Retail Therapy 008: Martinis, Coastal Grandmas, and Blokecore
The most Will deFries episode there ever was.
We did it — we created an episode of Retail Therapy that hit all of Will’s favorite interests: Martinis, Something’s Gotta Give style, and English soccer. Here’s everything you need to know to follow along with this week’s episode of Retail Therapy.
“Wellness Is Dead. Long Live the Martini.”
It’s a piece that went somewhat-viral over the weekend with no shortage of Retail Therapy listeners sending it our way. Penned by Emily Sundberg for Grub Street, she describes the rise of martinis as everyone’s post-pandemic staple cocktail. Here’s an excerpt to give you an idea:
“Historically, martinis are a drink of gravitas for me, conjuring images of tailored suits, men with money clips and thick stacks of cash, or my dad after work at the bar of a Chinese restaurant waiting for our family’s takeout order. But the martini culture I’ve been observing recently looks nothing like this. I’m talking about tables of friends around burgers and French fries, sloshing back martinis in front of the flash of phone cameras. Twenty-somethings ordering another round at happy hour (a death wish, if you ask me). Massive batched martinis at spring kickbacks (another death wish). “Ordering a martini” has become an activity, something that someone does as much as something that someone drinks.”
You can read it in full here.
From our personal martini tastes to our experiences ordering them in group settings, there’s no doubting that martinis are top-of-mind for everyone as they approach the bar; whether that’s a good thing or not is yet to be decided.
As for me? Well, I’ll be on the train until I get bucked off (again).
The Aesthetics Corner
As we do during these episodes, the word ‘aesthetic’ got tossed around a lot given the fact that two recently-soaring aesthetics fall right into our wheelhouse: Coastal Grandmas and Blokecore.
Coastal Grandmas
While a bunch of articles will attribute the rise of Coastal Grandma style to TikTok, we scaled things back a bit and gave praise where praise was due: to Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give.
White jeans, tan cashmere turtleneck sweaters, bucket hats that are being worn for their actual purpose of shielding you from the sun — yes, all of things fall into the ‘Coastal Grandma’ aesthetic. But, of course, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Here’s a quote from a recent Highsnobiety piece that may help:
Inspired by wealthy women of a certain age, the look revolves around anything you might find a well-to-do retiree wearing by the beaches of Nantucket or Maine: white button-downs, straight-leg jeans, cashmere pullovers, linen caftans, and pashmina shawls are some prime examples of Coastal Grandma fodder.
If you're still bewildered (TikTok has a tendency to be confusing, especially for us non-Gen Z'ers), look to women like Oprah and Ina Garten for clarification. There are fictional examples of chic Coastal Grandmas, too: namely, Erica Berry (Diane Keaton) in Something's Gotta Give and Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) of It's Complicated.
Because Something’s Gotta Give remains in the Sunday Scaries Podcast’s Sunday movie rotation, any uptick in this fashion is very welcome.
Blokecore
At this point in my life, my schedule revolves around three things in this order:
My son.
Work.
The European Soccer Calendar.
Am I proud of this? No. But do I spend every weekend morning and most weekday afternoons soaking up all the European soccer action my little heart can take? Of course.
While soccer’s influence on fashion has been vast for many years, ‘blokecore’ is something that TikTok (of course) has gotten a hold of as of late. From Adidas Sambas to acid-washed jeans to vintage training tops, achieving this look is easier than most other trends out there.
If you’re looking to do a little shopping of your own to up your blokecore game, look no further than the following sites:
As always, we closed things out with our wishlists.
Apologies for any broken links below — a lot of these products are now from older seasons or have since sold out, so our link situation will remain in flux.
Will’s Wishlist
Vintage Side Tables — New
Barrett’s Wishlist
To listen to this week’s episode of Retail Therapy in its entirety, look no further than Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, if you’d like to watch it, look no further than YouTube.
Feedback? Compliments? Comments? Concerns? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this week’s episode.