Vol. 5 Things I Bought, Read & Thought About

New York forever

I bought, read and thought about so many things over the last week!! So let’s just dive right in:

If you follow the Stylematch IG, you know I haven’t shut up about these Alaia flats. My feed is being flooded with knock-offs and the WSJ ran a story on them. (It’s paywalled but if you message me I’ll screenshot it for you!) I realize they are objectively weird and borderline ugly, and they are a shoe with a rubber sole that retails for $1,290 (price just went up on Alaia’s site). In any case, when I was in NYC last weekend I dropped into the Alaia Soho store to try them on — and promptly got them out of my system. It helped that my BFF was there to ask how I planned to wear them (with jeans??) and to complain that the sales associate did not offer us any Champagne even though there was an open bottle sitting right there. (They had opened it for another customer who actually bought something but still.)

I felt more appreciated at COS where a random woman stopped me to ask if I was carrying a Margaux. When I said yes, she asked if she could hold it “just to see how it feels.” You just don’t get that kind of acknowledgment for a handbag in Nashville.

Later that day, I grabbed drinks with Gab Saper and once my eyes adjusted to the pitch black lighting in the back of the Ace Hotel lobby (we optimized for location vs. ambiance), I noticed she was wearing the cutest track pants. They’re sporty but polished and I can envision wearing them with loafers and a button-down to work. They’re also on sale in a few colorways.

We chatted longer than I expected and I almost missed the last train to Jersey, but the whole interaction got me thinking about the importance of teams. The thing about teams is that if you have a great one, you can give them a flawed, imperfect, or half-baked idea and they will make it better. And if you have a not-great one, you can give them a pretty good idea and they’ll make it worse. Since most ideas — especially in the startup phase — fall into the former category, it’s even more critical to get smart people who give a **** in early to help you. And then, you know, to listen to them. That’s another part of the equation I think is often missed. In any case, I’m pretty optimistic about the team we’ve got going so far.

During my plane and train rides, I read I Have Some Questions for You. Much like the shorts below, this book is great for what it is: a suspense book that’s maybe 1/2 step above the “airport” genre. If you want a page-turner that won’t make you work too hard, I def recommend.

Other non-NYC-specific updates:

These Donni shorts had been waitlisted (you know how I love a waitlist!) for months and are now back in stock so I snapped up a pair. I have to say, for what they are (basic, casual, semi-sporty shorts), they are fabulous. They actually look better on a “real” body than on the model because they have a pretty generous cut that she’s kind of swimming in. They’re also a nice length that feels polished and adult vs. collegiate. I bought them in tomato, but I’m going to get a pair in heather-grey now too.

This Banana Republic trench is a keeper. Turns out I am an unlined-trench kind of girl after all. I’m also giving high marks to this oversized red canvas bag. It has really nice proportions, unexpected and highly functional external pockets, and is even prettier in person.

I don’t work in theatre anymore, but I found this research report — spearheaded by my aforementioned BFF — fascinating anyway. It’s a good reminder that things that might seem obvious to us may not be at all obvious to our target customers. Seems so easy, but also so easy to forget!!

And that’s it for this week!

Reminder 1: I earn commission for purchases or clicks made through some of the links in this post. (Gab earns commission on the track pants.)

Reminder 2: If you know anyone who might enjoy this newsletter, please pass it along!