This roundup of things we liked this week originally appeared in the September 14, 2023, 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.
We must admit that we found some incredible things this week. Our journey to track down Chloë Sevigny’s Tevas was extensive (knowing she bought them “in a shop near Provincetown,” we called two shoe shops in P-town at one point) but worth it. (They’re pretty great.) And our resident restaurant-lighting expert, editor Chelsea Peng, ID’d two great lamps by going right up to them while out to eat and flipping them over.
This Week’s List
* Did you know that you can buy a Hay Mags sofa on Wayfair at an extreme discount? (It’s 67 percent off.) One of our editors owns it in blue and green (it comes in four other colorways), and really, really, really loves it. We called Wayfair to ensure that they are legitimately Hay. (They are.)
* Chelsea first noticed this Verner Panton Flowerpot at the host stand at the new, cool Greenpoint restaurant Lingo. (This reproduction goes for way less). And the week before, she saw these less-known, very trad table lamps from Gloucestershire-based Pooky at that bar at Bad Roman. Nice for a certain kind of side table!
* One floor lamp, not from Chelsea. The Walter Von Nessen torchière — it’s a truly excellent price point for what it is. (Stylish, handsome, but subtle.) We found some in white (here and here too), black, and brushed metal!
* In this interview in the Cut with Chloë Sevigny about her new skateboard collaboration, she mentioned she recently bought a pair of Tevas because her Tabis were killing her feet. “I got these new Tevas with a really fancy sole. They almost look like Mary Janes, and wearing them is like walking on air. They were only $80.” Since she didn’t mention the exact model, we did some sleuthing. There are only a few pairs on the Teva site that are around $80. We suspected they might be these, the Tirras, because they had the fanciest soles of the bunch. So we reached out to Sevigny’s PR to see if they’d confirm our suspicion. And they did! “Yes, that is the correct style,” they told us.
* One of our editors bought this MoMA Design Store–branded wire mesh fruit bowl from a Frank Lloyd Wright house gift shop this past spring but just discovered you can basically get the same thing on Amazon for $17.
* Wolfgang Tillmans’s multi-zippered pants caught Chelsea’s eye when she attended a preview for his new show at David Zwirner. We found them at Farfetch (but they’re somewhat less at Dover Street Market). “I thought it was an interesting choice, especially for someone who knew he would have a bunch of people staring at/photographing him,” Chelsea told us. “The whole effect was very nonchalant art dad. He talked a lot about being very hands on with the installation, so maybe the knee zips are good for that.”
* For work pants, these $75 painter-style ones, which feature many pockets, are kind of Eckhaus Latta–ish.
* Or these 50 percent off Auralee jeans, which are truly perfect. (Complimented by one of our editor’s jean-maker friends and several strangers on the street.) $30 shipping fee, but still well, well underpriced.
* Not shopping related exactly, but if you’re looking for a New York City sublet, this is a really good resource. It posts available apartments in Stories!
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.
