what I bought (and wanted!) in July
Birkenstocks in, Birkenstocks out
As recently as April, I described my quest for a cotton midi skirt as an ‘eternal search.’ July marks the third month in a row of midi skirt purchases—I’m declaring this search officially over. May your own fashion quests end just as fruitfully as this one!
Before I share the things I bought with you… here are all the things I wanted to get:
This studded linen shirt from Ganni: It showed up on the RealReal a couple months ago in a larger size, and it was priced too high. This one is cheaper, but it’s a size smaller than I’d feel comfortable buying without having tried it on. If it shows up in a 38 or 40 again, I’ll get it!
I lost my mind when I saw Devon Rule’s vintage Britney tank top from this post. An eBay-sourced piece of vintage merch? In the perfect color combo? That also provides a heavy dose of nostalgia?! Perfection. I briefly looked for another one, then felt silly—I’m obviously not going to copy this perfect find. I was still drawn to the idea of a giant photo of a face printed on a t-shirt, so I started looking at other vintage musician merch from the same era and found this tank top from Madonna’s 2001 world tour. But I’m not a huge Madonna fan, and I don’t have the same memories attached to any of her songs as I do to those original Britney hits. I left it on my eBay watchlist—if I ever befriend a Madonna enthusiast with a penchant for vintage clothing, I’ll have the perfect gift at the ready.
This éliou necklace on the RealReal: Very cool, but my initial covetous feelings were dampened by the recent Fashion Substack fixation on fish pendants. (I still think they look cool, I’m just a contrarian!) I also noticed it had a cowrie shell, and—though I think this is probably just a me thing—I would feel weird wearing one. A couple minutes of experimentation led to this passable substitute: my Mondo Mondo pendant hanging from a shoelace around my neck. I’ll have to experiment further with different ways of tying it, but I can work with this!
Deiji Studios Arch Tie Shirt: ET tagged me in the comments underneath a photo post in the Midimalist Substack chat from someone who had just purchased this shirt.1 She thought I’d like it, and she was right! The shirt doesn’t seem like it’s available in the US from the Deiji Studios website, though? That’s probably a good thing. But if you live in Australia, let me know in the comments…
A couple things at the thrift store: Yes, I went thrifting in NYC. More to come on that! An oversized cropped plaid wool blazer has been on my list for the last year or so (very specific, but that’s why it’s remained on the list for so long), and this Rafaella one came pretty close. But I wasn’t wild about the gold buttons or the double-breasted silhouette and the shoulders were a tiny bit too wide.
The Kodak t-shirt from last month! Yes, I still want it. No, the seller still hasn’t messaged me back. Sigh.
As for what I did buy…
Nena Hansen bungee shirt: I mentioned this in last month’s post, and I went for it this month. The timing was perfect: it arrived about an hour before I had to leave for an event that Hilliary of Circle of Friends was hosting, and an upcycled shirt felt fitting for an evening discussing regenerative agriculture. Even for a humid night, though, I was quite sweaty (especially for a shirt with built-in ventilation), and I realized that this shirt is probably a polyester/cotton blend. (They’re described as ‘vintage cotton or cotton-blend shirting,’ so I knew I was taking my chances.) I emailed the brand to inquire and they were really responsive, but did confirm that most of their shirts are poly/cotton blends rather than 100% cotton. If that changes, I’ll definitely order another one! In the meantime, my friend Emily and her girlfriend Sky came over for some Weird Shirt experimentation, and because Sky has Professional Sewing Knowledge, we were able to create a decent approximation with an old thrifted button-up that I had. I think we can master it on the next try!
Tailored t-shirts: Okay, this isn’t technically a new purchase, but I did get a few t-shirts cropped by a tailor, and I’m extremely happy with the results. I’m already wearing these t-shirts more than I ever did pre-crop, and it’s less sweaty in the summer because there’s no extra material to tuck in. A couple people on Reddit recommended Eddie at Expert Tailoring on Allen Street, and I would also recommend him if you are looking for someone to shorten a t-shirt.
Tibi jeans via Rent the Runway: Made it official by buying these jeans that I’ve been wearing for months now. They were already 33% off, which was still far too expensive, but with another 60% on top of that (sometimes the RTR discount codes go hard), I went for it. Looking forward to wearing them again when it’s not 100 degrees out!
Tatami Birkenstock sandals via eBay (returned): I can’t remember where I first read about this now-defunct Birkenstock offshoot (probably the Secret Strategist), but these ones stood out because of the color. They were so comfortable, but just a tiny bit too small—nothing anyone else would notice, but I know I’d feel my heel hanging off the back by a fraction of a centimeter. (The peep toe silhouette also acts as a frame that highlights my worst toe2, which was another good reason to return them.)
Blue Birkenstock EVA Arizonas via Depop: A more successful Birkenstock purchase. An old pair of mine (olive green) finally fell apart recently, and I wanted a fun new color for the summer. Was glad I could find them secondhand!
J. Crew skirt in black: Yes, I already own this skirt in white. I happened to look at the J. Crew site to see what other colors it came in at the same time as a particularly deep discount code appeared, and did some sorcery (vehemently opposed to the term ‘girl math’, but you get the idea) to achieve the 70% discount.3
Thrifted Brooks Brothers shirts: These all looked brand new—one of these still had the plastic collar stay! I wanted some more shirts to experiment with, and ended up getting all three of these for $28 total. Not bad for NYC thrifting!
As for what I’m eyeing for next month… no more skirts (finally!) but I have a feeling I’ll be adding another Weird Shirt to my closet.
I can’t find the thread, but I wanted to tag the original poster, too—I just have her first name! Hi Nicole!
It’s the second toe on my right foot, if you really want to know.
(If you bought 1 item, it was 50% off; 3 items took the entire purchase down to 70% off. I know I can find someone who will wear the hair clips if I don’t end up wearing them this holiday season.)
I went to that Madonna tour when I was 13, and at the end of the show my mom and I ran into my very drunk cousin who had abandoned his date. (They later married and divorced.) I donated the shirt I got from that tour years ago because it shrunk so much, so I may go investigate 😏
Love the Brooks Bros trio! I recently thrifted a blue striped one and it would be the perfect shirt if it didn’t have a small stain 🫣
That Ganni shirt is a good one and I love the way you repurposed your pendant. I'm with you on the fish necklace trend, sometimes when I'm really into something and see it everywhere it can majorly take the shine off.