Weekend Reads for September 27

Back to school means back to sickness. I'm working from home guzzling water, neti potting day and night, and washing my hands obsessively while my husband and daughter are upstairs, sniffling and coughing and moaning. I feel as though I have just gotten my groove for Q4 and the last thing I want is to be laid up and sick. How are the rest of you faring?

Weekend Reads

When broadcasters like CBS and ABC surrendered to the president, it looked as if they lacked backbone. The explanation runs much deeper. (New York Times – gift link)

Is Gen Z unemployable? (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

At NYFW, everyone wants to be a preppie. (GQ)

Ten U.S. thrift stores worth the trip. (The Souvenierist on Substack)

Victoria Beckham never stops surprising us. (Elle)

Have any of you tried the Quince weatherproof trench? I'm intrigued.

These red Vermont towns wanted ‘America first.’ They’re getting more than they bargained for. (Politico)

You're probably wearing too much deodorant. (The Atlantic – gift link)

That being said, I am a fan of this deodorizing soap.

‘My wife is an exquisite goddess’: Nick Offerman on love, woodwork and storing gravy in his beard. (The Guardian)

Remember when things were better in the ’90s? A.I. does too. (New York Times – gift link)

I know this shoe I recommended is sold out in many sizes; I also found it for sale at Journeys.

And these are the insoles I have in these sneakers as well as most of my shoes.

How podcasts (and plastic surgery) are shaping male beauty standards. (GQ)

Is this the end of the dictionary? (The Atlantic – gift link)

15 years into the boom, Iceland asks if it’s had enough of mass tourism. (New York Times – gift link)

The silence in my kitchen. (The Drift)

Sale Alert & Style Inspo

I shared my Caddis glasses collection on Substack, and today received word Caddis is offering 25% OFF 2 or more pairs with code 25OFF2 and continuing the deal of 20% off everything else with code AUTUMN20. The 25% off two pairs is only through October 5th; the 20% off is through 10/10. I really want to get Root Cause Analysis (above) in Boxwine or Terrapin.

When I shared my thoughts on the lace-trimmed slip skirt trend, a few in the comments mentioned the recent Lands' End catalog cover. I am surprised I have yet to receive that catalog in my mailbox; did you mean this skirt? If so, those customer reviews are brutal!

cardigan | phone charger (code SPOOKY for 20% off; I personally own and love) | gloves | skinny scarf | card holder | silk scarf | gold belt (I personally own) | loafers | brass belt | flats | phone case | bracelet | camisole | cap | purse | watch band | clutch | cashmere pashmina | silk blouse

Leopard continues to be a hot trend, and I think a great choice for accents and accessories to jazz up your existing closet. Leopard accents are also more trend-resistant, making them smarter buys you'll enjoy longer.

See/Hear/Read

I know I am not the only one who is looking for escapism in their streaming services (whichever ones we still feel comfortable subscribing to). Right now we're escaping into the stupid series The Runarounds (Prime). A spin-off of the series Outer Banks which we never watched, The Runarounds is a bunch of recent high school grads in Wilmington, North Carolina who are in a band.

So, Jonas Pate, the creator of Outer Banks, wanted a band for that show and had an audition. Of the 5,000 or so folks that applied, he picked these five guys and created the band The Runarounds. And then he created this spin-off show.

I don't know Jonas Pate, but based on one episode of The Runarounds I could tell he was Gen X. Yep, born in 1970, Pate's show is a hybrid of Almost Famous, Dazed and Confused, My So-Called Life, and every John Hughes film shot through an Instagram filter.

It took a moment to even know what time period The Runarounds was in; the cars that would have been considered old clunkers when I was in high school, the fashion that could be 70s or 2020s, the use of old cameras and very little use of smartphones, activities that have little to do with technology.

But the whole golden hour nostalgia everyone is cute (though I think Charlie Cooper is hella punchable and all the parents are idiots and BTW the actress playing Sophia is Pate's daughter) and pure escapism. It is very easy to not binge this; we're watching only one episode at a time and I think have two episodes left.

I don't really care what happens to any of the characters and can pretty much assume what does (Prime hasn't okayed a second season, but Jonas Pate has a five-season arc already planned out), but for one hour I am watching some seriously cliche multigenerational hodgepodge of teen nostalgia and it's a relatively peaceful place to be.

For Your Entertainment

In last Saturday's Weekend Reads, SKJ recommended underscores, specifically the album, Wallsocket. underscores is the stage name for April Harper Grey, a 25-year-old Filipino singer songwriter based in San Francisco. I really enjoyed this concept album, and wanted to share one of the singles from Wallsocket so you can get a taste. This is ‘Locals (Girls like us) [with gabby start].'