Ai Mai

In Honor of Tachiagari FW26: Answering a Reader's Question: How do I shop Comme des Garçons?

Christine Zhu — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 20:55:50 GMT

It is that time of year again. For those of you that don’t know, it was Tachiagari last Thursday and Friday for Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market, respectively. Tachiagari, which I was, completely oblivious to until recently, means “beginning/start” in Japanese and is Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market’s biannual store changeover at the e…

Constant Practice: The Discipline of Cataloguing My Closet

Christine Zhu — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:23:42 GMT

Breastfeeding, as most moms of newborns will tell you, is a journey, especially if it’s your first child. My experience breastfeeding with my first, my son Theo, was no exception and definitely the primary contributing factor of my postpartum depression. Some mothers are fortunate to have a baby that latches to their breast immediately and peacefully sp…

Gesamtkunstwerk through the Lens of Personal Style

Christine Zhu — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:05:36 GMT

Gesamtkunstwerk. It’s an art history term for “total work of art,” that I learned back in high school that’s stuck with me all of these years. I was young and idealistic once and the notion of being completely immersed in art: visual, aural, etc resonated with me.

These last few weeks, months, I’ve noticed myself evolving. What do people say about the 7 …

Finding Beauty in the Grotesque

Christine Zhu — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:15:09 GMT

What does it mean to embrace the grotesque? I had no idea until I came hurtling out on the other side of childbirth, torn perineum and all.

I had gained 40 pounds during my first pregnancy, exactly double what What to Expect When You’re Expecting had proclaimed as normal (the high performer in me blew past the book's recommendations midway through the se…

Everything Rei (Kawakubo) Taught Me about Mom Coded Dressing

Christine Zhu — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:37:36 GMT

If you’re like me and you’ve had not one, but two babies and are pushing 40, your body and lifestyle probably look drastically different than it did in your 20s.

As I’ve come out of the postpartum blur of my second kid, I feel like I’ve finally accepted my new reality and cracked the code to looking interesting, avant garde at times, all without ever cha…