Every city I’ve gone to on this trip so far – vintage / thrifting has become the priority. Hunting down unique pieces on quiet streets of major cities is addictive.
I’ll be putting together a newsletter soon specifically on my vintage / thrifting finds with all the locations in case you find yourself in one of those cities in the future.
This week, I thought I could share the non-vintage! Because of course I’ve found some fun and special brand new items (and some much needed basics) from stores we (mostly) know and love. Here’s everything I’ve picked up (so far) in LA, NYC, London, Paris, Milan and Florence. As always please leave a comment with any thoughts/feelings/emotions or send me a DM on Instagram!
(ed note - again this email is long lol, so if you get to a certain point, you’ll see “View entire message” click on that to see the rest of the newsletter.)
Now to the shopping. In no particular order:
ALAIA
I know these are kind of everywhere but when I walked into the NYC Alaia store and they had my size and I saw the sparkle, they were in the bag so quick I barely got to take a sip of the complimentary San Pellegrino.
Discovered this store in Soho in New York and found two fun pieces. One from Donni (a brand I am desperate to buy more from) and the other is from a brand from Copenhagen called Stella Nova.
ARKET
Firstly, I love Arket. Secondly, we need stores in Australia. After over a month of travelling I needed some essential bits. Singlets, socks + and a not so essential but versatile pair of pants.
MIU MIU
I’ve been wanting a new pair of sunglasses and thought the flagship Miu Miu store in Milan was the right spot to purchase a pair. Our sales associate Bruna was so lovely - my mum even made us get a picture together. That will not be seeing the light of day as I nearly passed away with embarrassment but it brought major lols to the family chat afterwards.
COS
In Florence I was on the hunt for a good white t-shirt and came across these two from COS. Organic cotton too.
LOEWE
I do this thing whenever I’m overseas and that is buying a fun new pair of glasses. I have the worst eyesight ever (am either wearing contacts or glasses) - so glasses are a huge part of my day to day. Usually I buy Celine eyewear but this time Loewe piqued my interest. I’m only human.
I love Doen. They do floaty summer pieces to perfection. I’ll always pop in to their Brentwood store in LA and their West Village store in NYC when I’m visiting and I can never walk away empty handed.
Beautiful store in LA, great service. I bought a Forte Forte dress years ago in Amsterdam (I wore it one year to the Logies in my former life) and the quality is divine. Lilac is one of my favourite colours so these spoke to me spiritually.
If you’re in LA, I recommend a visit to Elyse Walker. It’s a bit Parlour X meets Harrolds meets Tuchuzy. Great high end brands and they always do amazing sales. I fell in love with the green shade of this The Row bag. It was on sale so it was a no brainer.
NORDSTROM
There were some decent-ish sales at Nordstrom while we were in LA. I found this blouse from SEA New York. I love their stuff, I’m a sucker for a puffy shoulder white shirt/blouse moment always. Doen, Isabel Marant, Ulla Johnson all make similar stuff that I’m always weak for.
RHODE BEAUTY
I ordered a few products from Rhode when I visited LA over Christmas and wanted to get a top up this time round, and also try the new glazing milk. The lip balm is great and I really like the Barrier Restore Cream. Excited to see what the brand does next.
Shared these Aeyde ballet flats in my last newsletter but here’s a new angle! Got them in Milan at Rinascente, an Italian department store.
And that is all. However I will try and squeeze in some shopping in Copenhagen so stay tuned for what that might bring - as well as Fashion Week details! So far I’ve been invited to 5 shows. I am EXCITED!
More Smooth Brain Thoughts soon,
Ali xx
Can I ask about the red bag ? Thanks!
Obsessed with those Loewe specs!! Where did you hide those ?! Xx 💙🥐 I J’adore