The Gas Station #19
Dior's book totes, Olivia Rodrigo's favourite British sweets, the best new summer track, and all the best in style, culture, life, and motherhood from the week
Hiya,
It’s so hot that I bought my first ever electrical fan at the weekend and it has been life-changing. Genuinely can’t wait for it to rain in London tomorrow, I’m going to be out there doing my best Drew Barrymore impression.
Btw I have a story in the new summer issue of Konfekt magazine, which is designed to be read lounging on a beach somewhere. If you’re not familiar, Konfekt describes itself as “the magazine for sharp dressing, drinking, dining, travel and design” and it’s fantastic (it was included in the New York Times’ list of “10 of the freshest, most creative indie print magazines” in April). The article is about Joan Didion’s 1963 essay ‘American Summer’ and why the summers of our youth are so magical. Incidentally, the ‘American Summer’ essay, which was first published in Vogue, doesn’t appear in any of Didion’s books but a (slightly tricky to read) version can be found here (scroll to the bottom). Highly recommend.
Style
New coveted book tote just dropped: In his debut for Dior menswear, Jonathan Anderson reimagined the classic Dior Book Tote by covering them with first edition artwork of classic books, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Choderlos de Laclos’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. This piece looks at his possible inspiration. I so want the Dracula one.
After the Dior Insta account shared some of the designer’s moodboard in the lead up to the show which included an Andy Warhol photo of Lee Radziwill, Vogue has helpfully put together some of Radziwill’s best outfits for some style inspo. CBK might be getting all the headlines this summer but Lee is the true waspy queen.
Speaking of which, despite the outcry, CBK did, in fact, wear Converse.
One of my favourite London labels Vespertine has an archival sale on and it is well worth checking out. Discounts galore. I have three of the blouses and they are the absolute best.
Culture
How many of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century have you seen? ICYMI, 500 Hollywood power players voted for their 10 favourite films for the New York Times and it’s great fun. My favourite bit is that you can also see the full ballots of some of the more high-profile voters, such as the Safdie brothers (separate ballots), Lulu Wang and Barry Jenkins (do you think the director couple compared their lists beforehand?), Stephen King and Lena Dunham, so you also get a fun insight into everyone’s taste and the whole thing is a great resource for when you can’t think of a film to watch. (I’ve seen 90 of the top 100, oooh get me).
Sir Kenneth Branagh has joined the cast of The Devil Wears Prada 2, now confirmed to be in production. Into it.
A new song from Blood Orange for all who celebrate. I’ve been playing “The Field” on repeat. A perfect summer track.
Life
M&S’s Percy Pigs usually get all the attention so I was pleased that Olivia Rodrigo shouted out the store’s superior sweets, Colin the Caterpillar, during her Glasto headline set on Sunday. Not since Phoebe Philo included an ode to Maltesers in her HTSI edit has a confectionary marketing department been so grateful. Unrelated but I got two fillings yesterday.
What makes someone cool? A new study (of 6000 people in 12 countries) has found there are six specific traits that cool people tend to have in common: being extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. Discuss.
This was really interesting on Gen Z’s drinking habits, noting that while drinking alcohol is down overall, according to Rachel Arthur, editor of BeverageDaily, “Ready-to-drink alcohol is booming. When we say ‘RTD alcohol’, we’re talking about a modern generation of drinks like canned cocktails and hard seltzers that are pre-mixed and you can drink immediately.” Despite a valiant effort from Barbour, the best product placement at Glasto was surely Margot Robbie sipping on her Papa Salt Blood Orange Gin Spritz tinned cocktail (she’s a co-founder).
Save Leila’s Shop! One of the most delightful stores and lunch spots in Shoreditch is facing a 300% rent hike from the council. Sign the petition or pay it a visit. It’s truly a fantastic place. Just ask Blackbird Spyplane, who recently included it in their list of London food recs.
Motherhood
I really enjoyed Connie Wang’s segment in the latest This American Life episode, Championship Window (hers begins straight after the prologue). It’s about the Chinese postpartum practice of confinement in which women don’t leave the house - or do anything really - for 30 days after birth to allow the body to heal. Cold liquids are not allowed, neither are any household chores. Wang (who I used to work with transatlantically at Refinery29) ignored her mother’s pleas to do confinement after the birth of her first child but ended up giving it a go after her second birth, and the effect it had on Wang’s body is fascinating.
I had a couple of friends around on Saturday afternoon and complained to them that my son had been asking “Mummy?” all day long, to the point where I was beginning to lose my mind, so this made me laugh: a woman counted how many times her kids said “Mum” over one day. I’m pretty sure my son did double her total on Saturday.
See you Friday!
Gillian
Thanks for the heads-up re Leila’s 😩 I used to live round the corner, Calvert Avenue and Arnold Circus are such special places, and real hidden gems in such a busy area.