Your Summer Wardrobe? It’s Handled.
This high street shop takes you from city to beach. Plus: three excellent holiday reads, and the £20 vintage shoes Carrie Bradshaw would have loved.
This month’s newsletter is sponsored by Banana Republic, which also means - no paywall! Click ‘view in browser’ or read it in the Substack app to get the full length email.
Greetings Spendthrifts,
I’m writing this in the midst of the first proper heatwave of the year - long may it continue. I’ve opened all the windows in my flat to create a draught, and installed myself in the coolest room. SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE. Which immediately gives rise to the difficulty of dressing for the heat. I find that when temperatures surpass 20C or so, staying cool and looking cool start to feel like diametrically opposed goals (nevertheless, she persisted etc. etc).
Coming up in this month’s issue:
Three excellent summer reads, including a fever dream of a novel that’s a mixture of The Crucible and The Virgin Suicides (and picking up critical acclaim left, right and centre - The Times has called it “an extraordinary debut”).
The vintage shoe brand that’s part Carrie Bradshaw, part Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy - and selling for £20 a pop on eBay.
A TV adaptation of one of the most memorable novels I’ve read in recent years.
But first - let’s get into the Banana Republic of it all. I’ve written before about the difficulty of dressing for summer in the city—
—so honestly, thank God for Banana Republic. When they asked me to style a few pieces for this newsletter, I first went to check out their offering - and suddenly I understood exactly how Augustus Gloop might’ve felt upon arrival at Willy Wonka’s factory. Greedy. Their summer range is full of classic pieces that have subtle points of interest, while still remaining versatile enough to act as a backdrop for punchier accessories. And the best bit? It’s all super affordable.
Take for example this dress* (also available in white). I was immediately taken with its bubble hem silhouette, even though it veers a lot more ‘girly’ than my usual vibe - I think the slight drop-waist and long length stop it being too twee? And despite the fact the skirt is properly lined (the quality! Incredible!), it was somehow still light enough for me to comfortably traipse around Paris in 30C heat a few weeks ago, which is where all these photos were taken.
*A note to UK readers - you’ll find the primary links here direct to Banana Republic’s US site - I’ve shared UK product links as much as possible (which is most but not quite all items - not all stock is available in every region, although thankfully that delectable bubble hem dress very much IS available in the UK!!)
In fact I liked this silhouette so much I also got the skirt version:
See? Greedy. This one’s not available in the UK unfortunately, but if you style the dress as a skirt, who’s gonna know?? Probably not even me.
This is the tank top I’m wearing above (and this is a good UK alt, as is this), all of which allow you to do my favourite and soon to be overused styling trick of knotting t-shirts and vests at the side, like so:
And speaking of tops! As a constant wearer-of-jeans, I find the hardest slot to fill in my wardrobe by far is that of Good Tops that aren’t necessarily button-up shirts or t-shirts or vest tops, which honestly rules out, like, most things.
And yet Banana Republic has an abundance of Good Tops. An embarrassment of them even. Like this perfectly soft cashmere one-shoulder top (here’s a near identical UK alt). And this linen drapey wonder (US only).
The striped cropped top (here’s the UK link) I’m wearing here is actually more of a knit, though still light enough for warm weather - temps were in the low 20s in the photo above. And, I suspect these jeans (US only) may have tempted me back to high waisted jeans after a prolonged affair with their low-rise brethren.
Shop Banana Republic UK and Banana Republic US.
THE SHOPPIES
As a result of me waxing lyrical about my Le Monde Beryl Luna slippers last month, The Strategist (New York Magazine’s dedicated shopping vertical) asked me to recommend a few similar styles for their readers - I’d have included these very smart Arket flats too if I’d come across them before filing copy.
This oversized Weekday orange tie dye t-shirt could very easily be Proenza Schouler (if you added another zero to the price) - I’m sold.
Have I previously gone on the record as a Gingham Denier? Yes. Would I make an exception for this Arket mini dress? Also yes - the colour combo and cut lift it out of potentially twee territory.
