Kendall writes the equally raucous and elegant newsletter where she blesses our feeds with meticulously styled outfits, commentary on the worst dressed city in America, and dazzling vintage round-ups like “Birkins for us broke bitches.” Kendall, what’s been on repeat for you lately?

You find me at a very primary colored time in my life

I’ve had the La Veste Pippi pants on my wishlist for years. I’ve lurked their Instagram and website for the same amount of time. But, for some reason, I never took the bull by the striped horns and hit checkout.

Well, the universe heard me. La Veste did a Soho pop up, and I took my little tuchus downtown with levels of enthusiasm and urgency that could rival the hypebeast scalper line for the AP x Swatch watch drop. After their sequin pants sold out, I wasn’t leaving anything up to chance. I found the blue stripe of wishlists past and mood boards future, and I haven’t taken them off since.

As someone who has worked her way up to a colorful wardrobe, these pants feel like the pinnacle of all that work. And “work” might sound dramatic in terms of building a closet that feels like me, but I’d say it requires more work today than ever to resist being pulled in by the algorithm.

And yes, you might say these are very algorithmic looks — but they’re algorithmic to my own taste. I always have a vintage accessory (or two), a button-down or collared jacket, and some sort of net/cage sandal. Plus, they just bring me joy. Well worth the price tag.

“Dazed and Confused” but make it Doen

Plus, this Doen pair. Call me an outfit repeater. Say what you must. I am an outfit repeater, and I am proud.

Summer is the hardest season for me to dress for. I’m not a shorts girl, so when I find a pant I like, I wear it. A lot. And I just so happen to love this Doen pair. I snagged them on The RealReal (I can’t find them anywhere else except one Poshmark listing so I cannot tell you what they are called), and they’ve been making weekly appearances since.

The Pippi pant serves a very colorful purpose, while these feel like the same vibe, just more cemented in the denim world. Ergo, slightly more casual? Maybe I’m just trying to justify my shopping habit.

They arrived at the same time as my NPR tee, and the two pieces became fast friends (I’m wearing both as I write this. Proof below.)

Who was I to keep them apart when they were obviously meant to be together? I love the ‘70s vibe of the ringer tee and striped pant, but for a slightly more elevated moment, I opted for, of course, a button-down. This blue is currently my hyperfixation. Klein, cobalt, royal. Whatever you want to call it, I call it perfection.

I yearn for a salty mist, so I do four pumps of this

Gone are the days of mid-afternoon mid-week summer boat trips. Which means gone are the days of salty ocean curls. But I want ocean curls. Enter: Crown Affair’s texturing air dry mousse. I have reached the dregs of my current bottle, so it seems a restock is on the horizon.

I grew up thinking my hair was straight. Then, I gave myself a wolf cut during the initial stages of the Covid lockdown. (This was before the later stages during which I cut bangs. I stand by that decision, they’re just not blown out in these photos.) But anyway, turns out a little bit of layering is all you need to bring out a wave pattern. And after many years of trying salt sprays and mousses and oils and leave in conditioners, I can say definitively that this is the best product I’ve used for a little bit of extra volume and wave. It’s not crunchy, it doesn’t feel heavy, and a little goes a long way.

“Before Sunrise”

The summer season is upon us which can only mean one thing: The “Before Sunrise” trilogy has been queued up on the projector. It has become a yearly tradition.

I am not a big re-watcher in terms of tv and movies. I rarely, if ever, rewatch anything. I say things are my favorites and I simply never return. But Before Sunrise really got under my skin. So, I return to it yearly like a summer pilgrimage into Linklater’s brain. And the time has come.

Could you imagine a movie like this, filmed over a single night, focused solely on the dialogue between two characters being made today? I think not. Not to mention Ethan Hawke is my neighbor (not literally, but we live in the same neighborhood) so I’m really just supporting my community.

The Peach Truck

My dad has a habit of sending me bulk shipments of food. All through college I received 40 pound dry-ice filled boxes of Atlantic salmon. Occasionally I’d get scallops and shrimp too. Then, it was frozen meats — elk, ox, kangaroo, you name it. Honestly, this probably saved me from starving when I first moved to New York. (I had $3 and a dream.) But we are trying something new this year - my first shipment from The Peach Truck!

I noted last Thursday as a WFH day on the work calendar, took a quick break at 1:30 pm to journey to Barclays Center, and I picked up my 12 pounds of good ol’ Georgia peaches. On the agenda tomorrow: see if my local pizza place will sell me dough. I have big plans to make a peach/sopressata/basil flatbread.

After that: I plan to poach the peaches and eat them with vanilla ice cream. After that, I found some pastry recipes. Really, the world is my oyster. But in the meantime, I’ve been eating them straight from the box. And they have the good drippy juice.

Mansur Gavriel ballet flats

Have you ever wanted to dip your feet in liquid leather, pull them out, and have shoes molded to your feet? That’s how these shoes feel to me. After I finally got over the mental hurdle that was preventing me from embracing ballet flats (middle school, ya know?), I got to hunting. I wanted a square toe. I wanted a high profile cut on the foot. And Mansur delivered.

These are like buttah. I got stuck in the first Great Monsoon of NYC’s summer season in these shoes, and they held their own against mother nature. 10/10. Would recommend. Admittedly, I do have flat feet. But I’ve walked thousands of steps around the city in these without any issue.

Genre is: Whimsical guys singing weird songs

Now I don’t know what side of the internet everyone else is on, but I get fed a lot of up-and-coming musicians. Partly because I like to say “I knew them before they blew up,” and partly because occasionally we will interview acts for the magazine I sporadically contribute to. But either way, I get a lot of music in my feeds. And I am currently obsessed with the Bangladesh song.

If you know the song, that descriptor should be all you need to know what I’m referring to. If not, it’s a man online who has written a song he calls Bangladesh. It’s on Spotify now. But it’s spawned an entire section of the internet in what I can only describe as a sort of digital call and response. The format is built so that anyone can continue the loop with their own lyrics, and it’s the most fun I’ve had online in a while. It’s like collecting Pokemon. I think. I was never on that train.

And then, because I can’t stop at just one weird musical act, I also have a deep love for and fascination with Victor Jones. Only a man named Victor Jones could sing the lyrics “I’m in the garden and I’m eating all the dirt, I get hurt,” with the power and bravado of your dad’s favorite rock band and the synth of your mom’s 80s favorites. (Hair not included.)

And now, on a more serious note, Gill Scott Heron has returned to the playlist. I’m New Here is an all time forever favorite. Musicians used to tell stories and weave narratives, and his combination of instrumental and beat and spoken-word cadence can never be recreated. Not that anyone is trying.

I wish I could recommend a funny podcast or a good audio book, but I hate both. I inevitably tune them out and they become the soundtrack to the scene that is me answering emails at work. Maybe one day.

‘90s runway shows

Fashion shows still exist, but I don’t think they’ll ever be able to match the magic and artistry of the ‘90s. They’ve been reduced to networking events with a side of Instagram and a healthy dose of sponsored “street style.” (Can it really be called that at this point? Everything is loaned and gifted, everyone looks the same.)

I think Copenhagen might be the last bastion of authentic attendee style. The final frontier before fashion falls. But I digress, that’s not the point. The point is, before LVMH killed creativity and private equity got their grubby little hands into scenes previously reserved for actual curators and artists and designers, fashion was a spectacle. And I have been bewitched, body and soul. (Yes, I did just watch The Other Bennet Sister. Which means I also just rewatched Pride and Prejudice. So I lied, I rewatched that movie too. Sue me. That doesn’t even count, at this point it is a cultural institution and I was just making my yearly pilgrimage.)

Men may talk about their Roman Empires — mine is fashion when creative directors could still direct, creatively.

Marni 1998: What goes around comes around

While I have you, let’s take a look at the other side of the ‘90s. Think the era of Jennifer Aniston cargo pant and ribbed tank pap shots. Think flip flops galore and slip dresses over tees. Enter: Marni S/S 1998. If you told me this was the Substack Starter Pack collection, I wouldn’t bat an eye.

I keep coming back to this, eyeing the foldover fisherman pants and perfectly cut V of the tees. I’m eyeing these Free People pants to fill this gaping hole in my pant-loving heart, but they’ll never be 90s Marni. But as we approach 100º weather, these looks are front and center on my mood board. Now I truly understand my mom’s constant exclamations of, “I had that!” It really does all come back around.

Summer in a hangover-free bottle

I am a sucker for a THC bevvy. I am an even bigger sucker for an Aperol spritz. So, imagine my utter elation when Cann dropped their Aperol THC Spritz and offered to send me one to try. Wow. If any two worlds were to collide, this would be my top pick.

So, I took my Cann spritz, texted my friend who has a rooftop, bought some shrimp, and got that barbecue fired up. We created quite the pleasing spread for the inaugural Cann spritz taste test, and I can confirm, it lives up to the hype.

I’ve been drinking these after work quite often, but I feel justified because you can mix with anything bubbly. And I’ve been mixing mine with kombucha. So, ergo, it must have health benefits. I did just finish my first bottle, but placed an order for two more. It truly is my drink of the summer. Do you think I can ask my bartender for the spritz, hold the Aperol, I brought my own?

The Evening Ride

What started as the occasional bike ride with my roommate a few years ago became something of a summer evening ritual. With a Citi Bike dock mere blocks from my apartment and a pier within riding distance, I can delude myself into being in full summer mode.

After many, many years, my childhood bike has finally made the pilgrimage to Brooklyn (thanks mom). Sadly, it is in desperate need of an overhaul — no brakes, no air, no love. But, in the meantime, Citi Bike will suffice.

I know they say fresh air and exercise is good for you — they may be onto something there. A sunset bike ride towards Brooklyn Bridge Park really does get me out of my head. Admittedly, it’s hard to be stressed when Lady Liberty herself is drenched in the golden glow of the sunset on the East River. Bonus points for this route, too — the train deposits its journeyers at the perfectly located Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

P.S. …

My current favorite pastime is collecting every video on God’s green internet of Scotland’s Tartan Army taking over the United States for the World Cup. The vibes are high, the beer barrels are dry, and I hope we never have to say goodbye. (Boston and Glasgow just signed an agreement to officially become sister cities. The future is bright.)

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Recent guests:

I’m headed back to the city after a weekend at a friend’s house in the Hamptons. They’ve been been year-round residents for more than 20 years, which I take advantage of with pestering inquires about the town: Which buzzy restaurants are actually good? (Not many of them); How many new builds were just farmland a decade ago? (A lot of them); And how long has the main street fro-yo shop been open, and are the toppings fresher under the new owner? (No). The local perspective is always better.

Things I loved:

• Peanut butter-flavored ice cream on Friday and peanut butter-flavored frozen yogurt on Saturday

• That I spotted more $30 Havaianas on the beach than designer sandals; the last time I visited, Hermes slides ruled the real estate where the sand meets the sidewalk

• Morning light bouncing off the bay when it’s wavy

• Morning light being absorbed by the bay when it’s placid

• Bunnies in the backyard, fawns scurrying through hedges, and a curious chipmunk who tried to sneak into the living room

• Honey mustard chips by the ocean

• Peering into neighboring backyards while stand-up paddling down the bay, saying “at our house we’d need an attic office with a great big window” and “we wouldn’t paint our house like that, we’d want something warm and wooden and far less modern”

• Driving 45 minutes for raspberry cream pie first thing in the morning to a farm I was worried would sell out

• The rainbow sticks of flavored honey at the farm stand’s cash register

• Eating the pie for breakfast every day and making the argument that in essence it’s not all that different than a danish

• Sea squish clinging to the underside of the dock swaying with the current

• Reams of retro fabric at the general store on main street

• Coca-Cola with pomegranate juice and a packet of True Lemon and extra ice

• Stumbling on a used book sale with overflowing stock and a grandma DJing the classical music station running the show

• Popcorn reading Calvin and Hobbes comics aloud on the bar patio, sipping a guava seltzer and tuning out the rest of the world

• When the free bread at the Italian restaurant was a giant basket of focaccia garlic butter rolls, my face lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning as our waiter plopped them on the table

Things I didn’t love:

• I didn’t register how deprived of color the town wardrobe was until a brunette with baby bangs walked into the bar in a crimson midi dress and I realized I hadn’t seen anything brighter than a dri-fit salmon golf polo in two days

• The ocean so icy it’d be considered a cold plunge to go in past my ankles

• Feeling like the only girl in the world who didn’t get the memo to have her toenails painted white — I prefer my red anyway, but I would’ve at least like the invitation

• A matcha latte from a local shop with un-whisked clumps of bitter chalky powder swirling the bottom of the cup

• An espresso latte from an Instagram famous shop that couldn’t have had fewer than 16 pumps of vanilla syrup in it

• Having to deter the chipmunk from actually coming into the living room, I know it’s safer for him that way and I don’t want him to spook and run under the couch, but if it were up to me I’d carry him around in my bra and feed him peanuts from my pocket

• To hear that Julie Andrews once got denied from a fussy French restaurant by the water — the line was out the door every time we walked by, girls in strappy heels with their arms hooked into those of boyfriends in suits, and I wondered why anyone would want to go anywhere that thinks they’re too good for Julie Andrews

Luckily the love list is much longer.

