Hello hello.
Earlier today, I was third in line for the cashier at Monterey Market, one foot perched on the bottom of the shopping cart, bopping my head to Caroline Polachek. Specifically her song “Door.” I love the part where she chirps “back in the city/I’m just another/girl in a sweater.” It’s a satisfying lyric, and felt so true in the moment. Like yes, I am merely a girl in a sweater. Just like every other girl in every other city in the month of October.
I don’t know what Caroline meant by it, but it reveals a simple truth about knitwear season. Sweaters are a universal source of comfort in the cold months. Everyone has one. The act of donning one renders you anonymous, like a tiny figure in a painting of a bustling city scene.
I am tickled by the sentiment that we are all the same when we wear sweaters: animals that instinctively yearn for the safe cocoon of fibers.
Here are some sweaters I’ve been wearing this October, and what I’ve been up to (slowly moving through my fall bucket list).
This spiced red cardigan was my favorite pick in Emma Rothkopf’s latest collection. It is boucle cotton, not as warm as cashmere, so ideal for October or anywhere with heating once temps *really* drop. The white buttons pop nicely against the red, which evokes the warmth of a well-stocked spice cabinet.
It’s a gingerbread girl cardigan—do you know what I mean?
Our household has been all about the striped sweaters lately. I nabbed this vintage striped v-neck knit because the olive green and bright yellow trim were a perfect Molehill color match. Really love how the vertical lines of the pointelle tee underneath create interesting shapes with the V neck and horizontal lines. I wore this on a dog walk, and then to a peking duck dinner with friends.
Here’s how I dressed up the v-neck for “errand-ing while glamorous” (post office dropoff > spontaneous hot coco from Lavender Bakery on San Pablo > grocery store trip for kabocha rigatoni ingredients). I swear by my Larroude Ricky boots—I have them in black and dark brown.
Kabocha secured. I like to pick ones with a big orange patch. Love squash but hate cutting it…why does it always feel like I’m going to chop a thumb off?!
Breakfast at Plow the other day with Jess Chong. The seasonal pumpkin pancakes are worth a try. I think everything they do is extremely well-executed, but pound for pound, I prefer the fluffier texture of the lemon ricotta pancakes. These are more dense. Not complaining, it’s just a different kind of pancake!
I layered red Flore Flore tee under a Tricot cashmere polo sweater. It’s a thicker material and honestly I started sweating through it by 10:30am and had to shed.
A designer named Mairin emailed me last month saying how she used to live in Oakland and reads this newsletter to stay plugged into East Bay fashion. She kindly offered me a knit from her newly launched eponymous brand. I poked around the site and this bruise colored rollneck henley caught my eye. In person, the purple is beautifully mottled in an ugly-chic way. I don’t have any other tops in this color, but it paired easily with forest green and other REI-core shades in my closet lol. Wore this on a morning walk. I’ve been trying to go on more of these because the air feels so CRISP and purified.
Observation: J.Crew (among other brands) has been riding the color combo content wave this season. This photo came up on my feed—and while I love how the 'hibiscus’ pink turtleneck looks against the ‘peridot’ green crewneck, you realistically wouldn’t wear these two sweaters together.
Stacking colored sweaters like this looks really pretty for an Instagram moment (and conveys a sense of variety)…but for actually wearing, it would make more sense to pair *one* of the sweaters with a knit skirt or something…just saying!
Social media product styling vs. IRL styling are very different things.
In the non-fashion realm of things, I’ve been cooking elaborate meals. I rarely have the mental motivation to do this much home cooking, so when the mood strikes I take advantage of it.
Kabocha Rigatoni—Wondering what I did with the aforementioned kabocha? I chopped it, roasted it with a bunch of other alliums, and blended in into a smooth rich puree for pasta. I loosely follow this video recipe from cabagges.world (I’m a comfortable enough home cook that once I get the gist of the instructions, I riff on it to my suit my tastebuds). Get the Journeyman pancetta from Berkeley Bowl if you can—it crisps up the best!
If there is one dish I recommend you try this fall, it’s this one.
Pork Chop Plate—if you have a great juicy pork chop, it turns your leftovers/veggie scraps into a full meal. I don’t use a specific recipe for the chop…I ask for two “thick cut bone in chops” at the meat counter, and marinate them for 48 hours in salt/pepper/paprika/brown sugar (this makes all the difference). Sear on medium-ish heat on a cast iron skillet, about 4 min each side, and use a meat thermometer to make sure it’s cooked through. In the fall, I love making this with green peas, mashed potatoes and gravy. It’s reminiscent of American nursing home food, but well-executed and very comforting lol.
Frittata—this was a fridge cleanout project. It’s good for when you have like, 3 kale leaves, a half onion, and tomatoes about to turn…I use this recipe as a guideline. Make a zingy garlicky aioli, it enhances the flavors.
Again, I do not eat/cook like this every week (I wish). It’s labor intensive, but a fun hobby for me right now.
Hm, what else? I guess I’ve been dancing and reading…
7 months ago, I tried this pole trick called ballerina for the first time. It involves twisting yourself around the pole and a lot of grip strength. It was painful and made me feel like a brittle piece of wood. I was like, nope! Not. for. me!!!
The somehow, yesterday, I got it. It was the best feeling.
Then, I tried it again today and could not nail it—which just comes to show that your body shows up differently every day and progress is a forever, ongoing practice. My #1 priority is to have fun while not getting injured.
*****
I’m reading Workhorse by Caroline Palmer. It’s a fish out of water, early 2000s New York fashion magazine story. Took me a few chapters to get into it (it’s 500+ pages) but it’s full of incisive little observations and that make me chuckle.
I would describe the main character as a striver in the vein of Marnie/Shoshanna with an Irish American chip on her shoulder (more recently inducted into the construct of American whiteness than the other whites etc), navigating the WASPy workplace politics of Ugly Betty.
I find the humor most effective when the book plays up the sociology of white women and their class-anxiety neuroses (much like GIRLS).
xo viv
Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;) I may earn a small commission from purchases made through affiliate links.
I kept smiling throughout this whole post. From the intriguing “bruise colored” sweater to REI-core colors, really love how you make these descriptions feel so visceral.
OMG the vintage Wedgewood stove 😍