Is there a show more uneven than The Bear? Some episodes, like Feast of the Seven Fishes, are incredible. Other episodes fall flat with wedged-in side characters and a lot of “we’re the prestige show of the moment, and we know it” dialogue. One thing this show does consistently well is wardrobe. This cast has swag, particularly Ayo Edebiri (who is probably the most consistently asked-for character wardrobe in my inbox). 

 

As promo for the new season (out June 25th) starts, I expected a lot of requests. We are kicking it off with Abby Elliott at a promotion event). It’s great for this event, flowy but tailored well. It’s by Rixo London and available here. (Thanks Anna!)

 

Why do I have such bad luck with belts?

Not to make it about ME but I have had such bad luck sourcing belts! I don’t know what it is because in theory, belts should be easy to find because there just aren’t that many unique ones. But more often than not, they are hard to source. On top of that, I struggle with finding belts in real life too! They are either too thick, too thin, too flashy or too casual. It’s a real problem. 

Enough about my neurosis. This request is for Erika Christensen in Will Trent. It’s a three-ring belt, which does exist but is not a super common design. And guess what Martha: I couldn’t find an exact match. But I do think I found some decent substitutes, like this three-ring option from Dehance. It’s skinnier than the one she’s wearing in the photo, but the brown is very rich. 

 

Madewell has a couple of options: a single ring in brown suede and a double ring in black. Not quite a match, but close? 

Browsing for belts has also reminded me how awful online shopping has gotten. I never shop the fastest of fashion sites or the big online retailers with like $3 boxes of clothes (you know who I’m talking about). I don’t bring this up to sound superior because I’ve certainly bought a lot of junk in my lifetime. I bring it up to note that when I search for belts, even though I am consistently on mid- and higher-end shopping sites, I am inundated with the lowest of the low fast fashion sites. That’s not the algorithm; that’s straight-up keyword manipulation. It hugely impacts our choices so stay vigilant! I promise you that a fast fashion outlet with $3 belts is not the only option – it’s the only option they want to show you. In the same way private equity pillages profitable companies, tech companies are killing our ability to find the information we want. 

 

Emily Stewart just wrote an excellent piece for Vox on how private equity killed Toys R Us. Who cares about a big box toy store? Well, that’s 30,000 jobs. And as Stewart notes, it is all connected – these shady firms are eating up everything from malls to movie studios to master recordings. 

 

Peppermint’s “bomb-ass” kaftan

I agree Regan, it is indeed bomb-ass and I do think it might have been custom-made or sourced for Peppermint (on Survival of the Thickest) – it’s just such a great fit. That said! I did some kaftan research and like belts, there’s a lot of junk out there but also a few cute options like this lace dress from H&M and this one is over $400 (not exactly economical) but I just wanted to show off this Normal Kamali white jumper.

Peppermint 
 

Etsy is a treasure trove of kaftans but as always, shop with care and double and triple-check the seller’s pedigree, ratings, do a Google search on them etc. – there’s nothing worse than buying something “custom” or vintage that is actually drop-shipped garbage. Fashion critic Rachel Tashjian Wise is a huge Etsy shopper and has great tips on scoring vintage pieces. 

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