Retail Therapy 063: Babygirl Men, Bookshelf Wealth, and Olive Oil Ice Cream
Plus tasting the bottle and Pookie's fire fits.
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
Retail Therapy candles are back.
But there aren’t many left (less than 15!) because we launched them earlier this week and have been selling since. Grab one while you can because we’re not sure when the next restock will be.
Let’s get into this week’s episode.
Constantly aspiring to be Babygirl Men.
Paul Mescal. Jacob Elordi. Barry Keoghan. You’ve heard their names ad nauseam on the show lately. So much so that Randy may need to replace the Aime Leon Dore bell with a “babygirl men” bell.
Unsure what a babygirl man is at this point? That’s okay, we were confused too. Here are some of the descriptors used by Vogue Business in their column about them:
“Babygirl is a designation that’s given out when we find this person not just hot, but interesting; worthwhile,” says writer and pop culture consultant Evan Ross Katz (who is also firmly entrenched in the fashion world). “It’s a word that gets ascribed to a guy who is adorable and of whom there’s a general sentiment of acceptance in culture,” Katz says. “It’s someone that we’ve more or less universally decided to love.”
“They’re leading men in movies that we’re all gushing over, and seeing them in their street style moments, having fun with fashion — not just on the red carpet — is satisfying to me as a stylist,” says Britt Theodora, whose clients include Pete Davidson and Celine Song. She’s noticed more gifting from women’s and gender-neutral brands for men lately, plus more male client requests for handbags.
Retailers are taking note — and buying accordingly. “The Row’s Margaux bag is a bestseller within menswear, yet officially belongs to the women’s collections,” says Mytheresa’s head of menswear buying Sophie Jordan. “We actively review the women’s bags collections on selected brands, such as Bottega Veneta, Loewe and The Row, to add relevant styles directly into our men’s buys.”
Am I about to risk it all and buy a Margaux bag from The Row? Well, no, because they’re like five grand. But now I want one more than words can tell, unfortunately.
Imagine not reading novels in public at this point.
Some personal news: I recently moved. When we moved into our new place, I noticed a bookshelf that absolutely needed filling. But upon reviewing my book collection, I had a realization: I didn’t have nearly enough books to fill the shelf. It really made me reconsider how much I’ve been reading lately, which is about two books a year.
From reading parties to tossing a Penguin Classic in your back pocket for airport vibes, we discussed the rise in reading, GQ’s ‘hot guy’ books, and the idea of buying aesthetic books for your bookshelf.
Spoiler: NOT a fan of the latter.
Imagine not putting olive oil on your ice cream at this point.
For the last few weeks, I’ve seen more tweets like this than I can quantify. If you don’t want to click through to Elon’s X site, here’s what the tweet says:
The girlies are right. The vanilla ice cream + olive oil + salt combo does in fact eat
After seeing it enough, I had no choice but to try it. Here’s my finished product:
I used HEB’s Creamy Creations vanilla ice cream, Brightland’s olive oil, and Maldon salt. And while this won’t be my go-to dessert for the foreseeable future, I definitely won’t avoid trying it again or mixing it into the rotation every once in a while. After all, if it’s good enough for Dua Lipa, it’s good enough for me.
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Need I say more?
This is how we taste the bottle of wine now.
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Electric stuff from noted singer Dries Roelvink who I had never heard of until I saw him taste a bottle of white last week. If you wan’t a snippet of this segment, look no further than @retail.pod on Instagram.
Obsessed with Pookie
The internet has become absolutely infatuated with the Pucketts over the last week, and I’m not an outlier in this scenario. This TikTok made the rounds and really shot them into the news cycle:
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Are they the perfect couple? Well, no. But I can’t stop watching them and their absurd trips to Paris with multiple Birkins.
Of course, we closed things out with our wishlists and imminent cops.
For 2024, 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 and 2023 wishlists, look no further than our final Listener Digest of 2022 and our final Listener Digest of 2023.
Will’s Wishlist (2024)
Seeking recommendations for dining tables, media consoles, and rugs!
RRL Officer Khakis ($241.50 on sale) — Link
Abercrombie Workwear Pants ($68) — Link
Nike ACG Russet Moc ($100) — Link
Soho Home Nadine Rug ($1,016) — Link
NEW: Acqua di Parma Colonia C.L.U.B. Eau de Cologne ($150) — Link
Barrett’s Wishlist (2024)
Margaret Howell Fireman Trousers ($495 Retail / $371.25 Sale) — Link
Vass Shoes Black Leather Cap Toe Oxfords (€417) — Link
Uniqlo Down Parkas ($40-$150) — Link
NEW: Montblanc Meisterstück Stainless Steel & Black Onyx Cufflinks ($280) — Link
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
Pookie!!!! Ole miss alum ofc