Cheryl Shops

Suede has been surging in popularity for a few years now—I included it in last year's fall trends—and we're either about to reach Peak Suede or maybe it's just a sign that it's here to stay. I am a fan; because of the natural nap, it has a richer, softer texture than leather and it takes dye beautifully, particularly in autumnal colors like brown, which has also been trending for awhile now. That said, suede can be a little more high-maintenance than leather—it stains more easily and I find it to be harder to keep clean—but for what it lacks in ease of care, it makes up for in pure luxuriousness. And yet there's something inherently boho about suede, which is what appeals to me—it's the ultimate rich-hippie essential. Which brings me to my latest, very specific fall trend: the fringed suede jacket. 

 I've said it more than once and I'll say it a thousand times: leopard print is a classic. So it's perhaps a bit disingenuous on my part to call leopard print a trend, but what's trending about it for me at the moment is a particular accessory in a specific shape: a slouchy bucket bag. There are several really, really good ones out there right now, but before I get to them, I wanted to give a shoutout to my Clare V mini tote, which has been with me for years. She still makes the larger version of the bag in a slightly different print, and if you're ok with a handheld or crook-of-the-arm tote, it would make a fantastic work bag. But for the rest of these, the shape I'm after is a shoulder bag with a more elongated silhouette. Read on for my favorites of the season. 

 Lately "trend" has become a dirty word, and I can kind of understand why. Fashion has always had trends—the definition of the word itself means something popular or current—but social media has definitely sped up the lifespan of a trend, and fast fashion retailers, particularly those of the drop-ship variety from overseas, have been happy to comply with this lightning-fast cycle. Not to mention, we're coming out of a longer "quiet luxury" moment that emphasized more timeless, neutral, trend-agnostic pieces versus novelty. This is not a dig on minimalism; I understand why so many people gravitate toward a look that feels more classic—there's a certain ease to it, and figuring out what to wear can be challenging enough. That said, quiet luxury itself is a trend, and sure, it's fun to cosplay as old money. Which is exactly the point: Fashion should be fun. It's fun to try on something new—a trend!—and see if fits. If it doesn't, or if you don't even want to try it on, you don't have to participate! As I always say, life is short and you should wear what you love. But sometimes you don't know what you love if you're not trying new things. Case in point, I thought the mere idea of oysters was gross until I was starving and at a party where they were the only food that was being served. Out of desperation, I tried some. Guess what? Oysters are delicious. Which brings me to the harem pant.

Can you believe that Madewell has been around for almost 20 years now? J.Crew's millennial spinoff debuted in 2006 and pretty quickly eclipsed its older sister just as the Jenna Lyons era was coming to an end—to the point that Madewell was almost spun off into a separate, publicly traded company. I feel like it has had a few ups and downs over the last few years, after its head designer (and secret weapon) Joyce Lee—who has a great Substack, btw—resigned in late 2023; its brand president recently stepped down too, but Madewell has reportedly brought in the jean-ious (bad pun, sorry) Benjamin Talley Smith to revamp its denim line. I've remained a fairly enthusiastic Madewell shopper throughout—they do elevated basics really well, and they've recently been churning out some great dupes of accessories from more high-end designers like Khaite and Toteme. And while Madewell's prices are pretty reasonable to begin with, they have special sales for Insiders several times a year, and to enjoy the discount, all you need to do is sign up for their email list. The current Insiders Event is 30% off sitewide and runs through September 29th. I've already got a shopping bag full of items I can't wait to try, but first, here are the pieces I wear the most and highly recommend.

I remember my first pair of denim shorts. I had just seen Dirty Dancing and was obsessed with the pair that Jennifer Grey wore as Baby. Like hers, mine were long and fitted almost to the knee with a rolled cuff. I wore them religiously until they didn't fit anymore, and while I have owned many denim shorts since then, I haven't loved any of them as much as that first pair. While I was very into them at first, I don't find myself reaching for the Madewell shorts I bought a few years back and as the years pass, I'm feeling more wary of shorter shorts. That said, I do enjoy shorts as an option when the weather is warm, and as a denim lover, I'm always up for an alternative to longer jeans. I was influenced to buy a pair of uncharacteristically (for me) baggy denim shorts from Old Navy—I sadly can't remember which Substack newsletter had recommended them—and when I first tried them on, I thought these are not for me. But then on a warm Saturday afternoon when I just wanted to be cool and comfortable, I decided to give them another try. This time I was wearing a slim-fitting tank top and all of a sudden it came together: You can wear baggy denim shorts without looking sloppy. It's just a matter of getting the proportions right. 