Below the fold, all the beachy pieces on my watchlists right now.

A sunny lot of funky vintage swim and flirty little sandals and more saucy sundresses and 100% cotton gems as low as $4 if you can even believe…

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My little brother came of shopping-age in an era dominated by highlighter yellow sweat-wicking fabrics and blistering orange sneakers with shocking green swooshes; when pilling basketball shorts were considered appropriate dinner attire and the only metric for outfit success was how tight his Nike Elite socks were suctioned to his hairless calves.

Now, he’s just graduated college, and the boys have barely evolved: it’s reversible belts and polyester button-ups and Lululemon tech fabric “dress pants” as far as the eye can see. I feel an overwhelming compulsion to save him from this hell scape.

Thankfully, the older he gets, the more he seeks out my advice (lord knows I was gonna give it any way), and the more he seems to care about how he presents himself to the world. A natural progression for a budding young adult!

But the average 20-something man is more removed from fashion conversations than the average woman (often by self-exclusion but also because the industry doesn’t care about the demographic as much), and most are floundering to develop anything that resembles a “personal style.” Even that phrase alone is entirely played out in the femme fashion discourse, but a 22-year-old guy off the street has no clue what you’re talking about.

So how does one graduate from Dri-Fit boy to well dressed man?

It’s taken me years of subtle suggesting and course correcting and fashion-meme-sending to both subliminally and overtly influence his wardrobe. He FaceTimes me before he goes out with his friends asking which shirt goes with his pants, to which I usually reply neither, and you should probably change the shoes too while you’re at it.

When he visits me in New York, we dedicate entire days to window shopping where I throw pieces at him to try on and bore him to death explaining why the 100% cotton option is preferred over its polyester evil twin.

And at this point he’s come a long way: a month ago he sent me pictures from a dressing room asking for my opinion on a linen long-sleeve button up in a perfect shade of blue to match his eyes. I didn’t even know he knew what linen was! Let alone the color match, branching out from his reliable neutral palette into the light summer I suspect he is. Sometimes men do learn.

So this is a comprehensive list of everything I’ve bullied him into wearing over the last couple of years — me poised with my chisel and brush like a men’s department Michelangelo — and all the swaps I’ve gently (forcefully) suggested he make in his closet as his personal style begins to take shape.

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My 4 tenets for re-building his wardrobe:

• It’s a useless suggestion unless he actually wears it. Evolution takes time, and attempting to flip his style 180° overnight would likely end up with him feeling uncomfortable and not like himself and rejecting it all (understandably so). I take small steps and work up to fashion choices that intimidate him.

• Focus on well constructed basics: natural fibers when possible; classic silhouettes that won’t be out of style within a year; pieces that go with each other and don’t require a lot of thought to wear. The easier it is to put together an outfit, the more likely he is to wear it.

• A little dressier the better. It’s my personal belief that men are often in general dressed too casually for things. I want him to feel good wearing a nice button-up to even a relaxed hang, and I don’t want him to treat athletic clothing like the standard option.

• Basics + vintage gems = effortlessly cool. We’re still working on this… He defaults to buying new, while I default to buying secondhand, so this is one of my longer term goals. I’ll reach a new level of personal gratification once I get him to realize that the coolest one-of-a-kind pieces are vintage.

Instead of tapered poly-blend jeans, try a 100% cotton straight leg pair

Like the JW Anderson x Uniqlo Straight Jeans or Rag and Bone Fit 4 Straight Jeans

I gave him these JWA Uniqlo jeans last Christmas as an attempt to introduce designer labels in an approachable way. (Also intentionally approachable in the sense that if he liked them, he could easily repurchase in another color.)

They’re a pretty perfect straight leg — just the right width as to not feel baggy nor skinny — and they look soooo good on (wanted to keep them for myself). I chose the deep indigo shade, which seems to be out of stock, but this medium blue is the most classic, and this selvedge pair is great too.

Now that he’s into straight leg jeans, he’s recently been obsessed with this Rag and Bone style that he first tried on in-store while visiting me. He’s Rag and Bone’s #1 fan now. I’ve been planting vintage Levi’s seeds for a long time, trust that they will sprout soon enough…

Instead of trendy athletic sneakers, try timeless canvas styles

Like the Vans Authentic Shoe or Converse Taylor All Stars

I’ve been urging him away from the sneaker of the moment because they feel dated so quickly. Every few months the chatter restarts, “what sneaker are we all wearing right now!?”, and while testing out trends can be fun, it can also leave you reeling wondering whether you actually like what you’re wearing or you’ve just been influenced by an avalanche of ads.

Instead, I’ve been pushing him toward classic canvas options like Vans and Converse that (imo) never go out of style. This swap in particular was hard won though lol. I got major points when, after he initially resisted my suggestion to switch white leather New Balances for black classic Vans before we went out, a cool sales associate complimented the Vans and gave him an “I see you” kind of approval. Sisters are always right.

Instead of overpriced poorly fitting button-downs, try secondhand Ralph Lauren

Affordable and available in abundance on eBay

Red shirt ($20) / plaid shirt ($23) / yellow shirt ($27) / brown shirt ($45)

The number of links to Ralph Lauren 100% cotton button-downs I’ve sent the boy… He’s slowly but surely coming around, currently feeling more comfortable in the Abercrombie lane of button-ups than the daunting clusterfuck of secondhand shopping (fair). I let him have that — for now — as long as he’s ensuring they’re 100% natural fibers.

Instead of a corny tourist hat, try a clout-y design from a local brand

Like the ALD Unisphere Hat

Hellbent on a cool New York City souvenir hat, I steered him away from somewhere like New York or Nowhere (a brand that truly confounds me because the only people who appear to be into it are people who seem to have chosen to live in the “nowhere” category). Rather, I took him to Aimé Leon Dore for their signature navy snapback with a yellow-stitched Queens design.

If you’re a New York City fashion person, this probably feels played out, but he’s not a New York City fashion person, and he doesn’t live in New York City, so it’s still fresh in his circle. It’s an IYKYK kind of souvenir — touristy in its ubiquity, but it also represents New York in a way that pays more homage to the city than a lot of other options.

Instead of a hoodie, try a zip-up sweatshirt in an interesting color

Like the Kotn Men’s Cozy Zip Hoodie

The kid loves a hooded sweatshirt. I’ve given him a few over the years (cool tie-dyes from Online Ceramics; funky graphics from Brain Dead), but I pushed him to branch out into zip-up territory and convinced him to buy a 100% cotton dark brown number from Kotn. It’s more versatile in its layering capabilities, I argued, and looks less like pajamas without sacrificing comfort. He wasn’t so sure about the color either — brown can feel scary when you’re used to wearing all black — but I promised him it was still neutral.

He later said verbatim: “Thank you for bullying me into buying this, I wear it every single day.” Dream feedback!

Instead of faux dress pants, try vintage designer

Easy to find on The RealReal

Lululemon trousers retail for around ~$150, and for that price range you can snag 100% wool Pradas ($125), cotton-silk blend Valentinos ($113), 100% cotton Loro Pianas ($128), or three pairs of Polo Ralph Lauren chinos ($38).

I got him a killer vintage YSL pinstripe suit from eBay as a graduation present that he loved, so my work in that department is looking promising. Next is to convince him that you can wear dressier trousers pants even in more casual environments.

And my wishlist for his wardrobe:

• LOAFERS. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been working on this one. He sent me a TikTok recently about loafers that made me feel like I was observing an animal in captivity. Don’t get too excited… don’t scare him… don’t interfere… let him come upon the loafers on his own…

• Shorter t-shirts. I’m so anti-long t-shirt shirts on men, and I’m always pushing him to pick the shortest tee in his closet. I like men’s t-shirts to hit right below the top of their pants, and I think some midriff should show when they reach their arms over their heads. Something boxier with a bit of structure looks more put together than something saggy, thin, and slouchy. He’s tall and lanky and is terrified of what he calls “the Sombr crop” (apparently the kids think Sombr’s t-shirts are comically short), and I’m trying counteract this fear by sharing reference photos of Role Model looking cool in baby tees.

  

• More color. His wardrobe is a beige rainbow. I’ve been working hard to help him understand how to mix colors better — he doesn’t totally get how something can go together if it’s not exactly the same shade, but this is another muscle you can train. I’m hoping he lets some bright yellows, blues, and greens into his closet soon.

• Vintage!!!! I’m gonna pop a bottle of champagne the day he starts shopping for vintage band tees and Levi’s jeans. Maybe he needs to be a little older to appreciate old stuff, so I hope this is on the horizon soon. I don’t really care if he ever develops a real working knowledge of trends or the fashion industry, but I’d love if he had a memory bank of people he thinks dress cool to draw inspiration from. I think vintage shopping will help introduce him to new reference material. Thankfully, though, our dad’s ‘80s t-shirts are too small for him now, so I won’t have to duke it out when he comes around to vintage.

What have you bullied your family members into wearing? Please indulge me in the comments…

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I peel myself out of bed on the second alarm. My partner’s wake-up services allow one brief snooze, but he’s pretty insistent on the second try.

I sink into the couch with a cup of coffee he has waiting for me — tar-colored moka pot brew with a teaspoon of hot cocoa mix and a splash of whole milk — and stuff my phone in between the couch cushions. Jagged grooves in the double handle of my self-sculpted mug stab my fingers when I hold it properly. I have a lot to learn about ergonomics.

I grab my plastic-bound library hardback du jour resting on the wobbly side table I picked up off the curb last summer and disappear into the pages while alternating sips of coffee and water. Cereal follows, something full of bran coated in a sugary film, and I emerge from the story feeling anew.

You’ll never be first in Central Park — a buff mom jogging behind a double stroller or an elderly man in a three-piece suit reading the paper with his dachshund will always beat you — but you can be early. There’s a race happening on the pavement loop and I wait for a gap to cross the street, the park a cacophony of air horns and cow bells and house music.

Before leaving the house, I throw on a linen blend set from Gap: a loose-off-the-body, boxy tank with just the right amount of structure and a knee-length pair of culottes that feel like pajamas. A perfect middle on the easy shorts to easy pants spectrum.

When the weather is oppressive — absurdly hot or tragically cold — all I really want to wear is pajamas. This set is my outdoor summer pjs. I sling a vintage bag over my shoulder, slip my feet into jelly sandals, and reach for a pair of sunglasses with pink-hued lenses. Rose-colored glasses make any day better, sort of famously.

Veering off from the main route (away from the runners), after the boat landing (inhabited by a man and his cello), down the stone path by the water (usually lined with turtles), past the Ladies Pavilion (cast iron and full of secrets), I land on Hernshead. This early in the morning it’s just me and a couple of people in meditative criss-crosses dotting the boulders.

The rowboats and their captains haven’t yet been released onto the lake, so for one brief moment, the whole thing is still.

I see the MET from behind, appearing in pieces through the trees and then all at once. Summer is costume exhibit mayhem at the museum — accompanied usually by a long digital queue or a physical line that sticks you in Baroque painting purgatory, feeling ungrateful for clock-watching while surrounded by priceless works of art. I arrive minutes after it opens and there is no line at all.

It’s a sea of feminine bodies in white sets, all linen, cotton, silk, and marble. I feel connected to them in a visceral way. We all stand in the temperature controlled environment and listen to the fashion chatter around us: visitors discussing the origins of the fabric dye; admiring the sculpted buttons on the Schiaparelli dress in the back; gently correcting a friend on the pronunciation of Margiela.

