Mushroom-Brown Cargos and Havaianas Alternatives
Plus Nora Henick’s eBay finds.
We’re taking a summer break! There will be no Secret Strategist the next two Thursdays, and we will return on September 4 with our creative wells refilled and our early fall fits locked down. —Simone Kitchens, Winnie Yang, Lauren Ro, Erin Schwartz, and Michael Zhao
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* Thank you to the readers who gave us L.A. store recommendations in the chat. At Just One Eye (915 N. Sycamore Ave.), Lauren saw a stunning multicolored jeweled bracelet from Mimi So, bony rings from Vram, and Prada nylon shorts. She picked up a new-with-tags Ferragamo wrap skirt and a chunky enamel cross bracelet at designer vintage shop Recess (111 N. La Brea Ave.). And after a stop into Nickey Kehoe, she swung next door to +Coop (7278 Beverly Blvd.), a lofted space filled with the most alluring scent. Turns out it was a candle by Adlan (Playing With Fire), which would go nicely with the alpaca slippers (for kids too) they also sell.
* A couple of cute hats: Lauren picked hers up at the Hollywood Bowl (Dudamel conducted, Seong-Jin Cho played Ravel), and Michael got his (not available online) at Rocky Dale Gardens in Bristol, Vermont, whose show gardens are worth a visit.
* Designer Gogo Graham’s “Protect the Dolls” rebuttal shirt ($50) is sold out online, but there are still a few IRL at Charlot Abhors a Void in Chinatown (244 Canal Street, #3R).
* Fifty percent off almost everything in Pilgrim Surf Supply’s summer sale, including Michael’s new favorite pull-on pants from Dancer (only large left).
* And 40 percent off at Idun’s summer sale: $46 Baserange halter; $46 Leset pointelle tee; $288 Julia Heuer dress; $297 6397 draped skirt, and $177 Baserange brushed-wool vest.
* Noticed that Donni designer Alyssa Wasko Stein has been wearing multiples of these not-Havaianas flip-flops. They’re from Locals, she told us. “I got my first pair when I was 12 on a trip to Hawaii at the general store there. Got them again three to four years ago. I love/loved them because no one knew what they were. I have five pairs now: clear, red, green sole with white straps, black sole with clear green straps, and all cobalt blue. I clearly have a problem. My husband has them too. These are the next two on the list.”
* Jeremy Allen White’s beach towel.
* A really beautiful pair of nylon shorts.
* Simone just bought these $40 mushroom-brown cargo pants from Uniqlo, then she saw them on a stylish woman at LAX. They cinch at the ankles.
* Love this ZN Ali convertible plaid shirt, which can be custom-sized for no extra charge. (More mushroom brown this way.)
* Strategist senior editor Hilary Reid was just in Vienna and told us about two favorite stops in the Leopoldstadt neighborhood. “At Song (Praterstrasse 11-13), which reminded me of If Boutique in Soho, they carry several brands, including Dosa, Paul Harnden, and their own house line.” She bought Transylvanian pottery at the antique shop Valentin’s (no website, Praterstrasse 12), which had lots of Herend porcelain, too. (And if you happen to end up in Leopoldstadt, “There is a great, cool-crowd-ish Georgian restaurant called Cafe Ansari where we had a really good meal.”)
Nora Henick writes the Substack Thanks It’s From, which she started, she says, “because my friends were (very lovingly) on the receiving end of hundreds of eBay links. They encouraged me to find a way to share my finds with more people.” Nora told us about some recent eBay purchases and the latest rabbithole she’s gone down.
“I’ve been in my apartment for a while, and I feel like eBay has helped me find my taste a bit more. I don’t really rush to get things now. Whereas previously I would have gone to West Elm or Ikea, now I rely on eBay to source what speaks to me rather than just fill my home to fill it. The ability to stumble into these weird tangents based on one thing I thought I was looking for and ending up in different place has inspired a slower, more intentional, meaningful way of curating what’s in my home.”
“These Pier 1 votive candleholders came from a search for ‘’90s wrought iron.’ I thought the celestial vibes could go nicely with the tiles I’ve been into.”
“There’s a lot of really good silver from Mexico — incredible silver jewelry, of course, but also things for the home. Both this silver tray and the necklace on it are from Mexico. I do a lot of searching for ‘Taxco,’ which got me to this fish tray that I use for my jewelry. It’s a nice little replacement for a jewelry box.”
“I’ve really been into ceramic tiles and have been doing searches for ‘ceramic tile’ plus country names. I’m interested in seeing the difference in style based on where they were made and finding different purposes for them throughout the house. I think they make for the perfect coasters, trivets, spoon rests, paperweights, housewarming gifts, etc.”
Some eBay tile links from Nora:
I love the look of the locals flip-flops but if I’m being really honest nothing beats havaianas, they last for literal years and are so comfy. Maybe it’s my Brazilian bias but I also think they’re timeless and will never not be a staple lol
"I don’t really rush to get things now. Whereas previously I would have gone to West Elm or Ikea, now I rely on eBay to source what speaks to me rather than just fill my home to fill it." Love this <3