Something Different

I'm fatigued. You're fatigued. Let's just get to the point. (You'll have to read to the bottom for the point, which is a link to a spreadsheet I made you)

Before I get to the point - a quick roundup of thoughts from the CFDA awards - Diotima won womenswear designer of the year which I love. Rachel deserves it. Zankov won the Emerging designer of the year award, which I also love! Let’s not call him emerging anymore, he has ARRIVED. Luar won for accessories, which I like a lot (we carry the bags, they’re a great price point and nice, distinctive shape) - but I actually think it could have gone to Coach (what a year they had for bags) OR The Row. I know, I know. But - the Margaux warranted an award of it’s own — to create an instant sell-out at a price of $4 - $9K? That needs to be a case study.

Ok - the lead up to the point. I love Substack. It’s a great place to focus your energy on the internet that is generally positive and informative. It’s also becoming one of my favourite places to shop. The recommendations are solid and thoughtful — I know there are affiliate links aplenty but my feeling on that is Get That Paper! I personally don’t know how to navigate affiliate programs and refuse to spend time figuring it out but I harbour no ill will.

One of my favourite Substacks is Magasin. The writer, Laura Reilly, did a spreadsheet of fall shopping items and something clicked for me. I used to make spreadsheets for friends who wanted help finding some key pieces for their wardrobes and that was the inflection point for starting this newsletter in the first place, so why am I not doing that for you? It’s a nice way to organize my ramblings into what you’re here for, recommendations. Going forward it might be a seasonal thing? I don’t know. Let me know if it’s helpful.

I decided to organize it by price point and then category. I used the benchmarks of Low-ish, Med-High, and High. My thought process was perceived value for price instead of trying to hit exact price points, though generally the buckets are below $500, below $1000 and above $1000 (sometimes by a long shot). The reason I chose low-ish instead of just low is this: cheap clothes are not it. Lower lift initially but high over time when you consider how often you have to buy things because the quality is total trash. Constantly buying clothes is neither environmentally nor fiscally appealing — I will always try to find the best value but I can’t champion shitty clothes. The idea is that this spread is informational, attainable, and aspirational all at once. I hope there are pieces that work across a plethora of budgets in here.

This is a nice segue for me to tell you that unfortunately, The Row really is that bitch. I hate to pile on an obvious and arguably boring conversation that fashion people are having everyday, but it’s the reality. The price is staggering at times, I know. There are two reasons — first, we live in an expensive time. Material costs are skyrocketing and the cost of responsible labour is rightfully high. I genuinely believe the second reason is because of Margaux. She catapulted The Row into the stratosphere of popularity and in turn, prices seemed to trend upward with it. I lied there are actually three reasons. The quality of construction and material is just better than most brands in the market. It’s that simple.

It works is because there is an ease to the clothes that can be lacking in designer brands. It is entirely unfussy and never over-designed. I’m not talking about “quiet luxury”, but rather the ability to balance wearability and impeccable fit with excitement. Brands have struggled with this and will continue to struggle with it forever. In the spread (under the high price point category, lol) you’ll find my favourite pant in the world, the Gala pant. It is a core pant that they do in multiple fabric and colour flips and I want you to know that no better pant exists. A perfect cut, ease without sloppy-ness, and the best way to look put together with zero effort in the game. The product is worth the price. Cost-per-wear baby, the only thing that stuck with me from my retail math class at Parsons. Yes, that’s a thing and yes, it is very closely aligned with grade 4 math.

That’s it from me. I’m linking the spreadsheet below. Let me know if it’s useful to you.

KAEL MAIL FW24

(Shoutout to Diandra (my retail director at Absolutely Fabrics) for reformatting my chaotic sheet because while I recognize it’s value, excel and I do not understand each other.)

Enjoy your weekend, I love you, come see me at Absolutely Fabrics — my favourite thing in the world is to push you to try new things in a realistic way!

xx

KAEL