The Honor Roll
Summer Discoveries Ed.
Summer Discoveries Ed.
Summer may have started on June 23, but I never really feel it until right around … now. Post-July 4. When I’ve been away, mixed up the routine, dunked under water (or, ok, breaststroked through it that one time) and had a chance to feel a little salt and sun on my skin. And so, in honor of all these #summerfeels, I bring you HCC’s 2019 summer essentials.
Summer leather: Right before summer started, my Honor Code Creative partner, Susanne, said “Summer leather, it’s a thing!” and started looking for leather shorts on The Real Real. And I was all, “Yeah, hot and sticky is just what I need on my legs in the sun.” Alas, as in most things with Susanne, I ended up on board. I’ve been wearing my black long leather shorts to shreds at night, and I got a Prada distressed brown midi on sale that I’ll wear with a breezy white tank before putting it into the fall rotation.
Bohana popped lily seeds. Yeah, lily seeds. When my husband introduced me to these, I was all — whatever, chef. Until I tried them. These satisfy my every crunchy snack craving, fill me up, are gluten free, and are a new biz from two cool-seeming Indian women based on a traditional Indian snack. Get your hands on the Himalayan sea salt ones, stat. Perfect for poolside.
Ministry of Supply luxe touch tee: Another summer rite of passage is the search for the perfect white tee. The neck has to be bowl-ish enough to flatter without revealing. It has to feel substantial enough to stand alone dressed up or down. And it has to be cool to wear. (Temperature cool.) I’ve become accustomed to tossing cotton tees every summer because they get pilled or yellowed. No matter if they’re cheap or expensive. So I’m psyched to have found a promising new staple. This is a bright, flattering white. The hem and neckline fall perfectly. It’s not too tight or too loose or too see through. It’s a silky, performance, techno fabric. And it’s Ministry of Supply, so it will last. Let the stockpiling begin.
#Summermakeupgoals: Come summer, I seriously streamline my makeup routine. SPF + coverup/treatment + lip gloss is basically it. This One over One lip oil is my new lipgloss fave. The color is that elusive slightly bitten lip but better. It’s nontoxic. Nontacky. And it tastes phenomenal.
Venmo-ing the tip: So many summer plesures are cash-only. But more and more we’ve noticed that Venmo is acceptable in these situations. Like tipping for your pedicure or when you’re stuck cashless at the clam shack.
New summer cocktail: So my summer 2019 cocktail is a light (alcohol light and calorie light) spicy marg. I put 2 tablespoons of tequila with the juice of 2 limes, 1 lemon + one orange, plus two tablespoons of some juice from a jar of spicy pickles, like ghost pickles, into a cocktail shaker (you can also swap about 8 shakes of tabasco). Shake over tons of ice. Serve over tons of ice and add 1.5 cups lime sparkling water on top before mixing. Nixing the sugar, upping the capcasin and lowering the alcohol keeps me from migraines + hangovers.
Style Milkshake: Am I the only person left who loves fashion blogs? After work, my wind-down ritual is getting in bed with my laptop (I know, I know) and surfing Man Repeller, Damsel in Dior (who recently wrote about the end of fashion blogs), Tom and Lorenzo. But more and more I find that no one’s showing me just what I want — which are true fashion ideas. New ways of self-expression, a mix-up that makes you think, chockablock full of artfully wearable and inspiring moments. @stylemilkshake on insta does this for me, curating street style’s most lush, aha findings. I wish they’d add words, and ground these ideas in a scroll one can relax with non-instantly. But it’s the best substitute around.
Up-all-night reading: Remember what I mean? I’m talking about those books you literally can’t put down, the ones that wind up keeping you awake until you finish. A book bender, if you will. (And I will, I will!) The July 4th vacation brought me Roz Nay’s Our Little Secret, which brought me on an epic book bender and reminded me what a killer book (pardon the pun) can do. Now I’m onto Fleishman is in Trouble, and eating that up, quick.
Caddis readers: If you have to be sight-challenged (sigh), you can at least treat readers like an amazing new accessory. I’ve been looking for a pair that’s totally geek forward in a power librarian kind of way. Enter the D28 from Caddis Readers — and where have you been all my life? Then I got greedy and wanted a pair like Jennifer Aniston’s Cali cool aviators. Boom. Yes, I got both colors. Bonus, they’re tinted for reading outside.
Ei8htdreams bike shorts: Every summer, I try to buy flattering shorts. You’d think I’d give up by now, but I can’t. I just can’t! I want to be one of the people who can kick back in a pair of shorts, damnit! Who can, say, hop on a boat without flashing anyone and exist in Maine without looking like I’m some out-of-towner trying too hard. (Of course I am that, but still.) Last summer I finally found an amazing used Burberry pair. And then I lost weight and they became horrible. So in a fit of despair I ordered 18 pairs of denim and non denim shorts on Shopbop. And returned all but one. amazing. pair. I don’t know why these are called bike shorts. They’re denim shorts. They make me look slender and halfway normal doing some sort of summer endeavor.
Podcast obsession: If you’re way past Serial, Theranos, and The Shrink Next Door, don’t despair. NPR’s White Lies is important and bingeable. Sure, we could recommend listening to AdAge, but this inspires with passionate reporting in search of the truth.
Oxford Creamery: Also every summer I go searching for the New England creamery of my dreams. I envision a place something like the Cedar Hill Dairy Joy where I got engaged. True Americana. No pretense. In Maine, it’s Dorman’s Dairy Dream. We’re in Marion, MA as I write this, and I’m pretty thrilled to have landed down the street from the Oxford Creamery. Not only is the ice cream killer, but the lobster roll meets my (insanely exacting) standards and the fries are piping hot. I wonder if I can buy back those Burberry shorts. Anyhoo …
XOXO + happy summer