Stuff I Like - July Edition

my hero item of the summer

I originally typed ‘June Edition’ because that’s where my head is at, thinking it’s the begin, not the end of my favorite season and what a ride it’s been so far. I’ve basically ripped up and burned my 2024 bingo card at this point because I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. I knew we’d be reliving 2020 but I was not prepared for the possibility of reliving 2016. I’m so here for a female president (we need it) but I don’t know if my heart can handle the next four months. I’m hopeful, but I was also hopeful in 2016 before we all found out just how much the US hates women.

This isn’t a political newsletter, so I’m not going to get into it, but I will say giving people autonomy over their own bodies, taxing billionaires and believing healthcare is a human right are not extreme ideas and do not constitute a socialist nation.

So if you’re still with me, instead of sharing my favorite memes from the last few days (here and here), we’re going to talk about my hero item of the summer so far, which is also the only item on my Stuff I Like list this month. Because quite frankly one of the joys of the weather turning warmer is you just don’t need as much. I’ll tie this all very loosely to running in the sense that a running short can be worn with said item but said item would not be worn while running. Got all that? Good.

While climate change is apparently still up for debate despite science, 99.9% of the US is currently experiencing extreme heat conditions, the .1% being SF which is most definitely…not. Although I’m sure many would argue 80 degrees in SF feels ‘extreme’ because I don’t know why but the city has a heat index of like +20 degrees for anything over 70. Maybe it’s the ratio of concrete to trees (as in a lot vs. a little) but 75 can be miserable depending on what neighborhood you happen to find yourself in. So while your hero item of the summer might be a bikini, mine is :

The Short Sleeve Sweatshirt

Functional for nothing, the short sleeve sweatshirt is on heavy rotation this summer. I have two vintage ones I love and an old Ganni one that has an embroidered croissant on it that is 100% Dougie approved. Temperature conditions must be idea for a short sleeve sweatshirt to emerge victorious from one’s closet : it can be neither too hot (it’s a sweatshirt) nor too cold (it has no sleeves). Perfect for the fickle weather of San Francisco, where the humidity is always 95%, and 58 degrees can feel positively balmy at 8am when speed walking to an appointment you’re 10 minutes late for. It’s like my (much cooler) alternative to the tech bro vest (which I will never wear but if I do, please stage a ‘what not to wear’ intervention for me for I am not well). If I weren’t such a hot runner (temperature hot, not hot hot) I would wear one while running in a very cool 1970s kind of way.

Turns out a short sleeve sweatshirt is both the best and the worst layer because it’s a commitment. If you get too hot, the lack of sleeves means there will be no tying it around your waist. So it’s a layer best worn back to something light and breezy, sans bra or layered over a cotton tank. Not great if your heat index is 100, but fantastic if it’s 70 degrees in the sun and 60 degrees in the shade. A phenomenon very well known and very unique to the city in which I inhabit. (For the 99.9% of you suffering through the former, my condolences.) It is also worth noting the best version of the short sleeve sweatshirt is of the vintage variety : threadbare, fitted yet slightly oversized and ideally referencing an obscure university or destination you have absolutely no affiliation with.

Behold the versatility of the short sleeved sweatshirt, who’s outfitting options apparently know no bounds and the only item on my Stuff I Like list this month :

colorado what i don’t actually know , i bought it simply because I liked the color. #1 love the casualness of a cut off jersey short that is sweats adjacent but not sweats. mine are from the great (sold out but similar) and also on heavy rotation this year along with these old adidas shorts in outfit #2. #3 - the leset pants i mentioned in my mom’s day guide, unfortunately sold out but these are the same color / different vibe.

this one i bought off etsy in 2020 when we were all wrapped up in the emotional safety net only soft clothing could provide. #4 - worn back to old sweats from warm (i miss their apparel line) for a low key family breakfast last weekend. #5 - the slightly shrunken fit works fantastically back to oversized baggy jeans like these + love an unexpected accessory moment (bag is unfortunately sold out). #6 - one of my best purchases this summer was these vintage bloomers off etsy (they have embroidered initials on the front) that i have worn nonstop since i got them 2 months ago.

the aforementioned croissant sweatshirt, purchased on a work trip to copenhagen in 2019. one of the things i love about clothes are the memories attached to them (+ why i also tend to hold on to things long after i’ve stopped wearing them). #7 - back to the patterned linen shorts i featured in my hawaii post that i love bc while linen and a bold pattern they also have sport coded vibes w the side stripes (if anyone w contacts at adidas reads this newsletter, the should make a short and pant like this). #8 - back to my favorite running shorts + non-running running shoes. i would never actually wear this sweatshirt for running but how cute would i look if i did? #9 - i wore this very outfit to pick up the mister yesterday and luckily he isn’t old enough yet to be embarrassed by me but i think it weirdly worked? the pants are velour (which is so wrong for the summer) by suzie kondi bought off the realreal bc i will pay $75 for someone’s old sweats but not $225 for new ones.

Most of everything above is either sold out or things I’ve had in my possession for a while (yay me for shopping my own closet) so below, a few more ideas I would shop into if I didn’t already own enough clothing. Consider this an expanded Stuff I Like list (an addendum, if you will) as I would add to cart all of these items if I were earning a paycheck and not paying for a second mortgage called daycare.

option 1 : someone please by this sweatshirt so i don’t. how fantastic with these pants from adidas (sadly sold out in my size - i snoozed + i losed). i’m obsessed with rope anything right now and love this bracelet w/ it’s hit of metal. havaianas keep it classy. option 2 : sweatshirt unfortunately sold out in the time it took to write this newsletter so maybe i’m not the only one in love with the short sleeve sweatshirt this season? not vintage but still gives off bloomer vibes, love a layered necklace (exhibit a and b) and still thinking about these jellies from ancient greek (not the viral ones - my aquarian nature won’t let me) option 3 : it counts as vintage if it’s being sold on poshmark, yeah? ‘vintage’ clare v puff sleeve sweatshirt, these shorts from lisa says gah, a rope anklet that you could easily make yourself or ship from england and these moccasins that are fantastic in all the best ways.

option 1 : the color combo of this is the best - again, someone buy so i don’t. a bold earring to go with an even bolder pant (according to reviews these function well in the gym and i kind of want to buy to see if they’re right?) and some havaianas to tame it all down. option 2 : also a fantastic color, a fish necklace, some oversized denim, a straw bag and some fancy flats. option 3 : it has pockets! some run shorts that don’t look like run shorts and a pair of suede tokio birks i actually did buy for myself since my favorite suede mocs unfortunately hurt my feet because i’m old and things hurt my feet now. guess what wouldn’t hurt my feet…this ankle bracelet.

From my closet to yours, and what you’ll be seeing me in should you ever see me out and about in the wild. No new news on the store but hopefully we’ll know whether or not the city thinks a running store is better than a bank this week. In the meantime I’ll just be out back in our garden burning bags of cash because that is how it feels to be an entrepreneur.

*k