun. Be ruthless.
The Maryam Nassir Zadeh collab with J.Crew also dropped yesterday, and it’s full of aspirational summer separates that beg for a coastal locale. I love the little mesh bag. I like anything that can be a daytime or dinner bag because it means I have to own less stuff. Plus, it folds down flat, taking up zero storage space. Win. My closet is tiny.
As I mentioned, it’s stupid hot in New York right now. You probs want to be wearing the lightest things possible. Judging by our chat, y’all are also facing down other warm locales: Italy, South of France, etc. My advice is to stick with solid-colored cotton and linen separates, especially in sets. You can easily mix and match them, they travel light in a suitcase, and they accessorize well with that vacation bag you bought in Porto-Vecchio. You probably already have a white cotton button-down shirt. Try it with those white jeans you haven’t worn in a while.
I’ve been getting a lot of use out of my Deiji Studio linen set, which is technically marked as pajamas, but I wear them as street clothes — and get lots of compliments. The pants don’t bulk up my leg despite their loose cut. Plus, the price is right. On the opposite side of the spectrum, The Row’s white cotton set, comprised of the Amira top and the Gunty shorts, has been a workhorse for me as well. As it cools down, I’ll wear it under a field jacket and then, in the early fall, a black silk coat.
That isn’t to be prescriptive: great white sets are everywhere. James Perse, perfect white tee, Suzie Kondi, LeSet, Toteme, J.Crew, Reiss, and even Zara are stocking them — down to the coordinating top.
POV: you’re me in the summer. I’m also relying a lot more on cotton T-shirts this summer than in past seasons. The ease of a well-cut tee is really everything, and it’s so easy to accessorize. The ones getting the most wear in my closet are loose, not too sheer, and white.
Speaking of Zara, I also picked up this fantastic white linen dress from sister brand Massimo Dutti. I am not usually a dress person, but this one makes me feel sexy. I love its length, and the sleeve gives a sense of arrival that elevates it above more sackish frocks. And if white’s not your thing, Zara has a litany of great pull-on shorts right now, including this gingham pair.
If you’re looking for a longer hemline, don’t sleep on Vince or COS. Both brands offer timeless, lightweight shorts that pair easily with an abundance of summer tops. Look for well-constructed pieces to last for many years to come.
And since you’re keeping it so streamlined on the clothing front, why not have a little fun with accessories? I’ve been living in my white Christopher Esber Minette flats (on sale at SSENSE) this summer, and I also just bought these red Roger Viver numbers (size down) to punch up all my muted separates.
Back Friday with Chava Studio’s guide to Mexico City. Later skaters!
Really enjoyed this. Also snagged the Citizens tee you linked on Saint Bernard for less than half price this AM
Hi! Are you able to link the POV You’re Me moodboard? Especially the jewelry, stunning, thank you!