Making Up for Lost Time + A Supersized What Caught My Eye (No. 66)
Well, this fell off the face of the Earth, didn’t it? I promise it wasn’t intentional, but July was a weird month (and August is turning out to be just as odd). I have no energy when it’s above 85°F (29°C for all my more cultured subscribers), which has left me in a puddle of sweat and unanswered to-do lists. But with so little time throughout the week, I am taking advantage of this slow morning to slap together a longer-than-usual newsletter to a) update you on my life and b) tell you what to buy.
So, instead of the normal ten items, I’m giving you double that. And instead of the usual picture-title-commentary-link, this one will be a bit more free-flowing in structure. Just the way I like it.
Have a great rest of your weekend. Cheers!
I’ve been reading a lot of good books lately. Unfortunately, I’ve also been very tired so my usual one-house-before-bed rule has gone out the window. But a few good ones I’ve finished this summer include Cassandra at the Wedding (Dorothy Baker); Termush (Sven Holm, courtesy of my friend Caroline Reilly); The Best of Everything (Rona Jaffe - which I may have mentioned before). I’m currently reading An Unofficial Rose by Iris Murdoch, inspired by a chance meeting with Sara M. Lee while in Germany as we are both massive fans.
There have been a lot more foreign films playing at home as well. In the Mood for Love was my first Wong Kar-wai film and I definitely understand the hype now. I even bought this hat for the hell of it after seeing the film. But other than Cantonese, there’s been Norwegian and Italian, including Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro and the Oslo Trilogy by Joachim Trier.
Speaking of Norwegian, I’m going deeper into my studies than my previous cursorial attempts to learn. I’m listening to NRK (they’re national broadcaster) in the morning and have ordered a couple textbooks, including everyone’s recommendation, The Mystery of Nils. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m committing myself to it, along with French and Italian (only because the local community college offers courses for very cheap).
And that leads me to something very special (burying the lede here out of modesty, of course): I’m starting a very small print media brand in the next year, called å brette. You’ll notice it’s both Norwegian and a cognate of my own name. I’m calling it a “micro magazine” as it’ll be literally one page every week, mailed out. But the design and structure of it will be something new in the print media landscape. I’ve spoken with people at Monocle and Robb Report and no one’s told me it’s the worst idea they’ve ever heard, so….here goes nothing. More on this soon.
You’ll probably think I’m overdoing it and that I don’t need another project to work on and you’d be absolutely right! And then you’re going to hear me complain about it on here and you’d be right about that, too! But the momentum is there and writing has sort of begun fitting into my work schedule more, so there is a little bit of time to create on the peripheries of my day. I also got diagnosed (officially, not through TikTok lol) with ADHD and have gotten on some medication to better control my time. This will either be the death of my multi-hyphenate career or the start of ten more projects. We’ll see.
In buying news, I finally got a pair of those hemp clogs everyone was talking about (a year ago, haha). I like the color and want to pair them with these socks from 3am Latte in the Fall. My second option is, of course, Gardenheir (but then I’d also have to grab about five of their Japanese typewriter cotton shirts while I’m at it).
Oddly enough, I’ve been super into “ugly” shoes lately (so much so, I’ve been wanting to write a piece about them for Forbes, but I’m worried brands will think I’m being mean). Birkenstock’s shoes have been ordered and will be coming Monday, while Asics sent me these bad boys and I’ve just been waiting to throw them on with jeans when it’s cooled off a little more.
While not purchased, but added to cart multiple times with me contemplating sending pleading messages to Japanese resellers on eBay, I’ve been eyeing the Hermès Sac a Depeches, a beautiful little briefcase that can be found for sub-$1000. While I did grab a Prada Galleria this Summer, I’m nothing if not greedy and a bit of a bag-obsessed gay man, if I’m being honest.
Which leads me to some totes. London Review of Books put out a lovely striped collection, which definitely caught my eye. But John Derian’s color swatch tote remains in my proverbial cart, as does this wool one from Monocle, which is currently on sale, too.
Any one of those bags would be perfect as a carry-on for all the trips I’ve (sadly!) had to say no to. This has included press trips to Helsinki, Seoul, India, and London so far this Summer. Each of them would have been a dream trip; but, alas, I have to work because (you may not know this) writing pays awfully most of the time. But just like any party, it’s still nice to be invited, even if I can’t attend.