And this Arket top is a (much more affordable) ringer for TOVE’s cult Thea top. It is - quite understandably - selling fast, so get it while it’s hot!
Now, has anyone bought anything from swimwear brand Triangl? Curious minds would like to know. I’m constantly being served Instagram ads for them - and their pieces are very cute - but otherwise know very little about the brand. I think this enticingly tropical Nemone check print might be what finally inspires me to give them a try though..
Walking around Liberty’s the other day, I happened to try on these Prada Runway sunglasses - mainly for a bit of a laugh because they look so out there. But then I put them on and… they actually looked very cool, and surprisingly wearable? Proof that a) one should never question Miuccia, and b) you can’t really beat IRL shopping for random discovery, as I’d never have clicked on them online. The Tory Burch sunglasses I shared further up are a slightly more affordable take on the shield sunglasses trend, while these on sale Ray-Bans get you there for under £100.
And finally, I feel like I’ve been seeing British designer Talia Byre’s pieces everywhere these last few months - I’ve certainly been meaning to include her in this newsletter for a while now. A CSM-educated designer who debuted her first collection in 2023, I feel like the British fashion scene hasn’t had a new mid-range (i.e. £200 - £400) designer making interestingly constructed (but still wearable) clothes enter the playing field for a while, so I’m excited to see how the brand develops. I’ve already spotted the striped Bambino dress crop up in a few editorials this summer, and I love the originality and sense of fun underpinning the choice to issue this Dalmatian print scarf in mint green. I’ve also got my eye on this polka dot knit corset dress as well as these khaki trousers (the latter are currently out of stock in most sizes, but I’ve been assured they will restock at some point in the future).
A VINTAGE-SHAPED RABBIT HOLE
Ah, vintage shopping. To me, nothing encapsulates the thrill of the (shopping) hunt more so than rifling through the rails of a vintage shop.
As a teenager I spent entire Sundays doing exactly that, in and around the vintage shops of Brick Lane - back when Alexa Chung used to give interviews about picking up the perfect pea coat there for £12, prompting thousands of teenage girls with limited funds and outsized hopes to descend upon their nearest branch of Rokit hoping for a similar miracle. I even had an established route, one I was somehow convinced gave me a competitive advantage over my fellow bounty hunters - upon emerging at Liverpool St tube station, I would start at Absolute Vintage, sometimes ducking my head into Blondie (their more upmarket, expensive, sister shop) if I was feeling brave, before working my way through various smaller shops, making sure to hit up the Rokits (yes, both of them) as I went, and finishing up at the giant Beyond Retro on Cheshire Street.
If I wasn’t too tired on my way back - or if my earlier stops had proved disappointing - I’d deign to bless a few of the ‘lesser’ vintage stores at the top of Cheshire Street with my presence as I made my way back to the tube station. To this day, whenever I’m passing through Brick Lane, the nostalgia of those hopeful teenage trawls comes flooding back.
These day I rarely have the energy or patience to do that IRL - but where human spirit fails, the Internet always prevails. I recently fell down an eBay rabbit hole in the shape of a now-defunct shoe brand from the late 90s/early 00s, Timothy Hitsman.
Searching the brand on eBay and Etsy turns up all manner of riches - though not every pair is to my taste… but that’s sort of the point! The experience of combing through listings recreates the slightly addicting feeling of swiping through rail after vintage rail, weighing up, dismissing, doubling back until— aha. Honestly half the fun is looking. I have not seen the same shoe twice.
The vibe is VERY Nineties - slightly kooky (in the Carrie Bradshaw sense, as opposed to, like, Irregular Choice) and pointy mules and kitten heels abound. Still, because it’s not in any way a ‘trending’ brand (either now or I suspect, then), they rarely cost more than £20. Think of it as a vintage shoe lucky dip!
I’m eyeing up these (that is if I can get over the psychological hurdle of paying more for shipping than for the shoes themselves, which are only £22). And if these fabulously tacky but also sort of great PVC frilled mules were in my size I’d have bought them already - alas they’re a UK4.
