Designer Toilets, Rattan Fish, And First Reads You Never Forget
Plus Jonathan Anderson's first Dior bags, which are... underwhelming. Also we might buy an island.
Recently, I saw on
’s Instagram that she was planning on reading Lonesome Dove this summer for the first time. (Weirdly, Lonesome Dove has been everywhere for me lately; Esquire even wrote a piece about its recent renaissance.) “I’m so jealous,” I thought. What a great novel to get to experience for the first time! Lonesome Dove was a summer reading assignment when I was going into 11th grade and I remember reading it so vividly; it was the definition of un-put-down-able for me, like I was wandering the house reading it and eating frozen grapes for a week straight. Then I thought, what a great way to make a reading list: What book do you wish you could read again for the first time?— Jessica
I Have Another Question For You
One of my favorite procrastinatory techniques is going to 1stDibs and tootling around for stuff I am probably never going to buy unless I win the Lottery. I spent much of the pandemic laying in my bed looking for vintage tennis posters and patio furniture. (I was not doing well mentally, but I guess of all the things I could have done, this was fairly harmless.) (I also did this at Chairish, with the big difference being that I eventually bought stuff on Chairish because I think it has better prices.) Anyway, I recently saw that 1stDibs is having a sale, so I popped over there this weekend to see if any of my favorites were suddenly available and/or magically affordable. They were not, but it’s always fun to zip through “favorites” on sites like this; you’re like, “Oh right, this was when I was really into insane huge cocktail rings,” or “Ah, yes, that summer I was pricing Marc Jacobs Stam bags because I thought they were coming back.” (I stand by this! All the Stams I favorited last year have sold, and I recently saw a youth carrying one at a pinball bar I sometimes drag my ancient skeleton to.) And then, of course, you venture out of your favorites to see what else they’ve got and you find yourself thinking, “Do I need an Italian 18th Century Neoclassical Carved Wooden Altar Shrine? It’s 50% off!” and, “This seems like a good price for a Picasso,”1 and, “Wow, that ice bucket is stunning,” and, “Should I get a $2000 rattan fish pendant lamp?” I did not, although this did lead me down the lane of fish pendants in general. Anyway — with apologies for asking two personal questions in the same newsletter, I always want to know what other people are currently low-key keeping an eye out for. You know, whatever it is, you don’t need it immediately but you’re looking for it. And you’ll know it when you find it.
— Jessica
What Is Going ON With Designers Right Now?
Jonathan Anderson (formerly of Loewe) is now at the helm of all the Dior lines, and ahead of his first show June 27, he released a peek at his “interpretation of the Dior book tote.” The book tote came about 2018, but was supposedly inspired by an archival drawing, and proceeded to appear all over the celeb world — the most recent versions are embroidered and/or raffia — because it can also be customized with whatever text you want, if CHRISTIAN DIOR is not your fancy. I think for about two years straight Sofia Vergara carried one into America’s Got Talent, although amusingly, she never sprung for getting her name put on it (I’m guessing the celebs that did actually had it sent to them for free).
Anderson’s version takes Maria Grazia Chiuri’s original vision and updates it with his own spin, except that his own spin feels awfully familiar.
Anderson has a reputation for being wildly original, and it’s earned — I will never forget the balloon boobs and cut-out nipple hearts — but this feels like he crashed out in the studio and logged onto Etsy at 3 a.m. for inspiration (that’s not an insult to Etsy!). Book totes, clutches, handbags, and all manner of other things have been around for EONS. What does he possibly think he can bring to it other than an inflated price tag — which, by the way, Olympia Le-Tan has already covered?2 Anderson diluted his wackier instincts in Loewe’s custom work the last year or so, almost as if auditioning for a job exactly like this one, but I don’t think you hire a Noted Kook without hoping he’ll liven up your offerings with some whimsy. So it seemed inevitable that he’d try to marry some of his natural instincts with the House of Dior. And I suppose you can’t roll up to Dior and be like, “Saddle up for crotch boxes and holey knee scrunchies, bitches!” That still doesn’t explain why the answer was, presumably, to sweep into the atelier, wild-eyed, and slam a LaCroix down on the table and shout, “The book tote. BOOKS! IT’S RIGHT THERE IN THE NAME!!!! I DID IT AGAIN!” It’ll work because celebs loved Loewe and celebs love — or are paid to love — Dior. Anya Taylor-Joy already popped into the comments to say simply, “Yes.” Whereas I am saying, in my best impersonation of “Business Time” by Flight of the Conchords, “Is that it?”
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering what Laura Kim is up to — of the partnership behind Monse, and Oscar de la Renta — the answer is… designing luxury toilets for Kohler?!? This is not new information — I believe it was announced in February — but it’s new to me because I just started seeing the ad everywhere. Please click on the below to watch, because it is hilariously Extra.
If you are interested in buying an onyx smart-toilet — sorry, Honed Black — then first, congratulations. But that video is not going to be too much use; it’s really just an ad for how beautiful Laura Kim is, in a dress she designed to, ahem, “capture the essence of the Veil smart toilet.” Kohler3 has done other collabs with people who are allegedly doing some of the actual product design work, like a limited edition 3D-printed sink with Daniel Arsham that looks like he nicked it from a Zen garden, and I’m sad we didn’t get that here. I would LOVE to get a take on the mighty toilet from one of the people who once designed a bodice for Jaime King that looks like an actual seat cover on a tube top. But what about those of us plebeians who can’t afford a $6000-$7500 bog that pairs “bold minimalist style with the comfort of personal cleansing”? Can’t we spice up our regular latrines? I want a toilet for someone whose budget says, “Chunky white porcelain god with rounded seat and awkward handlefeel that might also be slightly too tall.” Get Zac Posen’s GapStudio on the case. If you insist on having an atelier that nobody asked for, at LEAST design us a privy with a matching trenchcoat, sir.