And part of the reason (other than work) for me declining big international trips right now is simply because my dogs are getting older. It has been the closest thing to torture I’ve ever experienced, watching the animals I’ve loved more than anything else in my life begin to age in front of me. Right now, we’re dealing with some hearing loss from Elsa. While she’s not completely deaf, it is noticeable and has been hard on me to come face-to-face with their ages (she’ll be twelve in November). All I can hope for is that she doesn’t feel isolated by this and we’ve worked out a few signs to teach her in the chance her hearing loss does get worse.
To do a complete 180 (perhaps I should have taken my Ritalin before starting this newsletter), this has been the Summer of Italian ice. Lindy’s to be exact. Lemon, if we’re being specific, microwaved so it’s a little soft for 25 seconds. While Tillamook remains my preferred warm-weather dessert, I’ve lost 45 lbs this year and don’t plan to gain any of it back, thank you very much.
Losing weight has obviously impacted the way I look and dress (and, for some reason, what people comment on Instagram about said weight loss, ha). But it’s also meant a complete overhaul of my closet. Unfortunately, it’s included finding the right person to alter some of my better clothes and this has brought with it a comedy of errors, including bringing eight suits to a seamstress who ended up having dementia and finishing none of them (isn’t this a brilliant plot for a short story?).
Speaking of short stories, I want to bring my collection With Egg Salad on My Tie back. I’ve previously sold it as a physical book, gave it out as a PDF, and threw them piecemeal into my newsletter when I had nothing else to write about. But if I did bring it back for a bit (all proceeds would go to a charity for Gaza), would you buy it? And what if that dastardly ol’ gigolo made a few more appearances? It is, still, one of my all-time favourite stories I’ve ever written.
Something else that’s beginning to annoy me about Instagram (the only social media I use — I have a LinkedIn, but it’s just to brag and then get annoyed at all the ~life lessons~ people like to share) is that I can’t show any personality. The other week, I joked about how I don’t like to be on camera and muted a video for having a gay voice (I do, which you can hear in my interview with Monocle if you’d like). Someone sent it to my coworker to get me in trouble. I know it’s partially my making, but there is a level of policing I’m finding more and more in my messages/comments that is, frankly, getting annoying. Thank God for the block button, I suppose.
There has been an uptick in artists working with fashion brands and it’s been a nice trend to see. Rob Wilson has collaborated with Luca Larenza, Richard Haines for Hermes, and Michael McGregor for Drake’s all have launched in the last month or so. With such distinct styles, it’s nice to see brands understanding how an artist’s vision can be situated into its own design language and the collections are some of my favourites this season (and I’m not just saying that because Richard and Rob both attended my book launches last year).
PS - Would it be insane to pair this Drake’s shirt with this John Derian tote? Perhaps. But when I get back into watercolours, it’ll make a lot more sense, n'est-ce pas?
Who knew having astigmatism since I was four-years-old would one day mean I’m lousy with free glasses? It’s a great problem to have, to be honest. This week I got in a pair of Cubitt’s frames (the Wicklow), which I think fit my face quite nicely and are a great departure from the Serengeti Daniel’s I’ve been wearing for the last few months. But there are some Warby Parkers on the way and a trip to Morgenthal Frederics is in my near future (should I go with the Waugh frames as a nod to my love for British literature?). I’d of course show you what I look like in them all, but I’m embarrassed to take a photo of myself in glasses — I never feel the angle is right because I have what some would call “an unattractive face” (a disease which inflicts millions of us around the globe!).
When I do make it out to New York for that standing appointment with Morgenthal Frederics, I’m happy to say I now have a home base with the Salmagundi Club. My hours in New York are always strange and I wanted somewhere to go in between meetings or dinners. It’s also in a lovely building and in Greenwich, so having that as a backdrop while I answer emails will be a welcomed change from the usual Pret a Manger I find myself in.
Lastly, there will be a few changes to this Substack — and this time I mean it! First, there will be deeper dives into brands and project I’m interested in, as well as more advice-style editorial versus random updates on my life. I’ll also be putting a couple things behind a paywall (when I figure it out, haha), but the majority of this will remain how it’s always been. Finally, I’ll be bringing back Guest Posts on a monthly basis, so feel free to reach out if you’d like to be included.
Thanks for reading this week. Stay well, mes amis.