LE CATCH

Forget rogue heat wave. At this point it’s endless summer: not a surprise, not a fluke, just the now-familiar 80-degree air that makes my everyday feel vaguely vacation-adjacent, which remains unhelpful given the mounting workload. After weeks of weather like this, it’s starting to feel less like an anomaly and more like a reasonable argument for an official wardrobe shift. Now in rotation—and in the queue for the hot weeks ahead: the (on-sale) Tibi ribbon skirt, above, a perfect chartreuse t-shirt, this amazing Contessa Mills tunic (over white jeans, boy shorts, linen pants, etc), these Dries Van Noten sandals, this lace Mango camisole, this H&M fish-buckle belt, these linen bermuda shorts from Reformation, this Monica Vinader charm necklace (everything is 20% off right now—think graduation!), and (in my fever dreams) this chainmail Rabanne mini.

simon miller

Before the jacarandas, before the marine layer, before the spring equinox: raffia.

1. Frankie Shop polo sweater, $170, mytheresa.com
2. Simon Miller raffia skirt, $395, simonmiller.com
3. Oliver Peoples sunglasses, $555, shopbop.com
4. Blue Lagoon Lip Balm, $25, bluelagoon.com
5. Monica Vinader solitaire diamond initial, $119, monicavinader.com
6. Gucci BORROWED bag, vivrelle.com (USE THE CODE MARLIEN)
7. Stuart Weitzman flats

They said this Mercury retrograde was going to be a doozie. Succinctly: communication snarls, travel hiccups, technology mutiny, old chaos resurfacing, crossed wires, things vanishing when you were certain you left them exactly where they belonged. How’s it all working out for me? My car was stolen from my driveway on Sunday. With my son’s brand-new prom suit inside, no less, and my favorite tennis rackets, which somehow feels doubly offensive. Why do I feel like this is my fault though? Why do I also continue to entertain the absurd possibility that the robbers will feel remorse, circle back under cover of darkness, and quietly return everything, suit pressed, rackets intact? Meanwhile, the dryer has stopped drying, the television remote has developed a deranged personality and now raises the volume to ear-shattering levels whenever no one is touching it, and my sister’s flight to Miami has been cancelled not once but twice. All that being said, one thing worked this week. I scored the dress I featured yesterday today for 25% off because Nordstrom is having a sale TODAY, and there are few pleasures more stabilizing than seeing something you already justified become suddenly, gloriously discounted. A small retail miracle (plus go-to jeans, pretty bras, above, so many chic Clare V bags, spring fringe, and excellent loafers for $73!). Also—and I do not use the word miraculous lightly—the MAKE Beauty concealer I recently bought, which my twin sister was coincidentally also instructed to buy by a makeup artist on set (always a sign, I think), is doing something unprecedented to my dark spots and general evidence of time passing. It is softening, blurring, forgiving in ways that feel borderline supernatural. Aging: briefly negotiated. Skin: unexpectedly thriving. And honestly, in a week where the remote is possessed and my car is somewhere living another life, that is something to be grateful for.

There is a particular kind of big-night-out energy that arrives with three 17-year-old girls standing in your closet, asking, almost in chorus, “What are we wearing tonight?” My niece—here for spring break from her East Coast boarding school—brought two friends to what she calls my lending library before dinner at Elephante on Saturday night, and I very happily dressed all three of them in my clothes. The evening followed several days of see-and-be-seen carb-loading across Los Angeles, which I wrote about in my latest Substack here—along with the joy of watching my wardrobe head out the door on the next generation. Which is to say: if part of my closet is now on temporary assignment to the next generation, replenishing supplies begins to feel less indulgent than civic duty. Let’s start a potential re-stock with the asymmetrical Sandro, above, the Topshop mini, below, this (on-sale) Simkhai, Altuzarra, and this Cami slip dress.

My niece arrived for spring break in a gust of East Coast velocity: dropped her suitcase in the foyer, clicked it open, pulled out her vintage-looking jeans, and before I could ask whether she wanted something to eat, she was already halfway out the door to see an underground band somewhere downtown. Seventeen, apparently, is knowing exactly where the night is before the adults have found the dinner forks. This morning, the boarding-school layers began to peel away and out emerged a fully different girl: beach hair, rad flip flops (above), borrowed sunglasses, earrings, below, that look like mine, and a running dispatch on Silver Lake beauty anthropology. “All the eastside girls have micro bangs,” she reported, with the authority of a visiting correspondent, already deciding whether she is brave enough. Now she’s off again, this time to a film festival at her former high school, which apparently requires a red-carpet moment. Somehow this has spiraled into me standing in front of my own closet wondering whether I too need a warm-weather dress with a point of view along with this fringed mini on sale, below, this and this!). Ah, the life stage where your niece’s plans send you shopping for yourself feels unexpectedly correct! Happy Friday!

