The Lo Down: 6/3/25
Mary-Kate was a questionable bartender...
Fashion
Lately I keep saying “everything is a thing.” Grabbing a bagel on a Saturday morning is a thing. A coffee run is a thing. Bopping around stores in Soho is a thingggg. Somehow, every mundane errand has become a content opportunity or a status flex complete with a long line. I’m not immune to it, but I will admit that it has become exhausting. I’ve been reminiscing about the past, and it led me to think about an era that would not be able to exist today: Fashion’s Night Out.
FNO ran from 2009-2012 and was an initiative aimed at reinvigorating the fashion industry after the financial crash. One night only, the whole city turned into a circus - in the best possible way. 800+ events, champagne being handed out to anyone who walked in the door (regardless of age), no guest lists, no velvet ropes, just pure fashion-fueled chaos. Designers, models, celebrities, editors, New Yorkers and tourists all shoulder to shoulder packed in stores, dancing under bad lighting while someone from ANTM DJed a set.
Mary-Kate & Ashely were bartending at Bergdorf’s while Padma Lakshmi judged a cook-off between fashion designers, as Zac Posen painted dresses in the Fifth Avenue windows. Hamish Bowels sang karaoke at Juicy Couture while bow tie clad men danced behind glass at Louis Vuitton. Karl Lagerfeld made an appearance at the Chanel store on 57th and walked right past me - chaotic photo evidence still lives in my camera roll.
When I moved to NYC in 2011, I was interning at Lanvin and we turned the Madison Ave store into a dance-off inspired by this video campaign. Iman, Dwayne Wade, Joe Zee, and Sheryl Murakami were judging the contest. That sentence alone tells you how unhinged - and random - it all was.
It was messy, democratic, thrilling, unserious. There was no RSVP list, no influencers standing in front of step-and-repeats pretending to shop. It was all about the experience - the fantasy of fashion, shared with anyone who wanted in. While the sales didn’t quite materialize, I did buy something that night in 2010 that I still wear to this day: a pair of custom baby pink Chanel ballet flats with a pale gold toe. One of one. A true capsule memory.
Could something like FNO happen today? Not a chance. As I look out my window now at a block long line for a bagel - I can’t imagine that kind of joyful free-for-all ever existing again. Nostalgia definitely has a way of making everything feel shinier in hindsight. But I don’t think it’s just that. There was a looseness, a spontaneity, a sense of shared joy in the chaos that’s hard to come by now. Everything feels more transactional, more curated, more…filtered. I miss when fashion was fun, unhinged, a little messy - and not yet a full-blown marketing funnel. I didn’t realize at the time just how special it all was, but I’m glad I was there to see it. Even if I was just an intern sneaking sips of champagne behind a rack of clothing.
For more of what’s in my closet, what I’m currently obsessing over, shopping guides & more, check out my ShopMy. Looking for some personal style advice? Whether it’s for curating a flawless vacation wardrobe, hunting down the perfect shoes, or finding the best basics for your closet, I’m here to help—just reach out!
TV & Movies
I was, of course, first in line to see Wes Anderson’s new film The Phoenician Scheme. I was apprehensive, as I really did not vibe with his more recent films (Asteroid City and The French Dispatch). However, I left the theater pleasantly surprised - The Phoenician Scheme felt more touching and emotionally poignant than Asteroid City or The French Dispatch - and, while slow at times, I found it more fun and overall entertaining than those films.
By popular demand, here is my definitive ranking of every Wes Anderson film:
The Grand Budapest Hotel: The only movie from the past 65 years that I’d put in my Top 3 favorite movies of all time. I wish I could bottle this film’s essence and wear it as a perfume.
The Darjeeling Limited: The hate is so forced with this one, as the kids say. The dynamic between the brothers played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson & Jason Schwartzman is simply excellent.
The Royal Tenenbaums: The best cast Wes has ever assembled, in my opinion. The perfect blend of drama and comedy. A shame Ben Stiller hasn’t been in any of his other movies.
Also worth nothing - there’s a retrospective exhibition dedicated to his work at the Design Museum in London running November 2025-July 2026 that I’ll be making the trip for.
