The month of June is right around the corner, and as we approach the depths of summer, the temperatures increase—while the clothing comes off. Gone are the beloved 20 degrees rushed walks through downtown Manhattan in 3 different coats, and now, we’re becoming obsessed over skinny shades, tiny smocked tops, and flowy, linen skirts to keep cool. I’d say personally the one thing I dislike about Summer is the sweat. There’s too much of it, and I find myself grabbing for a blotting sheet every half hour. Dabbing away the makeup I spent almost an hour on in the rays of the sun is anything but fun. But I’m lucky to be sitting inside a heavily air-conditioned building typing away indoors—away from the dreadful heat. As I type away, I realize; “Hey! I’m on my iPad right now, why not make a wish list?’’
I actually used to create awfully long wish lists as a kid for fun, or around Christmas time for my parents to know what not to get me. Of course, they probably only skimmed over these lists, as my 7-year-old self sometimes spent an entire day with my eyes glued to the desktop computer’s screen copying and pasting URLs of toys into a word document list-situation. Quite a few times these lists had over 50 things on them. I guess I just couldn’t choose.
Nowadays, this article is a bit of the same thing. Now, I have the ability to scale down every random item I desire, and at least for now, I can pretend I’m a Fashion Editor for a big-name magazine who travels to France in her spare time. Maybe one day.
So anyway, here’s what I’ve been eyeing this summer. Take a glance, form an opinion, go ahead. Make a wish list for yourself. But if you call it something fancier, (Digital Content Creator’s Summer Picks..) maybe someone will end up buying something special for you.
1. Loewe Fringe T-Shirt in Beige: $490
I chose this piece first because of the overall image of the Spring 2018 Loewe collection. I scoured the site first for what was new, and every piece seemed to catch my eye. A pretty rare thing for any luxury brand, but it was diverse in nature and I could feel had a story behind it. I decided to do some research. Upon clicking on Vogue’s site for a short article on the show, the Spanish brand’s Creative Director, Jonathan Anderson states the image he intended did, in fact, have a story. He creates a story based on a fictional woman, who frequently travels. “She’s a bit more bohemian,’’ he states backstage during the show. “She’s broken out of her domestic space and she’s freer.’’ This wanderer Picks up several souvenirs as she travels—London, India, South America, North Africa, and these souvenirs are seen sprinkled in the collection with tons of patch-work pieces, cuts of traditional hand-woven fabrics sewn into parts of a dress, even a droopy, crochet net bag. The color palette is soft, pale and beach-resort like. But it also had an urban edge to it, which I liked. It made me want to pack my bags and fly to Cape Town or France.
2. Rag & Bone NY Hartley Sandals: $350
I knew I wanted to include an item from Rag & Bone because I’ve loved their clothes for years. These slightly raised slide sandals piqued my interest especially with the silver ring detailing in the straps, and its’ asymmetry. They would be perfect for running around on the beach on Summer nights with friends, a day trip to the city, or to a local cafe for a relaxing afternoon coffee. They’re pretty versatile, and the fact that they’re backless means no weird, painful ankle bleeding. Rag & Bone stays on brand with their classic, but chic and wearable “cool girl’’ pieces. Now to buy the matching purse.
3. Off-White Printed Textured-Leather Shoulder Bag (Net-a-Porter): $1,240
Pretty much everything from Off-White is considered cool recently. Most, if not all of this brand’s pieces, are influenced from modern art, and namely, Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Off-White’s newly appointed Creative Director Virgil Abloh labels himself as “creative offspring’’ from these artists, citing his inspiration from these graphic-oriented artists. Several A-list celebrities and hypebeasts have been seen sporting pieces from this brand, pairing the yellow traffic-tape belt hanging loosely with Balenciaga Triple S shoes or an oversized hoodie by Helmut Lang. (I would honestly dig wearing all of that as a look.)
4. George Keburia White Sunglasses (Opening Ceremony): $200
Since I moved to New York last September, overall I sort of finally had the chance to come out of my shell and be more of “myself.’’ By that, I mean mostly in terms of what I wore, because my hometown is just a beach town in the south. No one really dressed too avant-garde. I would have felt weird wearing these, but since there wasn’t an Opening Ceremony store back home, I couldn’t experience the amazingly artistic pieces I saw through a screen watching a runway show. One night out with a friend, I tried on most of the glasses my store had, and though I looked absolutely horrible in them, I could see why the tiny shades are in style. They make you look mysterious, sometimes even like a fashionable computer hacker. Sometimes “ugly” fashion has its’ own appeal. These shades also come in lavender, scarlet red, and a charcoal gray.
5. & Other Stories High Waisted Denim Shorts in Washed Blue: $55
It’s Summertime, and I have no shorts that I fit into, so these are a pair from one of my favorite stores. I always go for high waisted.
6. Billy! Sí No Edition Silver Tag Necklace: $180
The growing New York-based fine jewelry company, Billy! is one of my favorites because the owner is Candice Pool Neistat; Creative Director and Jewelry Designer for another one of her companies, Finn Jewelry, mom, and wife to YouTube vlogger Casey Neistat. At first, I fell in love with Casey’s videos, and then Candice as she appeared in snippets of his vlogs. She’s unapologetic, successful, funny, and she makes some really cool fine jewelry. One day I will definitely give my money to her.
7. Stella McCartney Stella Peony Perfume 50ml: $70
I tried a sample of this perfume from a purchase at Sephora not long ago, and it easily became my favorite, right under Gucci’s “Gucci Guilty.’’ It truly smells like flowers, but it also has a luxurious, almost spicy scent. It’s not overbearing at all. The only sad thing is that one day I found my sample shattered into tiny pieces in one of my coat pockets, so now I have to go out and buy it, right?
8. La Mer The Cleansing Gel (Nordstrom): $90
Skincare is the new makeup and making sure we all have glowy, glass skin with a bright complexion is of utmost importance. La Mer has come out with some cult faves, especially for combination skin folks. (such as me) Reviews on the site say dry and oily areas are cleansed pretty thoroughly without any excess drying. This cleanser is a gel and foams up, and can work as a first step in the skincare routine.
9. Anthropologie Capri Blue Iridescent Jar Candle: $30
One trip into Anthropologie a few months ago, my store had a few of these candles lit on a little wooden table display. I instantly was intoxicated by the scent. Capri Blue designs some iconic vessels and fragrances for their candles, right in Mississippi. This candle’s scent; “Volcano;” Anthropologie describes as “tropical fruits, sugared oranges, lemons, and limes, redolent with lightly exotic mountain greens.’’ In the site’s description, they recommend, “The first time you light your candle, allow it to burn until the wax pool melts all the way to the edge; for a larger candle, this may take several hours. Wax has "memory," so if it is extinguished with a partial pool, that will prevent a full, even pool from forming in the future.
10. Glossier Boy Brow: $16
Almost every one of Glossier’s products have been seen on every social media platform, and people are obsessed with it. They generally promote a healthy, minimalist makeup look that highlights skin care’s importance as well, while also maintaining vegan beauty products. For the formula in boy brow, Glossier creates one similar to hair pomade with a soft, flexible hold that doesn’t stiffen or flake, giving a natural, but groomed and filled-in appearance to the brows. Who doesn’t want to test and see if the product lives up to it's hype?
