Core Fashion Memories (circa '98).
Plus great belts, everything I bought and loved from Amazon last month, book recs, and more!
Happy Friday! This week I was journaling and randomly found myself thinking back to my high school days and what we will call core early fashion memories. So today we are going to do a little story telling, take a little wander down memory lane.
I grew up on Cape Cod in a small town called Dennis. My parents owned a restaurant. Our house was attached. We lived about a mile away from the beach, which (being a teenager and all), I completely took for granted. We’ll call it 1998, give or take a few years. Cape Cod (at least the Cape Cod I knew, as a local and not a summer person), was not exactly the pinnacle of fashion.
There are a few particular fashion memories I have from growing up.
The biggest thing, really, is that the J.Crew catalog was my bible. I read it like I’d read a magazine. It didn’t just inform my fashion choices but also, hair, makeup, general lifestyle aspiration. The best comment you could give someone back then was telling them they looked like a J.Crew model.
I worked a lot as a teen and even pre-teen. When I was twelve, my parents let me start drying silverware and glassware for tips. Each of the servers would throw in a few dollars and by the end of the night I might have $15 or $20 for a few hours of work. Then I graduated to bussing tables and then food running (and then once I turned 18, waiting tables). I also babysat and in the summers would take a second job, usually in retail (I worked at The Gap, CVS, a local bookstore, etc.).
Half of my earnings was always put in savings (I was able to buy my first car all on my own!). The other half pretty much always went to clothes. I remember freshman year of high school, saving up to buy a pair of overalls from Gap Kids. (I was a late bloomer and shopped in the kids section until sophomore year). Once I grew a bit, it was J.Crew everything. I would spend hours poring over the catalog and deciding what I would get. A pair of aubergine suede clogs. A madras wrap skirt and matching bikini. So many merino wool sweaters. I would fill out the paper slip that came with the catalog and then borrow my mom’s credit card to call in my order on the phone. I’d pay her back in cash.
Every year, at the end of the summer in Hyannis, there was a J.Crew sample sale. It was my super bowl, something I saved up for and mentally prepared for. Complete chaos but I guess it prepared me for the big sample sales I’d one day visit in New York.
Birkenstocks were another big thing. I specifically remember saving up to buy my first pair. My friend’s dad was ex-military and let us order from a catalog he had, which meant big discounts. When they arrived, I was really let down at how stiff they were. (As we all know, they got much better once I’d broken them in!).
Black Dog t-shirts were extremely aspirational (and hard to get as you had to travel to Martha’s Vineyard to get one). I never owned one but realllly wanted one. But back then there was no shopping online, you had to actually go there to get one.
Dawson’s Creek. The cast felt like real life J.Crew models! I remember when the show came out, my friends and I were enthralled (though peeved: they were pretending to be on Cape Cod, but it was filmed in North Carolina — why couldn’t they film on the real Cape Cod?). This was also the first time I ever watched a TV show for the “fashion.” I wanted to wear everything Joey Potter wore.
Other “key items” from my wardrobe:
Flare cargos (I begged my mother to drive my sisters and I ninety minutes “off-Cape” to the nearest Abercrombie & Fitch so that I could try them on. It was a whole ordeal; I bought a light pair and a green pair. At the time, Abercrombie was expensive for my budget, it was a big deal to buy two pairs but we had to travel far to obtain them! My mother waited for me outside the store. She did not like how loud it was or how much perfume they sprayed (I would wholeheartedly agree with her today!).
When Old Navy first came out, we called it “The Gap Outlet.”
Flare jeans (Mudd and L.E.I. were the it brands here) — and my mother’s horror that “bell bottoms were back!”
In the summer it was birks, birks, birks. I never gave up on my birks, even when they fell back out of style (and then back in, as these things tend to happen). I will always and forever be a birks girl.
Baby tees from Express. My favorite one was an ice blue tee with cap sleeves. I remember thinking that it, plus my MUD flares were just the perfect outfit (paired with Steve Madden platform slides ofc, you know which ones I mean, the ones made from stretchy lycra).
This is just high school. When I think about college I think about Express. Express definitely replaced J.Crew when I got to college. The stretchy ponte pants, the bra tanks…. more baby tees (all paired with either the Steve Madden platforms or a square toe boot from Nine West).
I will leave you with one final note: I am realizing that 1998 was 26 years ago. How on earth did that happen?
On The Stripe (my blog!) this week.
Everything I bought and loved from Amazon this month.
A big roundup of icy blue pieces — Carly and I both really love this color!
A mini review of one of my most favorite masks.
This Week in Books:
Over the weekend I finished The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. Loved it. So cute and escapist (it’s set on a private island off the coast of Singapore + was described to me as Pretty Woman meets Succession). Not out til May, completely worth the pre-order!
Next, I read The Fury, by Alex Michaelides. This one got points for creativity. It really messed with me! It’s also set in beautiful Greece. A reclusive ex-film star invites her best friends to her private island. A murder takes place. I loved it!
Then it was onto Never Saw Me Coming. I loved this - it surprised me! Rich unsupervised teens… that are psychopaths? Chloe Sevre is a stellar student, attractive and popular. She’s also a part of her school’s special program for psychopaths… and, she is determined to kill a boy at her school. But when fellow members of her program keep winding up dead, the tables are turned. Chloe has a serial killer to catch!
On the audio front, I finally finished reading Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It is one of the most interesting (and useful!) books I’ve read in a while. Highly recommend!
A Reader Question!
(if you have a question for a future newsletter, please email grace@thestripe.com - it helps if you are specific and include budget, your personal style, etc.)
Q. Here is my question: I feel like I am weak on belts in my wardrobe. Specifically I’m looking for a wide (like over 1 inch, I.e. not a skinny belt) black leather belt that would look good with pants and over skirt/top outfits. Aiming for a classic style, gold hardware, size XL (I wear a 14/16), under $150 would be great. I am seeing so many logo buckles and weird buckle shapes!
A. I am going to send you to J.Crew! All of my most favorite belts come from J.Crew. Their classic belt should be your best friend. There is a black leather one with a gold buckle; I have this but I also have it in brown as well as the black croc. This comes in well under your budget!
That is my personal fav but Madewell has two great options as well: this and this!
Lastly, have you heard of B-low the belt? Kind of a funny name but they have some great pieces, especially if you are into the vibes of Khaite and Toteme’s belts (but want to spend less than $200). The Kennedy may be your new bestie! I don’t own this particular style but have bought several belts from this brand in the past and can vouch for the quality.
Speaking of belts, I just got this black belt from Aureum (pictured above) and I love it but I wear their largest size (M/L) and am a size 6/8. I am hopefully that they’ll expand their size range (for the record, I am a squeaky wheel about sizing, I sent them a note earlier in the week asking about their plans for extending size range).
Having grown up a town over at the same time - oof! Perfect throw back (except i was more hemp necklaces than j crew) but working a million jobs all summer and saving up for Birks? Yep - got mine @ Canterbury Leather in Chatham tho!
I hope someday our stars align and we become bff with a shared history of cape theater and overworked children > business badasses. 🫶
This was such a great post!