a ceramic cherub cookie jar, that prada ss23 nightgown and the 23rd street floating hat mosaics.... + some thoughts on trends

+.｡☆ﾟ:;｡+ﾟ ☆* 10 things i haven't stopped thinking about this week... +.｡☆ﾟ:;｡+ﾟ ☆*ﾟ

the minute i saw the sandy liang x baggu announcement i audibly gasped so loud everyone in my office turned in alarm. i gleefully decided that i wanted that little nylon shoulder bag with bows in black and set my alarm for the drop time.

later that night i was on tik tok and my algorithm sadistically served me a video of a creator absolutely ripping apart the collab and anyone who was planning on purchasing, citing that “people only want something because everyone will eventually have it, it’s so unoriginal.”

for context, i rarely am offended by someone sartorially critiquing me, it’s something i actually really value about myself, however the connotation that i would buy something “just because everyone else has it” as though i am nothing more than a lobotomized sheep in mary janes and a giant taffeta hair bow made me silently stir with a combination of annoyance and shame. 

i bought myself with a cookie and felt better (as i usually do) but kept ruminating on the concept of participating in a trend. in my experience, the inclination to adopt a trend lends itself to a spectrum, on one end you have those who want to feel accepted into the mainstream zeitgeist as persuaded by convincing editorialized arguments and on the other end you have those who connect to a subculture synthesized through a wearable signal.

 the tricky part is that it is sometimes indistinguishable to tell who falls where, especially yourself. i firmly believe that neither end is better than the other, almost none of us have the self introspection to decipher whether we actually want those yellow and black onisuka tiger sneakers or if they are a unspoken symbol of coolness because everyone is suddenly wearing them (for the record i do own those sneakers and definitely bought them to feel cool...) however, i think what i have appreciated most about participating in trends in my 20s has been the connection it has brought me through a wordless mutual appreciation of a visually identified artistic language. i love starting a conversation with a stranger by commenting on what they are wearing and asking more about it. i love discovering the personal meaning behind a beat up handbag passed down through familial matriarchs visibility worn through the peaks and valleys of cyclical aesthetics. i love asking someone what reoccurring outfit makes someone feel most like themselves (this is a great first date question for the record). i even made a friend waiting in line at the sandy liang sample sale in the dead of winter. 

your personal style and participation in a trend shouldn’t be about what you are wearing, it should be about why. i’ve always loved giant bows and ballet flats as my elementary school classmates can attest and i feel deeply connected to the unapologetic commitment to girlish earnestness that is imbedded in every aspect of sandy’s brand; that’s why i wanted that stupid little nylon shoulder bag. conversely, someone else at this very moment is saving up to buy their first pair of margelia tabis after years of pining or is unboxing a special one-of-a-kind bode shirt or just found a perfect ironic vintage t-shirt on ebay. i’ve found through getting dressed that the creation of community and connection through shared adoption of art is one of the most beautiful reasons to exist.

i didn’t end up snagging the sandy x baggu shoulder bag because it sold out too quickly, instead got the faux ll bean boat and tote which i actually think might feel more like me anyway.

here are 10 things i haven’t stopped thinking about this week <3 <3 <3

1. i’ve been in a real sofia coppola rabbit hole the past few months ahead of her new book coming out and recently watched this short film she costume designed and wrote for called “life without zoe”. the fact that i have gone 25 years without watching this is a cause for concern. the premise is that zoe is a tween who lives in a hotel on the upper east side with a butler who looks after her while her parents are traveling the world. she wears exclusively 90s chanel outfits and fearlessly weaves in and out of trouble as the extremely wealthy city children usually do. a true gem for anyone who loves eloise at the plaza or is a chanel-head.

   

2. i came across this judith leiber gold lady bag on the TRR that comes with a little comb and mirror :’)

   

3. for reasons unbeknownst to me i’ve been spending a lot of time looking at vintage ceramic cookie jars…. naturally i love this special little abundant cherub

   

4. there are some fashion shows that i literally can never stop replaying in my silly head- the prada ss23 is one of them, particularly for this perfect white nightgown. i think it is because it feels primitively feminine and effortless at the same time

   

5. i’ve been trying to re-read jia tolentino’s trick mirror every year, it’s one of those pieces of writing that packs an abundant amount of critical thoughts into every single sentence which requires fresh eyes rinsed through the passage of time (that was such a pretentious sentence geez get this girl a rom com!)

   

6. i f*cking love the summer i turned pretty. it’s a perfect show and i cannot bear witness to any criticisms, but what makes it even better is their phenomenal soundtrack (their budget must be absolutely massive). they played charli xcx’s claws during the season finale. genius!

   

7. i used to take the N from the 23rd street station everyday to work and would consistently feel delighted by the sight of the floating hat mosaics on the subway tile. i was taking the N downtown the other day and when the doors opened on 23rd i was reminded of the hats! i did a google and found out that the hats are inspired by recreations of actual hats worn by famous people who passed through the area of the station in the 1880s to 1920s. i love being alive.

   

8. i was served an instagram ad for these cobalt blue free people moto boots and have been absolutely sick over them since

   

9. i love this tiger print moschino t-shirt from vestire

   

10. receiving this text from jacey <3

    

    XOXOXO