Books and Looks is a weekly column featuring everything I wore and read during the week. Scroll to the bottom for a little bonus! For the best reader experience, I recommend reading this and all my posts directly in the Substack app.
books
Made my way through two books this week:
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka), which was the book I kept in my bag and read while waiting at different appointments (dermatologist’s office, at the grocery pickup spot, while getting a much-needed pedicure). So far, I’m intrigued. I don’t think I’ve ever read Kafka (can’t recall the entirety of my high school and college reading syllabus), and was curious when I saw the cover of this book. Will report back.
Her Side of The Story (Alba de Cespedes), which was the book I kept bed-side and couch-side. Alba de Cespedes was an Italian-Cuban writer from the 1930s - 1970s. Elena Ferrante, author of the My Brilliant Friend quartet (and many other works) considers de Cespedes to be an important and brilliant writer, and I agree with Ferrante. The book is 500 pages long, so I’ll be here awhile.
looks
I wore jeans and a tshirt almost every single day this week. And it’s weeks like this where I’m so thankful that I’ve:
a. invested time x $ in finding great basics
b. found accessories that can help mix things up when I’m wearing the same base over and over again
By now, you’ve probably seen that I love wearing the LESET Margo tshirt. I have multiples (maybe 4 or 5?) of them, and wear them so much. I find that washing them on a delicate cycle and then air drying them outside in the sun is the best way to take care of them.
Monday morning, and my intention was to wear these JCrew eyelet pants with an oversized button down, but upon trying them on, I realized that the pants were quiiiiite see through.
They’re super cute though! Will wear with a bathing suit going forward.
I changed into my trusty uniform after my failed eyelet pant outfit attempt, and went to run errands. Sunday night me was smart and packed up the car with all the return packages so that Monday morning me could just turn the car on and go.
My favorite way to create visual contrast in summer outfits is to put raffia against black leather. Soft and edgy!!!
On Tuesday, I finally made it to my dermatologist’s office for an overdue Hydrafacial. I love getting these every two/three months and see immediate results in my skin.
I had to wait for a bit before my appointment, and was glad to have my book.
By Wednesday, I could feel the holiday long weekend calling my name. Got some work done in the am, and then tried to get some work done in the afternoon, but my puppy wasn’t having it.
I got this GORGEOUS vintage clutch in the mail that day from Gimi Rarity.
She’s everything I ever wanted in a clutch — ribbed oval shape, black tassels, metallic. The perfect size, too. Obviously, this doesn’t fit a phone, but that’s what my husband’s trouser pockets are for!!!
The past few days, we’ve been nesting. The house renovation project is basically done, which means we can put stuff where it goes. Also, it’s the first weekend in six months without any guests in the house. We host A LOT, and this weekend it was just my husband, my puppy, and me.
Switched it up for white jeans on Saturday.
And finally debuted my new suede bag from Madewell. Very into the shape, the color, and the minimal hardware.
Out for a midday coffee run to fuel up the nesting projects,
and then back at the couch with the puppy for an afternoon nap.
&bonus
A Substack update for you all.
I turned on my paid subscriptions!!! It was seriously scary to set up and turn on!!! I also finally signed up for Shop My, which is something I resisted doing for a long time. I didn’t want to feel like all I did was generate and share affiliate links — and my plan is for it not to feel this way at all, ever.
For now, the plan is this:
Weekly books and looks newsletter will remain FREE and always available. This and any other free post will include affiliate links, but only to products I personally own.
Weekly vintage(ish) finds newsletter will be paywalled, but have NO AFFILIATE links. This newsletter takes me the longest to put together (research, writing, collages, etc).
Any other long-form newsletter that comes up will be paywalled with no affiliate links.
Long story short: if the post is free, it has affiliate links to the pieces I own. If the post is paywalled, it has no affiliate links.
A year ago, this Substack and my Instagram page were something I did on the side, a small garden if you will. Nowadays, the small garden has grown, and I want (and have) to spend much more time watering and tending to it.
I come to this decision after much mulling it over and speaking with people I trust and admire. I want to continue with content creation and Substack writing, and monetizing some aspect of it is a necessary step that comes with this growth.
Likewise, I am so thankful for all of your support and am always open to your feedback and comments. <3
So so love your style! Need to try on those Frame jeans next time I’m at a store - they look amazing xx