May Repeats
Overalls at the Grand Canyon and bright red totes on the train
Early summer is so beautiful I find it hard to look at. Has green always been this green? The parks are so lush it’s almost blinding.
It’s not technically summer yet, but growing up my school always let out in May, and old habits die hard. Even as I’m writing this it’s 90 degrees outside and I have a fan pointed at me on full blast. Summer’s come early this year — or is it actually right on time?
This month I welcomed the summer season with open arms: I swam, I sweated, I sunscreened, I bought my first container of strawberries since last year. This is what was on repeat in May, including the perfect travel tote and some sentimental treasures from the ‘70s.
There is no better outfit for a sticky day than baggy shortalls (not to be confused with their long-legged older sister, overalls). This vintage Levi’s pair is my go-to when it’s too hot or too humid to think about fabric sticking to skin.
Lightweight denim in breathable cotton + shoulder straps that allow the garment to hang loose from the body = perfect warm weather combo.
I even wore them to the Grand Canyon this month! I got to bring my partner to see it for his first time during a quick trip to see family and friends in Arizona.
Loafers are certainly not the most desert-appropriate shoes, but rest assured we weren’t there long enough for any sportier activites.
If you read Everything I Didn't Buy in France, you might recall that my partner’s suitcase was stolen on that trip (womp womp). So we had to emergency re-purchase a few lost essentials: toothpaste, deodorant, underwear, and a pair of swim shorts.
He chose these Adidas shorts as a swim-friendly replacement — and they quickly moved themselves into my drawer when we returned home.
They’re just the easiest pair of shorts in the world to throw on when you need to quickly run out. And despite the overflowing pile of athletic shorts in my own closet, it’s always more satisfying to steal his :)
I dragged my Lonchamp Le Pliage with me everywhere this month. If I can get away with not taking a backpack, I'll always choose this as my personal item on the plane. I bought it a couple years ago for just that reason — it’s big enough for a laptop as a work bag, durable enough to travel with or take to the beach, and stain resistant enough to not feel too insanely precious about it.
I really love the Green line because the color of the leather upper matches the nylon body. The monochromatic scheme feels so playful in such a classic bag: it subverts the Upper East Side identity and comes off a bit cooler and fresher, better suited for a downtown girl.
They don’t have this all-red on the website at the moment (color is Tomato, so perhaps it’ll come back later in the summer), but the Mocha shade catches my eye every time I see it in public.
There are three Nodpods that live in my apartment: mine, my partner’s, and the extra one that stays inside my suitcase at all times so I never forget to bring it when I pack for a trip.
This $34 miracle is like a weighted blanket for your eyes, and it’s by far the best eye mask I’ve ever used. I was reminded while traveling this month how crucial that extra one in my suitcase is to my survival.
No matter the conditions of the travel sleeping arrangements (like at the haunted hotel I stayed at with transom windows that let in enough light to wake a hibernating bear), this thing is my own personal set of blackout curtains. I have slept with one every single night for years, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep without one again.
While visiting family on my trip to Arizona, I spent a few hours digging through boxes of old photos with my granny. Most of them I’ve never seen before; they’d been stored in a room that doesn’t get much use, and my granny isn’t the most forthcoming with sentimentality.
It turns out she had impeccable taste in children’s clothes. My mom’s outfits in the ‘70s were to die for — especially these red boots. Paired with that little skiing themed sweater for their snow holiday? Unreal.
It’s play-cards-outside season again!!! In celebration of this, I’ve been playing a lot of Jhyap this month. It’s a Nepalese card game with quick rounds that can easily be played at the bar or the park or in between courses at dinner.
I think I may have played the best three turns in Jhyap history the other day: after putting down these five, I picked up an ace, my opponent called Jhyap, and I got to flip over my card to win. If you haven’t played before, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that’s as good as it can get.
“Fro-yo is so back” reporting has been making the rounds lately, and while I would always like there to be more fro-yo in the world, it definitely doesn’t spell good things for diet culture. It’s no wonder that a dessert long marketed as “guilt-free” would have a major comeback in the era of Ozempic and Skinnytok.
I’ve been enjoying a lot of fro-yo lately because it’s a tasty and cooling summer treat, not because it’s l*w c*lorie or whatever. I ate plenty of full-fat ice cream this month too <3
In last month’s repeats letter, I hoped to “submerge myself in bodies of water, both natural and man-made, and take full advantage of the spring-y in-between weather.” Check and check!
In June, I wish for long hazy afternoons by the water, nights of dancing with friends that go by in the blink of an eye, and more frozen yogurt, honestly. Where’s your favorite frozen treat in the city? A girl can never have too much soft serve.
I’d love nothing more than to hear about what you had on repeat in May. Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, or find me doing other things on IG. Happy June!
I’ll leave you with my stranger style icon of the month…
April repeats: the perfect park blanket, jelly sandals, Sex and the City memorabilia.
How exactly I’ve been taking advantage of the spring-y in-between seasons weather.
Answering the eternal question: can everyone tell I don’t usually wear hats?
Unrealllll photo of the light on the Hudson
Okay so shortalls were my beach outfit for years and I still think they’re great I just got scarred by getting them wet one time and then truly not having anything to wear bc I was using them as a top too..