I weave my way through the rows of body, dressed in petticoats and armor and sheer drapery and beadwork, until I’m standing before mannequins wearing hearts and organs and skeletons stitched into fabric. I suppose I’m matching them too.

I take the train downtown and head toward coffee number two when I’m pulled by a magnetic force into Theo’s Haberdashery. I drool over the turquoise in the front display, the watches in the back display, and eavesdrop on the man behind the counter dating time pieces for customers. It’s comforting like a bed time story as I flip through the collection of vintage matchbooks, wishing I could know what made Sichuan Pavilion the most unique Chinese restaurant in America.

The theme of the day is cool cavernous spaces. Anywhere I can crawl lower into the earth, below where the hot air rises, is where I wanted to be. Having spent the morning time traveling in a great hall of stone, I arrive back in the present day as I descend into Abraço, letting the music on vinyl and the chatter and the clinking of spoons on ceramic cups envelop me.

I order something with espresso + sugar + seltzer + a fat dollop of cream and I start the awkward dance that is trying to spot someone slip out of a chair at just the right moment. I spill the coffee immediately but miraculously spare my outfit. I curse myself for leaving the Tide pen at home.

We slip into the communal picnic table in the back, two people reading on my right and a dad with a stroller to my left. A stream of chilly air aims directly at me from the wall-mounted A/C unit across the room. I win four rounds of Golf and lose two — what can you do when your opponent had an ace and a two hiding under there all along? On my way out of the cafe, I run into a magician I know. Perhaps it was his spell that spared my white set.

Down the street, I poke my head into Juicy Lucy and decide I can’t go another minute without a frosty cup of lemonade. They ask if I want it more sweet or more tart and I say somewhere in the middle would be nice. It’s $9 with tip and worth every penny.

Mast Books beckons from across the road — just for a quick peak at the front table offerings — and I flip through a May 1978 copy of British Vogue.

My eyes glaze over rifling through the center spread, daydreaming of retro blue one-pieces and feeling a phantom soreness in my arms thinking about swimming laps in the sun.

The lemonade is gone and my walk to the Lower East Side needs another hydrating companion. I procure the largest water bottle the bodega has to offer and gulp until I can feel the coolness coursing through my veins.

A few steps down into Edith Machinist and I bee-line to the right — an orange mini dress with delicate floral print and a subtle V at the neck is a lighthouse in the sea of vintage. My peripheral vision is blurred once I spot it, and I can’t focus on looking at anything else until I’ve tried it on. I peep the tag — Gap!

I’m like a truffle pig for vintage Gap so that shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does, but I feel a wave of kismet roll over me as I pull off my modern Gap set to slip on a 30-year-old Gap dress.

Edith and I chat about the wonders of vintage Gap. She shows me another piece she has in the same fabric as the dress, and I tell her about the snap-button cardigan I snagged last summer. We talk in hushed tones like we’re in on a fabulous secret.

The second I step out of the dressing room after changing back in my original outfit, a woman asks me if I’m going to buy the dress or if can she can have it. I oblige — it saddens me to hand the dress over, but I ration that if it’s meant to be in my closet, another one will appear to me during one of my routine eBay Gap hunts.

Ellen of Ellen is in just around the corner and we lament about the heat. Venus the dog perches on the chair, happily accepting belly rubs and sweet talk. A retro blue one-piece answers my Mast Books prayers, and I slide my fingers over the shimmering jersey like a devotion.

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It’s hot on Ludlow and it’s hot on Orchard and the narrow streets are lined with sweating packs of friends sipping frosty mugs of beer and chilled coups of bubbly wine. Hair sticks to the back of my damp neck, but I’m not ready to give up on the blowout and throw it in a clip.

A flock of pigeons circling something mysterious on the sidewalk elicits an out-loud “Woah!” from me as I cross into Chinatown. They don’t spook when I walk by, in fact they seem to huddle more fervently as an outsider nears the territory, and I badly wish I could ask them what all the fuss is about.

I enter through the Wo Hop basement portal. The air conditioning hits me first, wrapping me in a arctic hug, then the scent of soy and ginger and everything else good in the world.

It’s much emptier than I’ve ever seen it: a hot day safe haven wallpapered with dollar bills. Sesame noodles cool me down, and garlicky tofu warms me right back up. I somehow avoid spilling on my white outfit again. (Do I have a Gap guardian angel?)

My fortune says “Aim for the stars!” and I tuck it in my wallet.

I leave one deliciously cold room in pursuit of another: there’s nowhere better to be during the hottest part of the day than cradled by a plush rocker at your local movie theater. I suck in the scent of buttered popcorn and feel my cortisol levels dropping.

I see “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and actually… love it? My expectations were low after the onslaught of obnoxious marketing schemes, but it’s heartwarming and fun and I tear up a few times (doesn’t hurt that I’m a giant sucker). The fashion highlight for me is Andy’s assistant’s funky curvy ‘70s-esque eyeglasses.

I stop at home after the movie to pull off a quick outfit change, swapping the day tote for a smaller suede bag and the jellies for white mules I thrifted years ago. The outfit is ready for dinner with just two minutes of closet play — the high neckline and crisp fabric renders it easily dress-up-able. I succumb to the humidity and throw my hair in a ponytail.

I’m craving a specific meal from Malatesta Trattoria in the West Village. This plate tastes like summer: crispy chicken cutlet, zippy arugula, tangy diced tomatoes, and a full teacup of parmesan for leisurely re-sprinkling throughout the meal. The whole cup is empty by the time our food is finished.

An early bird dinner in New York is pretty much anything before 8 p.m., and I’m rewarded for my promptness with an unobstructed view of the outdoor chatter and a perfectly framed World Trade Center posing between the restaurant’s open doors. The wind is balmy and skin temperature, but the free bread helps.

My favorite place for a glass of wine in the West Village is predictably packed — a fully hour’s wait for a seat at the bar is not on my perfect day’s itinerary — so we trot down to Revelie and snag the lovers’ seat in the corner with a view of the street. Today’s orange wine makes my lips pucker and tastes like floating down a lazy river.

As dusk turns to night, the hot day takes a new form, and over the course of a single glass, the sky caves in on itself and rain plummets down in fat lukewarm drops. People immediately pull out umbrellas — am I the only one who didn’t look at the weather report this afternoon? — and I order a second glass to prolong my venture into the wet unknown.

We leave when the rain lightens up a bit, my suede purse tucked under my partner’s shirt on the walk to the train. It survives sans stain, and I don’t even slip down the Subway steps.

I’m called back home by the hunks of Ina Garten’s chewy chocolate chip cookie dough in my fridge and the pint of vanilla bean Häagen-Dazs in my freezer. I toss dessert in the oven, changed back into the morning’s boxers and tank top, and scrub my face clean.

The microwave timer dings as I’m slathering moisturizer over my skin and I leap from the bathroom to yank the dough from the oven. Under a scoop of ice cream with two spoons surrounding them, the cookies don’t stand a chance. It tastes even better now that it’s raining outside.

Perfect day.

Where do you go on a hot sticky summer day? And who has the best air conditioning in New York City? Please sound off in the comments…

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Thank you again to Gap for partnering with me on this letter today! Get in touch at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT.

Hello from the Jefferson Market Library basement. I met a friend for lunch with the intention of posting up at a coffee shop afterward, but my laptop is dead, and there’s a greater chance of winning the lottery than finding an outlet at a New York City cafe, so I’m here. In exchange for my library card number, I receive computer access for 48 minutes. Sweet deal.

It’s cool and dry and I’m seated at a rectangular wooden table facing the magazine shelves. Shakira and Jimmy Kimmel and that OpenAI guy are staring me down from covers across the room.

The bathroom hand dryer makes itself known every few minutes like a guy you met once at a party who always likes your Instagram stories. Just reminding you I’m here! Chairs squeak and thud and screech against the cracked concrete floors, shoes shuffle across in a soft white noise, the security guard promptly pushes in chairs left askew by people whose computer time is up. Wired earbuds outnumber wireless in the room.

I never write in public not on a laptop of my own — with its safety blanket brightness dimmer and screen-angling abilities — and I’m acutely aware of the fact that my document is visible to anyone passing by. This feels like an autopsy. Worse, like an autopsy that I’m also narrating. Like I’ve projected slides of my organs onto a wall and given the crowd 3D glasses.

I’ve shrunk my window down to the smallest possible size that isn’t completely insane and hope no one cares enough to peep. But of course they don’t. It’s New York. My tiny, ridiculous window and I digress.

Today’s dispatch is a love letter-style edit of 32 vintage dresses, an homage to the highlighter yellow ‘60s number that’s been the unequivocal star of my warm weather wardrobe so far. I’ve already mentioned it in a couple previous letters, but there’s still so much to say! The more I wear it, the more I come to understand it…

The dress feels kind of magic, actually.

• It’s an outfit in one piece: a full color story with an interesting silhouette that removes the need to thoughtfully pair a top and bottom.

• It’s humidity-friendly, made of breezy loose cotton that doesn’t suction itself to sticky skin.

• It’s inviting, for better or worse (mostly better lol). I have received a few disgusted glares from random men in public who might be offended by how loud the dress is or maybe just think it’s ugly (I’m not dressing for them so who cares!), but mostly I get compliments from friends and waitresses and women passing by me on the street. The latter outweighs the weirdness of the former by a lot.

It’s so bright and so loud that it might even circle back around to being… a neutral? I’ve sort of been treating it as such, just throwing on whatever bag and shoes feel good in the moment. Maroon? Sure. Turquoise? Why not. Black? Pink? Loafers and navy socks? Who’s gonna stop me! If I decide I hate it mid-day, there’s always tomorrow.

Mostly the dress is just fun. Humidity’s a sticky devil on my shoulder, pushing me to settle on something meh that prioritizes comfort over feeling at home in my outfit. This dress refuses to let me settle. And now I won’t let you either!

For paid readers: 32 vintage sundresses, loud enough to get a scowl and a “great dress, girl!” in the same afternoon (and the keywords I use to find them) ★

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I wasn’t paying attention to this transformation — I only realized June had arrived when I noticed it buzzing around me. May was weird!! I generally have some sense of a thematic through-line as I reflect on the month, but the pieces aren’t clicking into place so much as they’re floating around untethered. But even as I was in a daze, apparently, summer still showed up on time. Very thankful for Mother Nature’s punctuality.

This is everything I had on repeat in May: jewelry, jackets, summer skin hydration, and more.

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A backwards necklace and a stolen jacket

I hung the moon around my neck in May. By moon I am of course referring to this solar eclipse silver pendant, suspended from a stiff collar over the center of my sternum. Nearly every outfit seemed to benefit from the extra dose of drama: dressing up graphic tees and tanks; anchoring billowy runaway linen; and balancing out low necklines with something metallic and tactile.

It is also backwards! A family member gave me the necklace a few weeks ago and I liked the look of an all-silver pendant, so I just flipped it around. It’s a good reminder to me that everything in a closet is reworkable — you just have to shift your perspective. I found a few on eBay with similar vibes: one, two, three, four.

I also reached for this brown cotton jacket quite a bit (and paired it with the necklace often, as you can see). My partner snagged it at Arquívos in Portugal — full Lisbon vintage guide here — and much to his dismay, it works on me too.

“Can I wear that?” “Well, I was gonna wear it… but yes,” is a common exchange in our house.

I’m a huge proponent of black and brown styled together, and I love the texture it brings to an outfit centered around a black t-shirt. Makes it feel a bit more summery and a little less severe.

You’ve met me at a very cheese curds time in my life

Bookending the month of May were greasy baskets of fried cheese. I couldn’t tell you the last time I ate cheese curds prior to May, but when I looked back through my camera roll, I was struck by not one but two orders. The only through-line of the month, perhaps?

Basket 1 from The Long Island Bar in Cobble Hill. A battered curd with errant blobs of dough forming funnel-cake-like crunchy beads throughout. Comes with a french onion dip. Slightly under salted for my taste, but I’m a salt fiend, so take that with a grain or two. Their fries also rock. (Pictured above.)

