Move Over, Cashmere!
Cozy fall finds for going out and staying in
A portion of today’s letter was written in partnership with Brooklinen, SIBAL’s OG partner and my forever favorite for all things bedding (don’t skip their robes either)!
Shitters! Usually I’m all about cashmere once the temps start dropping. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the stuff—I’ve reached for this classic crewneck and last year’s version of this chunky knit over and over while traveling recently—but I noticed that I’ve been gravitating towards cotton way more than I ever have in fall/winters past. Between the more manageable price point and the much easier maintenance, the pros are obvious, but IMO it’s also so much cozier than it gets credit for!
Starting first with J. Crew’s cotton sweaters. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops about their viral rollneck for weeks, and this cotton cable-knit option is also worth checking out. It feels like that perfect find you swiped from your dad’s closet, and is cut more narrowly, so it won’t look super bulky even if you size up. I consider these my gateway drug to realizing that cotton—a fabric that I mostly thought of as lightweight and utilitarian—can give you the same comfort factor as wool or cashmere.
Around the same time, I picked up this particular bed blanket by Brooklinen, which has quickly become one of my favorite things in my entire apartment. I had been looking to add a cozy layer to my bedding for the fall/winter months, but frankly, I was mostly eyeing wool or cashmere options—cotton didn’t even register on my radar! But this blanket really blew me away.
It’s made of the same supersoft Turkish cotton as their waffle robe (which is easily the most used one in my collection), and is incredibly cozy, while still being lightweight, breathable, and (most importantly of all) not trapping heat!!! When the Brooklinen team and I talked about collaborating again, I originally wanted to weigh in on the internet’s Great Linen Sheet Debate (my verdict: I still like linen, but I think I’ve been converted to these?! They’re a godsend if you run hot and there’s something SO nice about the neater look after years of linen’s more laidback feel), BUT I ended up loving this blanket so much that I had to pivot! (If you’re new to Brooklinen, you can get 15% off your first order—no code needed!)
Speaking of trapping heat, I’ve also been paying more attention to the fabric makeup of my sleepwear lately. I realized that on the nights I would wake up feeling overheated and uncomfortable, I was often wearing PJs that were made of weird fabric blends, rather than old faithful, breathable cotton! Sounds simple, but it was advice I ignored for years in favor of cute little PJ sets. Turns out there are lots of fun sets and sleepwear in cotton too! This schoolmarm nightgown (not a technical term—just what my sister and I call it) was without a doubt my favorite sleepwear of the summer—I will be wearing until it hits the 30’s (which better not be soon, I have yet to come to terms with wearing sweaters!!!!), and this little blue set is next on my list!
And an ode to cotton would not be complete without denim. My favorite pairs over the past few years have almost exclusively been made of 100% cotton—despite the break-in period, I prefer the fit and longevity that they have over most stretch options in my closet. But there is an exception—my beloved pair of dark wash Khaite Danielle’s.
The Khaite pair has been my go-to dressy denim for the past few fall/winters now. I wear them to dinner, to go out, and they always makes me feel like my legs are a million miles long (hard to achieve at 5’5!). But the price point is up there! Luckily, there’s a dead ringer by AGOLDE for basically one third of the price! They’re incredibly similar in fit and wash, plus these ones are 100% cotton! (I tried this pair by Citizens too, but IMO the leg is narrower and less flattering/ comparable to the Khaite version.) I take my true size in the Khaite’s and a size down in the AGOLDE’s.
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Other things I’m loving lately: Glamsquad!!!! Their at-home blowouts are reasonably priced and have saved me SO much time before events and podcast tapings. They kindly offered us a code—new users can get $25 off their first booking with SIBAL, and existing users can get $15 off with SIBAL15! I gave my usual black bag the week off and brought this one on my trip to Italy instead—major splurge, but if you’ve been considering, it’s the perfect size, works for both daytime and dinner (has anyone else been on Birkin-to-dinner TikTok lately??), and is easy to pair with dressy or more casual outfits. My friend Melissa has it in hazelnut brown and we spent this past weekend matching/raving about how much we love them!!! I used this Cadence capsule for an allergy pill/melatonin gummy potpourri while traveling (their clear parcel is also perfect as a redeye personal care kit). This candle gets the more compliments than any other I own when friends are over (and now there’s a giant soap brick in the same scent!). I thought I was sold on the Bottega card case in brown until I saw Barolo…! Found one here if you want VAT return prices without the travel.
This is making me laugh so hard bc "sibal" or "shibal" is the F word equivalent in Korean! Love this newsletter x
Yes to cotton but make sure you dry it flat! It'll lose shape if you hang it over a drying rack etc xx