Retail Diary: This Will Be Quick 4.2.24 - Reading list, podcast I loved, icy blue
Fashion newsletter that inspired me, reliving my Sassy Magazine love, a documentary I'm planning to watch, Icy Blue for Spring and how I plan to stock up on the Sephora sale.
Images via all the sources linked below.
🛍️ This post is long (too much good stuff to share!) so you may need to hit “expand” or read it in your browser - I promise it will be worth it! 🛍️
This Will Be Quick is where I share content that is at the top of my list this week. Tends to have a fashion or retail focus but not always.
What I’m reading…📰
Recent Substack Finds:
I had so much fun being included in
“CULTURAL RECOMMENDATIONS: SPRING/SUMMER MOOD BOARDS AND SHOPPING LISTS” with so many inspiring and stylish creatives - Chrissy Rutherford (writer, creator and co-founder of 2BG Consulting), Isabel Wilkinson of Attersee, and . Seeing how Jalil put together all of these ideas and styles is so fun and had me clicking so many links and thinking about style in a new way. This felt like its own mini magazine.In “A Thread About Fashion and Literacy”
dives into the challenge of pronunciations from some fashion brand names. Which then lead to Spelling Bee content going fashion viral for brands. The confusion of pronunciations is being embraced as part of the marketing for brands, and can be either seen as inclusive (in on the joke) or exclusive.- and I have a lot of the same tabs open. “Sunday Edition no. 11 March Digest”
“Everything I was tempted by during my no-buy March” by
was so well written with tips to use when you want to keep yourself from making too quick purchases (and also reminds you to enjoy purchasing items that will remind you of a special experience.)
What I’m listening to…🎧
“What ‘Sassy’ Magazine Meant to 90s Teens” from In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett. I loved this!! THE Jane Pratt was interviewed and they discussed the story behind the launch of Sassy, leading the team and teen magazines in the ‘90s. I loved Sassy Magazine and this was such a wonderful interview.1
Cowboy Carter!!! I love so much. I’m also loving the W images styled by Sara Moonves and Shiona Turini. We are all in our denim on denim era now.
What I’ll be watching…📺
- shared via instagram and brought to my attention a new documentary that comes out April 9th on HBO Max, Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion. Here is an article from People magazine on the piece. The WSJ’s Suzanne Kapner wrote “A Hit Brand’s ‘One Size Fits Most’ Clothing is Dividing America’s Teens” (gift link to read behind paywall) and there are so many pain points about Brandy Melville and the fashion industry in general that this article brings up:
who gets to wear fashion - the size and fit being limited.
impact on mental health, especially for young people, being targeted by size and racial discrimination practices.
making inexpensive clothing - the impact of fast fashion on our environment
for Brandy Melville in particular, the company has had alleged discrimination cases for a myriad of groups
One idea in the WSJ article I thought was interesting, was that by limiting their sizes, the profitability and waste was managed better. I’m really troubled by this because for Brandy Melville I think it is an exclusionary tactic and a way to more easily get to profitability and also show that you only accept one type of body. Yes, we see stronger profitability and margin in accessories (handbags, lots of jewelry items, scarves, etc) but it feels incredibly exclusionary and discriminatory in clothing. I’m trying to think of any brand that does this in a positive way and the one brand I came up with is the (mostly known for swimwear) line Hunza G. Feel free to comment - I’d love to hear what others think on this topic.
Jenna Lyons (and the rest of the RHONY) will be returning for another season. I’m thrilled JFL is returning and I’ll be watching. I hope to peek behind the scenes as Lyons works at Coveteur with Sarah Clary (Fashion Editor at Large) and with FundementalCo.
Trending…🚀
Shades of icy blue. I recently tagged the robin’s egg blue Chanel ballet slippers. Then spotted this article from Vogue and listened to this podcast “The 10 Essential Wardrobe Items For Spring” for Let’s Get Dressed by Liv Perez all sighting the icy blue shades. This makes absolute sense. Let’s follow the path to a trend:
Previous spring trends of the millennial pink, stick of butter yellow, LY denim flats were stepping out everywhere. Now we need something new (aka retailers need to refresh their merchandise) for this Spring. The pastel hue is an easy one to move on to.
