The List: Corsican Kaftans, Haute Basketry, and the Hair Secrets of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
Plus; A Secret Swiss Shopping List from Millaux. Kaitlin Phillips takes over!
While I’m in the Hamptons for my bachelorette and bridal shower (yes, it’s happening — linen, champagne, the whole thing), I’ve lined up a few guest editors to take over The Love List while I’m out. They’re friends of the letter (and me!) with great taste and strong opinions, and they’ll be popping in with edits, essays, and outfits. I hope you hop over to their newsletters next.
Today’s guest editor is “Lower Manhattan’s most infamous publicist” and writer Kaitlin Phillips. You can read a “semi-accurate” profile of her in the New York Times, and you can read about her wedding in the New York Post or New York magazine. Subscribe to her Substack, .
- Jess
My name is Kaitlin Phillips, and I write the Substack Gift Guide, which culminates once or twice a year in a massive Christmas Gift Guide. (The Wall Street Journal calls it “de rigueur reading for the artsy and very online.”)
Outside of the holiday season, I post a lot of so-called specialty information: The best stain remover for Soho Loft Moms, the names of Mary-Kate Olsen’s horses, a guide to private dining rooms in New York, how to commission a cartoon, a slew of vacation ideas, Vogue-approved Ozempic, etc.
Before I entered corporate life, I was a lowly book critic, so I make a disproportionate number of book recommendations. What else? I’m a happily married woman, and I spend my summers in the south of France. During the day, I run a publicity firm. Blogging is how I relax.
Lotta Volkova is not only the stylist for Miu Miu but also a de facto ambassador for the brand. She wears more Miu Miu on Instagram than anyone else I can think of on the internet. Her boyfriend posted a photo of her in an industrial wasteland wearing the sloppy barn-girl shitkickers (as opposed to the late buckle model) and I was sold. The key to being a girlfriend is not complaining about your feet. This is a fall purchase or—if you’re doing summer right—the correct footwear for a moped.
I appreciate when fashion brands make an effort to support craftspeople. You probably saw Sheila Hicks’s new Lady Dior bags? Whether you like them or not, Jonathan Anderson has been consistently elevating the work of artisans. Loewe facilitated an installation of the (artistically unusable) baskets of Joe Hogan for their S/S 2019 show. You can buy one of Joe’s creations here. My favorite is this basket with driftwood woven into the mouth. Timeless and a conversation piece.
Speaking of, Rachel Frost is a hat maker—specifically a “specialist in the lost art of bow-carded hats”—who came to my attention via her recent collaboration with John Alexander Skelton, the man behind the “Notting Hill princelet” brand. You can find his stuff at Dover Street Market. I need him to get his e-commerce off the ground.
You know what you need this summer? A water pitcher with personality.
I like indoor nature. This wild lamp, made of heather, is a perfect example. Exactly what I imagine witches’ hair to be like. Ratty, full of secrets!
I’m watching Valentino, and this flouncy blouse caught my eye. India is trending according to TikTok. I love TikTok for that.
You can visit Georgia O’Keeffe’s house in New Mexico, in the town of Abiquiú (pronounced Ah-bih-cue). According to the stock in her kitchen, Georgia drank “roasted dandelion beverage,” known today as Dandelion Coffee. For those seeking unusual alternatives. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum offers online drawing classes. Not sure exactly how that works, but it piques my interest.
Speaking of the American West, don’t overlook turquoise necklaces. That’s the ranch-owner special right there.
One way to spruce up your deck is with a one-of-a-kind sun lounger by downtown brand SC103 Official. It’s actually weird enough that you might be allowed to put it in your living room? If you like the leather pattern, the bags are available. The brand really does half-hearted grunge in an idyllic way (by which I mean DIY by girls?). Actually, I must plug this bandana shirt. Great for a CONCERT!
I myself don’t go on Yoga retreats, but if I did, I suppose I’d go to Itha108 and lump it in with a trip to Greece. I got this recommendation from a woman named Tree, which means it’s a good recommendation. (Not Taylor’s publicist. There are many Trees.) The website explains the significance of the number 108. Worth reading, and keeping an eye out for that number in nature. I’ll believe in anything.
Laura Regensdorf, the Rapunzel-haired former beauty director of Vanity Fair, recently posted a bouquet of thistle flowers. She noted that Thistle “warns against meddling in other people’s business.” Maybe good for yourself, maybe a subtle way to send a message. If you’re in New York, this bouquet from Ariston’s will do the trick without calling attention to your spell. (Likewise, if you live uptown, Central Park’s Conservatory Garden finally reopened. My favorite place in the city.)