Basket 2 from Bar Snack in the East Village. The place has some unsettling trendy vibes, but they are, in fact, nailing the cheese curds. Crumbed exterior dusted with something that has to be 90% MSG. Unreal. Comes with a burger-sauce-type pink concoction that was pretty good. Might be the best cheese curds I’ve ever had. Might be the worst espresso martini too.

Where are your favorite cheese curds in New York? Now I feel like I’m on some sort of quest…

Poolside, jarred

I plucked this jar of Oaui body lotion from my family’s bathroom cabinet while visiting this month and it was love at first sniff. It works, which is obviously the most important part, keeping me supple in even the driest, most soul-sucking of Sonoran Desert temperatures. But it also smells like a vacation.

When I close my eyes, I am transported poolside with a frozen drink in hand and a stupidly floppy hat atop my head, as blissful as the steamy spa woman emoji 🧖‍♀️. Devastated to leave it behind when I traveled home, my family kindly mailed a tub to my doorstep. I’ve reached a new level of post-shower euphoria.

Reading highlights!

I finally read Heartburn by Nora Ephron after CRB’s Hawt Seat reminded me how long it had been floating around on my TBR. Uhmmmm it’s a crime I waited this long. Felt like falling into step with an old friend the way Nora’s voice comes through so immediately and wraps you in a warm hug. (The idea that timeline-wise Heartburn is to me what, like, For Whom the Bell Tolls was to Ephron makes my head spin.)

I gulped down American Spirits by . A must-read for anyone with interests in Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, pop music, gay women, delusional parasocial relationships, niche subreddits, or any intersection of the above. Not to mention it has one of my favorite book covers in yeeeeears…

I got my hands on a library copy of Yesteryear by only a couple short weeks after release (I put it on hold last year lol) and loved it as much as I expected — a rare feat! Equal parts hilarious and disturbing. Ideal combo for me personally.

Also the perfect companion read to Like, Follow, Subscribe by (also on Hawt Seat!). They’re like the fiction and nonfiction sides of the same coin, and reading them so close together enriched both works in an interesting way.

Last month, I wanted “to spend copious amounts of time on a picnic blanket, wear flip-flops as much as possible, and maybe do a little dancing?” Boy did I wear down the soles of my $1.25 K-Mart flip-flops. I didn’t spend much time on a picnic blanket, nor did I do much dancing, but luckily those never go out of style.

In June, I want to be in the woods. I’d like to take a couple day trips upstate, and I hope science quickly finds a way to allow me to remove my brain and eyeballs so I can wash them in a cold stream. If anyone has any leads, let me know.

I’d love to hear about your recent repeats (and your favorite fried apps). Happy June!

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Yeehawt features gifted items and affiliate links, at no cost to you of course. Get in touch at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT.

Today’s letter: seven L’etiquette Homme outfits translated into fem summer looks. Built with 60 vintage and secondhand pieces, all linked below ★

I grabbed the latest menswear issue while in Portugal recently (only €11.90 at a local mag stand versus the $12 PLUS $25 tariff I got hit with last time I ordered it to the U.S.) and sunk deep into the pages this week to glean styling notes from the dashingly outfitted Frenchmen inside.

Americana influences weave into every L’etiquette look — from repeated favorites like Levi’s jeans and Sebago loafers to a niche vintage Disneyland sweatshirt (Homme issue #14) and an almost meme-worthy American flag Von Dutch duffel (Femme issue #3). It’s a nice comfort that everywhere you go, there your closet is. We’re all in conversation with each other’s style all the time.

Details that come up frequently in this issue’s looks:

• ‘70s everywhere, from flared pants to paper thin graphic tees to retro suiting

• Indigenous American jewelry, specifically Navajo turquoise (my personal favorite category of jewelry — you can read more about Indigenous turquoise and silver here and here)

• Pops of orange! Hats, jackets, shirts, and more

• Homemade belts — I have to admit I didn’t know this was happening

• High-top Converse in all colorways (I find Chuck 70s more comfy than the originals, but you can’t go wrong either way)

Look 1: Jean-Phillipe goes to summer camp

My reinterpretation of Jean-Phillipe’s dungarees look is one well suited for summer camp. This is an outfit for spending time near a creek; for playing tennis with a worn out racket; for picking berries directly off the bush; for discovering you have a long lost twin sister who has a British accent.

1. Vtg No Boundaries denim short alls, $25

2. Vtg striped tankini top, $20

3. Vtg ‘90s Polo Ralph Lauren long sleeve polo, $35 (tied around the waist most of the day, thrown on top when the sun goes down)

4. Vtg Converse Jack Purcell sneakers, $140

5. Vtg Coach orange crossbody bag, bid at $99

6. Vtg L.L.Bean canvas weekender bag, $128

7. Liz Claiborne crochet sun hat, $13

8. Vtg ‘90s Tommy Hilfiger sunnies, $25

Look 2: Roasting marshmallows in Prada Sport

My version translates the textured denim into grey cropped easy pants, a baseball cap into a bandana, and black patent leather loafers into buttery Prada Sport laser-cut mules. Inside that tote is a pack of hot dogs and ten Hershey’s bars.

9. 100% cotton slimy green cable knit jumper, $37

10. Vtg ‘90s daffodil “Connecticut” t-shirt, $26

11. Eileen Fisher linen blend pants, $37

12. Prada Sport leather mules size 38.5, $108

13. Vtg Moschino floral bandana, $31

14. Vtg ‘90s duck canvas tote bag, $75

15. Vtg ‘90s Mexican sterling silver necklace, $150

16. Vtg Mexican sterling silver hammered ring, $48

17. Vtg sterling silver celestial ring, $54

40+ more secondhand picks for paid readers including ‘60s swim, ‘70s sunnies, ‘80s graphic tees, and more.

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Aside from the two albums above, you may recognize her from her 2020 EP Party City (the titular track is one of my all-time favorites), her newsletter , or her brand new single “Shady” — which has got to be the first time I’ve ever heard the word manatee in a pop song. Brava!

Charlotte, tell us what’s been on repeat for you lately…

7 for all mankind low rise boot cut jeans two sizes too big

It took me a while to figure out where I stand when it comes to what we are all deciding to do re: denim in 2026. I feel slightly contrary to buying new jeans. Not sustainable, sure, but also they just look so void of personality, ya know? Give me a back pocket design! A POV! a little character! The new ones are all so big and sloppy looking!

I thought I had it all figured out in 2024: Levi’s made the perfect jean and all you need in your closet is several variations of vintage 501’s. I’m not abandoning the idea that 501’s are a staple—and the two-sizes-up thing works for them too. Let the waist fall low on your hips and the crotch creep down towards your knees, it looks way cooler and more effortless than whatever Agolde or Still Here is trying to convince you to spend upwards of $300 on.

501’s are a classic, however, they do not deliver that sultry ~Jennifer Aniston low on the hip frayed hem, Keira Knightley in her Jamie Dornan phase circa 2003, Lily Rose Depp with 070 Shake wearing flip flops at Whole Foods~ thing that you’d be a fool to not want to join the club on. When I found my 7 for all mankind low rise boot cut jeans at Tired Thrift in Greenpoint, I knew they would be my new go-to jean. I love how comfy they feel and how relaxed they look. Loose, but not too baggy. Current, but not necessarily trendy because they’re vintage. And cheap too!

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk

As I write this, I am exactly one week into my 30s. As I get older, I’m feeling much prettier wearing less makeup. The one thing I do feel absolutely incomplete without (besides extra dewy skin and a slicked-back bun) is lip liner.

Do I carefully trace my lip line to make sure it looks even and natural? Nope. Does the shape of my lips change dramatically on any given day based on a change in the wind or whatever mood I happen to be in the moment I’m lining them? Yes. Do I care if you can tell I’m wearing lip liner? No! Ever heard of making a statement? I think it’s very French to overline the lips and do almost nothing else. I like looking a little messy and undone.

Espresso and tonic over ice with orange zest in the afternoon

My friends in Portland, Maine introduced me to espresso and tonic last summer. It’s an effervescent boost of energy you’ll want to savor like it’s chocolate. So light, yet so rich and indulgent-feeling.

Afternoon caffeine, I’m learning, is actually the biggest life hack that I have only just discovered. You can start your whole day over at 3pm! If my boyfriend is working, he can make you the best one you’ve ever had at Hudson Clearwater in the West Village.

Getting high and going to the Ballet at Lincoln Center

I grew up watching a lot of modern dance when I was a kid and I found it punishingly boring. I used to try to imagine plot lines to make the abstract disjointed choreography make sense. I was certain the dancers were having more fun than anyone in the audience and that we were all suffering through it in some vain competition to seem sophisticated enough to appreciate high art. Now I adore the ballet. And the more ambiguous the better, especially if you have a little weed gummy right when you sit down.

You don’t really have to try to absorb anything other than the shapes, colors, sounds of the orchestra and the dancers’ beautiful bodies. I work out kinks in my mind. It’s like a brain spa. Better than talk-therapy IMO. I prefer The New York City Ballet to The American Ballet Theater because ABT does more story driven stuff which is distracting to my style of watching ballet, but they are both fab.

Strangers by Belle Burden

My favorite genre of anything, be it song, movie, book etc. is ~Betrayed Woman Writing a Tell-All~, so like every other basic bitch New York City and their mom and their cousins and all their friends I can’t stop thinking about Strangers by Belle Burden. I too spent the early days of Covid on Martha’s Vineyard and the way Belle describes the “flat light” is so visceral and true to my experience growing up there in the off season.

When I picture her home in the book I can’t help but imagine my parents’ house (though obviously Belle’s is much fancier). I hate her ex husband. I love reading about her family history. I feel so horrified for her and also very held by this book. Another one of my go-to’s from this category is Heartburn by Norah Ephron. Again, you probably already knew that, but if you haven’t heard Meryl Streep read the audiobook you simply must. If I were a doctor I would prescribe both books as medicine for a breakup.

“Dreamtina”

My debut album, “Dreamtina” just turned 4. Occasionally, Spotify will play something from “Dreamtina” on shuffle and lately it makes me so emotional to hear those songs. I was 23 when I started writing it and I had never worked so hard at anything. I’m really proud of how much blind belief I had in myself back then with absolutely no industry connections or money.

I think it’s a really good album1. To me it was a lightning in a bottle kind of thing I don’t think I could ever replicate. That being said!!!! I have two new songs coming out soon. They are basically just really fun and cool and totally perfect for feeling good and walking around in the summertime :) We’re going to play them both live at Union Pool on June 13th as well, so get a little ticket for that if you want!

Getting older

Everyone is always saying it to you in your 20s, but turning 30 legit is really cool. My personal journey to 30 feels like transitioning from someone as chaotic and messy as Courtney Love to full on Martha Stewart.

I used to send multi-paragraph texts to guys in bands who lived in Bushwick and wouldn’t notice if I moved to Oslo with no warning, begging them to love me. I lived in apartments for years where I never even learned how to use the oven. I famously once sat on a soft-shell taco in a white dress on the L train on my way to a party, tied a denim jacket around my waist, and just kept rockin’!

Things are different now. I quit smoking last year, I made butternut squash soup from scratch last night, I love throwing dinner parties, I keep houseplants alive and frequent the post office. I’m spending less time feeling sorry for myself when I fuck up, and am posting less online. I am honestly kind of learning to love my eleven lines, but sometimes I miss my tight little 22 year old ass.

Keep up with Charlotte Rose Benjamin on Spotify, IG, TT, and subscribe to here on Substack <3

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A chief concern of this fantasy is the wardrobe (obviously) which requires a very specific sophisticated ease, and the piece I’ve been maniacally researching and trying on and secondhand hunting for is the easy pant.

This is a pant you wear in tall grass. It’s a pant that blows in the evening ocean breeze and pairs best with salty air-dried hair and an OOO email signature. The right easy pant is a bullseye dart on the dressy/casual/structured/relaxed chart. Comfy to lounge in, but the design is elevated enough to give you the option to dress up. It requires no thought to wear and works for any occasion. It’s easy. Duh.

Though I’ve been searching on-and-off high-and-low for years, I still haven’t chosen a perfect pair. And it will likely take me years longer given my track record for deciding on wardrobe staples.

