Hi shoppers!
Inspo for today’s newsletter comes from a pain flare I had about two weeks ago. As a lot of you know, either because you’ve been here a little while, or because you experience it yourself, when you live with chronic pain, something as simple as getting dressed to leave the house can prove so, so challenging.
I had planned on going out on a Saturday to run some errands and do some shopping and was looking forward to wearing some new jeans and a new bra all day. Fast forward to getting dressed, my pain was skyrocketing, and both the denim and the underwire of the bra felt like it was made of literal glass and fire. When my pain keeps me from wearing the clothing I want to wear I get so discouraged, and it feels so defeating when I have to resort to comfy leggings and a bralette so I can function.
I settled on a new pair of Black Beyond Yoga Leggings, a Hanro bra, and a Negative tee, all of which are comfy enough to wear on a bad pain day, but nowhere near as much of a ~look~ as I was hoping to go out wearing. Enter accessories: over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time investing in bags, shoes, jewelry, scarves, sunglasses etc. and I’ve inadvertently built a collection of pieces I can wear no matter what my pain levels are. It’s like that dumb joke that you can always gift a purse because a purse always fits — if you have chronic pain, you’ll never regret investing in one of these things because it will never exacerbate your pain, and can elevate a comfy outfit to something that feels stylish.
Now, full disclosure, the items on this list are pricey. They’re things I’ve collected over the years, things I’ve saved up for, and things I put on credit that I’m still paying off. Whether you treat yourself to one or all of these things, or whether you let this list inspire you to expand your accessory collection, the one thing I can say for sure is that I do not regret a single one of these pieces, precisely because of what happened that Saturday night — when I was feeling my absolute worst, in an outfit I felt dowdy and sad in, they saved me and made me feel stylish and confident.
Vuitton Speedy: We’ve talked about this one before but a Speedy is, in my opinion, the ultimate designer bag, especially if it’s your first. The 25 is a perfect everyday size and it’s incredibly lightweight and durable. I have it in both the Damier and the Monogram and I wear both constantly.
Bottega Loop Bag: My most expensive bag, this was an early pandemic “I’m having a moment” purchase, but I have never regretted it. It is so fucking chic and I feel like I could literally be wearing my pajamas and if I throw this bag on, I can walk into Bergdorf Goodman with my head held high.
Hermes scarf: I buy these exclusively on TheRealReal – there is literally no outfit that is not immediately elevated by an Hermes scarf. I go on TRR, search “Hermes Scarf” and filter only scarves in excellent and pristine condition.
Persol Sunglasses: These were one of my first designer purchases when I started working back in college; I used my employee discount to buy them in the Nordstrom men’s department and I still wear them to this day. If you need convincing about the effortless cool that these sunglasses bring, just google “Steve McQueen Persol Sunglasses.” They’re super lightweight for a plastic frame, and the brown lens is a warm and pleasant color.
Men’s Car Coat: Not necessarily an accessory, but I always buy a calf length car coat, usually from the men’s department in a small size to wear. The sleek and simple silhouette makes you look like you’re running errands on the UWS and the shapeless but well tailored cut can conceal virtually any outfit. My current fav is mfpen.
Hermes Nail Polish: We’ve gone over it a million times; a manicure in a bottle. Longest lasting polish I own, and there’s just something about knowing my nail polish is Hermes that makes me feel chic even on the worst days.
Jewelry: More of a general suggestion than actual pieces but investing in a few pieces of solid gold jewelry that you can throw on with a sweatsuit or leggings and a t-shirt will make you feel so much better instantly. I have a few pairs of gold earrings from Tiffany, as well as a Diamonds by the Yard necklace, and a Tiffany Hardware bracelet — but many of the most common pieces in my rotation also come by way of TheRealReal where I buy solid guy pieces that are exclusively in very good condition or better (and never final sale!)
Material Girl Eats:
I have been making this super simple buttery lemon pasta for a few weeks now — it’s sort of like a piccata? Or marsala? Or milanese? It’s yummy and kind of like all of those, just trust me.
You’ll need pasta shape of your choice (I like fettuccini for this one), chicken breasts, filleted, extra virgin olive oil, unsalted butter, 3 lemons, flour, pepper.
Bring water to a boil, toss your pasta in. Coat your fillets in flower. Drop them into a shallow frying pan with extra virgin olive oil on medium heat.
While the pasta and chicken are underway, juice two lemons and slice a third into thin rounds.
Turn the chicken, making sure it doesn’t burn — once it’s close to being done, add about 2 tablespoons of butter and add in the lemon slices to cook down with the chicken.
Remove the chicken from the pan. To the remaining olive oil butter mixture, add the juice of two lemons. Take a teaspoon and dissolve it into some cold water and add that to thicken. Pepper to taste. Allow that to all cook together (you can remove the lemon slices if you want, they’re mostly garnish at this point.) You can also add a little pasta water to achieve the desired consistency.
I usually put the chicken breasts back in the pan for a minute or two to coat them with the sauce, and then take them out. Then toss the fettuccine into the sauce, and transfer to a bowl; top the dish with the chicken.
Add parm, and that’s it!
Material Girl Watches:
This is gonna be a real obvious one, but shoutout to Lara Parker who has been telling me to watch Drive to Survive forever now. Her television rec’s are never wrong and I should have known that this too, would be perfect. I’m tearing through episodes, developing dangerously attached parasocial relationships with specific drivers and principals, and already planning to watch this weekend’s race live. If you think the show sounds boring because it’s about cars or whatever, trust me — the drama is so good, these men are pettier than any Housewives franchise I’ve watched, and they are also just so fucking hot. I do believe the phrase swipe your nose like a credit card was created for Daniel Ricciardo.