Sometimes I come across a small purse brand and have no way to place it in space and time, and that’s true of the very affordable Chora. I found it because I was googling the other Chora—the capital of Ios, in Greece. The artist Vanessa Beecroft is on vacation there this week, and she always vacations at a very high level. (I keep a list of her Instagram pin drops.)
This intrepid Etsy seller makes “Keith Richards-inspired prayer scarves.” Wear as a beach wrap. You can always Google “meditation scarves,” and something nice will come up. If this is all too déclassé for you, try this Pistachio Pareo from Janie Kruse Garnett. I don’t know Janie, but her bio cracks me up: “The great granddaughter of an art collector and rumored spy, Janie Kruse Garnett grew up surrounded by incredible beauty, clever innovators, and tales of espionage and castaway rescues. Her mother, incapable of merely ignoring a weed, was often found gardening in evening attire, waylaid en route back from a dinner party.”
The Strategist wrote an article this week about the best waterproof phone case. Sold! Most people don’t need this, but I like to swim from beach to beach up a coast.
If you watched America’s Sweethearts, you’ll be interested to know that #1 Christian cheerleader Reece keeps her curls safe from Texas humidity using “Mane Event Anti-Fizz + Humidity Spray.” I can’t promise this brand placement wasn’t shoved on her by the vampiric overlords at the Dallas Cowboys, but maybe it works anyway!
No trip to London is complete without a trip to The Lacquer Chest, an antique shop that counts among its “early customers” Hockney, Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, and Jean Shrimpton. (“We still sell to customers we made decades ago, as well as their children and grandchildren,” notes the website.) Don’t let them fool you, English eccentricity is just a credit card away. (Check out the films that have used their props.) Their Instagram is here.
I am already thinking very seriously about my October wardrobe, and I’m this close to getting a swan-able throw. Peaceably below Lenny Kravitz-level.
If you have kids, keep your eye on Jemima Kirke’s part-time job, which is screen printing children’s clothes. The brand is called Baby Spinster. Funny woman.
I’m not proud of having looked this up, but it shocked me that this generation—Romy Mars herself—is still shopping at Bath & Body Works. You can get her favorite watermelon lemonade hand sanitizer here.
If you desire that musty, lace-in-the-windows chalet vibe, follow Brocante Living. She’s sourcing stuff all over the UK. Everything sells out wildly fast, so hit that refresh button.
I like men who can pull off wearing rings. Most can’t, but if they can—large hands that do things?—Maybe try a Jupiter ring from House of Aquila, which does ancient-y styles.
This is an odd one, but if you’ve been looking for a poolside dinner dress cut just so as not to show breast stretch marks (no comment), this Corsican resortwear brand is on it. They have a lot of easy kaftans as well. Ok, I will comment, everything is for women with huge boobs.
This is not such a “best kept secret” in the South of France, but I finally made it to Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie last weekend — a commune full of ceramic studios. You can wander quaint-as-hell streets and just let yourself into a series of shops, often with active potters, each with their own specific style. Girls’ trip heaven.
A Secret Swiss Shopping List from Millaux
I reached out to the founders of Millaux, a couple who create elite haute couture bedding, and asked if they could compile a list of “Swiss secrets.” Why? Because they have many secrets. They’re incredibly tapped in, with excellent taste. What more to say?
Laura Tanzer and Jessica Simpson (not the “actress”) say, via e-mail, “Switzerland doesn’t have too many ‘sexy brands’. Here are some shops and ‘experiences’ that are worth half a crack. More Zurich than anywhere. A few non-Swiss ones too for good measure.”
Noble Panacea Swiss Skincare is Swiss and made by a Nobel Prize winner. Portion-sized product.
The Chedi Andermatt Hotel for adults.
Spitzenhaus Zurich, the Cosmetic and Specialty Perfume shop in Zurich. “Honestly, the best. I would suggest a gift card, which will arrive in a box of samples.”
Uto Quai Badi in Zurich. A great lakeside “beach.
En Soie for gifts.
Venn Skin Masks (non-Swiss).
Les Millionaires, Jeweler.
Alexander De Paris (non-Swiss).
Christen Shoes (non-Swiss).
Zimmerli. Editor’s note: I buy my husband’s boxers from here.
KA-EX cortisol reducer recovery drink (meant for sports but was founded on the premise of party recovery).
Swiss Traditional Belts. Editor’s note: The Chanel model Vivienne Rohner, a Swiss native, has been spotted in this style.
We're at Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar this weekend. Owned by Hauser & Wirth. They have a cute gift shop.
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the most chic my godddd
🩷Zimmerli🩷