Aesops all the way down 🛍️🫧
Kaley’s reflections from across the pond + romance recs + a few good men
Kaley’s London Recap 🎡💂🏼♂️🇬🇧
Last week, I had the privilege of doing some business travel to the UK to conduct focus groups. During the day I had lots of time to wander the streets of London. Though it was my first visit, it felt familiar. So many of my very favorite pop culture touchpoints come from the Brits. I was raised by Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, and Kiera Knightly. Like, I literally exited Heathrow’s baggage claim and jogged into my coworker’s arms proclaiming that “love actually *is* all around us.”
A bit more disappointingly, London felt familiar because the shops were the same. Shopping culture has become so global and homogenized that London’s high streets have pretty much the same stores as my old Abbot-Kinney stomping ground in Venice and Nolita in New York. Basically, it was Aesops all the way down.
Despite the homogeneity, a few stores caught my eye, less for their offerings, and more for their aesthetics. I am a stubborn carry-on-only traveler and am not much of a trinket girlie, so for me, shopping tourism is more window than spree. Plus, breaking down aesthetics is a professional and personal pastime. I love to pontificate about what a brand’s aesthetics are communicating (successfully or otherwise) about their offering and target audience. So let’s go shopping!
Ganni, Notting Hill:
Gemini describes the Danish fashion brand’s aesthetic as “playful, colorful, and feminine with a Scandinavian twist.” I’d say they nailed it! I personally don’t own anything from Ganni, but could see the throughline, and would consider a future purchase.
Sezane, Marylebone:
My favorite quiet luxury French brand’s London store had a literal sweater bar complete with a bartender who you asked to procure you a sweater in your size. The soft colors and fluffy-looking textures were giving Parisian chic with an air of exclusivity that still feels somewhat within reach. Exactly how I think of my own Sezane items, which feel like a splurge but not an eye watering one.
LoveShackFancy, Notting Hill:
My god, the florals! The florals! I’m being choked to death by the florals!
According to the great Casey Lewis, LoveShackFancy perfume was #14 on her study of What Gen Z Got For Christmas in 2024 according to the (mostly white) girls on TikTok posting gift hauls. She wrote that the “ultra-feminine brand, best known for their flouncy floral mini dresses, expanded into fragrance in 2023, and their $125 Forever in Love Eau de Parfum was one of the most frequently mentioned fragrances in hauls this year.”
So when I saw LoveShackFancy on our wander through Notting Hill, I made a beeline to the store. And wow. I don’t know how else to describe it but “ultra feminine” with lots of ”flouncy florals.” I love a pastel and a floral, but this store immediately conveyed with its cloyingly strong perfume smell and frilly multi-tiered dresses that it was a little too femme for me.
Choosing Keeping, Seven Dials:
Now for a true original: Choosing Keeping is a stunningly curated, upscale stationary and gift store that my friend Maddy strong-armed me into visiting. It was worth it, even though as previously established I’m not much for stationary or the calligraphic arts. This store made me want to be. It was filled with stylish notebooks, fancy art materials, and elegant objects d’art. I had to talk myself out of buying sticks of wax and a sealing signet. I don’t even write letters!
Anyway, here’s me and one of my besties at Platform 9¾!
This Week In Cool Shiny Culture:
✉️ Megan’s Cool: They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Save the Date is that lemonade for Alison Raskin. The writer & internet personality’s latest book is a novel loosely inspired by her real life broken engagement. As someone who's followed Allison’s career (and has had the honor of meeting her), I’m often impressed by the way she navigates life’s most vulnerable moments on the public stage and then turns them into art. The book is out this week so make sure to grab your copy; I’ve got mine!!
👩🏻🎤 Kaley’s Cool: I can’t stop talking about ABBA Voyage. Here’s me right before I had the time of my life:
If you, like me a month ago, don’t know what ABBA Voyage is, let me enlighten you! It’s a “concert experience,” where the septuagenarian band members return to the stage as their younger selves through on-screen digital avatars. They’re accompanied by a live backing band and singers and a custom light and stage show.
