suede 4 you, cowhide 4 me

5 good things ! #002

1. The rumors are true, Suede recently hired Kris Jenner to dethrone “a pop of red” this fall (kiiiding). I’ll admit that chocolate brown suede makes my tummy hurt, it’s just so good. However, a new bombshell has entered my villa, and it’s making me feel very Tracee Ellis Ross (& maybe even a little Zoe Kravitz?)…COWHIDE. This all started in august, whilst in a quaint boutique that you may have never heard of… it’s called Tj Maxx? I live for the thrill of a good sale find, it’s like peak shopping theory + luck AND the economics make sense… so imagine the dopamine coursing through my veins when I stumbled across this COWHIDE HELMUT LANG TRENCH COAT… ~70% OFF!!!! It originally retailed for ~$3.5K and I snagged at $1.2K… like, it’s so good it’s destabilizing.

2. And then a couple weeks later, whilst shopping at Bergdorf’s, I was most drawn to these calf hair Jil Sander flats (slipper loafers?). I’m not buying because let’s face it, they are WAY too cool for me to pull off organically (without a lot of mirror work and wardrobe zhuzhing). However, when I posted on my tiktok + insta stories, I got a barrage of comments and DMs from cool girls saying this is the kind of shoe they had been wanting to see this fall!! Similarly, I came across these sexy Le Monde Béryl (love their footwear btw) ballet flats in cowhide that just make sense.

   

3. My last piece of evidence was this morning, when I was perusing my insta stories and saw that my dear friend & oracle Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) posted about Rihanna being spotted last evening wearing a cowhide coat (cape?) from Bottega’s Fall 2024 collection… with a pair of her (very cool?!?) Puma Avanti’s in a matching cowhide. The cowhide avanti’s aren’t currently for sale, so she’s either testing them or they’re custom 1/1, either way, they’re sick and they reinforce my continued cowhide dreams for fall. So that’s where the cookie’s crumbling for me… how are you feeling about Suede v. Cowhide? Do we think cowhide could be Up Next (2025)? Or is she just a niche fixation that’s likely a blip in the larger autumnal vibes, YoY? Let’s tawwwk.

Alright some quicker hits, I’m capping my soliloquy limit for the day:

1. Bringing things back to myself.. naturally :) :) :). Given my cowhide trench, your suede blazer, and the collective barn jacket of it all (btw this nili lotan suede-barn hybrid is devastating)…. I presume there will be a little less commotion for lacquer leather jackets/trenches. Whatever, in the spirit of trends being agnostic when it comes to purchasing in alignment with your personal style, this Kassl lacquer jacket is in my cart. Very on sale… I have adored all Kassl lacquer for years (my tiktok/insta is tired of hearing about it LOL). I’m thinking she is a Strong Buy, even though I tend to stay away from glossy black (only hesitation)? lmk if you disagree w/ the impending purchasing decision, we can discuss.

   

2. BOTTEGA’S NEW PERFUME LAUNCH IS RIDICULOUS. Let me preface by saying, I’m not one who is usually swayed by a fashion house perfume. I prefer $300+ perfumes from very fancy perfume experts (and the more niche, the better). However, before I had seen the bottle or read about each olfactory pyramid, the idea of a $450 Bottega perfume not only made sense, but I found it incredibly compelling. After seeing the aquatic meets hand blown glass bottles, intrecciato carrying case, marble stand, and scents inspired by different places in the world??? yeah…. count me in buddy. i’m buying the discovery set because i’m limiting myself to buying ONE bottle, and these all sound like they were… made for me? Nylon Mag had a nice breakdown:

   1. Come with Me - Italian Bergamot + French orris butter + Vanilla Bourbon - like?? sounds wealthy enough to have family jewelry that gets stored in an off-location vault (also the red cap on this bottle influences me gravely).

   2. Déjà Minuit - Geranium from Madagascar + “winter lemon” + Guatemalan cardamon for “a sultry nighttime scent” (weird way 2 propose, but ok..)

   3. Alchemie - Somalian myrrh (HELLO! MYRRH SISTERS, WE RISE) + Brazilian pepper + Mandarin + Sandalwood. Apparently smells like a spice market in a bottle…. I have Aesop’s Marrakech intense, wonder if at all similar?

   4. Colpo di Sole - Orange Blossom, Bergamont, and Vanilla Bourbon??? bye.

3. This week I’ve also accidentally entered a candle fixation? I stocked up on my favorite Ex Nihilo Lait D’espices candle (smells like the yummiest, hot oat milk latte - needs to take up more space in a future letter) and Bond No. 9’s Nomad candle (great middle fragrance if you like to layer to create a bespoke scent in your home.. ik I sound insane, roll w/ it). THEN I stopped by 260 sample on my walk home from work, as one does, and they had LAFCO candles going for ~ $23, $32, and $54 (3-wick big boys). I think I blacked out and bought 5? 7? Idk, they’re still in a sealed 260 bag in my doorway. Lafco’s hand blown glass vessels are heavy, well made, and make for a chic gift on the go (for when you don’t have time to be hyper-specific to the taste of the host, but you can’t show up empty handed). At worst, they make an equally chic regift, which, as a newly minted 28 year old, I must say — regift-ability is a slept on characteristic. IMO it’s only tacky if the original gift sucked. A lafco candle will never suck, it just may not be to your liking, which is A-OK! Pass it along :). I’ll always accept a good regifted candle in my home.

4. Last week, a reader asked (in our very fun, very cool group chat) about a loafer recommendation for fall. I’m always pro almond toe, and lately I’ve been into a flatter sole (will still be wearing my lug sole, dark green Celine’s, but am not looking for any more chunky loafers). Which brings us to The Row “Men’s Loafer” in espresso. I was ultimately influenced by dear friend

   Shay
   , who wears the chicest outfits on the internet. And of course, they are unfortunately perfect for a lot of the aforementioned reasons ++ espresso is working for my chocolate brown fixation, but ALSO because the color + tassel look better with the dark wash jean + red socks + creams (sweaters, button downs, etc) I have queued for fall. The loafers are very sold out in a 38 (altho they WERE avail in aug… my biggest L this season). I’ve since tasked my SA at The Webster to do some magic, but the spell book might be broken. No luck via The Row/Bergdorfs/Saks….maybe I’ll hit up Threads. The world is our oyster, after all.

Alright, that concludes this week’s shop, browse, & yap. Sending infinite beams of love to u this weekend!! and let’s chat more about the above (or something else, entirely) in the comments ++ our groupchat — last weekend’s shopping was so fun. BIG HUGS.

TM x

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