Caesar Salad, French Fries, and a Martini
Packing & Travel Hacks, Elordi's Sons, Plus a Store Review and More
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
A Friday evening treat for your inbox! I don’t know about y’all, but I am drained heading into this weekend. Tonight is calling for takeout and slamming through a couple episodes of Slow Horses. Or maybe a movie? Maybe a movie. On to the guide:
Best Summer Pickups
To kick things off, we tossed out some of our top summer purchases thus far:
Barrett’s faves:
Imogene + Willie “Lounge Shorts” in Poppy — Link
Garrett Leight “Webster” Sunglasses — Link
Bonobos “Throwback” Swim Trunks — Link
Will’s faves:
Rowan “Asher Standard Tee” — Link
Cadets “Le Club Shorts” — Link
Krewe Sunglasses — Check back for Link
Answering NYLON’s Travel Questions
Earlier this year, NYLON solicited travel advice from a variety of influential people. Since Will and I both have international trips around the corner, we thought we’d take a moment and give our own answers to some of the questions:
What’s one thing you can pack that makes even the worst flight tolerable?
Which three clothing items always make it on your packing list and why? Don’t say underwear.
Will — a crewneck sweatshirt, plain grey tees, and a styptic pen
Barrett — slip-on sandals and a white t-shirt
What’s your go-to travel outfit?
Will — Drake’s lightweight jeans and Huckberry x Merrell sneakers
Barrett — Nike ACG pants, Salomon sneakers, and a tee
What’s a travel hack you tell all your friends?
Will — bring Ursa Major’s “Essential” face wipes for after the flight — Link
Barrett — take travel size Clorox wipes to wipe down your area and always pack the nail clippers
You can only pack one pair of shoes. What are you choosing?
Which fragrance do you think of when you hear the word “vacation?”
The New York Happy Meal
While no cocktail has forcefully established itself as this year’s Drink of the Summer, the same cannot be said on the food front. The combination of a martini, French fries, and a Caesar salad has become the clear frontrunner for the Meal of the Summer.
Our ideal Austin version of this meal? Caesar from Favorite Pizza, fries from June’s (or P.Terry’s for Will lmao), and a martini from Clark’s.
Is Jacob Elordi the New Reference?
Randy, smash the babygirl gong. As Benito Skinner AKA Benny Drama from the Ride podcast tells it, all the dudes in Dimes Square and the East Village are clearly dressing like Jacob Elordi. Is he right or is this more of a chicken and egg situation. While Elordi clearly has a ton of influence and can singlehandedly swing a trend (dudes with handbags), a lot of his street style is pulled straight out of a Nolita Dirtbag meme. So who’s influencing who here?
Books are Still Cool
Reading is still one of the hottest activities out there as BookTok continues to explode and Kaia Gerber strolls out of a Broadway show rocking a nerdcore graphic tee.
Turns out, her tee is actually dropping soon as part of a merch drop for her new book club, Library Science. But speaking of books, where has all the Sad Boy Lit gone? Sally Rooney and a wide range of women are holding it down for the females, but where are all the male authors that should be contributing to the genre? Column here via Esquire.
Articles of Interest
Online Ceramics is splitting up — Link
The return of Emily In Paris is imminent — Link
Daniel Craig let the freak flag fly for a Loewe campaign — Link
Of course, we closed things out with our wishlists and imminent cops.
For 2024, we’ve hit the reset button on our wishlists and made them a bit more digestible for the year ahead. To access the complete version of our 2022 and 2023 wishlists, look no further than our final Listener Digest of 2022 and our final Listener Digest of 2023.
Will’s Wishlist (2024)
RRL Officer Khakis ($241.50 on sale) — Link
Abercrombie Workwear Pants ($68) — Link
Nike ACG Russet Moc ($100) — Link
Soho Home Nadine Rug ($1,016) — Link
Acqua di Parma Colonia C.L.U.B. Eau de Cologne ($150) — Link
Drake’s Swim Shorts ($145 on sale) — Link
Dark Brown Belgians ($675) — Link
LL Bean Field Coat (price unknown) — Link
A&F All Day Shorts ($60) — Link
Vintage Duck Camo Pants ($225) — Link
Boy Smells x Kacey Musgraves Deeper Well Candle ($56) — Link
Kavu Organic Strapcap ($40) — Link
Predator Mundial 2024 ($120) — Link
Every Other Thursday Hat ($44) — Link
Kermit Oak Foldable Chair ($300) — Link
Block Crochet Knit S/S Shirt Navy ($450) — Link
Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NRG ($190) — Link
Vintage Patagonia Stand-Up Shorts on eBay ($25-$60)
Drake’s Soleil Graphic Tee ($145) — Link
We Are Rewind Cassette Player ($159) — Link
Drake’s Olive Seersucker Games Suit ($1,790) — Link
Will’s Note: Please send me any reasonably priced alternatives you have for this as I’d love to buy a new suit in this style before August! Thanks!
New: Adidas x SNS Predator Mundial — Link
Barrett’s Wishlist (2024)
Margaret Howell Fireman Trousers ($495 Retail / $371.25 Sale) — Link
Vass Shoes Black Leather Cap Toe Oxfords (€417) — Link
Uniqlo Down Parkas ($40-$150) — Link
Montblanc Meisterstück Stainless Steel & Black Onyx Cufflinks ($280) — Link
Second/Layer Pico Blazer & Trousers ($340 on sale) — Link
Lululemon Soft Jersey Short 5” ($68) — Link
Abercrombie & Fitch “Handcrafted” 3-Button Polo ($90 on sale for $72) — Link
Bode x Nike Sneakers ($150) — Link
JJJJound Sambas ($250) — Link
Post O’Alls x Bagsinprogress Beach Bag — Link
Toga x PORTER Nylon Backpack ($1,135) — Link
Sacai x Carhartt WIP Cotton-Canvas Shorts ($470) — Link
Guest in Residence “Breezy” Sweater ($395) — Link
Noah Slouchy Sock ($22) — Link
Garrett Leight “Webster” Sunglasses ($249) — Link
Buzz Rickson Type CWU-9/P 1960’S Jacket Liner ($355) — Link
Prada Woven Shopping Tote ($2,050) — Link
(Madewell ($80.50) — Link)
Buck Mason Seeded Natural Herringbone Short ($128) — Link
Timex Q 1978 Watch ($179) — Link
Gap’s Linen Collection — Link (Imminent Cops linked below)
New: Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress — Link
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
Packing cubes: not for saving space. Instead: You get to the hotel, need shorts, pull out the cube with bottoms, rest of your bag remains intact instead of digging through folded clothes. It's game changer
Couldn’t agree more with Barrett on the Clorox wipes for the plane. I’ll add in lavender hand sanitizing wipes — refreshing at the end of a flight.