The List: THE PURSE DRAWER, Phoebe Round 2, and Dressing for Festive Season.

Plus Black Friday prizes. To the winner go the spoils.

• So, what did you actually end up buying over Cyber Weekend? I found a Row coat I had been eyeing on the Net sale for 40% off (plus an additional 15%), so I hit checkout. That same-day delivery in NYC is a treat. ABC Carpet & Home was also having a sale, so I cashed in a gift card and treated myself to two Astier ring mugs. They are my children.

• I bought more of this newsletter's secret favorite jeans, too. I’m telling you, everyone thinks they’re A.Golde.

• I also got those red loafers I told you about! They’re so soft, I put them on and walked out in them. I actually ran into

  Courtney
  while buying them, who also put me onto a knit blanket from Lisa Says Gah that immediately went on my wish list.

• While on the Lisa Says Gah website, I also ran across this cheerful phone cord from Ossa and this extremely well-priced leather jacket. A FIND.

• Kevin got a sweater from Alex Mill that I love, and I got my hands on this cozy cable-knit number (more on that Monday). This Doen tank also showed up around Thanksgiving, just in time to throw on under a blazer for the holiday party circuit.

• There was once a time (last year) when, had you asked to see my Spotify Wrapped, I’d have told you to return with a warrant. But this year was NOT humiliating because it was dominated by our Playlist section (plug!), most notably our March playlist, which I’d argue is the best one we made in 2023. I also loved Alissa from High Sport’s guest playlist. Shoot out to Graves Creative team DJ, Caroline Fontenot!

• I saw a meme that said something like, “If your Spotify wrapped has over 50k minutes of listening, go read a book.” Which is judgy but also altogether dumb because the two are not mutually exclusive. People on the Internet will find a way to shit on anything, I swear. ANYWAY. If you’d like to gift a great book, my favorites of 2023 were The Creative Act, Wellness: A Novel, Demon Copperhead, and the autobiography of one Britney Jean Spears. Wrap it in John Derian paper and treat yourself to the matching sticker book. (While listening to music, though you may be shamed for it later.)

• St. Agni’s new bags look really expensive. But they max out at $400. This one and this one are both worth a look.

  

  Accessories of note from Phoebe Philo’s second drop.

• What did you think of the new Phoebe drop? I have read so many takes as fashion media metabolizes and synthesizes both, all wise. My take is dull and blunt. I remain whelmed. Neither over nor under. Sometimes I think it looks like Khaite F/W ‘25, and others, I wonder if I’m just too doltish to “get it.” Has she moved us forward? Honestly, idk. One friend told me she bought a 7k coat only never to have the order fulfilled and is still fighting to get her money returned. My overall thought is that there is more work to be done here. We aren’t there yet wherever she is going, but I’m on the ride. (I did buy shoes, though. It felt seminal.)

  

  Emme Parsons snake print loafer. Read our interview with the designer here.

• I try not to buy too many things *precisely* for holiday parties. But these gold heels from Emme Parsons could carry me far beyond, so I am considering them. I also think this smart wide-cuff shirt from H&M is pretty cool if you have it super-starchy and crisp. They also seem to have pretty aggressively knocked off this Wardrobe.NYC lace bodysuit and legging set into a $36 onesie. This Prada-esque shift dress from the new Helsa drop went quickly but would be great for such a party. (I also like the hooded coat for a reasonable $250). This Cecilie Bahnsen bag on SSENSE is a steal and very festive, though this STAUD number clocks in for a little less and does the same job, and this wispy blue Khaite number would command attention anywhere. Or maybe some Prada feather pants? Do you.

• And now, let’s talk about one of the best life hacks ever.

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One of the most valuable ideas I ever picked up from TikTok was “the purse drawer,” which is precisely what it sounds like: a drawer that lives near your front door and is stocked with all the stuff we take in and out of our handbags daily.

I pulled the whole drawer out in the above video so you can see. I’m baring my soul, people.

This has been such a helpful system for me. Instead of things being piecemeal between whatever four different bags I’m rotating (which one is my wallet in again?) I empty my bag into this drawer at the end of the day and re-pack the following day, adapting for elements and events.

It’s especially helpful for New York, where you carry essentials on your person or live to regret it: it sucks to be without a Kleenex or chapstick on a cold day, short a phone charger far from home, or without a bandaid when your shoe starts rubbing. Even though the joke of 2023 was that a “ludicrously capacious” bag was for the proletariat because rich people don’t *carry* things (this is both dumb and untrue, have you ever seen any photo of MK or Ashley Olsen or Gwyneth’s behemoth ski trial Celine?), even the most stylish women I know are lugging shit around. Especially the Moms!

Some of the things that live in my drawer:

• Work stuff: headphones, AirPods, and wired headphones — I use them all differently! Chargers, newsletter matches, pens, notepads, my notebook.

• Wellness-y stuff: Advil and heartburn medication, emergency prescriptions, an Epi pen, Vitamin C powder, sunscreen, face masks, Kleenex.

• Lip stuff: pictured in the container above is Aquaphor, YSL Candy Glaze, Rhode’s peptide lip treatment, U Beauty’s lip plasma, a NARS lip pencil. All my favorites, right on hand.

• Other beauty stuff: silk scrunchies, breath spray, face mist, a mini hair brush, a hair clip and pin, bobby pins, facial blotting papers, hand cream for dry winter cuticles, a Beauty Blender, a powder puff, and a mirrored powder compact.

• Accessories: I keep all of my sunglasses in here! It’s so helpful because MORE of them get worn this way. iPhone cases and chains to make a quick switch. Extra pouches for loose things. And, of course, my wallet.

• This and that: receipts I want to keep live here, my Kindle, a random flask (even though I never use it, it makes me feel cool), and things like the jewelry I need to take to be repaired, backup credit cards, Tide Pens, a few stamps, coupons I want to remember to use, my checkbook, a mini tape measure.

• The most critical things: Shout Wipes because I’m a spiller, a True Lime packet for elite Diet Coke consumption, HOT SAUCE, and TAJIN!! Extra exclamations (!!!) because I consider Tajin and hot sauce as crucial as my driver’s license. I sometimes also have Duke’s Mayo packets, which you won’t understand unless you are Southern.

I DO NOT CARRY ALL OF THESE THINGS AT ONCE! That is the entire purpose of the purse drawer. Pack your little pouch for the day, and off you go — without your shoulder aching because you have too much schleppery to schlep.

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• For dessert, some media consumption suggestions: Saltburn is deeply uncomfortable in the most delightfully salacious way. May/December is deeply uncomfortable in a genuinely uncomfortable way. And here is a TikTok account devoted to some very spoiled Himalayan cows. They like Pumpkin pie.

Have a great weekend!