PIGPEN

CONSIDER YOUR SUMMER SHOPPING SORTED!!! I’ve compiled an A to Z list of brands I’d search, and secondhand pieces inspired by what’s on the market right now. They’re mostly under $100, and not so on-the-nose that you’ll get the post-trend comedown ick by this time next year. My credentials are that I’ve been wearing the same thing for a few summers now, without feeling like any of my pieces are soooooo [insert sartorial moment in time].

a guide for flea market first timers ‘Brimfield’, the largest outdoor antique show in the country, is technically a fair comprised of multiple, smaller shows with different open dates and hours during the week of the fair. By day two, Kelsey from Abel: Substack and I learned that Nic and Matt thought we were just making up names like “Black Swan” and “Hart-O-The-Mart” to distinguish areas. Each “show” lives in its own fenced-in field and operates on its own schedule.

I didn’t want to end up as I had so many times before, as the Reductress post of the woman who “didn’t paint her apartment because she’s moving out in 9 years anyway”. So upon getting the keys to my new place, I immediately charted every idea I had for the space.

BRIMFIELD STARTS TOMORROW!!! As someone often on the receiving end of “I’d never think to search that”, my favorite thing about Brimfield is exploring the bounds of what one can find secondhand. I’m a proficient searcher, but a vintage show of this caliber unlocks a level of aesthetic potential and particularity far beyond what my humble, corporeal form can beckon. Of course, there’s art, chairs, clothes…but running into Jennifer Coolidge purchasing an 11-foot by 11-foot cherub-themed iron gate?

HI DOLLS! Sorry for the radio silence; I moved and am just now feeling like my head is back screwed on. I also just turned 29! I celebrated early, playing pool with friends, reading Žižek, and staring at the expensive butterfly marzipan I bought myself, which I told everyone was “too pretty to eat” but had actually left untouched because of its abhorrent aftertaste.

A few Thursdays ago merited itself as the climax of my unlikely affairs. There were all of the elements that more or less make a standard Thursday in my life: a self-titled gaggle of twinks, redheads, and bimbos with dumptrucks discussing the state of things downtown. However, on this particular Thursday, Esther Perel was the host of this gaggle, this time all strangers, for dinner and an unfiltered dating chat on a bed.

HAPPY SPRING SOLSTICE!!! Today’s dispatch is a short and sweet super-zoom on one money-saving, most-complimented-of-my-items shoe search that does it for me every time: vintage Stuart Weitzman. This is also part of my small personal mission to shift the Overton window on secondhand footwear (just wait until we get into secondhand swim!! Are you afraid or accepting of such a venture…).

Good day, mile-walkers. I can still hear my coaches at my earliest soccer games yelling at me to stop sitting in the middle of the field playing with the grass, and get up and hustle. Following that Daria-esque entry, I entertained fits and starts in many other ventures…basketball, swim team, tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, ice skating, and an otherwise all-boys baseball team…before landing on dance for a bit over a decade.

It’s near impossible to time secondhand finds with a concept or story, and I’ve let too many slip by in this waiting! I spend about an hour a day perusing secondhand sites for inspiration, requests, or research-related materials, and recently calculated that this totals to about 3 years over my lifespan. I have no qualms about this, as I really enjoy it.

The age-old pressure to identify as either a “silver person” or “gold person” has always been curious to me. Why decide!!! Both offer so much in creating a mood. While gold is sensual, glimmering, and inviting… silver's reflective properties and pure makeup have long made it a symbol of protection and mystic powers. It was thought the metal could repel evil and ward off predators, so perhaps get some in your wardrobe rotation before we launch into this imminent feral spring.