The Strategist Haul: What the Editors Bought in October

I truly have a mock-neck addiction, but this one from Everlane is great; it’s cotton, which means I can wash it easily, and I won’t overheat when our offices turn into a sauna come wintertime.

Judi Rosen, late of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, recently opened a new store in Williamsburg and is selling her famous butt-flattering jeans again. I checked out the shop the other weekend and couldn’t resist getting a pair of these cigarette jeans.

Finally, I bought the cheek tint that Rio Viera-Newton featured in her no-makeup makeup-look guide. As RVN promised, it is the perfect blush for those worried about looking too clownish, and instead are going for the “just a little bit sun-kissed” look.

I’d read about Uniqlo’s new customizable Easy Care shirts and decided to test one out. Really, “customizable” is generous — Uniqlo lets you choose a standard shirt size as a base and then adjust the collar size, sleeve size, and whether the collar buttons down. The process was quick, though, and if, like me, you have gorilla arms and need a slightly longer sleeve, it’s a nice option for stocking up on affordable dress shirts, which inevitably need replacing in a year anyway. (Be warned: If you wear it without an undershirt, the thin material will expose nipples.)

After years of my sad iPhone 5s, I finally upgraded my phone to an 8 Plus and needed a new case. It pains me to have to obstruct it, so I chose the Pitaka phone case as recommended by our friends at Select All, Jake Swearingen and Paris Martineau. The thing’s already saved my phone from several drops, including a heart-stopping moment when it almost slid down an office elevator shaft. Just this last weekend, it protected my phone from mashed legumes when I dropped it into an open tub of faux gras at our Strat stoop sale.

Yes, I already have these in leather, but I couldn’t resist the incredibly comfortable, slightly lifting Swedish sneakers that were very much on sale on a British site (shopping foreign sites will save you on tax, friends!). Now I just need to protect them with some Jason Markk Repel.

I like a good black tee for wearing to the gym or running to the bodega, so when I saw a take on Frank Ocean’s T-shirt on Amazon, it was an instant add-to-cart. I really wish there were a comma after “racist” (and “homophobic” for that matter), but I think the point gets across. I like it in black, but the original comes in white, pink, blue, and gold (though you may have to resort to Amazon as Green Box seems to have put a pause on online orders).

This month, I learned about Hem, a simple, stylish Swedish furniture line, and I also moved. [Editors’ note: Architect Ming Thompson highly recommends Hem as well.] The perfect excuse for me to buy two of these side tables in rust red. They’re also on wheels.

I also bought a Chromecast because the one in my old apartment belonged to my roommate, and I needed another so that I could continue streaming HBO from my best friend’s boyfriend’s parents’ account.

I ordered myself a copy of the new, forthcoming Broccoli magazine because it’s free (!) and I’m all about designer-cannabis culture and gorgeous still lifes of botanicals.

I also got six of these 15-ounce bad boys (a.k.a. Hasami porcelain mugs in gloss gray).

And lastly, I needed a pair of sneakers that had some height, and I managed to find one of the few last pairs of Nike Sky Hi Dunks on Amazon in all-white. They’re overpriced, but no longer available anywhere else, so once again, Amazon for the win.

I happily got stuck in the rain at Bird over the weekend and bought two things in a similar color palette, both of which I love. First, these earrings, which are Lucite, more fun than my usual gold hoops, and allow me to wear tortoiseshell on my ears in addition to on my eyes (sunglasses) and in my hair (barrette). And second, a nail polish from J. Hannah, which is apparently “seven free” (I looked it up: It means it’s made without the seven most common chemicals found in nail polish), but is mostly just a really pretty red-orange-brown color that I imagine I’ll never grow sick of. [Editor’s note: There are lots of other shades to check out from J. Hannah at Need Supply, too.]

Also, not to brag, but I had a Maryam Nassir Zadeh gift certificate, so I bought these beautiful, too expensive brown boots and wore them to my Halloween party. I was a package.

Given how much my colleagues rave about that Google doc, it only feels right that I bought some Rio-recommended skin-care items during my first full week at the Strategist. As a perennially pimply adult, I was particularly taken by her emergency zit-zapping beauty routine and bought both of the sheet masks she recommended. I’ve yet to open the vitamin C–boosting masks, but I tried the Leaders Clinic AC-Dressing Skin Clinic Mask this weekend and fully understand why it averages 4.6 stars on Amazon. My skin felt moisturized, less congested, and generally calmer.

This month, I entered into the cookie phase of my personal (and admittedly procrastination-fueled) journey to become a better vegan baker. And after spending too much time scooping pumpkin-walnut sugar-cookie batter onto a baking sheet with a regular spoon, I decided it was finally time to invest in a quick-release stainless-steel cookie scoop. I know this isn’t the most novel recommendation, but I’ve been surprised by how much I like using it, especially because the messiest step of baking cookies is now so much easier and cleaner.