The show was a little uncanny valley, but it was also AWESOME. It was indescribably fun to dance and sing to ABBA songs with Boomers wearing sequined jumpsuits and bachelorette parties (or should I say hen-do’s) in matching white dresses. If you get the chance to go to London, definitely check out what could be the future of concert experiences.
🍻Megan’s Shiny: Overcompensating created by Benito Skinner is coming to a streaming-service-that-shall-not-be-named May 15th. The raunchy comedy about a closeted college dude also features music and acting from our favorite bratty popstar, Charli XCX. I have a feeling this series will make this millennial rofl.
🦿Kaley’s Shiny: I devoured Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young. Highly recommend this very sweet romance between two differently abled main characters.
Marketing we 💖: Therabody goes all in on travel collabs
United x Therabody
I’m in the midst of the annoying process of switching loyalty from Delta to United and therefore flew United to London. I was pleasantly surprised to find a Therabody amenities bag on my premium economy seat. The bag consisted of the standard essentials to address poor sleep and jet lag (socks, eye mask, earplugs) but took it one step further to conquer the bane of Sephora girlies everywhere: dehydrated skin. The inclusion of lotion, lip balm, and facial serum were smart choices, addressing a growing customer focus on the moisture barrier. My one note: the lip product should be a stick rather than a squeeze tube so as not to explode in the pressurized in-cabin air.
Kimpton x Therabody
After Therabody kept me hydrated on the plane, they continued to have my back at my hotel! Upon checking into the Kimpton, I learned that guests can order a variety of Therabody amenities to their rooms, including an LED light mask, TheraGun, and recovery wave boots. I immediately took advantage of the light mask (my Dr Gross light mask is my holy grail skincare device but too bulky to pack). My coworker also used it and said she was going to splurge on one. Marketing works!
Opposite of Cynical: TheDogsWereGoodAgain on the power of empathy
As they quote out of context on TikTok, “he’s a good man Savannah.” We’re talking about Matt Nelson, the creator behind the “We Rate Dogs” channels across social media. On his podcast, he refuted claims made by a certain South African oligarch on the Joe Rogan podcast that “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” Nelson calls empathy “an evolutionary gift that connects us to everything around us” citing his experience with building a community around the empathy humans have for dogs and makes the admirable plea to embrace empathy in your everyday life. Click above - it’s worth the watch!
Must see TT: Dance Dads
You know those Jimmy Kimmel man on the street interviews where the dads know nothing about their children? Yeah, this is the opposite of that. In this adorable TikTok, the camera person asks a handful of Dance Dads what their favorite move in their daughter’s routine is and they demonstrate with surprising aplomb.
Everyday Activism: Kaley on a win in local politics 🗳️
An update on the local library board of trustees election that I wrote about last edition: the right people won!! The library ladies beat back fascism and soundly defeated the Christian nationalist-backed slate of male candidates. Yay! Maybe my yard signs helped, I say to my husband. (He says no more yard signs for a year.)
What Cool Shiny is reading ✨📰👀
Nationwide 'Hands Off!' protests erupt against Trump and Musk - Juliana Kim for NPR
"This is first time that I am trying to regularly participate," said Patty Kim, a retired federal worker, who attended the D.C. rally with her husband. "I felt so frustrated and paralyzed by the bunch of things that are going on that undermine human rights and humanity in this country that I love, that I had to do something."
What’s It Like Being a Girl in America? – Nicolaia Rips for i-D
“...through this project, I talked with some of the most curious, lovely, and funny humans I’ve had the good fortune to meet. They spoke about other girls with respect and adoration (“She’s a total character” or “She’s really kind”). They were politically engaged and totally self-possessed, even if they didn’t realize it yet.”
The Limits of A.I.-Generated Miyazaki - Kyle Chayka for The New Yorker
“.... the replication of Studio Ghibli’s style has no meaning without the collective feeling we have for the Miyazaki aesthetic, inspired by its films. In our present moment, I worry much less for artists, who are driven to create things, than for audiences, who may be content to settle for so many pale imitations. “
Cheerio,
Kaley & Megan