This roundup of things we liked this week originally appeared in the February 27, 2025 edition of the Secret Strategist newsletter, a weekly email where we share the stuff our staff — plus a rotating cast of writers, design-world people, and various others with very good taste — would otherwise keep to themselves. If you want to get our picks straight to your inbox each week, sign up here.
It’s a weird time for shopping; not yet spring, too far into winter to continue buying hot and downy things. Yet we still managed to find some shiny things! —Katy Schneider and Simone Kitchens
This Week’s List
* New York’s senior art director, Randy Minor, picked up these tiny ceramic buildings at the Noguchi Museum gift shop this weekend. They’re made by Aki Jinbo, a ceramicist located near Sendai in Japan. “I have been trying to limit my tchotchke purchases and go for a more pared-down apartment, but I have a weakness for ceramics and picked these little buildings for their soft ice-cream colors. I put them on my bookshelf next to some ancient Egyptian fragments I have. Something new and cheerful to lift my winter spirits.” All of her little houses are one-of-a-kind; you can email [email protected] for more info.
* Feel like the Akari UF1-C deserves more attention. That green panel!
* Aluminum Knoll barstools on Facebook Marketplace.
* According to a few chic 60-something sources, jewelry brand Ylang Ylang was the height of chic in the ’80s. It seems like it’s since been sold to a big company (you can read about it in this 1987 New York Times article on costume jewelry), and there’s very little of it to be found on the internet. But a few pieces exist here and there: these bows and these honestly sort of fabulous pink star clip earrings.
* New Emily Dawn Long is very good and special. See swan cableknit, dress that could be a wedding dress, perfect non-swan cableknit, and a swan halter top that we’re going to be seeing at a lot of parties soon. (This is very “going out downtown” niche, but we bet it’ll be the next SuperYaya tube top in terms of “interesting tops that are everywhere.”)
* These new unisex brown with “glossy black seams” Eckhaus Latta jeans are also pretty fantastic. (As is their double-layer tissue cotton cardigan.)
* Kokomomo has somehow cracked the code on making stylish matching parent and kids clothes.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
