Ooooh boy, after three weeks of vacation I am back at the store and I am in HEAVEN! While I was gone we got in new bags from Valesque, some new Suzie Kondi and Comme Si, Hommegirls also showed up, and today, while I was moping about dropping off my daughter for her first day of 1st Grade (1st Grade feels like a huge transition…I’m not ready for her to be so big) we got a much-anticipated delivery from Ashish with our fall order.

All of our fall orders are starting to deliver now, which is great because August is typically pretty calm both in terms of new arrivals and also people aren’t really out and about. But now it’s back to real life, back to school, and the start of fall and I’m SO EXCITED for all of our new stuff (and the new brands I picked up at market last spring) to start coming in.

Anyway, first day back at work requires a big try-on of all the new things. And by the way, if any of these look interesting to you, we are more than happy to send out styling boxes on approval. This is what that looks like: we email either about a specific thing or set of things you’re interested in, I put together a few pieces I think you might like (they could be ones you’ve asked about or me going off vibe), we ship you the box of options to try. I love, LOVE, putting these together - email earl@earlirl.com for more info, or if you want any of these things. Or! If you’d like to make an appointment to come see me in person, you can do that here. Otherwise, keep an eye on our Instagram every week for our open house hours.

And so! Here are my favorite new things!

Last March I asked Ashish if he would make us a custom leopard sequin button down, skirt and car coat. He said yes.

Everything here is worn with these little kitten heels from Herbert Levine!

Can you believe?

We also got Ashish’s take on a classic skirtsuit. I am…in heaven.

Call me crazy but I think it’s time to bring back the cropped, flared leather legging. Especially in brown, which is much gentler than black. These are from Arma, and the polo shirt is from Birrot! We got in so much great Birrot before my trip.

I don’t have the right words to describe how much I love these sequin floral jeans, also Ashish. The sweater is the perfect polo cashmere, and this little crushed velvet bag is from our new assortment of Valesque. I’m working on getting it online, but in the meantime, email me - earl@earlirl.com to see what we currently have in stock.

Ignore my pouty face here (I lost the camera remote clicker so I was on self-timer and was making a weird face) but how cute are these drawstring-waist Suzie Kondi trousers? I love them with this silk green Comme Si shirt and the V Neck Comme Si tunic.

One more Ashish! This insane gold and gem jacket, plus the best straight-leg no-stretch indigo denim from Hommegirls. Did I mention we started carrying them?

This white denim Henderson jacket from Ruadh isn’t exactly new, but I think this is its moment to shine. Plus these B Sides painter pants, which are just insanely soft and comfortable.

Look! I can also do “normal”! This is a little more prim than I was hoping for it to look, but imagine laying naked and having 800 kittens and bunnies sleeping all around and on top of your body. This is what this Lisa Yang double-faced cashmere jacket and cashmere skirt feel like. The skirt is goooooorrrrrgeous. Gorgeous. It drapes, it swirls, it does everything.

More Hommegirls - this shirt has a tuxedo bib, which is admittedly hard to see, but is so beautiful. The jeans are Rohe and I love the width. They’re soft and comfortable but still have structure.

And all of it is so cool with the double-breasted wool Hommegirls jacket. I am so, SO happy to be back.

Come see me!

Your friend,

Laurel

It’s still hot and humid in LA, but I just came back from a very cool and misty vacation and I’m in the mood for cooler weather pieces. This list is built around essential things that have a lot of personality, but not SO much that you can’t wear them everyday.

JACKETS

Not a blazer, not a coat, a mid-weight jacket that will keep you warm not hot.

TOP LEFT: A gorgeous take on the classic waxed cotton barn jacket, this one will last for years and years and is under $400. Alex Mill, $325

TOP RIGHT: I love this jacket. It has such a special shape and crop, and it’s minimal in a Love Story, 90’s Prada way, but not so literal as to be basic. It’s the softest leather and works as a shirt as well as a jacket. Arma, $750

BOTTOM LEFT: Sacai makes some of my favorite outerwear of all time, and I like this bomber because it’s familiar, but different enough to be special. The back flap detail is excellent. Sacai, $1,365

BOTTOM RIGHT: This one comes via Etsy, so I’m not sure if every one will look the same, but they’re handmade and perfect. Etsy, $80

SWEATERS

All of these have something special going on but none of them are so wild that you can’t wear them all the time.

TOP LEFT: I love an argyle sweater, even better if it’s kind of thin and short sleeved so you can wear it more like a tee. Arch4, $395

TOP RIGHT: I linked to this on Saturday, but it’s one of my favorite cardigans on earth. It’s a great mid-weight, and has the most darling little cashmere covered buttons. Lisa Yang, $650

BOTTOM LEFT: I love the marled texture of this one, and the V neck. It reminds me of something hippie and beachy, but is also beautifully constructed and luxurious. SanderLak, $640

BOTTOM RIGHT: Ditto Fair Isle to Argyle. I used to think it was too sweet, but suddenly I love it. This little Doen cardigan is subtle, but still special. Doen, $405

ANKLE BOOTS

Flat ankle boots for everyday wear. I picked these truly for everyday wear, they’ll look better and better as they age.

TOP LEFT: These are kind of a throwback, but they feel correct again. I love this shape, I love how wide the top is, and I love the way these look when they’re super worn-in. Isabel Marant, $990

TOP RIGHT: A take on a motorcycle boot with a slight burgundy undertone. I like how these are somewhere between an ankle and knee-high boot. Dries van Noten, $1,770

BOTTOM LEFT: This is just a great, sturdy boot. The kind of thing everyone who lives in a place that experiences inclement weather should own. The rubber lug-sole is great for anti-slip, and they’re classic and work with everything. Margaux, $445

BOTTOM RIGHT: These have a graphic square toe and a nice, mod detail with the piping along the top. The leather is so gorgeous and they mold to your feet beautifully. They’re heaven and you’ll wear them forever. Herbert Levine, $1,590

BIG BROWN BAGS

WE ALL LOVE A BIG ASS BROWN BAG!!!!!!! Brown is less severe than black and harmonizes better with a wide range of colors. Easier to wear, but also more unusual than black.

TOP LEFT: Nice and slouchy, this one holds a ton and will age beautifully. Kallmeyer, $1,192

TOP RIGHT: This Loewe bag shape has been around for a while, but all of a sudden (like the Isabel Marant boots) it feels fresh again. I love the olive-brown of this one and the graphic shape. Loewe, $3,865

BOTTOM LEFT: Ooh this one looks like a saddle! Another that will wear-in gorgeouslly and get all buttery and soft with age. I LOVE this one. Polo Ralph Lauren, $1,355

BOTTOM RIGHT: This one is more cream than brown exactly, but isn’t it nice? It’s a PVC canvas, and is my personal favorite huge schleppy bag. We have it in other colors as well, but the neutral is so nice! Cahu, $495

RAINBOW SWEATSHIRTS

I wear a sweatshirt almost every single day, and in the fall and winter I especially love brightly colored ones. I like to wear them best with contrasting color button downs and jeans, but they’re also great with printed skirts or trousers.

