The Love List Ten

January's most talked-about, highly clicked and frequently purchased.

It’s a night letter! Sorry for the late send. My anxiety was at an eleven yesterday. I couldn’t sleep even after a hot, salty bath, two glasses of wine, and half a Klonopin. I arose from my coma somewhere around lunch, completely bewildered, with my dogs licking my face. I now have an anxiety hangover, but I canceled my plans tonight to sit down and write the letter. Talking to y’all always makes me feel better. So let’s get into it.

Between my ShopMy affiliate analytics, which gives me data on clicks and purchases, and The Love List’s subscriber chat, I have a pretty sound grasp on what this community of readers likes to buy. Moving forward, I’ll recap the month behind with The Love List Ten, taking a swan dive into the data and culling through how readers are really shopping. Right now? It seems like everyone has already made their outerwear purchases and is now trying to find great pants.

While The Row’s Gala pants and High Sport’s ubiquitous kick flares far outpaced other styles, Toteme held their own with the brand’s classic zip leggings (though I’m seeing a creeping tilt towards stirrup styles, like Leset’s Rio leggings) and new elastic-waisted sport trousers (a personal favorite, I sized down). It makes sense that we’re craving forgiving, comfortable styles — but we still want things that telegraph a little polish.

By the way, November and December’s coat data heavily favored this now sold-out black Khaite number, The Row’s heavy woolen Dhani coat (it’s very warm), and Toteme’s delicious shearling number. Leather jackets by Acne Studios (I don’t know why I haven’t seen more people in this one; it’s incredible) and Malene Birger were also popular grabs.

Bags are trending between two extremities: really big or quite small and dainty. On the XL front, there’s lots of chatter about The Row’s heirloom-in-the-making 15-inch Margaux bag, though the brand’s XL Idaho style (the one with the shoulder-length strap) reigned supreme this month, likely for its more reasonable price point and cheerful green hue. I tried on Bottega’s large Andiamo style in Los Angeles and was surprised by how much I liked it, especially the convertible nature of the shoulder strap. And I brought my old Céline Big Bag out for the first time in a while — I guess nobody here is paying any real mind to 2023’s ludicrously capacious discourse.

Small bags with more personality ranked well, with a hefty amount of interest in Proenza’s forthcoming mesh pouch, followed closely by Savette’s Symmetry bag in a sweetheart shade of blush.

January’s Best-Sellers:

1. The Row Gala pants: I own two pairs of these loose, zero-pleat trousers myself, in white and black. They’re wonderful travel companions that don’t crease up in a suitcase and hash in with just about every kind of wardrobe. The consensus among readers is to opt for the crepe material and not wool styles. The crepe allows for a forgiving drape that flatters just about everybody. Best of all, they’re finished with a thin elastic waist that allows you to pull them on like pajama bottoms. I slept in them on a redeye last weekend.

2. High Sport kick flares: These are theeee hot topic, aren’t they? There was so much curiosity about them in our subscriber chat that I figured the pants warranted their own letter.

3. La Ligne ‘Marin’ sweater: this was likely spurned by La Ligne generously offering our community discount codes both during the holiday and throughout January. (It’s still active, by the way — JESS10 for 10% off.) La Ligne’s sweaters are sturdy, well-made, and have the credible backing of being dreamed up by a bunch of ex-Voguettes. Practically speaking, they positively wallop competitors on price. For comparison, The Row’s Ophelia sweater is $1550, Khaite’s Mae sweater is $1580, and La Ligne’s Marin clocks in at a much more chill $295. Jenni Kayne’s sweaters have been steady sellers, too, especially the Cooper cardigan — use JESS15 for a 15% discount.

4. Aureum belt: The brand’s contemporary belts for cool girls came in hot, especially the No. 003 style, a slim black strap with gold hardware. Aureum extending us a code for 20% off sitewide didn’t hurt. (JESS20, still active).

5. The Row Idaho tote bag: If you need a BFS (that’s Big F*in’ Schlepper), this is your girl. Even the notoriously snitty salespeople at The Row brightened when I walked in wearing it. “Love your Idaho!” I saw a litany of this bag in-store fashioned from several different leathers and canvases. It seems like they’re making moves to offer a down-price brand fixture alt for Margaux. I’ve already shoved this bag in an airplane overhead, banged her around LA, schlepped her to the green market in New York, and been caught in both rain and snow with her. She’s a keeper.

6. Prequel Ointment and Farah Homidi lip compact: A minute for the beauty buys! We have a big indie beauty edit coming out next week, but for January, it looks like Prequel’s winter-friendly multi-purpose skin ointment was our number one purchase, followed by Farah Homidi’s gorgeous lip compact, which is a joy to pull out of your purse.

7. Dries van Noten velvet sandals and Phoebe Philo pumps: I’m hashing these two black pumps in together because they generated clicks in a dead heat. They’re both visually distinct IYKYK styles in ever-enduring black. I get it.

8. Interior Bruno sweater: If High Sport’s kick pants are newsletter pants, then this is the newsletter sweater. I’ve seen so many of my very online girlfriends sporting it — they probably flagged it as quickly as I did for its distinct and just-sexy-enough neckline, which can be worn forward or backward. It’s poised to be the (still relatively small) brand’s breakout mainstream hit, a la Khaite’s Scarlett cardigan. It sold out at most retailers quickly, but as of this writing, I found one size L at FWRD and Bergdorfs and an M at Kirna Zabete. By the way, most e-tailers are styling the neckline dramatically low. I don’t wear it that low; it’s actually quite wearable and not as risqué as it looks on ecomm.

9. Proenza Schouler mesh pouch: she’s cheerful, she’s a little swishy, and she screams springtime. No surprise then that this was the month’s number-one preorder. We’re gearing up for sunshine!

10. Emme Parsons Danielle loafers: Personally, my most-worn shoe. They’re just so damn comfortable. And they go with everything. We also had some discussion in chat about Emme’s Stretch Boot, which is also a great shoe for its comfort (it really hugs the ankle, so you don’t fall off the heel) and versatility — the conservative heel makes it equally well-suited for the office or traversing city blocks.

Finally, a bit of housekeeping. Due to overwhelming demand, I’ve added a “Match Tier” to our paid subscriptions, if you’d like to be mailed our fashion matches quarterly. For those of you who have inquired, it’s available now. If you are already a paid subscriber here is how to upgrade tiers. Cheers!