The Good Sort Selects 002
Everything we’re reading, watching, wanting, and generally enthusiastic about.
The Good Sort is a digital magazine from SearchBar that publishes a dispatch of style stories from your favorite writers, compelling interviews, and insanely good shopping roundups you won’t want to miss.
Even though the Twitter contingent finds it exceptionally annoying, and time is a construct, I’m going to kick off our first missive of 2023 with a grand and bellowing “Happy New Year!” If you’re new here, let me take a moment to first introduce you to The Good Sort, an editorial publication that explores the substance behind shopping, and second, to me, The Good Sort’s editor. Please say hello!
If you’re not new and you’ve noticed that we’ve been quiet, it’s with good reason: our groundbreaking new product, SearchBar, is finally and excitedly live in beta and about to change the way you shop forevermore. More on that below, but let’s get to everything else first. — Danielle
Unboxing
I’m a frequent online shopper with a bad habit of over-ordering with the intent to return, and this Emma Cosgrove piece for Insider (well really, it’s the photo pictured below) is pushing me to rethink the way I shop online. My dirty little habit — ordering the same shirt/dress/jeans/you-name-it in multiple sizes — is actually called “bracketing” and over 60 percent of people who shop online do it.
The story, which is really about logistical solutions to support this nightmarish hamster wheel of processing purchases and returns of all this "stuff," in a faster, better, stronger (cue Daft Punk) manner, doesn't feel like the right move in a big-picture, "we care about people and the planet" kind of way.
What does feel right to me, however, is shopping from independent designers and small shops, who I find are more than happy to respond to emails, calls, or DMs with guidance about sizing or walk me through other questions that, otherwise left unanswered, might cause me to bracket.
Online shopping from big retailers is a tricky habit to break, and I don't think it's fair to blame consumers: the shipping is fast, the return policies are generous, and there are deals to be had. But for a person that doesn't really partake in the resolution part of the New Year, I'm making an exception, and I urge you to rethink the way you shop, too. There are very cool, innovative, original, and generally rad things being made that you won’t see in the ads that follow you around the internet. Support those brands and designers.
And if you don't know how to find them, let me offer you a solid way in with a shameless plug for SearchBar, the publisher behind The Good Sort. The founders, Sarah and Jake, did something extraordinarily commendable in creating a digital epicenter of sorts, to help people discover worthy designers and products from around the world that are often deeply hidden by algorithmic search engines.
I can go on about how necessary a site like SearchBar is and how you’ll discover your new favorite designer there, but I think it's best if you poke around the site, set up an account, and start making a collection of your favorite finds.
Outdoors-y Fits for City Living
When "good old raisins and peanuts," acronymically speaking, was paired with “core” in 2017 by Jason Chen in New York's The Cut, the gorpcore trend was slowly gaining traction. And this year, according to Clayton Chambers, gorpcore is "going mainstream, and you can’t stop it!" Hike over to
Faux Real
As reluctant as I am to say that I live in Los Angeles, I have to give it up to California for making big moves for planet Earth and its cutie inhabitants. In August came the passing of a rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. And on January 1, a ban on the sale and manufacturing of new animal fur products went into effect.
The law only applies to new fur wares, so if real fur is your thing, hit up your local vintage shops and secondhand dealers while you rethink your life choices. If you just dig the soft fuzzy look, check out the collection that Sarah put together with her favorite faux-fur pieces.
Bottoms Up
What does a booze brand that can't miss out on a month of revenue do during Dry January? Well, if you're Tito's, you hire Martha Stewart to share alternative ways to use their vodka around the house. Cheeky joke or just an attempt to reach a sober audience? Maybe both.
Either way, we’re in a cheers-ing mood and dreaming of these stylish vessels that will bring plenty of spirit to the table no matter what you fill them with.
Now You Know
• What do the internet's favorite Substack writers think will happen this year? Look no further.
• Now Playing: Funny Pages. You can be like everyone else and spend your evening watching The Glass Onion, or you can enjoy a delightfully uncomfortable film from A24. Please don't be like everyone else.
• SearchBar has a free personal shopping concierge, so if you’re shopping for something specific and can use a hand, hit them up. Par exemple: Someone recently asked for help finding a gift for their brother-in-law who’s into boating, fishing, hunting, and the planet for under $50. Voilà: The Gift Guide For The Camo Utilitarian Fisherman.
[Editor’s Note: This email was not written by you-know-what.]
And now because it's in my head, Daft Punk, play us out.
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