TOP LEFT: I love these Suzie Kondi extra soft sweatshirts, especially in this happy blue. Looks like the bottom of a swimming pool! Suzie Kondi, $295

TOP RIGHT: Who knew Madewell made such excellent sweatshirts?! I did, actually, but this one really does it for me. This is one of my favorite colors, and it’s a very classic, sporty shape. It will look tidy and dressed up, despite being just a humble sweatshirt. Madewell, $98

BOTTOM LEFT: We carry these in my store and we can’t keep them in stock. They’re great sweatshirts and have a hefty, vintage feel. I love the cobalt of this one. Everybody.World, $89

BOTTOM RIGHT: And now! The silliest thing of all time, the best, craziest, goofiest, most statementy sweatshirt ever. I am in love with this one, and would wear it too much. Saint Laurent, $1,450

JEANS

I don’t think everyone needs dozens of pairs of jeans, but it is nice to get a new pair or two in the fall. These are some of my favorites.

TOP LEFT: These are fun! Another throwback, I love that these are such a solid indigo rinse. They have a bit of stretch, a bit of flare, and make your legs look loooooooooooooooooooong. Ossou, $395

TOP RIGHT: It took me a while to come around on barrel leg jeans, but I’ve come around. I like the structure, and they’re easier to wear with closed toe shoes than most wide-leg pants. Agolde, $355

BOTTOM LEFT: This is the shape I’m currently shopping for: low-slung, baggy, slouchy. I also like the wash on these. I love being able to wear in a pair of jeans from scratch. Madewell, $148

BOTTOM RIGHT: I have a pair of these and I love them. The rips are (again!) sort of a throwback, but the jeans are so beautiful and well-made they look interesting rather than schlubby. These also make your legs look super duper long. Ruadh, $520

THERE WE ARE!
For now.

YOUR FRIEND!

Laurel

I’m still on vacation, and it’s been so good, but I’m re-entering the real world next week. For now, I sent a few letters this week including one about how to style long shorts (there’s an extended edit of long shorts up on EarlURL), and another about healing my very pesky skin issue, Perioral Dermatitis.

I also had the most unbelievable honor of being featured on ’s newsletter, talking about tender things, my love for the uglies, sobriety, our visions for the future…I am (and have been since Girls) such a massive fan of Lena’s, it’s very hard for me to act natural when talking to her, but man what an insane treat and special delight the world has given me in bringing her into my orbit. A better, kinder, more excited person there never was, and I feel like the luckiest girl to have her for a friend.

Anyway, here’s this week’s snack.

I GOT SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE PANTS

They’re Alex Mill! They’re going in my roundup of the things I actually wear tomorrow, but for now, they’re Alex Mill and they’re wonderful. I’ve been wearing them nonstop on my trip—the right amount of comfortable and polished. Alex Mill, $195

But also this Alex Mill button down, which I’ve worn more days than I’d like to admit without washing it. It’s big, it’s soft, it’s great for everything, including hiking to a beach. It looks nice with those pants, but also with some super comfortable bike shorts (these). Alex Mill, $145

AM I SUDDENLY A STÜSSY GIRL?

I don’t know when this happened, but apparently I’m a Stüssy person. I am so horny for these jeans and this shirt, I don’t know what to even say for myself. I want them both SO MUCH...that I bought them. Stüssy jeans, $200 ; tee, $60

A PERFECT CARDIGAN

When I’m not wearing that tee with those jeans, I’ll be wearing this sweet little cardigan with tiny, hand-made cashmere-covered buttons. We have it in the store, and it always sells out quickly. This time I’m hoping to reserve one for myself! Lisa Yang, $650

SOMETHING TO WEAR WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO WEAR A SWEATSHIRT

I get stuck in this trap a lot - not wanting to wear a sweatshirt or a button down but being unable to fathom what other type of shirt there could possibly be. In those instances, I like to wear a sweater vest instead. It’s a little warm, but not too, looks polished but not too, boyish but not too. Everything in moderation. Almina Concept, $148

THIS HEAVENLY THING

Yes it’s expensive, but it is gorgeous. I didn’t buy this for my store and now I’m having some regrets, because it’s a very me thing in a way that isn’t typically me, which always makes me want something more because it feels a bit like my style is expanding or evolving. This reminds me a bit of this football-inspired collection for Spring/Summer 2010. I loved that collection so much. It was tomboy and classic and Americana and weird…all the things I like (Alexander Wang’s behavior…not so much). But this, man THIS! I would throw this on like a sweatshirt with jeans, or wear it more like a jacket, or over a button down, and wear it and wear it until it’s all worn in and soft and the suede starts to get a little shiny in places. Rohe, $1,770

SOMETHING SUPREMELY USEFUL

Almost every woman i know lacks a bag like this—something nondescript that can be used as a clutch for times when you’re going to dinner or to a wedding or to your partner’s holiday work thing and you just need a bag that doesn’t clash and doesn’t scream label-whore but also looks nice and is under $800. This is that bag. You can wear it cross-body, but I like it best as a clutch. Toteme, $790

WONDERFUL HIDEOUS SHOES

They’re actually not hideous, the color is challenging, but they’re beautiful. They’re the right shoe for almost every outfit, but even better with the denim skirt that’s up next. Simon Miller, $355

HERE’S THAT DENIM SKIRT

It’s perfectly fluted, perfectly structured, and looks amazing on. We sold out of these so fast the last time we had them in the store. It has great hold up at the top and elongates you, but the fluting around the knees makes it feminine and comfortable. It’s like a pencil skirt up top and then circle skirt at the knees. It’s heaven, and very rigid, fabulous denim. It fits true-to-size. Ruadh, $480

THIS BOOK

I finished Whistler on this trip (you don’t need me to tell you it’s great but it’s great) and then started reading A Good Person. It is so weird and twisted, I LOVE IT. I can’t put it down. If you liked Big Swiss you’ll probably like it—I loved Big Swiss. I also recently read the first two books of the Impossible Creatures series and oh, man. Those are also really really great.

That’s it for right now - there’s an extended edit of quickie cutie shopping pics on EarlURL, or go here to see a taste of the things we have in-store at Earl IRL right now. We’re also getting in SO MANY EXCELLENT FALL DELIVERIES. If you’d like to make a private styling and shopping appointment with me for when I’m back in town next week, you can do that here.

Ok, ok, ok,

Your friend,

Laurel

I started getting Perioral Dermatitis when I was an assistant at Teen Vogue, so this was probably in 2011 more or less. If you don’t already know what it is, consider yourself lucky, but the name, “Perioral Dermatitis” just means “skin irritation around your mouth”. It isn’t a precise diagnosis, thus, there’s no precise treatment or trigger. It shows up in slightly different forms for different people, but generally it looks like a persistent red rash around the outside of your mouth leading up to the corners of your nose—kind of in your smile lines—but sometimes it can be on your chin, around the eyes, just around your nose…like I said, it’s imprecise.

