Issue Sixteen
Comfort and Joy
Hi, Everyone. We hope you all stayed sane in February. Now that it’s March, we’re feeling tentatively optimistic that our winter blues will be wiped away, that the sun will soon start shining, and that summer might actually be right around the corner. The earliest days of spring are when we straddle two worlds, one of hibernation and contemplation and one of rebirth and forward motion. This issue aims to address both. There are special things that will help you embrace the last golden days of ski season along with staple investments for warmer weather. There are simple pleasures—healthful tea, crystal companions—and highly practical items that happen to also be beautiful (enter the stair basket!) Most importantly, every idea in Issue Sixteen is something we hope will bring you two things we’re craving in abundance right now: comfort and joy.
Thin but impossibly strong, utterly classic but a little risqué, it is quite possibly the ultimate knit. With its diaphanous space-dyed zigzagged stripe, A MISSONI SWEATER has been an iconic piece since the Italian house’s inception in 1953. But at this very moment, it feels especially right. Woven with a Raschel knitting machine which produces the Italian house’s lace-like open knit, it’s an unlikely chameleon that can be fabulously sporty under a ski jacket (a super chic layer to reveal at the lodge) but also tropical party perfection with 70s-style silk palazzos and a block-heel sandal. And with our new favorite pair of jeans, sneakers and a trench, it’s classic cool girl to a T. We like finding pre-loved versions on The Real Real (this v-neck, mockneck and turtleneck are available right now) and also pine for this current season crewneck and turtleneck (hello, après!).
You zip them up, and the excitement of a new adventure becomes real. PACKING CUBES are life-changing. That may sound like an overstatement, but they have definitely bettered our quality of life on the road. Not only are you able to organize your stuff into sub-categories within your suitcase, but these collapsable and light containers can go straight into a hotel bureau so you spend less time unpacking (and packing) and more time exploring. We love Paravel’s because they come in great colors and are monogrammable (and also love their roll-up duffle, which folds down into nothing and is great to bring along for the inevitable tchotchkes you acquire while traveling). But we also like these more affordable ones from Amazon. And while we’re on the topic of awesome travel accessories, we’re obsessed with this scooter-carry-on hybrid for kids, who can pack their plane essentials inside and zoom around the airport (and later, your destination city) with abandon.
After a long morning swim, you lie on your back, eyes closed, as the sun warms you to your core. Hunza G’s crinkle bathing suits—the ones your mother wore in the ‘80s—were re-launched in 2015. And while we’ve always admired their supremely stretchy comfortable material, their classic cut is too high on the leg and derrière for our tastes. Enter their new COVERAGE SWIMSUIT, which comes down lower on the hips and the cheeks making for what we can attest is a superior suit we just don’t want to take off. In fact, this is the only one we’re packing—plus a great hat, book, and coverup—for a warm-weather week where we hope to wear little else!
You take an effervescent sip from a delicate and unlikely coupe and see stars. We’re certainly advocates of a well-dressed table—giant terrines, Icelandic poppies and charcoal baguettes with rockweed have all been centerpieces at our dinner parties—but recently we’ve felt the need palate cleanse. That’s why we’re digging a completely bare table with nothing more than a white tablecloth and extremely unusual glassware as the star of the show. We fell in love with ULYSSE SAUVAGE GLASSWARE when we spotted their psychedelic ‘splash’ goblets holding martinis with lime twists at a Paris party by Balbosté. Their tulip-shaped stemware, crinkled water verres and wonky ribbed bubbly glasses are all you’ll need to make your table great. Fill them them with North Fork Champagne or some spring water with sprinkle of electrolyte-rich Celtic Light Gray Sea Salt, a trick we learned from
(who learned it Jemma Kidd).
It travels with you up and down, a helping hand when you’ve only got two. The STAIR BASKET is an ingenious Victorian-era invention that attractively rests at the bottom of your stairs waiting to be filled with odds and ends that need to be redistributed around the house. It’s also an ingenious place for the daily newspaper or even a little umbrella. Erin Pollard of Underwater Weaving Studio—a basket atelier based in Maine and NYC that she runs with her mother—has made a beautiful version that works anywhere you have a couple of stairs (even in an apartment) but is ultimately most useful in a house with multiple floors and lots and lots of little children’s toys everywhere.
Like high heels but better, you lace them up and feel a spring in your step—and your spirit. Made in Northamptonshire, England since 1866, each pair of GRENSON NANETTE BOOTS takes about two months to make, and it shows. (They also have a stellar men’s version). They’re unusually light and almost delicate for a hiking boot, which means they’re as good for winter as they are for wet spring weather. It helps that they look extremely presentable—chic even!—with a long skirt and earrings for a nice dinner out in the city, which is how the three of us have been wearing them this winter (yes, we all have them!). And of course, they’re it for ski weekends (with your favorite ski pants and mittens) due to their long-lasting ‘Goodyear Welted’ soles, an 1800s technique that lends superior traction and a nice little lift.
On chilly spring mornings, a steaming teapot is one of life’s simplest but greatest pleasures. We love cup after cup of a toasty hot beverage (that’s not coffee), especially for long days at our desks. Enter SOBA CHA, a golden-hued naturally caffeine-free tea made from roasted buckwheat seeds. A traditional Japanese elixir often sourced in Nagano where buckwheat “soba” noodles are most famously made, its nutty, smooth taste scratches the latte itch, but with none of the jitters or dehydration. Our favorite Soba tea of all time is handmade at Sobaya—along with the buckwheat noodles they’ve been crafting there since 1996— in the East Village of New York City. And while they don’t sell bags of it, we highly recommend having several servings with an order of boiled spinach, agedashi tofu and dashimaki tamago followed by a wander around the neighborhood—John Derian’s shops, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, Salter House, and La Sirena are right down the road! And if you’re not in Manhattan, we love Kettl’s Nagano Soba Cha, which has loose toasted kernels that you can take out of your exquisite tea strainer and sprinkle atop salads and soups after you’ve enjoyed your brew. (They sell it in tea bags, too!)
In the chaos of the day you take a minute to hold them in your palm, tiny talismans of power and safety. If there was ever a moment to become a crazy crystal person, we think this is it. We’re placing giant slabs of selenite on our bedside tables, wearing heart-shaped rose quartz around our necks and from March 14th to April 6th, we’ll be carrying SAGE & SALT'S MERCURY RETROGRADE CRYSTAL BUNDLE in our pockets. A mix of amethyst, black tourmaline, labradorite and more, this little sachet is a comforting companion for travel or as daily protection against cosmic snafu’s. And if you’re interested in spending time with a HFC (high frequency crystal) to ease anxiety and other emotional hang-ups, book a Signature Crystal Session at Instituto Xilonen, which has a very special collection of absolutely giant crystals with unique vibrational qualities that you can connect with during your session.
Parched from a brisk sunny day on the slopes or a deliciously languid beach vacation, your face drinks this balm up like water. A truly magical mask, LILFOX’S CUPU-COOL HYALURONIC JELLY BALM has the consistency of vaseline, but almost immediately disappears into your skin with a little massaging thanks to the hyaluronic acid, a water-based humectant that allows ingredients to penetrate the skin rather than lay on its surface (as oil-based skincare can). There’s also fatty acids derived from hemp seeds and capuaçu fruit that make this mask particularly good for healing skin after something like a laser treatment. Our skin guru Taylor recommends leaving this mask on overnight and we also like putting half a pea-size dollop on during the day for a bouncy glowy boost.
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As always, all of our illustrations are original and hand-drawn in ink by Courtney Broadwater.
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