Cheryl Shops

By most accounts, 2025 has been the summer of the flip-flop. The Row's $750 rubber-and-grosgrain flip-flops were perhaps the most egregious example; while I wore Havianas back in the day, I need a little more refinement (and arch support) at this point in my life. Toteme's heeled flip-flops, on the other hand, were something I could get behind, especially in this year's red suede, which I saw in person on my trip to New York and have been pretty much lusting after ever since. I am a big fan of Toteme—I own a bunch of tops from the brand, including the monogram shirt I wore in this post, as well as the T-lock bag—but, I'm sorry, $450 for a pair of flip-flops is a bit much, even if they are leather. Due to the simplicity of the design, I figured this would be a pretty easy item to knock off, and I was right. I found a great dupe of the Toteme heeled flip-flops at Madewell. 

Once upon a time, I spent thousands of dollars on laser hair removal for my underarms and bikini line. Not only was it a financial commitment, but a time commitment as well: 6–8 appointments every 6 weeks, including schlepping to a salon, waiting for numbing cream to take effect, then the procedure itself. It's been about 15 years since I went through this whole rigamarole, and while most of the hair removal was permanent, I have a few stubborn hairs that refuse to go away, so I just keep shaving them occasionally. Speaking of shaving, I really hate doing it and always have. I had contemplated laser hair removal on my legs, but even with all of the competition and advances in laser hair removal over the years, I'd be looking at a four-figure bill. What's really been holding me back, however, is that my leg hair is blonde—yes, I am a real blonde—which tends to have mixed results with laser hair removal (it works best with a high skin-hair contrast). But then Nood reached out to me and offered to send me The Flasher 2.0, their at-home IPL device and I figured I had nothing to lose, except maybe some hair. While I received The Flasher free of charge, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. 

Lace-trim slip skirts are everywhere this summer; we most likely have The Row to thank for that, but also Dôen, who's had a slip skirt in their lineup for awhile now. I owned several slip skirts in the late '90s, including one from Dolce & Gabbana that I luckily dug out of storage recently, and while the most logical thing to do would be to wear something vintage, what makes The Row's and Doen's version so modern is that they have a wider band of lace around the hem and they come in more substantial fabrics—The Row's is silk charmeuse; Doen's current version is cotton poplin although their Giuletta skirt, which is sadly sold out, is also 100% silk. I combed vintage fairs and resale sites (as well as my own closet) for awhile in search of something similar, thinking that secondhand was the ideal place to find a good dupe, but ran into a little Goldilocks syndrome: everything was either too long, too sheer, and/or didn't have the right amount of lace at the hem. I'm sure I could have kept looking, but when I popped into J.Crew recently with my mom and saw the Gwen skirt, I knew she was The One.