My easy pant parameters:

1. A tie or elastic waist—nary a zipper or button in sight—for flexibility and comfort

2. Loose off the leg to maintain breeziness

3. Made with cozy materials, preferably cotton or linen to keep it cool

But all that research belongs somewhere—and given how much I’ve been thinking about them lately during this sunny spring, I’m guessing you might be on a similar hunt too. Here are 40+ good pairs on the market.

The Elastic Waist

Max relax, comfort-forward, slip-on-without-a-care.

Deiji Studios Ease Trouser

Defining details: 100% organic cotton, thinner waistband, ankle length, low- to mid-rise, side pockets, straight leg

Color range: stripes, checks, and solids in a variety of neutrals and light blues

Deiji Studios also carries a linen version in black, white, blue stripe, and lilac.

Sønderhaus Boxer Pant

Defining details: like boxers but pants!, 100% organic cotton, straight leg, thick ruffle at the hem

Color range: cream, navy, blue stripe, blue plaid, green plaid, and brown gingham

Leset Yoko Pocket Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton that feels like “lived in bedsheets,” side pockets, thin waistband, straight leg

Color range: vibrant orange, magenta, black, white, and wine

Le Bon Shoppe Long Arc Pants

One of the classics in the easy pant world (the original cropped length pair is still somehow always sold out).

Defining details: 100% cotton heavy weight canvas, triangular side panels, thick waistband, barrel-style leg shape, side pockets

Color range: white, brown, blue, and denim

Donni Linen Crop Stripe Pant

Donni is like the easy pant headquarters—too many options to list in a wide range of fabrics and colors. And they’ve got the reputation to back it up: broke down how Donni became the go-to “cool mom pants” for the Cut here.

Defining details: 100% linen, racer stripes down the side, slightly cropped fit, thin waistband, straight leg

Color range: black, brown, blue, green, yellow, red, and sage

OZMA California Corlatta Pant

Defining details: 100% organic cotton poplin, elastic waist with a pleat detail, mid-rise, barrel leg, side pockets and back pockets, ankle length

Color range: white, black, and olive

Almina Concept Wool Pants

Defining details: 70% wool 30% polyester, thin waistband, slim straight leg with a slight flare at the hem, side pockets

Color range: brown and black

Assembly Label Pippa Silk Pant

Defining details: 100% silk, medium width elastic waist, wide leg, side pockets

Color range: black, white, butter yellow, brown, and wine

Gardenheir Easy Gardening Pant

Defining details: 100% Japanese cotton, reinforced knees, concealed drawstring, snap front, elastic waist, designated tool pocket

Color range: denim, British tan, olive, and indigo

Home of Hai Nora Trousers

Defining details: 100% cotton poplin, straight/wide leg, medium waistband

Color range: white and black

Wol Hide Wide Trouser

They also have a style literally called “easy pant” with a cool shape, but I think they lean a bit too sweatpant for our purposes.

Defining details: 100% organic cotton, medium waistband, barrel leg, side pockets and one back pocket, textured fabric, fully made in the US

Color range: dark grey, cream, and a light neutral tan

Baserange Cable Pants

Baserange is another brand that has a ton of easy pants options, most with elastic waists in various types of luxurious cotton and silk blends.

Defining details: 100% organic cotton poplin, extra wide cropped leg, medium waistband

Color range: black and light neutral sand

Jungmaven Cambria Pant

Defining details: 100% hemp, billowy, thick waistband, internal drawstring, wide leg, pockets

Color range: many shades of blues and greens and teals, black, white, and a couple neutrals

Big Bud Press Action Pants

I own a different pair of BBP and really love their fabrics.

Defining details: 100% cotton 9oz twill, big front and back pockets, cropped, high waisted, slight flair at the hem, pre-shrunk

Color range: navy, dark green, brown, and black

Horse Track Pant

Defining details: 100% Japanese cotton terry fabric, 31" regular inseam and 35" long inseam, racer stripes down the sides

Color range: navy with white stripes

The Tie-Waist

A drawstring at the waist adds a little more structure. Some of these feature elastic in addition to the tie.

Brooke Callahan Tie Pants

Defining details: 100% cotton poplin, side tie, 30” inseam and 32” inseam options

Color range: every color of the rainbow in bright energizing hues

Leset Kyoto Carpenter Pants

One of the most popular pairs on the list!

Defining details: 100% cotton, front tie, topstitched utility panels, back pockets, gentle curve of the leg, ankle length

Color range: wide range of bright colors and neutrals (below is chartreuse)

OZMA California All Day Pant

Defining details: 100% organic cotton poplin, front tie, subtle barrel leg, mid-rise, side pockets

Color range: black, white, red, tan, white stripe, and navy

Alex Mill Hudson Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton twill or 100% linen, front tie, double pleats, side pockets

Color range: black, blue stripe, olive, brown, cobalt, light grey, navy stripe, tan, off white, tan stripe

Cou Cou Intimates The Pant

Defining details: 100% organicacotton voile, front tie, semi-sheer, full length

Color range: white and black

Salter House The Wendy Pant

Defining details: organic cotton, front tie, straight leg, ankle length, pin tuck detail at the hem

Color range: white and black

Donni The Linen Drawstring Pant

Sickly green FTW!

Defining details: 100% linen, front tie, full length, side pockets

Color range: black, white, and green

Chan Luu Sailor Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton, front tie, exaggerated cuffs, slightly sheer, extra wide leg

Color range: white and black

Everybody World Tubular Pants

Defining details: 100% reclaimed waste cotton, sustainable practices + fair wages, pre-shrunk, front tie, drapey and voluminous, side pockets, biodegradable (except for the elastic)

Color range: black, berry, brown, bright blue, sand, bright green, lavender

Peachy Den Renee Trousers

Defining details: 97% cotton 3% elastane, front tie, jogger hem with adjustable cord, side seam pin tucks

Color range: navy, blue check, butter yellow, white, and black

Kotn Persea Linen Tie Pant

Defining details: 100% linen, wide straight leg, side tie, side pockets

Color range: white, black, and tan stripe

Also in a cotton poplin version in red and black.

Assembly Label Amara Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton, front tie, hint of a barrel leg (there is another option that’s a full-on barrel if that’s your thing), side pockets and back pockets

Color range: white, black, light blue, olive, rust, and navy

And this 100% cotton side tie pair is on sale for $35.

Soeur Hugues Trousers

Defining details: 100% organic cotton poplin, front tie, baggy fit, extra long, crisp fabric, side pockets and back pockets

Color range: off-white and taupe

Clyque Kira Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton poplin, front tie, side pockets, full length

Color range: white, black, and red

Baserange Kolla Pants

Defining details: 100% organic cotton poplin, front tie, full length, side pockets

Color range: undyed off-white

Sønderhaus Perfect Pants

A friend gave me a pair of these and my partner steals them constantly.

Defining details: 100% cotton, straight leg, side pockets

Color range: red, blue, and navy

AMO Denim Simone Pant

Defining details: 70% cotton 27% linen 3% lycra, subtle barrel leg, ankle length, side pockets and back pockets

Color range: white and greenish-yellow

The Wildcards

Easy, but with extra flair.

Donni Silk Taffeta Polka Cargo Pant

Defining details: 100% silk, polka dot pattern, tie-waist, cargo pockets

Color range: navy + red, brown + white, cream + black

Damson Madder Florintina Bloomers

Defining details: 100% organic cotton, tie-waist, cropped, ultra wide leg, ruffled beneath the knees

Color range: off-white

Chan Luu Soleil Silk Drawstring Pant

Defining details: 100% silk, front tie, full length

Color range: orchid and mustard

Chan Luu Balloon Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton, front tie, balloon shape, adjustable ankle width, ruffled hem

Color range: blue stripe, pink stripe, black stripe, white pinstripe

Eileen Fisher Crushed Silk Wide-Leg Pant

Obviously inspired by (if not a straight up dupe of) Pleats Please, but these are silk with a less uniform texture.

Defining details: 100% silk, elastic waist, crumpled pleated texture, ankle length

Color range: taupe

Home of Hai Mia Trousers

They also make a pull-on elastic pair in this fabric.

Defining details: 100% dupion silk, front tie, subtle texture, cinched at the calf

Color range: white and black

Pistola Denim Liya Balloon Pant

Defining details: 100% cotton, voluminous, cinched at the ankle, thick elastic waistband

Color range: light pink and white

Paloma Wool Weza

Defining details: 100% silk, sheer, thin elastic waistband, cinched at the ankle

Color range: black and tan

Le Bon Shoppe Denim Parachute Pants

Defining details: 100% cotton, thick elastic waistband, big parachute wide leg

Color range: black, blue, khaki, and blue denim

Would love to hear about the easy pants in your closet—which of your favorites did I miss?

Leave a comment

Got your eyes on a skimpier inseam? I dove headfirst into shorts last summer:

Yeehawt shares gifted items (though none in this letter) and affiliate links, never at any cost to you. Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT.

In Bug Ballet, creator Orren Fen performs as the fly with a dramatic and pleading papier-mache “O” for a mouth. There are eagle-sized moths circling a lightbulb sculpture commanded by pink tutu-ed ballerinas and maggots and worms of all girths and sizes wriggling about on stage in squirmy fits.

I don’t really know what Bug Ballet is about—but I know I need to be there.

Bug Ballet first came to me through a video on my FYP (a reminder that occasionally the TikTok algorithm does good things for society), but seeing as I don’t live in Minneapolis and that the show’s 10-day-long run was sold out, I didn’t get to attend, and I’ll have to live with that forever. (Unless…? 2027 nationwide bug tour?)

The ballet hasn’t left my mind in the weeks since my discovery of it—in fact, it sort of keeps growing in strength like an arthropod Hydra—and it was right up front in the plumpest folds of my brain when I plucked out a shiny blue trench coat from my closet.

The vintage London Fog, a piece from my late grandmother, is my own shimmering exoskeleton. It’s not a clean metallic (its life’s purpose is to be drenched in mucky rain water, after all) but a grimy, of-the-earth metallic, like a glistening navy scarab or a blue milkweed beetle. It’s got shoulder pads, a chunky lapel, and it’s not afraid to get dirty.

In my metallic blue trench, I’d play a beetle private detective in a bug ballet. A beret atop my beetle head with two cut-outs in the wool for my feathery beetle antennae. My delicate beetle wings would unfold from the back of the trench and carry me away over the audience as the rest of the insects swarm to center for the final big number. It would be bug-tastic. For now, the sidewalk will have to be my stage.

For paid subscribers: 30+ secondhand & vintage finds requested by you.

This batch includes, yes, fab London Fog trenches in beetle-licious colorways, silk going-out tops, oversized raffia totes that won’t break the bank, & more.

More on Beetlecore from Yeehawt’s earlier days -

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Then the green sets it. It’s that bouncy, virginal shade of green that only exists in spring. More vivid and intoxicating than the darker, settled shade of dense summer foliage. This green wraps you in its rambling arms and promises to stick around for a while.

The first month of warm weather is extra special after a record-breaking snow-filled winter. I took advantage of it! This is everything I had on repeat in April: vintage, new, plaid, striped, creamed, glossed, and more.

When I stumbled upon this blindingly brilliant ‘60s frock on eBay, I felt very strongly it was her destiny to come with me on a coastal holiday. I’m not usually one to make a purchase specifically for vacation—but sometimes a dress reaches deep into your soul and puppets your fingers into a Paypal checkout window like a vintage-possessed Ratatouille.

It’s home-sewn with mouth-puckering lemon sour belts climbing up the torso in a shade of yellow bright enough to light up a campsite. Cozied up next to hints of lime, punctuated by purple pinstripes in the center, and protected by a smattering of guardian angel butterflies on the collar and sleeves.

It’s also perfectly shapeless in the way I find necessary for upcoming summer humidity. There reaches a point in August where just the idea of cloth touching skin incites literal panic.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, across from easy breezy summer wardrobe staples, lies the plaid wool skirt, an item of clothing I love too much to give up even when the weather app begs me to. This one, also from eBay, hits right above the knee and blends cherry red and denim blue with ease.

I was also wearing it this month when a Vogue writer jotted down my outfit as a detail in a story covering events (brilliant and so fun). A lesson I’ve learned time and time again: a graphic t-shirt is an excellent conversation starter.

