Mid-Week Quickie #10
What to wear this holiday season, a deep dive into the founder of Violet Grey and #WatchTok.
Happy Wednesday!
It’s really starting to feel like Christmas this week. Our tree is up, the holiday candles are lit (can’t get enough of these, love this year’s design so much) and a Black Star Pastry Gingerbread chiffon cake (order here) has been consumed. Holidays and freedom are so close I can feel them. As I write this, I can hear my neighbour’s kids splashing around in their pool, laughter, music playing. Is that not the sound of summer!? It takes me back to that magical feeling of school holiday heaven. Not a care in the world, just sun, water, sunscreen, joy. Manifesting this feeling for adult me (us). I hope a nice break awaits you all!
I also just ordered this delicious Babkattone from A Plenty. It’s a babka filled with Messina hazlenut spread in the shape of a Panettone. That’s my kind of festive dessert!
More festive-themed goodness: I am currently working with dream brand Tanqueray (I’m very very partial to a G&T or a dirty martini) and I got to make a fun festive Reel with my friend Jordan Turner for the holiday period. We made fairy floss martinis! Here’s how we did it:
15ml of dry vermouth
60ml of Tanqueray Gin
5g of glitter fairy floss (we used this one from Fluffe)
Optional addition of olives and/or olive brine
Home
Last Friday we finally had our custom lights installed! We love love love them!
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What I’ve read lately:
Violet Grey/Cassandra Grey deep dive
Have you heard of Violet Grey? Or the founder, Cassandra Grey? Cassandra founded super cool beauty retailer, Violet Grey. This article goes in-depth on the enigmatic cool girl’s rise to prominence in Hollywood (she married the late Brad Grey, who prior to his death was the chairman of Paramount Pictures) and the beauty world.
I’ve followed both Violet Grey and Cassandra for years. I love what she’s created and adore her style and taste. She’s totally intriguing and fasincating. I finally got the chance to visit the Violet Grey store in West Hollywood in January and July of this year when I visited LA. You can find their store wedged in between The Row and Australian facialist, Melanie Grant on Melrose Place. It’s an experience and I highly recommend it - if you like beauty/and or a unique retail moment. I will say though - both times - I was the only person in-store and it definitely has an intimidating edge to it. If I didn’t know all that I know about beauty and products and brands (thanks to being a beauty obsessive for the last nearly decade), I’d have felt out of place.
The article also discusses what’s next for Violet Grey:
And now, Violet Grey is for sale. Again. This time, its owner, Farfetch, the luxury fashion retailer that acquired it last year, has decided to exit the beauty business, potentially leaving Violet Grey stranded. If it appears that nobody knows exactly what to do with Violet Grey, that may be because nobody really knows exactly what it is, other than the elusive creation of a captivating person. Cassandra Grey, née Huysentruyt, is a marketer with an expansive, planet-meltingly dazzling vision, a sparkling Rolodex, and a chameleonic tendency to take on the color of her surroundings, wherever she finds herself.
WatchTok/The rise of vintage watches
Do you care about watches? I really, really do. About a year ago, my social media algorithm slowly started to trickle in some watch content into my feed. It started with a few videos showing people haggling for vintage watches and it’s blossomed into following a bunch of watch accounts (I specifically love Girls O’Clock, Dimepiece, Mike Noveau to name a few) slowly learning the tricks of the trade and various brand histories. I was even so lucky to receive a vintage Cartier Tank earlier this year for my anniversary. I’ll treasure it forever.
This article on the resurgence of watch styles from the 80s/90s further cements the watch craze of now that I’ve found myself in. I love seeing who wore what in pop culture and streetstyle from the past.
The Cartier Baignoire is all the rage now according to this article. The new Baignoire bracelet is just so chic. More on the style here:
Books
I’m still reading Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, but I just bought Good Material by Dolly Alderton and I was kindly sent a preview copy of The Work by Bri Lee (this one doesn’t come out until April 2024). Excited to have plenty of time over the break to read.
Fashion
I’m working on a really special gift guide for next week. I can’t wait to share it with you all. But in the meantime, I’ve put together an edit of holiday outfits (here and here) - options for what to wear to your work Christmas party, lunch, dinner, Christmas day and everything in between.
First up we have an edit of options under $300. Full edit here. Some highlights:
This edit is a roundup of items over $300. Full edit here. Some highlights:
And lastly, what I’ve been wearing lately:
Alright friends, sending all my love! It’ll be holidays before we know it! I’ll be back with my gift guide next week, and a summer reading list hopefully over the weekend.
And don’t forget, if you want to win an original painting by artist, Narjia Brownlie - enter here.
More Smooth Brain Thoughts soon,
Ali xxx