I don’t take it for granted that for most of my life my skin has been super obedient. I get the odd breakout, but for the most part I don’t struggle with my skin. Except for this. When the first breakout happened, back roughly in 2011, it showed up as a bright red ring from the outer corners of my lips, up and around my nose. It was angry, bumpy, flaky, and the bumps looked like whiteheads that I intuitively knew not to mess with. I was then the beauty assistant under Eva Chen, and part of my job was trying new beauty products. I tried everything I was so greedy, I took everything home. There was zero consistency in what I tried, if something broke me out there was no way of knowing what it was. And when it first appeared, my first instinct was: I need to use a product to fix this. This is kind of an aside, but when I had my first kid, I had a hard time with breastfeeding. I couldn’t get him to latch properly, and he’d fall asleep every time I tried to feed him. Something in me went a little sideways trying to make it happen, and I worked so hard at trying to get him to nurse. I had major postpartum anxiety and a lot of it manifested in me anguishing over nursing. In every aspect of my life, if I wanted something really bad I would work at it really hard and I could usually get it to work out. Not so with nursing, and that was the tactic I took with my skin, too. I’d work really hard at trying every single thing to get rid of the rash.

Those who’ve had Perioral Dermatitis know it can last for months. And I don’t mean one month or two, I mean six, nine, thirteen months. It’s so frustrating. This time was like that—I think I had it for six months, and I remember crying at home, crying at work, crying in doctor’s offices in frustration that despite working hard, despite trying everything, despite wanting and wishing and doing everything I could think of to make it go away, it just would not go away. Eventually I took a deskside meeting with a brand based in Australia that did nothing but make products containing Sea Buckthorn Berry oil, and I tried using those and only those and it did go away. But this was at the very end of a very long run with this.

I do not actually think it was the Sea Buckthorn Berry oil, though I believe it is very very good for your skin.

The next time I had it, was in 2017 and I wrote about it for Coveteur (which is where I worked at the time), which was where I was working at the time. Reading this reminded me that I must have tried antibiotics the firs time, but I can’t really remember. That time, I ended up using a combination of Lotrimin cream and a toner made from one part raw apple cider vinegar to two parts water, and that seemed to do the trick. But again, I suspect that I got desperate towards the scourge’s natural end of life cycle anyway, because that never worked for me again.

As I got older, it became more persistent and also more frequent. What was an every-other-year breakout became an every-year issue, and this year, a twice-a-year problem. This year was a very bad year for Perioral Dermatitis in my world.

I know I had it last year around the time of the fires, and then I got it again in December. Both times I tried the Lotrimin trick, I tried Sea Buckthorn Berries, again, I went at it like it was a job and I needed the money. I tried every single product anyone recommended to me, I tried exfoliating (terrible idea), I tried occlusive moisturizers to “slug” the areas (terrible idea), I tried and tried and tried, and still I had a small, persistent red bumpy patch on the right side of my nose that I felt was the only thing anyone could ever see when they looked at me.

In the past, I’d figured out that a thirty day run of Doxycycline would do the trick. It reliably killed the flare-up, and boy was I ready to fill that RX and gobble them down. But when a flare-up happened just a month or two after the last one ended, I started thinking maybe it’s not a great idea to take antibiotics for sixty days over ninety days…maybe this isn’t sustainable, and maybe there’s something else going on here.

Read more

Normally, I don’t get that much into trends. I wear what I wear, I like what I like—I recently was asked to describe the Earl Earl world in three words and it was expressive, gestural, and practical. I like things that are emotional, but also serve a purpose, and I find the most trends either don’t move me or feel stupid in the day to day of my life.

Long shorts, however, are the exception. I love long shorts. These are the only shorts I wear, honestly, and at 40, they’re the only shorts that feel like me. I’ll continue wearing them long after the trend exits, but for now, I’m pleased that there are a plethora of options out there.

Here’s how to style them.

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I’ve been on vacation the last week, and will be next week too. I should probably say, I’ve been “traveling” because I’m still working. Clearly. And I did manage to send out two letters!

The first was a little travel guide to my trip to New York with my kids. Where we stayed, what we did, etc. It lives in my newsletter section called “Your Mom” which is for motherhood-related stuff.

The second was an ode to having a crush and the back to school feeling I still get at 40, this was to celebrate a new fragrance from CHANEL, what a treat for me!

Oh! I also did an edit of travel-friendly things on EarlURL. Go seeeeee. As always, you can see an extended Saturday Snack edit also on EarlURL.

And now, on to the snack.

THIS SWEATSHIRT IS HEAVEN

It’s cotton/cashmere so maybe more of a sweater than a sweatshirt, but it has a sweatshirt vibe, and I love it. It comes in a bunch of different colors, but I like the heather gray the best. Alex Mill, $168

A DRESS THAT APPROXIMATES MY FAVORITE OLD CELINE TOP

I have a great Old Céline top that is a white knit with white fringe around the body (you can see it here) and it’s one of the best things I own. It’s hard to find more, but this dress, from Liberowe, approximates it. It’s short, but I’d wear it with slinky silk pants underneath. Liberowe, $810

I CAN’T TELL IF I LOVE OR HATE THESE CLOGS

Which usually means I really really really love them. They’re so weird and ugly, and I just fucking love them. Birkenstock, $590

BALLOON PANTS!!!

It’s very rare that I jump on a trend, but I’m jumping on Balloon Pants. I love them. LOVE THEM. These, from Cos, a great, and a kind of low-stakes way of trying out the trend. Cos, $129

THIS KICKY JACKET FROM A BRAND I LOVE

Birrot is one of the brands I’m most excited about in the store. Almost everything is made from a material called “Lay” and it’s all kind of spongey and springy and structured. This jacket is one of my favorite thigns we got for the store. We have it in Gray too, but the burgundy is hitting my heart especially right now. Birrot, $573

A PREPPY PLAID CAR COAT

So what if it slightly recalls a very popular and statement-making plaid coat from a brand about 19x more expensive from a few seasons ago? This one is nearly perfect, and under $400. J.Crew, $378

*THE* ROW LOAFERS IN BROWN

These tassel loafers are ~the~ shoes of our time. I already highlighted them, but those were black. These are BROWN. They’re so beautiful and soft and classic, I am very much not surprised they’re selling out everywhere. The Row, $1,350

THE IDEAL WHITE SNEAKER

Non-athletic, non-logo-fied, simple, clean, classic, go with everything sneakers. They do also come in leopard. Just saying. Nili Lotan, $450

ANOTHER PAIR OF BALLOON PANTS

If you want to invest in the trend, or if you like yours with cargo pockets, may I suggest these from JW Anderson. I think they are excellent. JW Anderson, $835

A VERY DRAMATIC BLAZER

I have such a crush on Maria McManus, and this blazer especially. It’s dramatic, beautiful, but also highly practical. Who wouldn’t want their scarf to attach conveniently to their jacket? It’s also made as sustainably as possible and designed by a very very very nice pal. Maria McManus, $1,490