Now that I think about it more, this top has been a hit with Vogue staffers from several different eras of the publication. What is it about Vogue and the Spice Girls?

Every April afternoon featured this vintage ‘80s teacup and saucer set that my partner brought me back from Singapore. I always thought saucers were pretty pointless at home, only mucking up the sink with more things to wash (sorry, how American of me), but now I get it. A little spot to rest my spoon! A bed for my cookie!

This rich French vanilla leather number from Coach (*gifted) stayed slung over my shoulder (as you obviously just saw in the outfits above…). It passes two tough purse tests: 1. Can it fit a big hardback book?; 2. Does it slide off my shoulder while walking?

Yes, it can! A 400-pager, even. And no, I was actually shocked at how stable it felt while walking, even over slick fabrics. Shoulder slippage is such a pet peeve of mine, and this one excels in staying securely fastened.

I put my earlobes through the ringer this month testing clip-on earrings for a piece I wrote for The Strategist. Most clip-on earrings are excruciating to wear longer than an hour, and I was thrilled to find some new comfortable favorites through this process.

People always seem genuinely shocked when it comes up that I don’t have my ears pierced—sorry if you look at me differently now! I do have one cartilage piercing that is real. Why that one healed just fine and my multiple attempts at the lobes ended in disaster is something only God knows.

Two vacation skincare heroes this month: the Dieux intense recovery cream and Good Weather Skin’s SPF 30 lip gloss. A perfect travel moisturizer—small enough to fit easily in a toiletry bag, large enough to not make you feel like you need to ration out product every night. It’s thick, gentle and soothing, and felt heavenly to slather on after a day in the sun.

I’ve been loving this GWS mostly because of the texture—SPF lip balm always feels filmy in a way that discourages me from using it. This feels and looks just like any other gloss. No one tells you how painful a lip sunburn is, you just get one accidentally on a hike and spend the next week re-applying Aquaphor every 30 minutes to the chapped monstrosity of your mouth and vow to never go unprotected for that long again.

I IV-dripped myself ’s Famesick this month, knowing that if I let my animal brain take over I’d gulp down the 394 pages in a feverish daze and end up depressed with a tummy ache like a kid who ate all his candy on Halloween night. Instead I rationed out my peanut butter cups into ceremonial daily doses—a pious attempt at literary prudence.

There are a million things I loved about it, but we’ll focus on one in particular, (because this is a fashion newsletter!), which is the way Lena talks about clothing: with sharp specificity that brings exacting and playful clarity to each character. One of my favorite lines in the book that made me laugh out loud in the airport:

In April I wanted “to dip myself in a body of water” and enjoy warm weather recipes “that aren’t various forms of hot mush.” Check to both #blessed. I enjoyed the crunchiest bag of green grapes this month, it felt religious.

This month, I’d like to spend copious amounts of time on a picnic blanket, wear flip-flops as much as possible, and maybe do a little dancing? The world is your oyster when it’s 67 and sunny.

I’d love to hear about your recent repeats. Happy May!

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Yeehawt features gifted items and affiliate links, at no cost to you of course. Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT.

ICYMI:

I came to the south coast with a celebratory purpose—a darling friend’s 30th birthday party—along with 29 of her other closest friends, most of whom had never met one another. The accommodation she booked had twelve bedrooms, three outdoor tents, and spotty plumbing. A peak-season loquat tree guarded the center of the compound, heavy with ripe marigold fruit, defending the kitchen entrance like a gentle sticky giant.

There was a pool (icy, half-chlorinated water that took my breath away), two hammocks drooping across the lawn, and a back grove that housed a large gazebo and wooden crates full of yoga mats. There, we stretched and squatted and sweat through the mornings, our one toddler resident monkeying his way onto his mom’s back during downward dog.

We made lemonade from the citrus trees, fired pizzas in the charcoal oven, and played cards on the backyard wooden bartop, drawing carefully from the center pile to avoid knocking over a beer or glass of natural wine from the vineyard next door. We sang karaoke to each other on the big outdoor sectional—white and C-shaped like something from Love Island—and the birthday girl cried when her little sister grabbed the mic.

Inside, the kitchen was a maze of half-eaten baguettes, a never-depleting pot of lukewarm coffee, and a rotating cast of IKEA glasses loaded and unloaded from the dishwasher every two hours. There were three small couches, one large dining table, and straw hats taped to the wall as decor. A comically height-mismatched barstool and kitchen bench combo rendered the seated parties with only their shoulders and head peeping up from the counter like a whack-a-mole arcade game.

The house had an L shape to it—two bedroom-laden arms stretching out perpendicularly with the kitchen/dining room sat right at their intersection. There was so much space. So many beds to rest on, so many windows to stare out of and quiet corners to take respite. Yet still, each night, we found ourselves snuggling up on two loveseat couches in the smallest alcove of the house, sardine-packed practically on top of one another, giggling like kids at summer camp. Strangers before but never again.

This was the latter half of a trip—teary-eyed and friend-filled and decidedly un-flashy, in sweatpants at the local chain grocery store trying to calculate how many chicken thighs 15 large men could take down. But I spent the first few days exploring in Lisbon, hiking cobblestone hills and tracking down pasteis de nata like a shark sniffing blood.

Here’s every spot I loved in Portugal.

Restaurants, shops, the beach, and a sandwich that I miss like a lover who’s gone off to war.

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A travel diary of sorts will be in your inbox soon, so I won’t spill too many details yet, but I’m over the moon to share the souvenir I brought back for you:

All the cool European brands behind the best pieces I saw while vintage shopping in Lisbon, PLUS more than 50 secondhand finds by those labels — including flirty skirts, summer halters, and insane ‘70s vintage leather.

I love exploring the local vintage scene while traveling (I’m guessing you do too if you’re reading this newsletter), and the Lisbon circuit felt so special. I had researched and saved a few promising places before arriving in the city, but at only my first stop, the shop worker gave me a free map of all the best stores in the area. She noted that there was a discount deal between a few of them — buy something at one, get 10% off at the rest — which indicates how tight-knit the community must be.

Everyone I spoke to was so lovely, and I even ran into a friend from Australia while shopping. Brought together halfway across the world by a pile of Y2K low-rise denim — that’s gotta be a good omen, right?

While shuffling through the racks, I kept tabs on the brands that came up frequently and noted the tags stitched into the most standout pieces. This is something I often do while shopping IRL — take detailed notes on what I love about the piece in front of me and jot down potential key terms to test search later. Doing it on another continent allows you to tap into a whole new world of brands you may have never come across in your home country.

(Side note: I love how so many shops in Europe feel dark and cavernous, fit into insanely old buildings and rock formations. I feel like a primitive caveman hunting for Prada.)

It’s primarily Italian, French, and Spanish labels that made this list — ones that seem to have enjoyed their heydays between the ‘70s and the early 2000s. I know that I would have seen these in shopping catalogues as a kid and desecrated their photos with black Sharpie circles.

These 10 brands stood out during my boots-on-the-ground research, and I went internet deep-diving to bring the Lisbon vintage shops straight to you.

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Mia is the brilliant mind behind Lazy Skinscience, which makes one of my favorite moisturizer + serum duos in the most stunning little fresh cream rose jam yin yang pot. YUM! You also might know her from Sundae School, which she co-founded, or her newsletter . Mia, tell us what’s been on repeat for you lately…

Backgammon

It’s technically not its repeat season yet, but mentally, I’m already there. I associate backgammon with a very specific kind of life — long afternoons, salty air, nowhere urgent to be. A few years ago, my partner gifted me a travel set, the kind that folds into itself, slightly scuffed now in a way that makes it feel more legitimate.

I haven’t played nearly enough this year, but I keep it close anyway. It’s aspirational repetition. The idea that soon I’ll be sitting somewhere coastal, playing slow games that stretch into hours. Some repeats are about habit. Others are about the version of yourself you’re trying to return to.

Kimchi soup

I’m one of those people who craves spicy food when it’s hot out. It makes no logical sense, but it feels right in my body. A spicy kimchi soup clears everything — your sinuses, your head, sometimes your mood.

I make a big pot of kimchi soup on Sundays and eat it on repeat throughout the week. It’s efficient and comforting.

It’s also the best hangover cure, which is less poetic but equally important. My Korean mom’s version (recipe here in my Substack) is the one I default to. It does what it needs to do, every time. It’s reliable and something I can always count on, like my mom, my family.

“Mad Men” (but for a different reason)

I thought I was so over mid-century modern aesthetics. And then I watched “Mad Men” for the first time this year and it completely undid that opinion.

I watched the entire series in two weeks, which is slightly unhinged, but I keep going back to specific episodes. The writing, characters, fashion — yes, everything is intoxicating, but my eyes go back for the rooms, the furniture, Don’s bar stool, Peggie’s office art, and SC&P’s lobby. The show is old (its first season aired almost 20 years ago!), but its interiors never feel out of style.

Don’s New York apartment:

Don’s office:

The SC&P creative lounge:

Peggy’s office:

Lazy’s Double Duty

I know, I know. Founder talking about her own product. But if anything, I’m more ruthless with what I actually use because I see everything that goes into it.

What I keep noticing, not just in skincare but in how we live, is how easily we slip into overdoing. More steps, more products, more optimization. And then suddenly self-care feels like another job.

Lazy Skinscience’s Double Duty is the opposite of that. It’s the thing I reach for when I don’t want to think. One step, light but actually hydrating, no layering gymnastics1. The red camellia keeps my skin even and calm, especially in this in-between season where everything feels a little unstable. If something earns a place in my routine, it’s because it removes friction, not adds to it. That’s the real test.

This $8.99 top? skirt? find

I found this top at a thrift shop for $8.99, and I’ve been wearing it both as a top and as a skirt. Which feels like the most “lazy” fashion outcome possible.

This matcha from Malibu

I met Zayna, the founder of Ashu’s Matcha, a few months ago and she gifted me a few of her blends. Since then, it’s become my morning default without me really deciding it would be.

My favorite is this first harvest Tsuyuhikari which is earthy but clean, aromatically sweet with no bitter aftertaste.

Froyo but from Pinkberry and 16 Handles (original tart, always)

F*ck all the fancy new froyo brands that are popping everywhere in New York. I have no patience for the line and the price.

I’m loyal to Pinkberry’s original tart. It’s cold, sharp, and simple. The toppings are exactly what they need to be as well as the wait time. There’s something special about going back to the same place you’ve been going to since middle school, where everything feels familiar in a way nothing new can replicate2.

See more from Mia here, keep up with Lazy Skinscience on IG and TT, and subscribe to here on Substack <3

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Recent guests:

As in, the jacket I scooped up for $14 by a brand likely found in your grandmother’s closet…

With saucy snap buttons and a collar that won’t quit, I’ve been reaching for this suede number as often as the weather will allow. A jacket you can dive into like a lagoon — velvety waves rolling overhead and dissolving your earthly worries.

It’s the sartorial equivalent of the “H2O: Just Add Water” mermaid moon pool, and I wore it three days in a row last week to assuage my lakeside desires. As soon as the sun pops out in spring I need to be in a body of water. The next best thing is wearing one.

The “I Can’t Believe It’s Still Light Out on the Way to Dinner” Spring Fit

• Pants: Uniqlo Men’s (a 100% cotton wide straight style that I can’t for the life of me understand why they stopped making)

• Shoes: Margiela (similar suede pair here, though I got this pair from a very different source)

• Bag: Coach Chelsea Shoulder Bag 30 in Vanilla (this shade is so indulgent and the body has a perfect slouch, *gifted)

The “It’s Finally 72 and Sunny So I Need To Expose My Knees” Spring Fit

• Top: LA Apparel 3/4 sleeve boat neck tee

• Shorts: Patagonia Stand Up shorts (stolen from my partner, option on eBay here)

• Belt: vintage ponyhair belt (similar I love only $25)

• Shoes: same Margiela flats

• Bag: NEWT Hawaiian tote (red + green + blue on one bag!! ideal)

And The “My Neck Is Freezing in This April Wind but I Won’t Let That Stop Me From Examining Every Item at the Flea Market” Spring Fit

• Sweater: ‘90s vintage (a vtg GAP number with a similar vibe)

• Jeans: hand-me-down Levi’s 505s from a friend

• Bag: vintage Miu Miu (here’s one in cream leather)

• Shoes: G.H. Bass tassel loafers in wine

Below, the ‘old lady’ mall brands I can always count on for killer finds & a round-up of 27 secondhand spring jackets (including plenty of suede and exacts of my lagoon baby).

