Retail Therapy 044: Ladcore Kits & Burrata
Plus a ton of listener questions.
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
I have the absolute pleasure of reporting to you live from my couch right now — my happy place during the EPL season — while watching Brentford take on a Harry Kane-less Spurs side. It was a good weekend because Manchester United won’t lose, but it could be a very bad bad Monday should they get clipped tomorrow. But enough about ladcore, we discussed that enough during this week’s episode.
In/Out of the Week: Burrata
There are very (very) few things I won’t order at a restaurant. If the restaurant itself is willing to hang its hat on a certain type of specialty, I’m the type of customer who would like to explore that specialty.
But lately, I’ve found myself a bit miffed whenever I pitch getting that one particular appetizer — burrata — only to have people be averse to it. It’s made me feel like an outsider; like a gluttonous heathen wanting to drench white sludge over everything.
Have I been self-conscious about this for the last few months? Yes. Was I surprised to see this passage written in a piece by Grub Street titled Burrata Is So Boring? No.
To be clear, the problem isn’t burrata itself, essentially a wrapping of mozzarella filled with cream. When it’s applied judiciously (Marea’s chilled lobster with tomatoes and burrata comes to mind), its dense, milky heft serves as a welcome base note to a dish’s other ingredients. But too often, the burrata is the focal point, a thick blob of cold dairy that gets a few splashes of seasonal garnishes and a $20 price tag.
You can read it in full here, but just know that Barrett humbled me a bit and I will no longer be ordering cheese at the table before more cheese arrives.
Does Gen-Z even know what a darkroom is?
It wouldn’t be Retail Therapy without the breakdown of a new aesthetic, and this week that aesthetic was Darkroom-Core. Yes, like the darkroom all of us art students had at our disposal in high school but never used.
Per The New York Times:
Red in restaurants has, of course, been done before. Red checkerboard tablecloths are an iconic feature of the Italian American trattoria, and because red is an auspicious color in Chinese culture, it is used heavily in Chinese restaurants, including in lantern form. And orange-red neon smolders within and blinks above bars and red-light districts everywhere.
More specifically, red light is thought to stimulate hunger, diminish the appearance of blemishes, and evoke associations with sexiness and dangers, said Jennifer Guerin, a color consultant based in San Diego. Its incandescent tones are “a lot more immersive” than, say, red leather booths or carpet, so it promotes the impression of intimacy.
I’m still of the thinking that this only applies to millennials, but perhaps Gen-Z has been watching a ton of Freaks and Geeks on Hulu lately and is really trying to throw it back to when these rooms were actually used for their purpose — not to mask our blemishes while we brown out on espresso martinis.
And if you’re going to take anything away from Freaks and Geeks, just make sure it’s how the entire series ends. Here you go if you want to know what I’m talking about.
The Lads are assembling again.
Yep — like I said, it’s the first weekend of the English Premier League season which means we had to dip into some ladcore: “a fashion aesthetic that focuses on the British football culture, as well as old club uniforms from the 80s and 90s.”
Here are some of the examples we discussed:
And while we did discuss more than just these two #kits, you’ll need to watch the episode on YouTube for the full gamut.
Some questions from you, the listeners.
We had a big week over on the Retail Therapy Instagram. Not only did we get accused of mansplaining Girl Dinners (we are innocent!!!), we also fielded some questions from all the listeners who had them bottled up since our last listener questions episode.
Oh, here’s the clip that made several algorithm viewers annoyed with us:
But when it came to the actual questions, Barrett did a wonderful job of separating them out into two categories that are as follows:
Formal Wear: Tuxedos, tux fittings, dressing for The Grand Hotel in Michigan (see: example), and Dos and Don’ts of Black Tie
Travel: Checked bags vs. carry-ons, travel must-haves, Europe’s new visas for Americans, and small souvenirs we take home from trips.
We dove further into some other questions as well, but this was truly the bulk. If you have any other questions, feel free to comment them below and we’ll prioritize them next time we convene.
Of course, we closed things out with our wishlists and imminent cops.
For 2023, we’ve hit the reset button on our wishlists and made them a bit more digestible for the year ahead. To access the complete version of our 2022 wishlists, look no further than our final Listener Digest of 2022. New items in bold.
Will’s Wishlist (2023)
YSL Patent Tortoise Le Loafers ($895) — Link
AYR Sweatpants ($145) — Link
Pebble Strike Match Holder by Houseplant ($125) — Link
NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe —Link(Bought/Returned)Sangre de Fruta Garden of Earthly Delights Body Wash ($48) —Link(Purchased.)New Balance 574 Legacy (MKT) — Link
Bode Kids Lace Shirt ($198) —Link(Too ridiculous)Aime Leon Dore Eyelet Knit Shorts (Sold Out) —Link(Tried on, too heavy.)Birkenstock Kyoto Suede Leather Gray ($220) — Link
Manresa Corn Neck Shorts ($105) —LinkAdidas Adilette 22 Slides ($60) —Link(Not into them anymore.)Football: Designing the Beautiful Game Book ($45) —Link(Bought this instead.)Stussy Heavyweight Pigment Dyed LS Tee ($65) — Link
UTurn Turntable Weight & Cork Mat — Link
Vintage Early 90s Grateful Dead Tee (1 of 1 so withholding link)
NEW: Custom Vans ($90) — Link
Barrett’s Wishlist (2023)
Loewe Puzzle Cardholder ($335) — Link
Bottega Veneta Credit Card Case ($420) — Link
R13 Beige Kurt Sneakers ($470) — Link
Le Labo Fragrances ($220) — The Matcha 26 | Another 13
Homme Plisse Issey Miyake “Color Pleats” ($325) — Link
Polo Country Ball Cap ($55) — Link
Moscot Yontif Sunglasses in Blonde ($340) — Link
John Elliott Patchwork Military Shirt Jacket ($998) — Link
Todd Snyder Seersucker Weekender Shirt ($118) — Link
Birkenstock EVA Arizona ($50) — Link
OAS Bohemia Swim Shorts ($90) — Link
J.Crew 6” Tech Dock Short ($70) — Link
Made In Carbon Steel Griddle + Press ($199) — Link
Uniqlo Utility Short Coat ($80) — Link
IMMINENT COP: Moccamaster KBGV Select Coffee Brewer ($359) — Link
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.