Runway inspiration from: to name a few - Rachel Antonoff, Proenza Schouler, Versace, Staud, Prada (love how Prada pairs it with red shoes, which you might have on hand from the recent Fall 2023.)
There are so many great ways to highlight this blue shade. While the idea from Retailers is to shop and buy something new I love that this trend is likely one you can easily recreate without purchasing anything. (See below)
All images via links above and below.
New:
Shoes: Aeyde patent mary janes, my favorite summer sandal, resale satin, and this higher vamp ballet flat is a great cross between a ballet and a loafer and the single red stitch at the back is a cool detail.
RTW: Slip dress (I have this in black and love), button down classic, sweater to pair with blue or white denim (layer with a dress and great for transitional weather and even style as a scarf.)
Handbag: resale in a cloud shape from Mansur Gavriel (love this brand and this bag), Staud with cool mixed metals or be subtle with a sweet bag charm.
Ideas to refresh what you already own:
Make your denim in this shade the center of your outfit. I have my favorite pair in this shade and pairing it with a white t-shirt can give me the fix.
Borrow a men’s button down and put your own spin on it.
Opt for a manicure/pedicure instead.
What I’m shopping for…🛍️
Beauty…💄
Thinking of refreshing with the Sephora sale coming up. I always approach in two ways. First, restock my always reorder essentials with a discount. Second, I love to throw in at least one new thing to be excited to try. How do you approach the sale? Any fun suggestions I should try? (Details: First Access for Rouge on 4/5, VIB & Insider 4/9)
Always Reorder:
Supergoop! Glowscreen
Mascara - always a great time to refresh since you are supposed to refresh every 3 months. This has been my go-to forever.
I love this lipgloss and need a new tube in my favorite shade
I’m running low on this serum and I’m hoping for spring and summer this is all I need on my face (in addition to the sunscreen above.)
Go to lip treatment.
Excited to try:
At a conference I was gifted this lipgloss and I love it! I was gifted it in Rosy Outlook but I’m excited to try this one.
A bday gift for my daughter - she loves this brand and I like that it will entice her to not fight me on wearing sunscreen.
Matte lip. I really want to try this one or this one. I love both Merit and Westman Atelier so I feel like I can’t go wrong.
and have tried and recommended and enticed me to try.
Already own and I recommend:
NuFace Mini - I bought this during a previous Sephora Sale and I love it! I get really tense in my jaw and it helps relax and relive tension. After I use it I feel like I look more awake. P.S. I ran out of the serum it came with but I’ve been using this and like it vs reordering the other serum.
What’s Next 🗓️
We are in April now. Lots of spring travel and I hope a lot of brands are taking advantage of consumers on-the-go and looking for special experiences or finding unique finds on vacation. Isn’t it joyful when you visit a shop and discover a piece that is super unique?! A memory, a treasure and souvenir all in one. Luxury travel experiences are a big opportunity now too. I’m taking a mini break so might share a more edited post this week - Thursday Deep Dive and Sunday Scoop on the schedule.
Recent posts to catch up on:
Sunday Scoop - Spelling Bees, Designer Shuffle & Substacks to Scroll
Fashion 🌀 Spirals: Stripes here, Kick Flares here, Trench Coats here
Last Week’s: This Will Be Quick 3.25.24 - Fashion & Canceling, Algorithms & Style and more
Retail 101: Math & Financials and Retail 101: Math & Financials Part Deux - Markdowns
FYI: I use affiliate links where applicable which means I may get a small commission from things you buy (at no cost to you.) Thank you for supporting my work and trusting me. Love that we can enjoy Fashion & Retail together in this space.
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Eek - someone mentioned this podcast episode specifically and I discovered based on their reco. It was shared likely on Instagram Stories or Substack Notes ?? and I can’t remember who…if it was you mention in the comments and I’ll update and credit you. I loved this podcast and will listen to more for sure.
I think it's somehow linked to the fact that in the winter we tend to wear darker colors and in the spring and summer we want to switch to for example, light wash jeans. I feel the same, I am looking for light wash jeans.
This is my first time seeing Sol de Janeiro SPF stuff and wow that's brilliant. I love Vacation spray, and this is so similar. So interesting that they lean so heavily into hydration and aesthetics in the copy -- Vacation seems to have similar hydration ingredients but leans into smell more. Even though scent is huge for both!!