I sent some of these listings to a friend, who responded by directing me to a different vintage shoe brand search term: Emma Hope shoes. Although this brand is actually still in existence, older models abound on eBay, Vinted et al - and they’re sort of like if the two Caroli/yn(e)s (that’s Bradshaw and Bessette-Kennedy, obv) had co-designed a shoe collection. Or the kind of shoes I can imagine the mum from The Parent Trap wearing. These blue kitten heel mules in particular are a bit o’ me.
And speaking of vintage, someone do me a favour and buy this animal print chair? I have nowhere in my own flat to put it but I still want it to go to a good home 🥹
CULTURE ROUNDUP
BOOKS
‘Haunting’ ‘beguiling’ ‘unforgettable’… just a few words that have been used to describe this absolute firecracker of a debut novel, which sits somewhere between The Virgin Suicides and The Crucible. Set in a prototypical English village during the 1700s - the infamous witch trials still a recent memory - The Hounding is the tale of the five Mansfield sisters, said by their fellow villagers to be haughty, liars, and just downright strange. One hot, febrile summer, a rumour begins to circulate that the girls have the ability to transform into dogs, a rumour that quickly spreads through the village like wildfire - with terrible consequences.
I was lucky enough to read this in proof form several months ago (perks of being friends with the author!), so I can say from first hand experience that it’s one of those stories that really lingers. And critics’ reviews have been equally effusive - The Times have called it “an extraordinary debut . . . clever, strange and beautifully written”, while the FT described it as “a taut, tense tale, impeccably told”.
I’m only halfway through this but it’s so good I already feel confident recommending it (I’m also very late to the game on this one - it was published in 2022 and got a huge amount of hype at the time). Told in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against a male academic, the novel is actually narrated by said academic’s wife - also an academic, and teaching at the same college - and charts her slippery descent into an all-consuming obsession with a younger colleague (the Vladimir of the novel’s title).
An insightful and often surprising meditation on power, consent, sexual politics, and generational divides, what’s impressed me most (so far) is how Jones has resisted the pat narratives around how a ‘wronged woman’ should feel or act, as evidenced by the little snapshot above. No surprise to hear plans are underway for a TV adaptation by none other than Sharon Horgan.
Bring The House Down by Charlotte Runcie
Theatre critic Alex Lyons made his name from his brutal, brilliant reviews. So when he sees Hayley Sinclair’s dismal one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe, he thinks nothing of dashing off another of his trademark one-star pans for the newspaper. He also thinks nothing of taking her home after the performance, failing at any point to mention who he is. What he doesn’t expect is for Hayley to revamp her show into a review of Alex's entire life, exposing what an awful person he really is. Worse, the show is a smash hit, and Alex is about to become national news.
No photo because - unusually for me - I actually listened to this one on audiobook (and what a flipping treat that was! The narrator was fantastic). And the novel itself is equally fantastic - genuinely funny (I loled several times as I listened), complex, and a nuanced examination of the myriad ways in which men can cause harm even when they stop short of being outright ‘predators’.
TV
I’ve been hyped for the BBC adaption of What It Feels Like For A Girl - Paris Lees’ semi-autobiographical novel - ever since it was announced a couple of years ago. The book remains one of the most compelling and unpredictable novels I’ve read in recent years, and her episode from my old podcast In Good Company was one of my all-time favourite interviews - sharp, funny, moving and eye-opening. I’ll read or watch anything Paris has written.
Reviews so far have been impeccable, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it ASAP.
Out now on BBC iPlayer
ARTICLES
The Chinese Adoptees Who Were Stolen (New Yorker)
Should I Be More Of A Team Player? (Financial Times)
How A Hazelnut Spread Became A Sticking Point In Franco-Algerian Relations (New Yorker)
How One Woman Lost $75,000 To An MLM (The Cut)
How To Know If You’re Falling For An Interiors Trend (House & Garden)
Alright - that’s it for this month.
Until next time,