THE DRIES ITEM AT THE TOP OF MY WISHLIST

This skirt. Oh man, this skirt. I love these scarf wrap skirts and I wear them all the time, but this one is very, very special. I’m a big fan of Dutch still-life paintings and the combination of the floral (which looks like one of those paintings) with the print of the skirt does something significant to me. Dries van Noten, $845

THIS SERVING SET

I’ve been seeing these curly ended serving flatware sets everywhere without really knowing where they were coming from, but they I found it! Lazy Jamie (I’m late to the party). I ordered this serving-ware set. I’ve never had one, and every time I make a fruit salad or something I am sad about it. Lazy Jamie, $82

THIS MOISTURIZER

I very recently finally healed a persistent case of perioral dermatitis. I’ll write about it at some point. But I had to stop using EVERYTHING. Literally everything. And then slowly start reintroducing only the most gentle things. This moisturizer has been a win to my new routine. It’s very moisturizing, doesn’t clog up the pores on my nose, and makes my skin look kind of bouncy. Is it going to knock years off my face? Probably not, but it is making my skin look and feel very healthy. Sophie Pavitt, $64

THAT’S IT!

Your friend,

Laurel

One of the minor but emotionally significant surprises of my adult life has been how persistent the back to school feeling is. It doesn’t matter how many years it’s been since I personally experienced the end of summer and the suspense of going back to school, when the late August light hits, I still feel it.

“It” being a stirring of anticipation, a bit of nerves, some anxious excitement about what could come. Who would be in your class? What would you wear? Knowing something big was lurking, but not yet knowing its shape or texture. It’s a rush, and one I’m grateful to still be experiencing subconsciously now that my life is fairly stable and predictable.

It’s a gift to be able to remember that feeling so clearly, and aside from the way an end of summer twilight looks, aside from the feeling of driving home from a swim in the early evening with the windows rolled down, aside from the feeling of putting on a new pair of jeans, smell is a portal for me back to that feeling. The closest I think we’ll ever come to building a time traveling device is through scent—a fragrance’s transportive power is that strong. And maybe it was subliminal through the name, Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu, but when I first smelled CHANEL’s newest fragrance I was hit with a floral brightness from grapefruit and lychee that reminded me of the optimism of a new beginning, the start of a new relationship or new adventure, a crush.

And as it wore throughout the day it softened into something that I can only describe as the scent of the first time you bury your face into someone’s bare neck–at a dance, at a party, behind the bleachers, that warm clean skin smell that hits you the first time you kiss someone.

I associate this time of year so clearly with the feeling of having a crush—seeing someone who piqued your interest, or making a new friend, starting a new book, discovering a new album or podcast you can’t stop listening to. It’s all those things I mentioned before, the anticipation of something big but wholly unknown, the intrigue of a new person, the nearly addictive joy you feel as you start to really get to know someone or something for the first time, the ah-ha of remembering life is long and weird and full of surprises, and something as silly as trying to learn tennis at 40 can spark a totally new passion and a new layer to your life. It’s summer turning into fall, warm afternoons turning into cool evenings, strangers turning into someone you can’t stop thinking about, letting yourself become obsessed with something totally new.

I’ve been in love with my husband for twenty years, and my definition of what makes a crush has evolved. When I go to a new city, or start a new book—mostly when I make a new friend. I’m a friend at first sight person, and man it’s been the most delightful surprise of my life to get to make new friends and learn about someone new at this phase of my life. The women I meet, either through my kids school, at my store, or through other friends, are weirder, funnier, brighter, and better than I ever could have anticipated, and it makes me feel the same thrill I had when I was seventeen, passing notes to my friends in high school, trying to spend every possible moment with them. At this point in my life, I get that feeling from a new project too. In the last twelve months I’ve written a book and opened a store, and I’m just starting to dream about what the next undertaking could be. It’s a wonderful feeling.

If there’s been anything that I think has kept me feeling young, aside from my kids of course, it’s been this feeling of excitement and curiosity for new things, people, and experiences. No matter how much energy and attention I pour into my skin or my muscle tone or whatever, there’s nothing as powerful as conjuring the feeling of a crush and letting someone or something new into my life—it’s a time machine back to my giddy youth. It’s a glorious feeling, and while I’m mourning the end of a truly beautiful summer with my family, I’m starting to feel that spark and irresistible pull of excitement towards something just around the corner. I’ve written about this before, but I love to mark major moments in my life with a new scent, that way whenever I smell it in the future I can be pulled back into that time. With my book coming out, my store coming up to one year being open, and also just embarking on my 40s, this fragrance, which reminds me of something I can’t put my finger on but also smells entirely new, is what I’ll use to pull me back to these days standing on the brink of an entirely new life chapter.

That’s it, I’m excited, I’m happy, I’m your friend.

Love,

Laurel

Last week, my family and I left LA for our end of summer trip. We’re making a few stops, but the first one was New York City. Traditionally, we stay in the actual city, but this time I wanted to be close to my friends Emily and Mia, in Park Slope. We ended up booking at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge because there werent’ any hotels close to my friends, and we gave up on asking friends of friends, etc, for apartments to borrow. But man, it was a great place to stay with kids.

Here’s what we did.

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I left for my summer adventures this week, and man I’m already having the best time. I spent the last two days hanging with my two best friends, Emily and Mia and Emily’s kids in New York. Earlier this week I sent out a letter detailing all the things I actually wear in a week, and I’m working on another one for next week. That one will be maybe especially dull because I’m wearing the same three things that I packed over and over, but we’ll see.

I also sent out a letter highlighting what to wear to the office this month when it’s so hot and nobody wants to be working.

While I was running around with Emily, we started talking about shopping and what’s on both of our shopping lists. Our taste is similar, but our style is very different (Emily is pretty minimalist), and still somehow we seem to usually pick a lot of the same things. Today’s newsletter is inspired by Emily and the things on her list. Not that she’d ever take my advice.

