Purple Is Getting Ready to Pounce
27 vintage & secondhand picks + lessons from an archival deep dive
Street style details of the day:
Metallic pink clogs, very Beetlecore and extra saucy paired with a patterned silk midi skirt
The high contrast between this lux woven leather tote and its Labubu-adjacent bag charm with human teeth
And a woman wearing scrubs in the deepest, richest, most delicious shade of purple that made me do a dangerous triple take crossing the street. I felt like I’d seen the pope in his c*nty purple outfit, and her eggplant holiness radiated like a halo as she tossed her empty fro-yo cup into a city garbage can.
It’s the color of that hot doctor’s papal scrubs that’s dominating my brain space lately. A shade so decadent and luxurious you want to lick your fingers after feeling it up.
There was a lot of chatter at the beginning of this year ready to crown purple as the Next Big Color — a call I was fully on board with, btw, especially in the face of 2026’s Pantone atrocity — but at the moment we’re still firmly in aqua territory. My feed this past week was flooded with influencer wedding guest dresses in all blinding hues of turquoise, teal, and cerulean. As we careen toward the end of summer, I think we’re savoring shades we want to swim in, pieces that feel spiritually and sartorially hydrating.
For now, purple still lingers in the background waiting to pounce. She’s decked out in a silk Bebe halter and sky-high patent leather pumps. She’s got a makeup bag full of Bobbi Brown and a killer Jergens Natural Glow tan. Maybe she has a few too many credit cards and not enough will power! Let. Her. Live!
More in today’s letter:
I dove deep into the runway archives for the shiniest, silkiest, sexiest, most voluminous lessons in purple
& 27 perfect purple picks, all vintage and secondhand
gauzy sex appeal and a reminder that royal can mean cleavage
when in doubt, tulle it out
if you’re going glitter why not go all the way
‘70s gladiator can be high glam
rain poncho with sandals WORKS
feeling blessed by Florence and the Machine levels of floating-on-air sheer drapery
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more from the runway + 27 secondhand pieces below