Bitesize #10
Halfway through summer guys, we got this!
It’s Friday again! It feels both like it’s been a month and a day since last Friday, if you can relate. Some of you might be so far into holiday mode that you’re in that state of barely registering which day of the week it is - I envy you. Since my boyfriend is working all of July, I am very well aware of all the Mondays and Fridays that come and go telling me whether I’ll be seeing a lot or a little of my love for the coming days.
Since summer is all about checking the weather apps and creating imaginary outfits making plans accordingly, we already know we’ll be spending this weekend outdoors. The apps all say 25 and sunny, so we’ll be packing a thermos and heading out into the sunshine straight after breakfast. As I wrote about in a previous newsletter, there’s absolutely no room for sleep-ins on summer weekends. We’ve gotta Enjoy with a capital E, something I’ve inherited from my dear parents. What are your plans for the weekend?
Most days this week have been hot and gloomy at the same time, creating a certain tension in the air. Like waiting for the rain to come, but for days. This kind of heavy, sweaty and gray weather always makes me slightly uneasy and I’ve been combating the discomfort by making sure I always have background noise in the form of a podcast or an audiobook. The book I’m listening to currently is The Group (Gruppen) by Swedish author and podcaster Sigge Eklund, released in 2023 and is probably only available in Swedish so far. It’s about a girl, Hanna, who works at the Prado Museum in Madrid cataloging art work to get by. One day she spots a group of three young people living frivolously and freely, and she feels a desperation to become their friend. The only problem is that they’re rich, beautiful and carefree - all of which Hanna is not. A thought starts to form in her mind that there has to be some way for her to acquire enough money to buy herself into their lifestyle. A modern The Talented Mr Ripley of sorts.
There’s something about the way this book reminds me of all the times I myself have played with the thought of what I would be willing to risk/sacrifice for a piece of some seemingly unattainable cake. A friend group in high school. The attention of some boy I was into. A status amongst co-workers. The closet of my dreams. There’s something so honest about the way we all tiptoe the line of our own morals when we’re finding our way in the world, no? Don’t tell me you’ve never dipped your toes into a scandalously immoral behaviour to gain the approving gaze of someone.
I wasn’t too familiar with Maryam Nassir Zadeh until this week, apart from seeing
in her pieces at some point. But the J Crew collab has obviously popped up in more than a few newsletters and so I checked it out myself. It honestly didn’t make a huge mark on me so I wandered on to MNZ’s own site where I understood the point of view much better. There’s something about the J Crew pieces that feel a little too feminine and ungrounded compared to what the brand seems to offer normally, the pieces have been slightly lost in translation. The only piece that really sparked my interest was this flirty sheer metallic mini skirt. Personally I would save my money and invest in the beautifully crafted pieces that MNZ features on her own online shop - staples with a really strong point of view, as would say.
Have you ever felt like you need to take back control over yourself/your body/your life? Like you turned on cruise control and started daydreaming and suddenly notice that although you’re going forward you’ve ended up somewhere you didn’t really want to be and so you grab a hold of the steering wheel and make a (safe) u-turn? That was me yesterday, and so to take back control I did what any sensible 29 year old woman would do. I got a bellybutton piercing.
We’re smack dab in the middle of summer and I think some people have (rightfully) taken a bit of a break from writing here on Substack because my inbox feels a little emptier than usual. Which is great for whoever is treating themselves to a proper vacation, but less great for me who’s sitting at home updating my Substack every two hours hoping someone has something fun to say. If you, like me, could use some great summer reading to make your weekdays go a little faster enjoy some smart and thoughtful content, here are some articles I really enjoyed lately in no particular order:
A really great roundup of some really great swimwear handpicked by a current style obsession of mine, the one and only
.A (hilarious and heartfelt) life update from one of my all-time favourite writers,
.The craziest short story I’ve read in a long time that made me laugh out loud, by the talented
.The latest edition of Division of Labor, a favourite series of mine where you get to peek into different couples’ lives and quite literally, their division of labor. A total must-read by
.A summer fashion inspiration boost complete with top notch Carrie Bradshaw by stylist (and online friend of mine),
.
Hope you enjoy this week’s bitesize and let me know what body parts you’re getting pierced this summer! Ciao
I'm so glad you like the Division of Labor series, Julia! Thanks so much for sharing!
MNZ! Is my absolute fave. I’ve been wearing her famous slides for years x best summer shoe ever