A VERY PRETTY DRESS

This is 100% not what Emily was expecting, I don’t know if she wears this color (I’m almost positive she doesn’t) but I love it. I love the light cotton, love the bright green, love the volume, I love everything about this. It also comes in white if this shade of green is scary to you. Merlette, $357

A GREAT BLAZER

Emily is the styling director at Veronica Beard (she’s a terrific stylist) and I’ll often see her and get all excited over her blazer, and of course, it’s Veronica Beard. This is a great one, which she just ordered, and so now of course I want it too. She recommends sizing up, but it’s a very classic, extremely useful, very flattering black Blazer. Veronica Beard, $748

PERFECT-LOOKING PANTS

For a long time Emily was on the hunt for black pants. I think she found them, but I have a very special talent for finding excellent-fitting black pants based just off a flat-lay photo, and these are TOPS. I can’t explain how I know, but I just know that these are the kinds of pants you hesitate to buy because they’re such a big investment, then you get them and you can’t imagine your life without them. The Row, $1,290

THESE BOOTS

And these, also from The Row, but also really excellent and great to grab now to get a jump on fall (and before these start selling out). They’re very Emily. The Row, $1,650

MY OTHER TOP PICK FOR FALL BOOTS

THESE. We also have them in leopard calf hair (two sizes left!) but the plain black riding boot version is as great of a riding boot as you’ll ever find. They’re insanely soft, gorgeously made, super comfortable, and the toe is the perfect shape and length to be graphic but not make your feet look bigger. They’re a pull-on boot, which keeps the line clean on the inside, but is worth noting if you have especially muscular calves. If they work for you, they’re the last pair of flat black tall boots you’ll ever need to buy. Herbert Levine, $2,074

THIS TOTE

Emily needs a new “schleppy tote” and of course I recommended Cahu. I just put all of our Cahu inventory online, so you can shop the bags from wherever, but this is the size and shape I use basically everyday. I love it. Cahu, $495

A VERY GREAT BLUE SHIRT

She doesn’t need this, she was wearing a version of this today, I just like it. A very very lightweight classic blue button down to go with pretty much everything you own and to be worn absolutely everywhere. I like the subtle tonal, textural stripe on this one. Agolde, $268

THESE BOXER SHORTS

These are more for me, but I think everyone can appreciate how cute and wonderful and special these little shorts are! The print is so pretty and I love that they’re a washed silk. They’re part of a pajama set, but I’d wear them with a boxy white tee on days as hot as we’ve had this summer. Araks, $225

A GREAT, PERSONALITY-FORWARD BELT

While our style differs, Emily and I both firmly believe in the power of a good belt. You can completely change the vibe of your outfit with the right one, and if your clothing has belt loops your look isn’t really complete until you’re wearing one. I really really like this zebra print option in calf hair for me. Dehanche, $320

I like this one, but I can also imagine her eyeballs rolling out of her head if I suggested it to her (if you know her you can also picture this eyeroll). Twp, $895

But I bet she’d like this simple one from Phoebe Philo. Something classic and perfect to pull your outfit together and make you look more polished. Phoebe Philo, $600

That’s it! I love you Emily!

Your friend,

Laurel

Everyday, all week - well maybe not as much on the weekends - I think about getting dressed. Between my newsletter, my store, my book, and working with private clients on styling, I think about getting dressed constantly. To the detriment of real things, actually. I think of chefs or clothing designers who also fixate on on a single topic like this who live in uniforms or eat nothing but like…buttered pasta, or something similarly mindless and bland. I don’t have a uniform, but I don’t not have a uniform. My daily wardrobing also isn’t always or necessarily and pizzaz-y as what I put in the newsletter. I thought I’d document the things I actually wear in a week, as a mom, store-ist (that’s what my daughter says I do for a living), and exercise enthusiast and budding tennis player.

SUNDAY: OUT WITH THE KIDS

Regular Sunday doing things with our kids — I can’t remember what I did in the morning, but then we went to MOCA and then to Quarter Sheets for dinner. I’d just gotten these wonderful green shorts from Jamie Haller and I wore them a lot this week. I wore them here with a Comme Si button down, which I also wore a ton over the course of the week. The sandals are very old ones from The Row. They’re not super walkable because they’re so flat, but I changed out of flip flops and into these on our way out the door because I felt the flip flops looked a little too sloppy. I wish I was wearing these though.

MONDAY: LAGREE AND STORE

I do Lagree a few times a week, always right after school or camp dropoff and before going to the office. This is a version of what I typically wear. The shirt I’m going to wear to work that day with a sports bra underneath and leggings + sandals. This is it! I like these leggings and this bra. This is also what I wore to dropoff. But then I put on something fun!

The shorts again! I love them. I like them especially with my new Herbert Levine leopard boots, and the same button down I was wearing earlier just without the sports bra underneath so I could unbutton it lower. I think it’s actually different from the one I wore Sunday, I think on Sunday I wore it in Grecian Blue.

WEDNESDAY: TENNIS & STORE

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Ok, we’re coming up on the last month of what we think of as summer, but realistically, with weather patterns being what they are (ugh) summer goes on and on. But even if we’re not talking strictly about weather and the heat, it’s hard to let go of all of the sillier, more fun elements of summer dressing. And still, there’s all of August left to go, and I’m a glass half full kind of person.

So, for the last little gasps of summer, I’m thinking about ways you can bring that warmth, joy, and heat into the office. And as a surprise to nobody, color has a lot to do with that. Depending on your industry, it might feel weird or intimidating to wear brights to work, but weaving it in with accessories can make it feel like less of a thing. When I saw John Hardy’s new Color Gemstone collection, I thought this was the right kind of touch to bring in a colorful element without wearing bright pink pants (but of course you can wear bright pink pants to work…). The designs are so classic, and the gemstones bring in something extra-special and a little unexpected—which if you’ll let me be cheesy is exactly what summer is all about.

IF YOUR OFFICE IS CONSERVATIVE

Maybe you’re a lawyer, in a kind of old-school way. Maybe you’re, I don’t know, a financial planner, or your job requires you to work with gross guys who are sexist and you have to look un-fuck-withable all the time because they don’t want to listen to your ideas and you can’t give them any ideas that you’re not totally serious and hardcore. This is the category if you have to present a very traditional version of what’s “professional”. No matter what you like to wear and do in your personal life, sometimes the job calls for a little bit of a buttoned up vibe. So this is that - but the summer version.

On the left, the Kallmeyer top (1 Kallmeyer, $580) gives a lot of great volume, and a really breezy feeling, but is in a substantial enough fabric that it doesn’t look or feel too bohemian. It still has great structure. The pants (2 Posse, $390) are classic, but have a really elegant rope belt with tassels on the ends. They feel very summery, but in the fall you could just as easily wear them with a big sweater. Meanwhile, the shoes (3 Bottega Veneta, $1,100) are light and open, and a gorgeous burgundy, but they’re not so loud or insane that they distract from what you’re trying to say.

These earrings (4 John Hardy, $2,425) work with any of these—the mixed silver and gold give a lot of interest, but also don’t scream mixed metals. I also love the texture in the silver to give a bit more interest, PLUS! The Orange Citrine, for a suggestion of summer sun, but in a color that will still look at home in fall and winter.

I love this pink collarless button down (5 Another Tomorrow, $690) - it has little fabric covered buttons and is the prettiest pink shade! It’s great with the burgundy of this Burberry skirt (6 Burberry, $1,650) which is the most gorgeous color and the fullness is very sweet and feminine but still structured. Another one that will be great through fall, though with these orange sandals—unreal! The orange of the sandals (7 Jimmy Choo, $850) goes back to the orange earrings and man, the whole thing is so good.