— Heather
A Reminder!
The Gilded Age came back last night! I’m very excited for this season, as all reviews have been excellent and I really enjoyed the premiere (and it already took me on some diverting Wiki Deep Dives, including one where a man’s obit implied that worrying about his daughter’s potential engagement to a terrible Duke literally killed him). The recap will be hitting your inbox on early Wednesday, if you’re one of our paid subscribers. If you’re not…
And, speaking of recaps, ICYMI…
And, STILL speaking of recaps, The Bear returns on Wednesday — and the entire season drops at once. We won’t be writing regular recaps this time around but we will likely do one or two posts checking in and letting people vent. (Entertainingly, I just had to look something up, and The Bear’s Wikipedia calls it an “American psychological comedy-drama.” Let’s just stick in as many descriptors as we can. “An American psychological sociological comedy-drama-tragedy exercise in mystical realism.”) I was not unmoved by last season, but I didn’t think it was great and I definitely found the act of watching it draining almost all the time. (Put that blurb on the side of a bus!) I’m definitely gonna watch this new season but possibly not totally enthusiastically. With any luck, it will have gotten back on track and we can occasionally reconvene to celebrate that good news!
— Jessica
Put This on the DWB HQ List… Maybe
Do we want a private island in Scotland? It’s a relative steal at seven million dollars. Per the Robb Report:
The island has at least eight houses, including a traditional stone farmhouse, several timber-framed cottages, and one with 12 bedrooms, all ideal for visiting friends and family or as holiday rentals. The crown jewel, of course, is the hauntingly romantic Shuna Castle. Built in the early 20th century by New Zealand adventurer George Buckley—fresh off Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition to Antarctica—the 50-room, turreted mansion was once grand enough to warrant transatlantic architectural plans. Sadly, those plans sank with their architect on the Titanic. The castle was occupied until the mid-1980s and now sits in ruins, waiting for someone with creative vision and an ample budget to bring it back to life.
The property also has 800 sheep, which is a selling point for me, anyway. The other non-ruin properties are cute! It’s like a little village on an island! Definitely one of us knows how to renovate a ruined castle! It hasn’t been “in ruins” THAT long! Like, can something that was occupied in 1983 technically be in ruins? We can discuss this point of order at the village meeting. Town and Country reports this island has “little to no cell service,” so we’ll have plenty of time for face-to-face convos. Apparently, there are also no roads, so we’ll also have a lot to do…like, you know, making some so we can bike to each other’s cabins or whatever. But there are “Stone Age burial mounds and Iron Age ritual hoards,” so, truly, doesn’t it all even out? Unless, I suppose, one of those ritual hoards contains a cursed objet that unleashes some kind of demon we have to get back under control and save the world, but you were just complaining that your summer has been kinda boring so far, so…? Take it under consideration.
— Jessica
Last Call
— Are you interested in wacky and/or dramatic hats? Good news: We rounded up 30 of the most noteworthy from this year’s Royal Ascot.
— NY Mag this week is devoted to the Hamptons, and I am DEVOURING all their content; this “anonymous confessions” piece is so good. (You know I love this kind of Rich People Shit!) — J
— The cursed Bezos-Sanchez nuptials are happening sometime this week in Venice. The 24th to the 26th, or the 26th to the 28th? No one knows for sure. A lot of Venetians are upset because they think it points to officials not caring about the ongoing problem of over-tourism, to the detriment of people who live there. My favorite sign: “IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING, YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX.”
— Apparently this wedding is a source of GREAT stress to the crumbling Katy Perry/Orlando Bloom marriage. Katy, who engaged in space feminism with Sanchez for some period of less than 11 minutes, has “prior commitments” (unclear what, as her tour is on hiatus), so Orlando is planning to go alone: “She feels like it's a 'fuck you' to her from him. He complains about her going to space, and then wants to go to the wedding of the people who made it possible for her to do this in the first place.” His sources are saying that he told her not to do the bad album, the dumb space, and the terrible tour, so he’s fed up, and someone who I’m sure was not Katy Perry but who sounds totally like it could have been Katy Perry anonymously said, "He said it was cringeworthy. Embarrassing. This was in the middle of a fight, and it hurt her feelings. Of course she was hurt. Imagine going to space—motherfucking space—and your partner isn't impressed.” Imagine caring enough about Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos to even have this be an issue!!!! — H
It’s just a lithograph, I know!
I feel like even in Kitson in 2002 I was seeing book purses!? -H
Just sweeping in here to note that if you find yourself in Kohler, Wisconsin at any time, their design center is SO GOOD and interesting. My husband and I once accidentally turned on one of their Toilets of the Future (on the showroom floor) and couldn’t figure out how to turn it off! It had flashing lights all around the base! They have a ton of vintage tubs and sinks, too. It’s fun! — J
My 82-year-old father-in-law (who we affectionately refer to as "El Capitan") has been in rehab after breaking his hip and getting a partial replacement. He brought a copy of Lonesome Dove that he found in a Little Free Library into the hospital with him, and then my brother-in-law got him a copy of Ron Chernow's new Mark Twain biography and he's been reading that instead. We've been nervous about his health (he's had two strokes in the past 20 years and has rheumatoid arthritis), and I'm hoping he lasts long enough to at least finish both of these books.
There is moment in the Laura Kim Kohler ad where she starts kind of running up the stairs while the voiceover intones something about need and desire - and all I could think was, “She really needs to go! That’s why she needs a toilet!”
I do not think that is the image that they were trying to inspire.