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UNION SQUARE GREENMARKET — Andrew at the Andrew’s Honey stand notices you look confused.

He sees you struggling to pick a jar and tells you to look for your neighborhood. You’ll want to select honey produced by bees closest to your apartment to maximize its immunity-boosting effects, he says. Something about the pollen. You happily obey and scan the illustrated lids for the one made by your neighbors, the bees.

Under the flower tents, placed at the edges of the crescent of vendors so you won’t forget to grab a bouquet on your way out, you’ll wonder how it’s possible to choose between 50 perfect bunches. You grab sunny tulips from their watery jug and tuck them in your purse with the blooms peaking out like an accessory.

A dozen niche apple varieties wait patiently for you to make your way over to the northeastern most corner of the square. They’re “tart” and “crisp” and “refreshing” according to the signage. You choose with your heart because you’re not an apple sommelier and have no clue how to distinguish this one’s tartness from the next. It will always be a good choice.

As you gather your grocery haul, I’m taking notes on the outfits. The bootcut jeans; the floppy sun hats; the Barbour jackets; the ironic tote bags; the CBK-inspired eyewear; the tank tops and their accompanying red shoulders; the dogs in useless rain coats. And I’m daydreaming about what the produce itself might wear.

Honeycrisp Apple, for one, is definitely an older sister who loves a crisp cotton blouse. Bok Choy is a bit of a party girl, obviously, whose oversized shades and stacks of arm candy stay on at all times. Daffodil feels most herself in a turtleneck and has the best top-handle bag collection you’ve ever seen.

In today’s letter, I’ve channeled the spirit of spring produce to style a look for each. Outfitting yourself to honor mother nature’s abundance is a long-held tradition — but maybe it’s time the harvest wants to play dress up too.

She was a Girl Scout well into her teens. She always has gum. She adopted two Siamese cats and named them Romulus and Remus (she was a classics major). She owns an extra large Hulken in a limited edition color. As a kid, adults were always telling her she had “an old soul.” She’s never dyed her hair.

Her outfit:

1. 1950s white button up blouse, $45

2. Vtg Betsey Johnson twill skirt, $65

3. Trademark nylon top-handle bag, $57

4. Vtg Andrea Carrano polka dot shoes, $77

5. Striped scarf, $12

6. Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses, $60

7. Vtg Baroque pearl choker necklace 15”, $28

8. Butterscotch yellow chunky beaded necklace, $29

She’s Honeycrisp’s younger sister (don’t you see the resemblance?). She can quote every episode of Lizzie McGuire and knows Madonna’s catalogue like the back of her hand. She doesn’t take off her jewelry to shower. She’s touched glitter in the last 24 hours. And the in the 24 hours before that. A surfing instructor once told her she was a natural.

Her outfit:

1. 1980s New York Dance Co. tank, $48

2. Vtg Isaac Mizrahi leather suede patchwork skirt, $90

3. Leopard Repetto flats, $119

4. 2008 Chloe Saskia bag, $184

5. Crochet sequin head scarf, $22

6. Coach shamrock bag charm, $79

7. Mexican sterling silver collar necklace, $124

8. Taxco sterling silver onyx ring, $60

9. Sterling silver chain ring, $18

10. Alexander McQueen skull ring, $210

Her mom’s a fourth grade teacher. She has three passports. She gives really astute advice that you don’t want to take. Her vinyl collection is unmatched. She has a natural grey streak in her hair and can do a spot-on impression of any character in a 2000s sitcom. She tailors all her own clothing.

Her outfit:

1. Vtg Chic Lee striped blazer, $25

2. 1991 Bronx Zoo t-shirt, $32

3. Vtg Baby Phat denim mini skirt, $95

4. Vtg Ferragamo suede pumps, $54

5. Moschino Cheap and Chic polka dot bag, $400

6. Tom Ford sunglasses, $123

She’s a pisces sun with a cancer moon. She has a tomato leaf candle in every room of her apartment. She’s unbeatable at Scrabble. She has a complete collection of matching vintage spice jars. She buys her shampoo and conditioner from the hair salon. She’s never filed for a tax extension.

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I felt reborn — and I know it wasn’t the movie, the movie was just ok. It took only one tepid sunlit evening for months of gloom to be scrubbed clean from memory.

What I had on repeat this month: treats for your shoulders, your eyebrows, and your mouth. Plus a humble request from me to you about a hair accessory I haven’t had to deal with in years…

Ina Garten (in all forms)

March was unofficial Ina Garten month at my house. I read her memoir on a whim, plucked absentmindedly off a friend’s bookshelf, and within 10 minutes of finishing it I had ordered a used copy of her first Barefoot Contessa cookbook.

My mind was fixated on coconut cupcakes: a cult favorite from her Hamptons stores and a recipe she brings up quite a few times in the memoir. So with the cookbook and a bag of shredded coconut in tow, I got to work on what turned out to be perhaps the most labor intensive baked good I’ve ever made.

Sans stand mixer, my arm muscles were quivering in between each of the five (5!) individual egg beatings and bowl-scrapings. The sheer volume of butter in this recipe renders it less of a silky batter and more of a play-dough-like substance. I’m not gonna lie — it was worth it.

After an hour of baking (I converted it to a cake), and another workout mixing together a vat of cream cheese frosting, my expectations were sky-high. The first bite was moan-worthy. It’s a really fucking good cake. And the recipe yields so much that we’ve eaten multiple slices a day for more than a week and still have had plenty to share.

The messenger bag that took 5 years to find

It was also the month of a major bag revelation — the perfect slouchy carry-all I’d been hunting down for years appeared to me on Depop like a mirage. Could it be? Only $33? I didn’t believe my luck until it was in my hands a week later and I could smell the vintage leather myself.

I already detailed the messy breakup with my former paramour in a much longer letter here:

And though I linked a bunch of matching messengers in that letter, it seems we have already emptied the virtual stock of this bag from the internet. I’d love to see a pic when it arrives if you managed to snag one.

Seeking: gentle claw clip

I’ve unlocked a hair accessory I haven’t been able to use in years — a full-sized claw clip. My hair has been cropped into a chin-length bob for most of my adulthood, but now that it’s just grown past my shoulders, I don’t really remember what to do with it. I’ve been out of the game too long!

It’s not quite long enough to braid but definitely long enough to get annoying, so I upgraded the size of my claw clip to toss it up and out of my face. But the one I grabbed from my local drugstore keeps ripping out my hair. Do you have a claw clip that leaves your precious strands in tact? Please share because I can’t take this anymore.

Zip-up spring slime

Sickly chartreuse shades are a year-round delight, of course, but a piercing green is especially well suited to the early days of spring. It’s the color of a young garden: new stems poking out of fertile soil, dense fruit that hasn’t yet matured, tender bamboo before it hardens and yellows. It’s refreshing. It’s rejuvenating. It’s a promise.

This zip-up from LA Apparel in the shade Celery Green has hardly left my body this past month, serving both as color therapy and as the most practical outerwear choice in mood-swinging March weather. Summer sweating in the sun: unzipped. Arctic chill in the shade: zipped. It’s a little cropped, just enough so your t-shirt peeps through the hem, and it’s really good stiff thick cotton.

A brow gel to end all brow gels

I have had this for over a year and I’m finally hitting pan (hitting tube?). I’m devastated. I’m super picky about what I’ll put in my brows, and this Skin by Ella Rose gel nails the fluffy natural look. Not too pigmented, not too light on hold, and — harder to find than you’d think — not the texture of superglue.

How long is too long to keep your pajamas on in the morning…

I slept almost every night this month in an icy blue Negative Underwear t-shirt (don’t ask me how many times it’s been washed, I don’t want you to think less of me). They were kind enough to send me a few new pieces recently — after years of me broadcasting my all-consuming love for their bralettes and whipped fabric unsponsored — and I’ve been pushing the limits (to say the least) on the length of time appropriate to keep your PJs on in the morning.

Negative’s stuff is just the best. This fabric feels like silk woven from cloud tendrils or a paper thin vintage tee that air dried in a sea breeze. I’ll be switching to the cami version when summer’s suffocating humidity rolls in.

Last month I hoped “that false spring will just be real spring” and wanted “to eat a hot dog soon.” I ate the dog! Spring weather whiplash is in full force though, unfortunately.

In April, I need to dip myself in a body of water. Stat. And I’m sooooooo looking forward to warm weather produce and recipes that aren’t various forms of hot mush. Cold and crispy, here I come!

I’d love to hear about your latest reads, listens, wears, obsessions, etc. Please indulge me in the comments <3 Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT. Happy April!

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Earlier this week:

A home decor deep dive inspired by Emma Chamberlain’s LA abode + her new West Elm collection. (I may have bought something from this haul myself…sorry not sorry…)

About four minutes in, the video starts to feel like a thinly veiled ad when she mentions her new West Elm collection. Lol. (Of which apple-focused decor pieces make up a not insignificant portion.) But there was a golden nugget of secondhand shopping wisdom lurking beneath the surface that made me immediately open up a blank document and start typing.

During a walk-through of her living room, she somewhat indirectly likens home decor to tattoos, sharing a throw pillow from the collab stitched with objects she has inked on her arms. There’s a mushroom, a turtle, some birds, and an apple, obviously.

What I think she’s getting at is the idea that she treats collecting the pieces in her home the same way she collects her patchwork tattoos. They’re representations of the things that speak to her: important moments punctuated by ink symbols and vintage cookie jars. What is a living room or a sticker sleeve but realized adornments of interests, values, and the memories you hold close?

The bulk of the interior was designed in partnership years ago with Ashley Drost and Marie Trohman of Proem Studio, she explains in the original tour. But she shares in the 2026 update that most of the tchotchkes she’s added since have been collected secondhand from vintage stores and flea markets. She elaborates on her interior design philosophies:

“I like to find myself through being eclectic, mixing and matching. I love so many different things from so many different eras: ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, medieval times, who knows!

“But when I sort of tapped into that, I found that it magically had a cohesion because the through-line is me.”

!!! That’s the crux of why shopping vintage is so fulfilling: no two people can ever have the exact same collection, and whatever you collect is entirely tailored to your specific taste. No two blends can ever be the same. Each is a unique combination of styles and decades and references that might only be held together by a single common thread — you! When every piece speaks to you, they can chime in to help tell your story too.

The homewares space actually seems like a pretty natural path for Emma, a YouTube pioneer turned coffee company maven turned fashion darling. She’s proven herself time and again to have great style instincts and sensibilities — it’s a huge reason she’s been able to graduate from posting thrift store hauls as a teenager to sitting front row at Louis Vuitton in Paris and giving red carpet commentary at the Met Gala. The two worlds aren’t so disconnected, after all.

She explained in her original home tour that she feels hunting for a home and for a closet are the same process — “I find inspiration for the home everywhere, the same as fashion. It’s all one in my mind.” Well, yes!

So if you left this video like I did, itching to climb right into a vintage home decor rabbit hole, I’ve got just the salve for your aching little heart:

a vintage home edit inspired by her eclectic genre-bending interior design swag.

Some themes and design buzz words I kept in mind: soft coastal, cottagecore, organic shapes, subtle whimsy, playful elegance, earthy tones, medium/dark wood, mid-century modern, ‘60s/’70s kitsch, “soft mossy garden” energy (in her own words)

Oak Mid Century Gossip Bench, $859 (called a gossip bench because you used to keep the phone on the table and sit on the bench while talking shit with your friends!)

Vintage 1960s Mod Big Blue Eye Girl Hand Mirror, $39

Waechtersbach Red Apple Coffee Mug Vintage Retro Dark Blue West Germany, $10 (Yeehawt color palette helloooooo) (*first one sold but here’s another)

Vintage Throw Pillow with Floral Pattern Ruffled Trim, $95

All-American Ads of the 60s by Jim Heimann, $28

Small green metal mushroom clip-on lamp, $42

Vintage Handmade Art Pottery 5” Cat Figurine, $19

“Rebecca” 1940 Movie Poster Print, $11-$42

Vintage Handmade Small 11” Red Pillow Beaded Flowers Bead Embroidery, $12

Vintage Kelvin Chen Miniature Enamel Watering Can, $40

Vintage old enamel milk can, $32

Vintage Mid Century Vinyl Gossip Chair Telephone Sleep Rite, $325

Vintage Atomic Cat Salt And Pepper Shakers MCM, $30

Vintage Original Southwest Landscape Painting Oil on Canvas Impressionist Signed, $129 (Emma’s dad, Michael Chamberlain, is an oil painter who has done a lot of the work in her house. His pieces generally focus on northern California landscapes and landmarks.)

