0 - WELCOME

Hello!

It’s crazy that we are now in September. I feel like I didn’t do anything this summer other than work, but that’s ok I guess. This month, I am writing to you from Toronto — I’ve been here to see friends/family, attend a wedding, and obviously catch up on my beauty appointments. It has been a very tiring past couple of weeks and I am definitely getting sick. However, life must continue! September is the beginning of fashion month, and this time around, I am very excited to be attending a few NYFW events. Here’s to hoping I feel better soon, but until then, I will be laying in bed for the foreseeable future.

Anyway, I will also be heading upstate NY later this month for some rest and relaxation. I’ve been going to Hudson and surrounding areas now for a few years and love it up there. A slower pace of life is sometimes what we all need.

Lastly, as always, I love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for future newsletters, so let me know!

1 - FASHION

Fall Wishlist

The weather is becoming more palatable and I can (sort of) feel it in the air. Fall collections are also starting to arrive in stores/online, and I am looking forward to layers once again. Here is what I have my eye on for fall:

Suede

I’ve always found suede to be rather delicate — never right for summer (sweat stains are a no), but also too precious for everyday wear. I fondly remember an Ulla Johnson suede coat I bought a few years ago… I spilled coffee all over the first time I wore it, and it was a pain to clean it. Well, this fall I swear I will be more careful because I just want to swathe myself in suede. From suede jackets to shoes to bags… I am all in. Below are some great options:

Where to Shop

The closure of Matches, once my favourite place to shop, has left quite a hole in my shopping heart. I really enjoyed the brand selection (it often carried buzzy, exclusive brands that you couldn’t find elsewhere), price point (it had both affordable and true luxury brands), user interface (great app and website) and offline events (like Frieze). Since the bankruptcy, I haven’t really redirected my spending to Mytheresa or Net-a-porter. Instead, I’ve been going to smaller boutiques that have a great curation. Here are my favourites:

• Outline: I’m here almost every weekend in NYC to browse their selection of cool brands like Cecilie Bahnsen, Margiela and Mary Goddard

• L’ensemble: This showroom/shop in NYC carries many “classic with a twist” brands like Kallmeyer and Veronica de Piante

• La Garconne: A mainstay in NYC, I love browsing their website and store for the latest “cool girl clothes”

• River Crossing: I stumbled across this store in Toronto over the weekend and am so glad I did. They carry Lemaire, Margiela, Cecilie… all of my favourite brands. I felt like Toronto was missing a boutique that carried contemporary designers in a really chic way

Five Things I Bought

Here are five things that I bought and loved last month:

2 - TRAVEL

Tokyo Travel Guide

I realized that I never wrote a travel guide for Tokyo after my trip to Asia in February! I covered Kyoto and Chengdu in previous newsletters, but not Tokyo. Tokyo is one of those cities where I feel like I could spend weeks there and not even scratch the surface. That being said, here are some of my tips:

Where to Stay

• We stayed at The Edition in Toranomon Hills, which is a newly built area in Tokyo. I loved the hotel — it has great views of Tokyo Tower and is very central. Previously, we stayed at the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, which was fine, but felt a little too corporate. The Muji Hotel is also pretty neat for a quick in/out stay

• I recommend staying at a hotel with concierge services to secure hard-to-reserve meal reservations

What to Eat/Drink

• There are great restaurants everywhere in Tokyo — you really can’t go wrong. So far we have enjoyed Narisawa, Seirinkan, Ginza Tonkatsu Hashikatsu and, of course, 7-Eleven

• Coffee culture is very strong. I recommend going to Glitch Coffee for a very elaborate coffee experience (be sure to line up early!)

What to Do

• Tokyo is all about exploring different parts of the city and experiencing the dynamics of each one, much like New York. Since it wasn’t our first time in Tokyo, we spent a lot of time wandering around our neighbourhood (Toranomon, Azabudai Hills). We have also heard cool things about the Shimokitazawa and Koenjikita neighbourhoods (both of which we unfortunately did not have time to check out)

• We went to teamLab Borderless back in 2019 and loved it. If you haven’t been, I 100% recommend going

• For a night out, we went to Blue Note to check out a show. It was very fun even though we did not understand a word (it was all in Japanese) and we were by far the youngest by about 30 years lol

Where to Shop

• Shopping is very, very good and Japanese fashion is like no other. I recommend buying Japanese brands like Sacai, Issey Miyake, Beams and Yohji because they are much cheaper in Japan (especially with the tax refund). For some reason, Alaia is also less expensive in Tokyo than France and the US

• Vintage clothing is very popular. I enjoyed browsing the vintage Chanel and Hermes at Komehyo, Casanova, Amore and Qoo (but unfortunately did not leave with anything)

• I love stocking up on stationery at Itoya. There is nothing like writing with a great pen or marker

3 - OTHER

4 - PARTING NOTE

Fall is coming, which means it’s time to think about fall/winter wardrobes. If you’re thinking about a wardrobe refresh, send me a note and we can get started!

Until next month, friends.