And then! I love this contrast piped satin shirt with short sleeves (8 Cos, $139), it looks so luxurious and elegant, but not too stuffy. This vibrant Lemon Quartz and diamond pendant (9 John Hardy, $495) will really stand out against the cream of the outfit. (BTW, these pendants come in a whole host of stones in different colors, I’m also partial to the Peridot.) The pants (10 Wardrobe.nyc, $1,300) are a classic pleat-front, and would really sing with little patterned heels like these (11 Manolo Blahnik, $950)

IF YOUR OFFICE IS IN THE MIDDLE

Maybe it’s a creative office, maybe it’s all kinds of people doing all kinds of things. Maybe it’s marketing! Or PR! Or media! I don’t know, maybe you’re a very cool doctor! This is neither traditional nor non-traditional, kind of middle ground, but still polished and pulled together.

These earrings! Oh man, the tanzanite with silver and diamonds (1 John Hardy, $995) feels so classic, but then the color is the prettiest ever. They give a little something without overwhelming your outfit or distracting from your gorgeous face. I love them especially with a blue shirt (2 Comme Si, $350) to highlight that blue and to meet it halfway. And then the skirt! This kind of Dries scarf skirt (3 Dries van Noten, $845) is so comfortable and has the best print and pattern. It feels very very summery, and very light but also doesn’t show skin in a way that’s inappropriate for work. I love these sandals (4 J.Crew, $100) with everything too. They ground the outfit but don’t close it off.

This is a little more casual, but still feels pulled together and classic. The gingham blouse (5 Doen, $205) would also be perfect with the Tanzanite studs, and I love it with a classic braided belt (they echo the texture of the studs!) (6 Polo, $198) and these long, lean mid-rise jeans (7 Seven For All Mankind, $200). And then these shoes (8 Herbert Levine, $1,245) make everything feel more polished, but also keep it from looking too picnicky and sweet.

And finally I really really like this camp counselor plaid shirt (9 Madewell, $98) and how grounded and earthy it feels, especially with the silver, yellow gold, and Orange Citrine ring (10 John Hardy, $1,250). They contrast each other, but the colors work beautifully together. The whole thing feels polished with a classic navy trouser (11 Gap, $90), but the clog heels (12 Chloe, $1,250) make it interesting and cool and keeps with the summer camp vibe without going too literal.

IF ANYTHING GOES

Maybe there’s no dress code! Maybe anything goes! And you still want to look pulled together but not like a narc! Maybe you’re me and you can wear shorts and you do wear shorts to work but not in a sloppy way.

This is actually very close to what I wear to the store/to work on a normal day. I love the striped shirt (1 Madewell, $98), it’s very graphic and would be so beautiful with this melon-orange skirt (3 Mango, $46), but even more with the added color from these stacked bracelets with colored gemstones and semi-precious stones (3 John Hardy, Peridot Bracelet (top), $1,095 ; Yellow Gold and Orange Citrine bracelet, $4,745). This silhouette is great in the depths of August heat, very breezy and open but still pulled together, and looks the very very best with silly flip flops like these (4 Balenciaga, $625), which are not only pastel green, but also covered in rhinestone embellished studs.

The middle is another (in my opinion) perfect summer work outfit. I love these tees (5 Ayr, $145), they have a vintage look, but are substantial and super tidy. I especially like them with longer denim shorts (6 Toteme, $350), the combination feels tomboyish and relaxed but also very pulled together, especially with these Christen wedges (7 Christen, $1,300).

Red and tan is one of my favorite combinations, and this terry tee (8 Suzie Kondi, $225) is a great color, but this tee is also so good. We have it in store, and it has a perfect structured fit, and looks great with slouchy things…like these cargo pants (9 Citizens of Humanity, $360). The stacked bracelets would give this a little flicker of metallic to make it all feel super special, but also a pair of gold sandals (10 Ancient Greek Sandals, $325) will give it a tiny bit of a twist.

There we are! Stay cool.

Your friend,

Laurel

This letter was produced in partnership with Roz.

I don’t know what came over me but I sent so many newsletters this week. Sorry! I was feeling productive.

On Tuesday, there was this look at our shoe edit at Earl IRL and also some background about how I do the buy, and what buying for a store is really like.

On Wednesday, I revived Your Mom (Your Mom was my old motherhood newsletter, about mom identity and mom stuff, not parenting advice, just mom stuff) and wrote about the end of a truly wonderful summer with my truly wonderful kids - I also included some back to school shopping picks for children.

Then on Thursday there was this styling letter about wearing black in the summer (summer is the only time I really do wear black). I liked this one, it was very straightforward.

Then on Friday I sent out the recording of my live conversation with , who writes an incredible newsletter but also has a gorgeous jewelry line. Jennifer has unbelievable taste, and I really liked hearing about her shopping and style strategy—and of course her jewelry.

And meanwhile at the store, I’m there this week Monday and Tuesday, but after that we’re closed for the rest of the week, and then my assistant Morgan will be there through the end of summer, M-F from 11 - 5. The shop will be open, and no appointments will be needed, just swing by, but of course email me (earl@earlirl.com) if you want to see anything remotely, or want to have anything shipped. We’re happy to ship :)

And now, here’s the snack, it’s a fun one!

THIS NEW CURLY HAIR ROUTINE

I love my big, fluffy curly hair. I love wearing it big and crazy and BIG. I also love trying new styling products for it. Most of them I don’t end up liking, but when I find a new one that works I am psyched. This one is so good, and I’ve been using it for about a month but having to keep it secret because the product wasn’t released yet, but it’s the new Milk Styling Mousse from Rōz. I use like five or six pumps of it in soaking wet hair, after smoothing on the Milk Hair Serum (also on soaking wet hair) and then I let it air dry. When it’s done, I have perfect bouncy ringlets that aren’t crunchy, aren’t sticky or greasy, and survive into second day hair surprisingly well. I’m partnering with them on this letter, but regardless I would be singing this stuff’s praises, I love it so much. This is what it does to my hair - it’s just so good. Rōz Hydrate + Hold Kit (includes both products), $80

SOME GREAT SHORTS

I loooooove these. They’re long sweatshorts, but they’d be so easy to dress up for a friend hang with a great sandal and a nice sweater. Ruadh, $390

DRIES BLAZER ON SALE

This is a perfect blazer, and it’s on sale. There are two listings for it - one with a size six and eight, and one with a size twelve. This is a holy-grail perfect navy double breasted blazer that’s neither too cropped nor too long and oversized, and is the best quality and you’ll wear it forver. GO GO GO!

