Long Live The Vision Board
Having idols, seeking inspiration, the novel genre of "bad mom"
I was trying to sort out what this week’s newsletter would be about after last week’s hiatus where I mostly wrote in my pajamas from home. We’re still in Lent, and minus one vintage Dior suit that I promise is for my wedding and very much an exception, I haven’t been shopping. My eBay watch list has grown, with a recent obsession with vintage enamel bags and aforementioned suits. I haven’t wandered into a shop with the inclination to buy anything. I’ve even been using the library more. Preparing for an upcoming trip has been a whole new lesson on “what if I went away without needing anything new?”
What I’ve been most surprised by are the hours I’m spending back on my first love, what was once a perfect website, Pinterest. Maybe Instagram Saves have largely eclipsed this site’s purpose, but it’s been bliss to just cull through images to find old faithfuls I’ve long referenced: Lauren Hutton in Nike sneakers sitting outside a night club, Joan Didion in a wrap skirt with a cigarette, Dianne Keaton in a blazer twice her size.
It’s fun to look at outfits! In an era of dying magazines, I can go months without consuming outfits for the sake of outfits. Searching for something on eBay is one muscle, so is watching your favorite follows sport iterations of the same trend for a season. Looking through Pinterest has me feeling nostalgic, hopeful, curious, and above all, inspired. My closet has never felt bigger than it does right now.
Here’s my prescription for feeling inspired without shopping. Unlike most prescriptions, it’s highly open to interpretation.
Watch your favorite movies with the best outfits. My regular rotation is Love Story, The Graduate, and Annie HallI. Sometimes I’ll watch Vogue videos from 2014-ish for a similar effect. Seeing other people’s closets is why I’m on Youtube, other than Nigella Lawson cooking videos.
Grab a pile of cash and go crazy at your local magazine shop—mine’s Casa Magazines. Bonus points for taking your stack to a nearby park or coffee shop. It’s the perfect amount of old fashioned and frivolous and there isn’t a better Saturday afternoon.
Actually sort through your saves on Instagram. Play trend forecaster and take notes on what’s being repeated. Are you saving a ton of striped shirts? Pull them out from the back of your closet and try to re-create some of your favorite looks.
Archived Outfit
Speaking of movies worth watching for the outfits, may I present The Umbrellas of Cherbourg? No one does a half up, half down like Deneuve. Her outfits in this movie are brilliant color studies, but this one in particular is most of the reason I own a Burberry Trench coat, beside this picture. The subtle blue gingham, what I can only assume is velvet bow in her hair, the way she and her lover eschew umbrellas for their matching trenches—it’s all too much.
Honorable Mentions
It’s hard to come up with recommendations every week! I recently read Brian Doyle for the first time, which was a total delight. I also read I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, which joins the pantheon of novels being written right now in the genre of “bad mom.” The book was stunning, a kick in the pants, and sort of the perfect grown up Spring Break read, not to be interpreted as lighthearted!
Here’s your chance, dear reader, for an old fashioned Ask Me Anything pre-Instagram story sticker. Respond to this email with a category or question, and I’ll pile them up for next week’s Long Live.
Thank you so much for reading. This week, I wrote about corn, real estate investing, and about good enough skin (for The Cut!!) See you next Thursday! x