Let's face it, makeup is getting more and more expensive. (I'm looking at you, $160 Louis Vuitton lipstick.) But while the luxury brands are luxuriating, thankfully, there are a lot of brands looking out for us girls on a budget. One of my favorite drugstore, or mass, brands is Versed. I never hesitate to recommend their skincare products—you can read my honest review here—which have been around for several years and top out at about $21. Versed recently branched out into makeup, and while I haven't tried the entire line yet, I've definitely found some favorites. Versed sent me a bunch of products to try for free, but the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. 

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. 

We're slightly more than halfway through 2025, and what a year it's been so far. In all honesty, 2025 started out as a complete dumpster fire for me, but thankfully things have been on the upswing the last few months and I'm hopeful the second half of the year will continue to be even better. One weird thing, however, is that the weather in San Francisco has been abysmal this summer—it's only hit 70 degrees once, and most days are foggy and cold (like under 60 degrees cold—so Sean and I haven't been shooting as much as we'd like. Fingers crossed things will get better, because I have a few cute things I'd like to show you. But in the meantime, I thought I'd take a look back at the year so far and see what both you and I have been loving in terms of content. Here's the best of 2025 so far. 

I recently started working in an office for the first time in five years, and I realized that on those days, my skin could probably use a little extra help. I really haven't worn foundation in years, but the harsh fluorescents lights in my workplace definitely don't do any favors for my pores or broken capillaries. I don't like anything heavy—I have very dry skin and thick foundation does not sink in very well—so I tend to prefer lighter, more blendable formulas. It also happens to be summer right now, so when I'm warm and sweaty, I really want something that lets my skin breathe. I've been testing a bunch of products lately in search of the perfect no-makeup look for summer; here are my favorite lightweight options. 

Confession: in the last five years or so, I have bought and eventually sold or given away at least five pairs of wide-leg white pants or jeans. I don’t know why this cut is so tricky to get right, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the color white—which can be a challenge especially on the lower half of one’s body—coupled with the fact that for a wide-leg silhouette, the fabric either has to be very fluid or very stiff, and anything in the middle can be a disaster. Like many women, I struggle to see my lower half with compassion, so I tend to be incredibly picky with what I wear on it. Because the color white reflects lights and often makes things seem bigger than they are, this can be especially problematic in regard to white pants. That said, when it comes to pants, there is one brand I trust more than most, and that is Spanx. When they offered to send me a pair of their upgraded stretch twill wide leg pants, I of course jumped at the chance. While I received these pants for free, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. 

The first thought I had while starting to write this post was, "Wait, how is it already time for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?!" Is it me or is this year flying by? The second thought I had was that this year's selection was a bit...underwhelming. People have been complaining about the decline in offerings for years now—most commonly that there's not enough quality merch, and the good stuff tends to sell out in the first day or two, when only high-spending cardholders are allowed to shop—and I was honestly a bit worried, given that Nordstrom has a new owner. It's true, the sale has changed over the years: It used to be where I'd jump on statement pieces like coats, boots, and sweaters for the upcoming season, but it's evolved into more of a way to replenish your basics at good prices. That has definitely become my strategy—more on that below—but after a thorough examination of literally everything that's on sale this year, I got pretty excited for the 2025 event. First, here are my top picks for this year's Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.

Do you remember your first sundress? Mine was a white and yellow daisy print, and I must have lived in it for an entire summer when I was 4 or 5 years old. Ever since then, I've always invested in a sundress or two every summer. The main qualifications are that they need to be sleeveless and lightweight, ideally in a bright, happy color, but the length can be anywhere from midi to maxi and the details—ruffles, pleats, buttons, sashes—are up to you. Most importantly, sundresses should be comfortable, ideally floating away from your body a bit to help mitigate the heat and humidity. Since it's now officially summer—and heat waves are already striking across the globe—I thought I'd share two of my favorite sundresses for this year. They're from a new-to-me brand called The Good Journey, and you can find them on the Maggy London website—plus you can use code CHERYL15 for 15% off. While Maggy London gifted these dresses to me, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions.