THE LIST: Let's Go to The Mall!
Plus, some thoughts on The Row's tanking public sentiment.
This is the last I’m going to address The Row for a while, because public sentiment for the brand is at an all-time low, and I’m tired of dealing with the comment section every time I talk about them. For the record, I did not go to the sample sale — I had friends send me photos and videos from their outings.
Those friends wanted to remain anonymous, precisely because they didn’t want their photo to end up in a piece like this. But it’s worth noting that
, a content creator whose sole output has been about The Row for many years, posted a public rebuke of the brand over the weekend that stirred up a worthy conversation about their practices, sample sale and all.Neelam made a great point about The Row notoriously “policing admiration.” I have seen some discourse about the brand coming down hard on leaks of the recently viral hair comb coiffures, for example (another good hairpin I found, btw). And then, of course, there is their famously elitist “no photos” rule at runway shows — a policy which I initially agreed with, to a point.
Asking people to be present is a lovely respite from the exhaustive clout pipeline of social media, and wanting to be excused from that is sensible for a brand like theirs for many reasons. Maybe they don’t want to give Quince a head start on knocking off your $900 shoes for $68.00, for example. Or perhaps they’re sick of the reductive “if you like The Row, then check out [insert brand like Le Monde Béryl here]” type of content.
However, when you then fill the room with fashion media and celebrities, it does feel like you’ve gone from “quiet luxury” to talking out of both sides of your mouth… especially when your brand’s co-founder is papped shortly thereafter dining with Kendall Jenner, one of the world’s most photographed women.
I have often written in defense of why I like the brand. I have been quoted in the media many times, talking about everything from their scarcity, to their ecosystem, handbags, business, and salespeople. But I also have common sense, and the math lately isn’t mathing. The Row’s whole brand is built on effortlessness — yet they go to extraordinary lengths to appear that way. It’s self-defeating theater from a brand that often takes itself too seriously.
I have worked at nearly every corner of retail over my career: merchandising, marketing, sales, media, and real estate. At my final corporate gig before going out on my own, I was a creative and marketing director who oversaw large-scale, high-visibility placemaking initiatives, from events and activations to displays and signage.
There, I worked with a property manager who lost his mind whenever someone tried to take a picture of one of our installations. He even ordered the security guards to intervene. Finally, one of our in-house counsel snapped: “You can’t make beautiful things and expect people not to want to take a picture of them,” he said. “You’re a buzzkill — policing that is pointless. Everyone has a camera in their pocket. If something delights people, let them enjoy it.”
That’s what I keep thinking about when I see The Row trying to control its own mythology so rigidly. Maybe the Kendall Jenner outing is a sign the tide’s turning — who knows? But right now, they’re playing a futile game of whack-a-mole. You want to limit access to your brand? Fine. The price tags already do that.
And let’s be honest: the true source of The Row’s power has always been Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen themselves. There is an entire generation of Millennials who grew up on Holiday in the Sun and So Little Time. We earnestly tried to emulate Ashley’s beach waves and Mary Kate’s McQueen scarves. Their lore remains a major driver of affection for this brand, and the money they made from that child stardom is what initially funded it.
All this energy spent muzzling the people who love you only highlights how disconnected The Row has become. The whole act has started to feel less mysterious and more insecure.
It shows a departure from reality that makes me want to tell everyone there to take a deep breath and touch grass. These are clothes, people. Don’t be so… uncool!
I love retail, I really do. It’s why I emphasize that this is a shopping newsletter. Calling it a fashion newsletter feels like I'm taking myself too seriously. I used to love to go to the mall; I honestly think the mall and magazines shaped my entire professional brain. My merchandising background is probably why I put my Christmas tree up so damn early!
I still love walking around old-school department stores, where I cut my professional teeth, but one thing about New York City is that it doesn’t have real shopping malls. Bergdorf’s is a destination of its own. And that’s fine! But I missed the feeling of walking around a mall, so I went out of my way to do it the other day, right as most of the stores were flipping to holiday mode.
The mall is best when you go with a mission, so I decided to shop for things my readers tell me they’re always looking for this time of year: black pants, sweaters, and jeans. I challenged myself to keep everything under $300. In the name of research and development, here’s what I found.
I’ve mentioned before the meteoric return of GAP brands, and Banana Republic really stands out to me lately for both execution and price point. Like, hello? This sweater reminds me a lot of a deliriously delicious oversized Bottega number from last year. This fair isle echoes a similar style from Rohe, but for $160. And sometimes, you need a good turtleneck.
I’ll have more thoughts on Sephora towards the end of the week, but I noticed the Korean brand Glow Recipe with a tiny horde of tweens around it. I feel like anyone who has a kid that age would score some big present points if something like this were wrapped in a bow.
I wandered into Ann Taylor, too. This store and Hallmark movies… same energy, can’t explain it. I tried on a bunch of black pants, and these were actually great. There was a good black blazer, too. This curved one with jeans and good shoes would pass for way more than $169 at any restaurant in New York. I feel like this customer is also buying boots at M.Gemi.
In Bluemercury, I was reminded of one of my favorite face masks out there (in a flight, no less). Their lip balm is so good, too.
I had never been inside a Zadig & Voltaire, so I peeked in for denim. This place wasn't my vibe, but when I looked at the denim, I asked myself: if this were merchandised in, say, a Khaite store, would I know the difference? Would it be more appealing? So I tried them on. The Evy jeans had an interesting wash, and the Eclipse jeans made my butt look hot. While I was wandering around, something was nagging me. What did this store remind me of? Oh, right. Mary-Kate Olsen in 2005.
The best jeans I tried on in the mall were at The Gap, though —still the ’90s jeans I’ve been touting for years now. They’re just good fucking pants!
COS is still the best mall store. When I went in, I zeroed in on a clutch that Caitlin Burke wore to a dinner party at
’s the other week. This one is good too!I stopped into Zara before heading out. Zara got me through my 20s, and I still love looking at what they’re doing. Look at this leather jacket, would ya? And this sexy-ass slip dress! $119 pants that look like Phoebe Philo, don’t mind if I do! And these balloon pants, which I would style with these delightfully tactile velvet Alaia flats.
Before heading home, I wandered around Soho, which is practically a shopping mall itself these days. I popped into The Real Real and spied a white Charvet shirt for $230. “Some red thread and one trip to Abbode…” I thought. At The Webster, they’re already stocking “it” shoe brand Jude and have a gratuitous display of sold-out online Phoebe Philo bags. All that Philo made me decide to round out my day by heading to Bergdorf’s and trying on her shoes, one pair of which ended up being the only thing I brought home the whole day. Also, this:
Feels like an appropriate note to end on. See you later this week, when we’re diving into all of your beauty questions, holiday-related and not. Plus, I have a really good trick to share that stylist Mara Rozak taught me which she uses on Emma Stone…
YES to mall shopping! As someone who grew up in rural northeastern Pennsylvania whose only options for college were budget-friendly in-state schools, I chose my college based on its proximity to the King of Prussia mall. I loved it 20 years, and still, to this day, love a trip to the KOP mall.
It feels like The Row is trying (and failing) to do two things at once: emulate the exclusive mystique and inaccessibility of Hermes (have their cake) + reap the immediate financial benefit of influencer hauls and popular hype (eat it too). These are polar opposite business strategies, and it is illogical to pursue both at once. I’m presuming that it is because they are being pressured to meet certain revenue targets. But it is unfortunately short-sighted, and it’s backfiring by creating this tension that reeks of desperation. Uncool, as you say!