The Most Unique Engagement Ring I’ve Ever Seen

My heart is melting... Plus heels I wish I'd rather not seen & an event that sounds totally LIT

Happy Saturday afternoon. Everything is in its rightful place today: my hallway closet is freshly organized, my book is about to get really juicy, and I have plans to touch a natural body of water in my near future. What a blissful summer feeling.

Today’s free letter includes romantic analysis of the most unique engagement ring I’ve ever seen, an event I’m considering crossing state lines to attend, a this-weekend-only vintage sale, and more.

Brenda Hashtag, fashion queen and ever the one to march to the beat of her own stylish drummer, posted her engagement ring this week. Surprise surprise, it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before.

While there are several diamonds on the ring, none of them are visible when it’s worn. From the outside, it’s a simple rounded platinum band. On the inside, it’s a princess cut and baguette disco ball privy to only the one lucky enough to wear it.

It’s an incredibly beautiful piece of jewelry, first of all, designed in collaboration with her fiancé and Ambie Stapleton and inspired by the Seagram Building. It’s also… exactly the opposite of every engagement ring I’ve ever seen on my feed.

The explosion of the lab grown diamond market ushered in a new era of Massive Rocks, and it often feels like the 2020s attitude toward engagement rings is ‘get the biggest diamond you can afford.’ Going bigger is easier than ever, and now the most random women you know are posting Hailey Bieber-sized solitaires on their Instagram stories like it’s nothing more than a frozen cocktail.

I have no irons in this particular fire as someone not currently shopping for an engagement ring. I say go big or small, whatever feels right. But Brenda’s ring begs an interesting question:

Would you care about the diamond if no one could see it?

I think, honestly, most people would say no. The designer said in an Instagram caption that even she had to beg the diamond setter to agree to place the jewels behind the platinum band. “I told him, isn’t setting diamonds the regular way boring at this point?”

I find this all so… punishingly romantic. Swoon-worthy! I’m melting into my sofa swiping through the carousel of blinding shimmer.

It’s SO personal — couldn’t be more personal, really. Something as out there and as ripe for public consumption and social media fodder as an engagement ring, transformed instead into a secret only between lovers. My eyes are filled with beating cartoon hearts.

The little private diamonds like intimate moments shared in a couple. Comfortable silences, bedtime laughter, inside jokes: each jewel a reminder of this perfect thing that blooms only between them. Something only you and your lover know because you were the ones who invented it.

This ring was like a delicious splash of creek water on my grimy face. So fresh, so new, so gosh darn tender. Cheers to the gorgeous couple.

The only time I’ve ever wished I lived in Philadelphia was when I found this “Lamp That Thing” workshop series by artists Emilie Yonker and Kieran Betz. Have an old Kewpie doll or a haunted looking Fisher-Price toy lying around? They can help you Lamp That.

An $85 ticket gets you a crash course on basic wiring and a Lamped item of your choosing (they have items to Lamp too, if you’re not in possession of anything that needs Lamping).

If you can’t make it to Philly, some of Emilie’s Lamped work is available here.

Sh*t Shoes just came across my desk. I kind of wish they didn’t. I’ll give you until the end of this sentence to guess what they could possible be for… Well, yes, a “chic” alternative to a squatty potty, of course!

For only $69, you can get a ‘70s inspired pair of extra high platform mules designed to replace the “ugly” toilet stool in your bathroom. They come in two sizes and are — according to the FAQ — “NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN.”

There are a few obviously AI-generated moments on their website, which personally never instills confidence in me as a consumer, but the whole vibe is appropriately cheeky, at least. I’m hard pressed to imagine them in any context other than a White Elephant exchange.

According to several reviews, both positive and negative, Sh*t Shoes packaging is anything but subtle. Verified buyer Nora10 claims the crude cardboard box sat on her shared porch for hours labeled: “ELEVATED BATHROOM SHOES FOR POOPING.” So maybe plan to be home when they’re out for delivery.

In further shoe news, the first dupes of Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel shoes are popping up. The luxe maroons and minty leathers and pony-hairs of the SS26 collection caused quite the customer fervor when they hit stores a few months ago, and clearly someone from Steve Madden managed to get their hands on a pair.

The Chanel square-toe pumps will run you $1,225. Steve’s version — a cool $120, available now for pre-order.

Tony Bianco has a $190 pair, too, and I wonder if this shoe faces the tragic fashion fate of being duped to death. The eternal question: Will they lose their luster when every woman on the street is wearing them? (History points to yes.)

Steve is also peddling a Chanel-ish burgundy croc flat, albeit a less faithful interpretation than the pumps.

James Veloria is moving out of the best vintage mall in NYC and celebrating with a weekend sale. RIP heart wall!

Thankfully they aren’t moving far, and I can’t wait to see what they do with the new space. They’re offering 20% off through tomorrow, so run while you’re holy grail vintage is still on the rack.

A great new creative mantra just dropped in Charli XCX’s latest record Music, Fashion, Film.

The line punctures through kick drums on “Camera” —

“Am I being fuckin’ stupid / if I try to be a girl on the screen when I’m turning thirty-four?” And then a verse and two choruses later, “I don’t feel embarrassed even if I suck.”

I’ll be writing that one down in my journal until it sticks.

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What’s on your mind this weekend? I’m looking forward to a warm night on the town, maybe a crisp glass of something orange and dry… I’d love to hear your thoughts <3

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