FLOSS THAT I WANT TO USE

I once heard someone say that quitting smoking was exactly as hard as starting flossing, and while I’ve never had to quit smoking and I’ve never really started flossing I can say that it is so hard to make nightly flossing part of my routine. I never thought the problem could be the floss itself (the problem isn’t exactly, it’s that I’m lazy) but suddenly having a smooth, thin strand that isn’t made of plastic and tastes kind of nice makes the whole thing feel novel and exciting. Like it’s a new beauty product to integrate into my routine. I still don’t do it every single night, but this does make it a little less of a chore. Cocolab floss, $10

A GREAT SWEATSHIRT FOR TRAVEL

I have this in my store and I love it so much - it’s cozy and warm-enough, but also looks polished and nice at night. If you’re heading out for summer adventures this is a great thing to bring along. Two birds, one bright red sweatshirt. Suzie Kondi, $295

THIS SUNSCREEN I LOVE

This sunscreen is an actual joy to use. It blends in super easily and makes my skin look very bouncy and dewy. No scent, no white cast, it’s just an A+ all around. It, along with these and this (it doesn’t taste like sunscreen!) have earned permanent place in both my car glove box and my beach bag this summer. Good Weather Skin Sun Cream, $48

OH MAN THESE SHOES

They’re so beautiful, the color is so strange, I am fully sucked in. Like a leopard snake, I am obsessed with these. Jimmy Choo, $725

I LOVE THESE PANTS

Striped poplin drawstring on top and drawstring on bottom, these are a dream. I’d wear them with a contrasting color poplin button down and those spotted Jimmy Choos. Toteme, $510

ANOTHER PAIR OF SHOES I LOVE

These are so simple and so beautiful. I love the color, love the construction, love how the straps wrap around the outside of your foot. Everything about these is good. Jamie Haller, $498

A SKIRT TO LOVE FOREVER

I’m a big fan of these Dries van Noten silk wrap skirts in wild prints. I already have a couple, but I’m eyeing this one now too. I love this specific mix of prints, especially the plaid in the front. Dries van Noten, $845

THE MOST LUXURIOUS TOTE

Have you ever seen a more gorgeous tote? It’s also super functional with all kinds of convenient and useful pockets inside and a mega durable construction. I just love the leather/canvas mix and the folded up shape of the bag. Métier, $2,550

THE HEELED EVOLUTION OF THE SHOES I CAN’T STOP WEARING

I wore these Christen sandals all week, and now I’m just seeing this heeled version and my heart is doing flip flops. I think your shoes should either be extremely beautiful or extremely hideous, and both pairs of these are extremely hideous - meaning extremely interesting and correct with basically outfit. I am in love. Christen, $1,450

I SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED THIS IN MY BLACK CLOTHES IN SUMMER ROUND UP

This top has excellent texture, excellent movement, I just love everything about it. It should have gone in my letter about styling black in the summer, but it’s here now. Simon Miller, $395

We had a blast together in my store, getting to hang out for two days, and I was really happy to continue the conversation here, and learn even more about her. She was the first journalist to write about Alexander McQueen and has the most incredible stories about working in magazines in their heyday.

Her shopping strategy was especially fascinating to me, but the conversation went in every direction—from developing your style as you age, building a business, resisting impulse purchases, I went on a tangent about sobriety and emotions, and also why it’s a good thing if some people don’t like you. We also talked a lot about how we maintain our creative spark, and stay on our own paths, despite facing near constant distraction.

She is just the best, and if you’re not reading her newsletter yet, go read. Her taste is just perfect.

Your friend(s)

Laurel & Jennifer

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I am a person who loves color. Lots and lots of color and texture, shiny things, fringey things, all kinds of things. If I need a neutral, I usually go for navy or army green. But in the summer, weirdly, wearing black feels right.

In the fall and winter it feels too severe, that’s when I lean hardest into color. But in the summer, with a tan, with burning hot sun on your skin—I don’t know, it feels so good and fun and correct! Maybe part of it is having a little bit of a tan (the forbidden joy!) and that black looks best against warmth—maybe it’s too severe because I’m too pale—but black in the summer is unexpected, and I think I’m over-intellectualizing something that’s actually pretty shallow: black is sexy, and in the summer I feel sexy (in my way), and so I feel hot and gorgeous wearing black.

Here’s how I do it so that it doesn’t feel too heavy. I also put together a little edit of pieces that fit this vibe on EarlURL.com. I didn’t give too many shoping picks here, so you can find them there!

Ok now here we go.

GO SHEER

Ignore the awful bra I’m wearing on the left, but the sexiest thing ever is something sheer and black. And in the summer it doesn’t feel try-hard or like a stretch, it feels appropriate. The gauzy weight matches the heat of the day, but the black contrasts, and together it makes the most perfect mix.

On the left, I’mw wearing the most beautiful tunic from Chan Luu with these gorgeous round silver sequins. The pants are Donni, and are also sheer. I like how the two of them hint at what’s underneath without actually revealing much. And when they overlap become completely opaque. And I’m wearing these insane Christen heels the whole time because I love them SO MUCH.

On the right, the top is just a wide swath of sheer navy fabric (I mean, it’s a silk organza stole, but it’s so much more!) that I’ve pinned up to be a top. I did a video showing how on Instagram. And yes, it’s navy, but the pants are black (mine are very old but I love these). The sheerness of the top looks very formal, but with black cropped trousers and these weird little shoes it tones it all down and stays interesting. The contrast of sheer and opaque is really nice.

USE IT TO MAKE COLORS LOOK BRIGHTER

Normally I don’t like wearing color with black, I don’t like the idea of a “pop of color”, but in the summer, when everything is so bright and vivid, anchoring color with black makes it feel brighter but also anchored in something more graphic. I don’t want to feel too floaty or breezy and black keeps that from happening. Maybe it’s a “pop of black” rather than a pop of color.

On the left, these are the same Donni pants as before (you can see the sheerness a little better here) and I love how they look with this yellow-y tan shirt, and my insane Puppets & Puppets sparkly banana bag.

Meanwhile this Pucci shirt is one I can’t stop wearing - I love the colors, love the pattern, and I love how it looks with these black bike shorts. These are the longer version of these shorts. It’s very 80s, very LA Story, and I like it very much.

MIX TEXTURES

If I’m going head to toe in black, I also like to mix the textures with something that’s summery (crochet or poplin) and something a little more solid (the light wool of the Rohe skirt and the nylon of the Sacai one).

This Maria McManus crochet tank is one I loved but initially wasn’t sure how much I’d actually wear. I’m wearing it here with a nude bra, which doesn’t look as good as a black bralette (but I couldn’t find mine), but I love the texture of this, and how it’s obviously open but doesn’t seem too revealing. I also like the contrast of how beachy it is with the formality of the pleated school-girl style skirt (try this one or this from Uniqlo in chiffon).

On the right, I love the big oversized black button down in a classic, crisp poplin, and how it highlights the sheen and sportyness of the skirt. The shirt makes it feel light and relaxed (especially with tan forearms…eek!), and even though the silhouette is kind of traditional and staid (button down shirt and midi skirt) it feels cool and interesting because it’s all black, because of the texture mix, and because of the open toe shoes.

That’s it!