Yahtzee Dice Game Vintage 1956 E.S. Lowe Company Sealed pieces Unplayed, $20

Vintage handmade speckled teapot, $25

Vintage Set Of 2 Home made Fabric Chicken/Hens Plush, $19

Vintage Original Photo Woman with self portrait painting Art Artist 1950s, $11 (I just think she would love this. I love it. You probably do too.)

Vintage Round Bright Turquoise Ruffle Velvet Pillow, $33

Vintage MCM Oblique Wooden Mirror, $66

Vtg Margie’s Garden Green Studio Art Pottery Vases Set Of 2, $35

Vintage Siberian Elm Burl Wood Birdseye Jewelry Square Box, $90

VTG Ceramic Cow Head Decoration Black And White 8 1/2” Signed, $30

Vintage 1970s Pine Wood Table Lamp 38 cm Rustic Scandinavian Fabric Shade, $60

Vintage Hartstone Pottery Golden Delicious Apples Mug 1982, $12

VTG Wicker Woven Basket with Lid, Delicate, Tightly woven 8.5 in Tall, bid at $13

Hope you enjoyed this juicy letter — a digital fruit basket from me to you. This one is free, but usually the vintage finds are just for paid subscribers. Consider upgrading if you enjoyed today’s lot <3

Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT.

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The brand most often cited to me by friends (and some readers) as their inspiration for wedding guest dresses is Réalisation Par. And I really, really get the appeal — I’ve worn a Réalisation Par number to a wedding myself! It was a perfect low-key choice for a sticky southern summer affair.

The label specializes in delicate silks, hip-hugging bias cuts, sultry florals, flirty whispers of a ruffle, and has clout-worthy collabs in the vault like a capsule collection with Wildflower Cases head diva Devon Lee Carlson.

Even if this is the first time you’re hearing the name of the brand, you’ll surely remember their mega viral and ceaselessly imitated cheetah silk skirt that took over influencer feeds in 2019.

What they’re most known for, however, is their signature silk dress — the signature isn’t a specific silhouette per se, but just the fact that you look, like, really hot wearing it. They favor bias cut silk which cradles curves in a delicious way, and unlike so many other dresses on the market, RP never forgets room for the boob.

Their dresses (and the evocative product shots) sell an irresistible fantasy: Imagine slipping on single-layered silk post-everything-shower, sun kissed from an afternoon in the French Riviera heat, hair still damp but twirling effortlessly into product-free curls. You glide into skimpy sandals and head out on a leisurely stroll to an early dinner reservation when your girlfriend snaps a casually stunning candid film photo of you, glowing orange sky illuminating your clear bare skin. I mean, say less, I’m already packing my bags.

That particular vibe is what I used as my jumping off point on this vintage search. Effortlessly stunning, swishing florals silks. Keeping in mind, too, all the the details that take a special occasion dress from good to great.

What makes the perfect wedding guest dress:

• It makes you feel like a supermodel, but it’s not so overtly hot that people think you’re trying to detract from the bride (the precariousness of this line really depends on the bride’s attitude & how well you know her).

• It’s comfortable and roomy enough to be able to take full advantage of the expensive food or buffet, have two slices of cake, and a few signature cocktails named after their dog. You shouldn’t have to worry about zippers and seams and weird bunching fabrics while in the throes of celebration.

• It’s rewearable. I think we all have this dream that some day we’ll find the wedding guest dress that fits for every dress code and theme, but the one magic dress is an impossible myth given how formality/style/vibe can change so drastically from one wedding to the next. But at LEAST it should be a dress you love enough to wear in your everyday.

Below, 43 dresses made of 100% silk that capture the essence of RP for the vintage-minded wedding guest.

A bouquet of delights in refreshing blues, sunset hues, and sweet sassy florals. This crop was chosen with warm spring/summer weddings in mind in particular, so most hit between the knee and the ankle, and the price range is between $14-$150.

Polka dot ruffled dress, $75. This flouncy little collar is so sweet.

Slimy spring green halter, $35. To match the tulips stems.

Animal print-adjacent ruffled dress, $60. Has flirt built in, just like RP pieces.

Undeniably animal print slip dress, $65. For the right wedding, leopard could be a showstopper.

Floral detail yellow halter dress, $91. Needs to be spinning on a dance floor to ABBA stat.

Ralph Lauren floral dress, $50. Feels like something Rachel McAdams would’ve worn in a movie playing a bridesmaid in the mid-aughts.

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We accept the bag we think we deserve.

To get one thing out of the way, this is not Baggu hateration. I’ve been a longtime wearer of the Baggu medium crescent and an even longer-time user of their reusable totes (I have one in my purse at nearly all times). But in the last few years, I’ve grown increasingly at odds with my crescent.

It had become a purse crutch!

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have bought it in the first place — it wasn’t meant to be, and I’d been ignoring the red flags for years. I’m almost always opposed to logos or brand names on my body (should go without saying that you’re totally allowed to disagree for your own closet), and thus the branded “BAGGU” strap grated on my conscience every time I slung it over my head. Yet I kept reaching for it, like late-night texting an ex who lives in your neighborhood, because fuck it’s convenient!

The water-resistant nylon skin is a good choice for drizzly days and so difficult to stain (it rains more than 100 days a year in NYC, and this was the common denominator of when I reached for it most). It slips right over your tired shoulder, balancing weight across the torso and hips like a circus act. And its capacity is magical: able to hold a Hydroflask and two library hardbacks with ease.

I’ve affectionately referred to the medium crescent as the fuel-efficient mid-sized SUV of purses, and living in the city, a roomy purse is the closest thing you have to the freeing mobile storage of a car. A handheld RAV4 is too tempting to pass up when you’re running out the door ten minutes late for a doctor’s appointment and there’s threat of rain looming in the sky.

But I was always uncomfortable wearing something that wasn’t 100% my style (a lesson I hadn’t quite yet learned in my early 20s when I first got one: don’t waste time and money buying the thing that’s almost perfect, it’s worth it to wait for the perfect thing). And as someone who devotes so much time to pondering fashion — this was unacceptable! And frankly a bit embarrassing! Shouldn’t I know myself better than that?

So I began a search for something to replace it. Like… 5 years ago. A durable and spacious beater bag, more elevated than logo’d nylon but well suited to errands and grocery stores too.

My everyday, any-occasion bag criteria:

1. Black

2. Leather

3. Vintage or secondhand

4. Rain proof-ish (no suede and had to close properly with a well protected interior)

5. Holds my 13” laptop

6. Fits at least two books

7. Thick strap so it doesn’t cut into my shoulders

8. The strap had to also be leather and adjustable (I needed sleek from tip to toe and this turned out to be so tough to find)

9. Have a crossbody-length option for hands-free city schlepping

10. Inexpensive enough to not feel too precious about

So many purses were almost right. I got really close with a few late aughts Marc Jacobs numbers and one fantastic vintage Bottega that tragically wouldn’t have fit my laptop. I was incredibly strict with myself, refusing to acquiesce to a bag that wasn’t perfect, fully committed to never settling.

I scoured TRR for higher end options; I macheted my way through the eBay jungle where the search term “vintage leather crossbody” yields more than 130,000 results; and I sighed with desperation perusing Poshmark, Depop, and occasionally Japanese eBay, hoping to stumble upon a miracle. I swiped left on thousands of bags. My eyes were bleary from out-of-focus photos and listing typos, and I was beginning to worry my perfect purse would die in rose jail.

So I came up with a temporary solution: “upgrade” the Baggu.

Crescent 2.0 — When the Collina Strada collab came out in spring of 2024, I snagged the plain black crescent. My reasoning: the strap was a higher quality, silkier material, and the big silver buckle made the bag feel more like me. It was a nice design touch, and I liked that bag a little bit more than the one before. I hated myself less when I wore it.

Crescent 3.0 — When the Molly Goddard collab came out in the summer of 2025, I promptly sold my Collina Strada one and replaced it with the button-strapped black crescent. SANS LOGO! I could maintain my go-to rain bag without feeling assaulted by the branding across my chest, I reasoned.

I don’t hate this version at all. I actually love this shiny industrial button-strapped design, it just still didn’t meet my criteria. Even without the logo, it was too casual, didn’t fit a laptop, and wasn’t leather. I was annoyed with myself for trying so hard to make it work when it, at this point, it hadn’t been working for years. We were long past couples therapy by now.

All the while, as I willed my crescent to change (they never change), I was searching high and low on resale sights for something to curb my insatiable appetite. It seemed like a hopeless feat.

Until I found it — in 2026, six years after my first Baggu purchase.

A black leather, silver-buckled messenger bag originally released in the fall of 2004. I submitted an offer on Depop for $33 — a risky move allowing time for someone to swoop in and buy it out from under me, but I respect the game too much not to send a lower offer. Thank GOD she accepted.

I’ve worn it nearly every day since it arrived: to work functions, to the farmer’s market, to an ultramarathon my partner ran in the Pennsylvanian mountains. It clings to my hip tautly, swaddles my laptop gently, and has already survived a couple spring drizzles.

It’s vintage Banana Republic, and I knew the leather would be scrumptious because I have my mom’s buttery smooth BR leather jacket from the ‘90s hanging in my closet. The specs:

• Thick, heavenly leather

• Vintage and only $33, major win

• Fits my laptop

• Can hold 4-5 books if that ever becomes necessary (or one really girthy epic)

• Varying strap length options, from low-slinging to tight on the hip where I prefer

• Internal and external mini pockets for extra organizational promise (a mysterious small one in the upper middle behind the big flap too, I texted to see if it might be an old Palm Pilot/flip phone pocket — she confirmed yes!)

• Silver hardware with buckles and rivets for some design intrigue

• Perfect intermediary size: big enough to schlep, not too big to be confined to casual settings

With the messenger bag’s historical origins in mail carry, it’s only fitting for it to hold the digital mail I send to you every week. Back to her roots she goes! Now I just need to see about getting a horse.

Some secondhand bags I found for you:

1. My bag in brown, $40

2. My bag in brown, $60

3. My bag in brown, $80

4. My bag in brown, $99

5. Banana Republic black canvas/leather messenger, $40

6. Banana Republic black leather messenger, $48

7. Banana Republic green suede messenger, $75

8. ‘90s GAP black leather messenger, $70

9. Vintage Nine West black leather messenger, $30

10. Vintage Sonia Rykiel black leather messenger, $85 (fair condition but so cool)

11. Giorgio Armani black leather messenger, $105 (the bow detail!?)

12. Coach black leather messenger, $204

And I can’t not share the Kate Spade messengers, which aren’t leather but have been on my watchlist for so long (they might actually be diaper bags? one comes with a fold-up changing mat!):

1. Kate Spade pink corduroy messenger, $72 (I actually shared this a while back and I can’t believe it hasn’t sold, I’m obsessed with it)

2. Kate Spade blue corduroy messenger, $75

3. Kate Spade black nylon messenger, $15

4. Kate Spade grey wool messenger, $15

5. Kate Spade mint nylon messenger, $30

6. Kate Spade pink jacquard messenger, $42

7. Kate Spade red nylon messenger, $35

So what’s happening to the Baggu 3.0 now? I’d love to tell you this break-up is final. I’d love to tell you I kicked her out of my house already, burned her clothes on the lawn and blocked her Instagram. But that would be a lie… Part of me is still hoping she’ll change! Or that maybe someday I’ll change and see her in a new light.

For now, she’s been relegated to the back of my closet, and with a little more distance from the heat of the situation, I’ll reevaluate her place in my life and in my wardrobe. If anything I hope my messy breakup can serve as a reminder to trust your sartorial instincts. Don’t force it. You deserve better.

Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or follow me for more vintage and fashion chatter on IG and TT.

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Warm weather incoming…