our shrinking fashion vocabulary
"chic" and the inadequacy of "style adjectives"
I love The Molehill and your style reports because even though most of your styling and vintage drops may not align with my own personal style, you have such a clear vocabulary. You convey extremely clear stylistic language through color, shape, repeated themes. It’s so crisp - it’s really inspiring. — Brit, paid reader
Happy Thurs! Went to Forma yesterday and picked up the last Franny ciabatta loaf as a bread vessel for early girl tomatoes and flaky salt. The springy air pockets are DIVINE.
Molehill Miscellany
Laura Lombardi is running 20% off through tonight; check out their mythology-inspired coin pendant necklaces created in collaboration with painter Andrea Smith.
I look forward to wearing my TOAST Eden cardigan in green every fall (mid-weight, slightly cropped, lush wool/cashmere blend), and they just released a red color I’m partial to.
Was checking my Celisse delivery tracking number all day in anticipation of the pearlescent pink Bunny shade, which made its first appearance at the Sandy Liang runway show in February (does this mean the pearlescent blue is coming next?!)
As a perpetually sweaty pits girl, I tried this unscented deodorant balm bc of Harling Ross Anton’s rec. It delivers on its promise. No scent, and does not irritate my skin. It’s saving me from spot-cleaning pit stains on my silk tops in the sink.
Today’s newsletter covers:
why “chic” is the linguistic cockroach of our modern fashion vocabulary
why I don’t care for “style adjectives”
three people I admire for how they talk and write about style & presentation
a simple exercise to step up your own fashion vocab!!!
Grab a ginger candy from your purse because today I’m talking about a word that we are all sick to our stomachs hearing about: ch-ch-CHIC.
The more I type it out, the more it looks like an acronym for a fake bureaucratic organization. Center for Hoarding Impractical Clogs? (Come up with your own funny CHIC acronym in the comments, and I’ll pick a winner for the best one and gift you an annual subscription).
The social media trend du jour of is posting photos and videos with a text overlay that reads “kinda chic to [fill in the blank]. To be honest with you, I thought about posting one myself when I started seeing them on my feed.
What stopped me from posting my own “kinda chic” statement wasn’t to be all, “I’m Not liKe tHe oTher GirLs.” It was because