we are the world

INSIDE: a TON of vintage Staud, a cutie Australian eco-brand, and an amazing Tiktok on stackable coupon codes

aaaand we’re back! I have been in your inbox a LOT more than usual this Met Gala week lol. I’m actually in Mexico City next week and will be sending a special brief edition on that next Friday. And then, back to regularly scheduled programming.

More importantly, happy end of Friday!! You made it. Don’t forget to follow The Drama Club/Eli Rallo’s always sage advice and go get yourself a coffee or a little treat if you haven’t already.

Also, for your scrolling purposes, be sure to check out the ATSC x Mary Skinner shopping guide that went up this week. I am SUCH a fan of her and her style and her vibes

Now, onto the good stuff!

Get Thrifty

1. Staud Mid-Length Dress, Size 2 from Vestaire, $58

Apologies in advance, I was in a HUGE STAUD thrifting mood this week, as will probably be very evident lol. I think this dress for barbeques, picnics, happy hours, family parties, etc is simply perfect!

2. Staud Leather Flip Flops, Size 9 US from Vestaire, $72

Y’all if these were in my size… they would be on the way to my house lol. I personally love a put-together flip flop but live in fear of my feet actually touching the pavement (a cockroach-related incident has scarred me for life) – and I think platform flip flops are a great solution.

3. Staud Green Dress, Size S from Depop, $150*

*please note, this item is outside the usual <$100 price point so I’m marking it a SPLUGE because she’s just too good!

This dress… she is the moment. She reminds me a ton of all the green fits Zendaya was wearing on her Challengers press tour (which I’ve looked at maybe 75 times a day lol). If someone snags this dress, PLEASE DM ME PICS!!! Would love, love to feature you :)

4. White and Blue Coffee T-shirt from Depop, $20

Please note that these tees are made to order in any size you want (not Brandy Melville, just tagged like they are!). If you’re an NYC girlies, this immediately hits – and if you’re not, I still think it’s just very cute and a small-business slay :)

B.N.W.T.

1. Asymmetrical Backless Tailored Cami from Glassons, $40

ICYMI, I posted about my love for Glassons, especially this season, over on IG and this cami is no different!!! I think it can be worn down, worn up, worn everywhere and just create the chic-est look no matter what.

2. Mini skort from J.Crew, $80

My life was recently changed when a thrifted item from Abercrombie reminded me that skorts are a thing and they are AMAZING. I am absolutely loving this new elevated form (I think my first skorts were from Justice lmao). So when Eli Rallo (whose account and DMs are actually my legal address) posted her fave, I had to share!!

3. Tie Front Chiffon Babydoll Camisole from My Mum Made It, $62 (on sale)

Look. At. This. Small. Business. SUPER cute and eco-friendly!! I am loving this top – for me, it’s the perfect option because you get some coverage but also get to show a lil skin! And for my coquette baddies, I would LOVE to see y’all style this one.

4. Midi Perfect Slip Dress from Target, $23 (on sale)

Recently, I’ve been forgetting my own cardinal rule… NEVER sleep on the Target clothes section. After seeing this dress on TikTok, I panic-bought it for a themed party this week (pics below, I dumbly didn’t get any good ones!). And it is SO good. I was a little thrown by the lower rating online – all I can say is that my experience was very positive!

Spotlight ✨

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Met Gala – it’s probably my favorite Monday of the year. But this year, I saw a lot of posts across all my socials that really resonated: these posts called out how the Met Gala is essentially a massive exhibition of wealth and consumerism (especially now that tickets are $75,000 a person) at a time when the world and the planet are in such extreme crisis.

Granted the Met Gala is a charity event to raise money for the Met’s Costume Institute… but does that justify one person going to one glamorous event costing more than most US teachers make in a year?

Basically, I am feeling a ton of guilt. And spoilers, I don’t really have any resolution to this yet. But here are the thoughts I’m currently wrestling with – or maybe just excuses, I’ll let you guys tell me!

1. It’s OK to enjoy pretty, colorful things. (Sorry, we are going all the way back to the basics here.) It’s literally in our biology to enjoy aesthetic things. These Met Gala outfits are designed to delight – so there is no inherent reason that you shouldn’t be delighted by them!

2. I am really glad that we are having this discourse on toxic consumerism… but truthfully, if the Met Gala were an event more geared towards men and heteronormatively masculine things, I don’t think this discussion would ever happen. When you think about it, millions and millions of dollars go into every NFL game - and even the stadiums are demonstrations of excess and wealth. Just saying, that as women+, we are often judged much more harshly, and if we want to talk about how certain societal conventions are actually not good for us and provide a bread-and-circuses distraction from huge societal problems (which we definitely should)… then I think we need to be a little more broad with our focus.

3. We can enjoy the Met Gala and still make our impact! Because let’s be real… there is a lot of corporate money flying around here that has absolutely nothing to do with us. And we shouldn’t necessarily feel responsible for it, even if we are technically the people they are claiming to serve. What we are responsible for – and what we can do – is thrift, cut down on our emissions, live more sustainably, and do our own practices that make us, our communities, and our environment feel and do better.

I really, really want to hear your thoughts on this – please feel free to drop a comment below or send me a message!

Look at this Graph

This week, Women’s Wear Daily worked with Dash Hudson to uncover the most liked Met Gala posts (regarding specifically the person in them, not necessarily who post them) thus far… and the results are in! Personally, I was in shock to see Zendaya in second place behind anyone, but Stray Kids + Tommy Hilfiger did kill it! This is also a reminder to never, ever underestimate the K-Pop stans, they are POWERFUL lol

Other Corners of the Internet

• BREAKING NEWS!!! The queen Madeleine White is launching her own clothing brand!!!!

• I highly recommend taking at this recent post from Good On You – I was pretty shocked and honestly learned a lot that I really didn’t have on my radar before :(

• I am OBSESSED with thanks it's from ebay and might be making some big bids myself soon on some vintage wear and cameras… if you’re not subscribed, I definitely recommend

• We got some goooooooood sales this upcoming weekend with stackable codes, I definitely recommend taking some notes on this video lol

• The top clicks from you guys last week were the Staud x Keds collab (I feel better about my current Staud obsession lol), the vintage prom dresses on Teleport, and the Uniqlo crochet bag!

• The season finale for Big Silly Trivia is IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS on May 22!! Make sure to get in now before the break, dolls!

As always, thanks for reading <3 and my DMs are always open!