you just glossier trying keep it concealed
INSIDE: the skirt you've been seeing EVERYWHERE, "key lime pie crack," and an analysis of leopard print
Happy Friyay… and if you’re under the heat dome and melting like me, we are gonna make it!! Only 85-ish more days until the fall cozy pumpkin-y spooky vibes start up again if you can believe it.
Over on the ‘gram, I am doing a lil summer essentials giveaway for hitting 100 of us, and I wanted to make sure y’all have a chance to enter as well if you want to! We are also *so* close to 100 strong on here as well – I truly thought no one would follow or subscribe lol so I am very, very grateful to you all! And might have to think of a lil Substack-specific giveaway when we hit that number…
Also, this is probably too obvious but my titles are always from songs or movies or books… and today’s reminded me that I actually kinda like Paul Russell’s Glossier song.
Ok, enough on this for now, onto the good stuff! As you will see, I am VERY excited about some upcoming time on the beach.
Get Thrifty
1. Brandy Melville White Maxi Skirt, Size S from Depop, $30
If I had a nickel for posts and articles I’ve seen about this skirt… it would be like 5 nickels, but that still feels like a lot. I still have some serious qualms about Brandy (even thrifting it tbh, although I’m leaning towards letting myself, I think??) but so many people seemed stoked about the skirt that I wanted to make sure I included!
2. VRG GRL Knit Maxi Dress, Size S from Curtsy, $86
Ok, totally understand and respect that this might be everyone’s cup of tea (and tbh, might not usually be mine). But I just think Vrg Grl makes SUCH fun stuff, and this for a lil beach dinner would be adorable.
3. Ganni Travel Towel Bag from Vestaire, $99
Guys, maybe I am just too easily impressed… but this towel/beach bag/Y2K energy Ganni beach bag that is ALSO A TOWEL blew my mind.
4. Vintage Village American Flag Side Button Tank, Size L from Curtsy, $50
People are FREAKING out about that American flag sweater from TikTok shop… but I just saw this non-fast fashion, thrifted version, we love to see!
B.N.W.T.
1. Corset Midi Sundress from ASOS, $50
Ok, the ASOS summer collections/curation continue to just absolutely pop tf off… I LOVE this dress in pink and green. (I couldn’t decide which picture to use, so seriously recommend also checking out the green!!)
2. Tablecloth Embroidered Shirt from Damson Madder, $95
Massive shout-out to Euro summer queen Eli Rallo who posted about this brand I had never heard of! It’s female-lead and committed to slow fashion and sustainability – and ofc, as this shirt demonstrates, really f*ckin cute.
3. City Girl Tote from Etsy (fourthegirlies), $15
For all of us roasting alive in concrete jungles right now… this one is for us! Also I just found this new seller, fourthegirlies, and I think it’s SO fun.
4. Too Hot For Bras Tee from Mirrorball, $32
You guys know I can’t write a newsletter without a graphic tee… and this one really spoke to me because once the temperature is over 90 degrees, I am allergic to my bras oops!
Spotlight ✨
This past week, I finally got off the Libby waitlist (HIGHLY recommend for borrowing e-books, btw!) for Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier by longtime beauty and style journalist Marisa Meltzer.
First and foremost, I do want to say this is a highly readable book – I got through it in like three days, and Meltzer is definitely a strong storyteller.
But for the rest of it, I feel… very conflicted. I had heard that this book ended up being some pretty scathing commentary about Emily Weiss and Glossier and that was definitely true. But at the end of the book, I kinda… didn’t know who to feel bad for or if I just felt bad for everyone.
I think the criticisms of Glossier and Emily Weiss were entirely fair – that while it was claiming to be a safe space for everyone to feel beautiful, they were still very much buying into and promoting problematic stereotypes of beauty. There was also a lot of former employee testimony, saying that working there was ultimately a very draining and unhappy experience, which always really makes me not like a company.
However, Meltzer does paint a very nuanced picture of Emily Weiss as a type-A, privileged, driven “girlboss” (and, as it’s often implied, something of a faux feminist who still benefitted from feminism) – and in the end, it felt like some of the criticisms of her… were actually anti-feminist and unfair themselves. I guess that’s a very hard line to straddle in a book like this, but it did make me sad to see.
One of the most interesting parts of this book, however, is the ongoing discussion of how Glossier essentially defined millennial culture, identity, and consumerism. Y’all remember this aesthetic, of course:
The book basically argues that the current, wild, “un-edited” Gen Z aesthetic that is popular now on social media is essentially a reaction to the prim, pretty, proper, super-edited millennial aesthetic that Glossier popularized in the 2010s. I do think that’s true… but especially now that very curated flat-lay images are actually coming back into vogue, I think it’s all a little more nuanced.
Still, as a teenager for most of the 2010s who was OBSESSED with Glossier, probably because it was THE thing to have at school, I do wonder what kind of messages I may have absorbed from being a Glossier fan during that time in my life, especially when it comes to needing to be perfect, edited, curated, and glowy publicly at all times. However, it does bear mentioning… I am still a big Glossier consumer in my 20s and consider myself a genuine fan of the products.
As I sort through my conflicted emotions on this, I would love to hear your takes!
Look at this Graph
Ok, somehow I just realized that one of my fave fashion data accounts @tagwalk has an app where you can use its fashion search engine… this is a GAME-changer for me. Not a graph, but I was curious to see how much/in what way leopard is being used by designers since we’ve been hearing so much about it and LOOK! God, this thing is so cool.
Other Corners of the Internet
THIS!!!
(who y’all know because I am constantly tagging – review/rundown actually coming for real next week!!) broke down how shaming people isn’t going to get them to stop shopping on fast fashion sites like Shein.More sustainable book recs from Fashion For Good, we love to see!
I am a longtime Lexi Larson stan who left her corporate job to launch her loungewear brand, Sunday Cherries, and I, for one, am SO stoked to see it all come together.
I attempt to start too many hobbies every summer… but look at how cute these are.
I am attempting this “key lime pie crack” recipe today, everyone wish me luck!! (It’s super easy, I just get nervous every time I make anything).
Last week’s most popular links were the Hill House Nap Dress (same, besties, same), Noah Verrier’s beautiful work, and Girls Who Cluster!
See y’all back here next week, same time same place <3