1. Mango top, $99, mango.com
2. Mango trousers, $139, mango.com
3. Bauble Bar 18K sterling silver earring set, $168, baublebar.com
4. Celine bag, TO BORROW (use the code MARLIEN)
5. Naimah Lip Ring
6. Vyrao Wonder Candle
7. Ancient Greek Sandals

Funny how the smallest additions can shift the rhythm of a day. A personalized piece of jewelry, a miracle-working concealer (the best new discovery!), a refreshing moisturizer. Tiny things doing big work. Another unassailable example, my phone case wristlet (with this leather charm), which is so random, really, and yet… somehow truly life-enhancing. It loops over my wrist like a bracelet when I’m doing the glamorous work of, let’s say, supermarket shopping. Suddenly I’m not digging through my beloved bottomless-pit bag while holding three lemons and a carton of eggs. My phone is just… there. Waiting. Civilized. And I swear I lose it less. Not gone-gone, but that familiar where did I put it down two seconds ago panic. The cord solves it. The best part? It’s 100% chic. One of those practical things that doesn’t look practical. Now I am eyeing these outfit-boosting options from Ossa—the tassel crossbody, the freshwater pearl drop chain and crossbody—which are almost over the top. But so good! These small extras that are pulling their weight make me want to go big and bigger. Yesterday I went with a Chan Luu pearl brooch (love the vintage options here) to a volleyball game (yep!) and my Hart locket, both below, which—no exaggeration—got me stop-me-in-the-street compliments. Before you go, say hello to my new Madewell patchwork jeans that are absurdly comfortable and 25% off!

As I may have mentioned here once (or five times) before, spring has skipped LA and sent summer ahead as her slightly over-eager intern. High 70s through the foreseeable future (who needs Spring Break when I can sunbathe in my driveway/!) and I, naturally, have been running around in what can only be described as my blossoming warm weather rotation. So far, lots of fresh whites: mesh Chanels, above, lace-up Larroude leather (just as good as the Celine, IMHO) and pointy-toe Jamie Haller kitten heels (wonderfully walking-friendly!). But here’s the thing about weather like this—it invites a little wandering. A little straying. A little “maybe I just need one more pair of flats.” Which is how I’ve found myself eyeing J.Crew’s chic new ballet situation (very persuasive), the nostalgic squish of Heaven Jelly (obsessed with the embellishment), H&M’s fringed moccasins, Bernardo’s kelly green flip flops (I mean…) and a few other contenders lining up for their moment. P.S. Jeans in current rotation include Madewell (blue) and Paige (leg-lengthening black), plus, pictured below, this tie-waist button down (love this new one from Pixie Market!), this new pendant necklace raking in the compliments, Splendid’s zip-up knit and this braided leather $58 belt with everything!

The question is who isn’t watching Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette? The Disney limited series has become the platform’s most-watched—while its ‘90s style is also streaming into our wardrobes. C.O. Bigelow, the historic apothecary that still carries Bessette’s tortoise-shell headband, has reportedly logged its biggest sales in 188 years. Evidently, J.Crew’s Olympia Gayot is also taking cues from CBK’s style playbook, resurrecting the classic khaki pant. She goes for suede, but I like these modern iterations from Slvrlake, Frame and Pistola.

Mathieu Blazy’s first Chanel collection hit stores this week and has ignited a for-real shopping frenzy, along with the frantic rustle of people suddenly rethinking their wardrobes. Hi, that would be me! So the question is: how to participate in this bouclé-is-back moment without triggering a full-on fiscal crisis? Let’s get creative, shall we? How about finessing Chanel show-bound Laurel Pantin’s look yesterday, above, with this Asos fringe? Works for me! Becky Malinksy’s vintage cropped jacket and faded high-waist jeans? Add this and this. As for all the sublime boucle, two-toned ballerinas, plaids, embellishments, fringe, fluffy feathers, long-waisted layering, lace, etc? Here are some ideas: Source Unknown’s very similar rounded cap-toe flats ($96), below, or these pony-hair color-block ones, Cinq a Sept’s feather trimmed jacket or this tweedy/fringey one ($110), this boucle shacket or this oversized Asos (bound to be a Fall 2026 essential), this clever Quince pre-layered knit with extended cuffs (two for one at $110), plaid and fringe (also more for less), Pixie Market’s long sequin and lace tunic (to wear over a midi skirt), feather cuffs, and this shirt tied around another shirt look! P.S. If you can’t buy a Chanel bag, you can always borrow one. Use the code MARLIEN to get the first month free!