I obviously can’t ignore the big, awkward elephant in the room this week - the return of the most cringeworthy show on television, And Just Like That. Evan Ross Katz perfectly described what it feels like to watch this show: “I can’t claim to understand my feelings when watching the newest season of And Just Like That, a show that manages to make me feel like I both took a bunch of LSD and that I’ve been placed on a psychiatric hold while also eliciting the kind of intense reactions that feel akin to Timothée Chalamet at a Knicks game. I often struggle to understand my feelings for this show and the universe it occupies. Puzzled. Intrigued. Frightened, even. That’s the thing about AJLT: You can’t question it; you kinda just have to let it do its thing.”
Arts & Culture
I spent a rainy evening last week tucked inside one of the chicest townhouses on the UES - Ashlee Harrison’s design salon, where figure drawing met furniture preview in the most casually elevated way. The space is currently featuring work from California-based designer B G Robinson, whose pieces are the love child of sculpture and interior design: curving, otherworldly shapes upholstered in lustrous silk that look as at home in a museum as they would in a very glamorous living room. The materials and techniques are ultra-engineered, but the overall effect is indulgent, almost decadent (see the chair pictured below).
As for the figure drawing…let’s just say I’m glad it was a no-pressure setting. But it turned out to be unexpectedly soothing, and a nice reminder that creativity doesn’t always need to be productive. If you’re into collectible design and incredible art, this space needs to be on your radar.
Food
I found myself audibly saying “this place fucking rocks” while at Hoexter’s last weekend. It’s easily of my favorite spots I’ve tried recently.
I was ready to dismiss the Famous Gorgonzola Garlic Bread as a gimmick - sounded gross, felt like a waste of valuable real estate. I was dead wrong. It reminded me of having fondue, but way better. Creamy, rich, borderline addictive. It could’ve used more garlic considering it’s in the name, but that’s a minor dilemma.
The lobster frites were buttery and satisfying, though they could’ve used a touch more salt. The chicken parm was fine, but given the strength of the menu, I’d skip it next time (kind of sad I skipped the off menu cheesesteak special for this). The double smash cheeseburger, on the other hand, was unreal - perfectly cooked and slathered in a tangy sauce that gave Big Mac energy (in the best way possible).
I legally cannot skip creamed spinach if it’s on a menu, and this may have been the best I’ve ever had. Deeply spinachy, not gloopy or overly cheesy, and crowned with a pile of perfect crispy onions. No notes.
And then there was dessert. A scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream surrounded by warm, gooey mini chocolate chip cookies - basically how I want to end every night forever. We also had the strawberry rhubarb crisp with oat crumble, which is my personal marker that summer has officially begun. Not MDW, not the first rooftop spritz…just strawberry rhubarb season.
I usually panic at the thought of being on the UES for dinner (sorry, not sorry), but Hoexter’s is now my default move when I find myself uptown.
Current Obsession
My favorite chaotic nepo baby, Romy Mars (daughter of Sofia Coppola & Phoenix singer Thomas Mars) is one to watch in the pop music space. In an extremely iconic move, Sofia directed the music video for her first single A-Lister. Real ones will remember when Romy came onto the scene posting on TikTok in 2023 (against her parents wishes to have no public social media accounts), making pasta while talking about getting grounded for trying to charter a helicopter from NY to Maryland on her dad’s credit card so that she could have dinner with her camp friend. She has a funny candor about her, and despite her parents wishes, I think it’s working out in her favor. And with parents like that…the sky’s the limit.
On My Radar
The Retreat Costa Rica, one of my favorite places on earth, just finished their expansion that includes 10 stunning new lofts and 3 restaurants.
The MacDougal Street Mambo on Saturday 6/7 from 12:30-7pm, a block party hosted by Roscioli, Shuka, Emmett’s, Parcelle, 12 Chairs & more full of food, drinks, and live music.
Babysips, new natural wine bar from a Cosme alum
Hamptons favorite LUNCH Lobster Roll is popping up at American Cut in Tribeca all summer. VERY thrilled about this one!
Until next week -
xo
Lo
Retreat Costa Rice expanding is what dreams are made of
Fashion's Night Out was so iconic - best years in NY.