A few summers ago, when my kids were maybe three and five or four and six, I started to think that my childhood memories of summer—long lazy stretches of sunshine on my back, eating fresh apricots out of a bucket of cool water and looking for bugs in my yard with my best friend who lived across the street—were as lovely in my mind as they must have been horrible in my parents’. Summer is for kids, duh, but the glory of it, the joyful freedom, the spoils are all for the kids (much like Christmas) and the adults meanwhile stand off to the corner gritting their teeth, longing for it to end. I wrote this a few years ago, and I felt it all so intensely, I toned down what I wrote so much because I felt so completely wrung out by their summer. Totally drained of my mental and physical reserves, and financial too since in order to get some bit of structure AND work you need either help or back to back camps, and every morning at that age is a fierce negotiation to get your kid to go along with either option. They never go happily.

I didn’t worry that there was something wrong with me, I knew what I was feeling was valid. So much of what I struggled with in early parenthood could be summarized by my summertime experience: how can I deal with having no control over a person I am so responsible for. How can I balance the feeling of being in charge, the one constantly saying “no,” “stop doing that", “get down from there,” to a person who is unpredictable, unreasonable, and occasionally at odds with themselves as well as with me. School would end and I would be filled with dread, the things I hated most about being a mother (being in charge) now taking up the greatest portion of what was on my plate. It felt impossible, lonely, and whenever I tried to bring it up I felt like an asshole.

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Fall is about to start shipping to Earl IRL—I’ve asked a lot of our vendors to hold off on shipping until I’m back from my summer break, at the end of the month. (Side note, I go on break August 12, and won’t be back until September 1. If you’d like an appointment with me, come in this week, or Monday or Tuesday next week. Morgan will be in the store, so we won’t be closed that whole time, I just will not personally be there!) That said, I feel like in many ways we’re really about to hit our stride in terms of the brands we’re getting in store, and also the things we’re getting in store.

I talked about this with Bettina and Albert from Rocha, unfortunately my audio got cut out of the recording… but the thing we talked about was when we both opened we took on brands and items we thought we “should” have, or things that “would sell,” because they either sold well for someone else, or seemed like the kind of thing people want. Sometimes those buys hit, sometimes they didn’t. Mainly they didn’t, and the things that did hit, for me, were the weird things that I specifically love and covet and can’t get enough of. The Ashishes, the Zankovs, and then less weird but still wonderful Kallmeyer, Rohe, Madesome, Arma, High Sport, etc etc etc. Fall is shaping up to be really excellent. We’re bringing on Conner Ives, along with Kartik Research, Yana Matkivski, Olivia Cashmore, and ready-to-wear from Indress. We’re creeping up on a year, and I think the edit is only getting sharper and sharper.

The first thing to deliver from fall was our Herbert Levine buy, and oh my god, it kills. These are easily the most beautiful shoes I’ve ever seen—each pair is lined with unbelievably soft suede, they feel like baby mouse ears, and every style is cuntier than the last.

It was difficult to make my edit for the store with these—buying them is a major investment. Shoes also take up a ton of space in the store because, obviously, they’re stored in boxes. And I need to buy multiple sizes for each pair, so that’s just more and more and more money and space. On paper, it seems like a questionable choice to even have them. And yet….I love them. And I love Trevor, the brand’s designer. And aside from meeting people all day and playing with clothes, the best part of what I do is getting to meet someone kind who’s making something wonderful (I have a personal attachment or connection to every single brand I have in my store) and then helping other people discover this wonderful, special thing. I get to make discoveries and then really do something with them! What a blessing!

So anyway, the store is full of shoes, and they thrill me, but I did have a strategy when I was putting together the edit, otherwise it would have been impossible. I was thinking - this buy (more than any other buy) should represent a complete shoe wardrobe. All the bases should be covered with some wildcards thrown in. There’s an unstructured take on the classic loafer, an elegant lady flat, a sensible kitten heel mule, a great flat black boot, a perfect riding boot, a sexy heel, and a bitchy pointy toe boot. Then there are some wild-cards, the things that make your wardrobe extra-special: a pair of riding boots in leopard calf hair, a wine-colored kitten heel mule, a pointy knee-high boot that’s dark brown on one side and cream on the other. A few surprises to round out the basics.

I think the philosophy for the rest of the store is heading in the inverse of that: surprises with a few basics to round them out, and I just love that direction. There’s been a lot written about and talked about when it comes to retail lately, and I’m just so happy people are getting out to shop in person again. I’m happy I get to create my own thing and share it with people.

SO! This is a little look at the shoe edit. The photos are blurry because I didn’t wipe off my front-facing camera, but this is the reality of Earl IRL. It’s me and my assistant, our hands on everything, very sweet and tender and gentle and sometimes there are crumbs on the floor.

COME SEE US!

Your friend,

Laurel (earl@earlirl.com)

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I’m obviously not a doctor, none of this is medical advice.

My perspective on visibly aging, for myself, is this: I want to look like the best possible version of my own age. No younger, ideally not older, but just like a very healthy, well-loved 40 year-old. This involves a little bit of botox, a tiny bit of filler in my lips, Botox in my neck, Sofwave for my neck, a hint of Sculptra, lots of sunscreen, a red light mask and a Lyma laser (this thing is so expensive but it REALLY works). I don’t have a twenty step beauty routine (I cleanse, serum, moisturize - or in the morning just splash with cold water and SPF), but I do really love in-office procedures that aim to strengthen my skin and help it regenerate.

I’m generally very happy and satisfied with the way I look, but occasionally there are things that start to bother me. My neck flap is one, my nasolabial folds (flaps) sometimes bother me, under my eyes it’s starting to look very crepey (I love the look of crow’s feet so I don’t botox my eyes, thus the undereye is getting crinkly) and that skin just feels thin. My beloved Christina at Contrapposto (Christina is THE BEST THERE IS. I will never see anyone other than her, she is the absolute best in LA) suggested I could try PRF for under my eyes if it really bothered me. I needed to go by for something else (more on that in a second) and I’d heard great things about PRF, so I thought, what the hell. Let’s go for it. We also went over the before and afters from Sofwave, which were pretty impressive! Those are here too.

And I was in the mood to get a little attention that day so I thought, maybe I could turn the appointment into a Substack Live! Alas, that would have been a bad idea because the appointment was a lot of us giggling and dead time, but I did film the whole thing so you can see what its like, and I grill Christina on all kinds of other skincare questions (what does one do about neck lines, for example. Or, how much down time is there really after a CO2 laser?). You can watch it all here.

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I think about that feeling a lot now with my own kids and getting myself into the things that they’re into. They’re little, 6 and 8, and I’m not the best at getting on the floor and playing, so getting into the things they’re into means books, podcasts, movies, and sometimes music. When something’s playing or happening I can’t tune it out, so I either get sucked into these things and like it, or it drives me fucking crazy. So many of the things my kids like and I like came from recommendations from friends, so here are some of our favorites.

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An excellent chiffon printed button down and coordinating wrap skirt from Chan Luu (with a chan luu sequin bag!) AND sunglasses from Selima Optique. I love this set so much, It’s great separately and over a swimsuit, but also makes a fabulous outfit on its own. A nice thing to have a look that can do double uses if you’re trying to pack in just a carry on. Here are the Herbert Levine sandals we have right now.

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