Retail Therapy 075: Overpriced Wine at The Met Gala

Plus monk living in the countryside and footy collaborations.

May 14, 2024

Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.

This week’s Retail Therapy topics: The Met Gala, living like a monk in The Cotswolds, Aime Leon Dore’s New Balance footy boots, the escalating price of wine, and more. Let’s dive in.

A look back on The Met Gala that was.

While I’m not always sold on The Met Gala, this year actually raised its stock for me as a consumer. Was it because the theme offered us pretty on-the-nose outfits? Perhaps. But was it more because I got to see the Succession cast act pretty Succession-y again? Maybe.

Due to concerns about copyrights (I got fined $500 for a Princess Diana Barbour coat picture once), I’m simply going to list out all the looks we discussed below:

Daniel Levy — Link
Anok Yai — Link
Lewis Hamilton — Link
Will Welch — Link
Kieran Culkin — Link
Kim Kardashian — Link
Kylie Jenner — Link
Jeremy Strong — Link
Doja Cat — Link
Tom Ford — Link
Barry Keoghan — Link
Andrew Scott — Link

Not to spoil anything too much, but Daniel Levy was far and away my favorite look across the entire spectrum. But maybe I’m trying to make up for that one time I pronounced Loewe wrong in a Sunday Scaries episode.

This Week in Bruvs

Liam Gallagher living as a monk in the English countryside

Not only did Liam claim he could drink 20 pints of Guinness in one sitting last week, but he’s not claiming he wants to live like a monk — and I’m all-in on both versions. From The Daily Mail:

Liam Gallagher is reportedly renting a £16,950-a-month mansion complete with a meditation room to honour his vow to 'live like a monk'.
The Manchester rocker, 51, lives in the property with his fiancée Debbie Gwyther and their beloved dog Buttons.
His new home is a Victorian build in the heart of the Cotswolds and joins his North London and French abodes.
Liam dons a black anorak and goggles for walks around the vast green landscape surrounding his home with his rescue pup.
Neighbours have told The Sun: 'It looked as though Liam was doing his best to not be recognised. Locals have been shocked to see him in the area and it’s the talk of the town.'

We stan a self-care king (especially one that takes down pints the day before a meditation binge).

Bukayo Saka teaming up with Aime Leon Dore and New Balance

While supporting anything Arsenal doesn’t feel great from my perspective, game has to eventually recognize game — and Saka has been getting my recognition for a long time now.

Taking their authenticity up a notch, Aime Leon Dore has now officially gone all-in on football with this post:

aimeleondore

A post shared by @aimeleondore

It’s a great collaboration for both Aime Leon Dore and New Balance respectively, and Saka’s stamp of approval only solidifies that it will be successful in some shape or form. I’m extremely excited by the possibilities here, and even more excited to talk to Barrett about where ALD is opening their next store.

This is why bottles of wine cost so much at restaurants now.

A devastating article from Punch released late last week about the soaring prices of wine. If you’re anything like us, you too have realized that bottles can’t be fetched at most restaurants for $40 anymore.

Here are a few excerpts we honed in on during the larger discussion:

On the rising cost of, well, everything:

“We were looking at glass shortages during bottling processes. Corks got more expensive. French oak was hard to find. Winemakers had to up their prices just to get their stuff out the door.”
These days, a restaurant markup anywhere between three and four times a wine’s at-cost price (what the distributor charges) is fairly standard. And while restaurateurs and wine buyers aren’t exactly thrilled by that metric, it’s become commonplace across New York establishments, which are paying increasing minimum wage, food costs, rent prices, even employee benefits.

And an interesting correlation:

“Have you ever seen a trend grow as quickly as the Espresso Martini? It’s wild,” notes Theo Lieberman, beverage director at Pasquale Jones along with the rest of Delicious Hospitality Group’s restaurants. “Five years ago, I’d never seen anybody drinking an Espresso Martini, and now it’s like, If you’re not drinking one, are you even in a restaurant? And truthfully, I think the cocktail has done an unbelievable amount to pull people away from wine.”

Either way, find the Retail boys dropping their cash on cocktails in the eternal search for the drink of the summer.

Articles of Interest

Aesthetic of the Week: Coppolacore — Link
Photo dump accounts are the new finstas — Link
Gen Z’s lip gloss obession — Link

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)

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
Acqua di Parma Colonia C.L.U.B. Eau de Cologne ($150) — Link
Drake’s Swim Shorts ($145 on sale) — Link
Dark Brown Belgians ($675) — Link
LL Bean Field Coat (price unknown) — Link
A&F All Day Shorts ($60) — Link
Vintage Duck Camo Pants ($225) — Link
Boy Smells x Kacey Musgraves Deeper Well Candle ($56) — Link
Kavu Organic Strapcap ($40) — Link
Predator Mundial 2024 ($120) — Link
Every Other Thursday Hat ($44) — Link
Kermit Oak Foldable Chair ($300) — Link
Block Crochet Knit S/S Shirt Navy ($450) — Link
Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NRG ($190) — Link
New: Vintage Patagonia Stand-Up Shorts on eBay ($25-$60)

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
Montblanc Meisterstück Stainless Steel & Black Onyx Cufflinks ($280) — Link
Second/Layer Pico Blazer & Trousers ($340 on sale) — Link
Lululemon Soft Jersey Short 5” ($68) — Link
Abercrombie & Fitch “Handcrafted” 3-Button Polo ($90 on sale for $72) — Link
Bode x Nike Sneakers ($150) — Link
JJJJound Sambas ($250) — Link
Post O’Alls x Bagsinprogress Beach Bag — Link
Toga x PORTER Nylon Backpack ($1,135) — Link
Sacai x Carhartt WIP Cotton-Canvas Shorts ($470) — Link
Guest in Residence “Breezy” Sweater ($395) — Link
Noah Slouchy Sock ($22) — Link
New: Garrett Leight “Webster” Sunglasses ($249) — Link