icymi: a bunch of cool summer stuff is on sale

It remains four billion degrees in Los Angeles1, the kind of heat that stings the skin upon contact with outside air, so I spent the weekend moving from my (blessedly, gratefully) air-conditioned home to the air-conditioned car to the slightly less air-conditioned gym to the air-conditioned home of a friend with a new puppy (10/10 recommend visiting a puppy whenever you can!).

This is the beginning of the time of year here when I start to get what I imagine cold-weather-sensitive people in cold climates experience in January — a kind of claustrophobic (self) isolation and even despondency, a feeling like there’s no escape.

Fourteen (!) years in Southern California tells me this weather won’t break until after Halloween; will likely only grow more intense. The first summer I lived here, I was shocked by how fucked the unrelenting sun and heat left my head, the deep-in-my-bones longing for autumn and fall frolicking (and East Coast home) it evoked. Now that I know to be ready for it, I’ve learned to treat the Los Angeles extended summer like I would an especially brutal winter, a combination of slowing down and hibernating a bit along with making sure I see people and get out enough to stay sane.

Around this time, I usually also treat myself to a few new things because I have been trained by late-stage capitalism to purchase away all my bad feelings. Equally, August is the best time to delayed-gratification buy that summer thing you coveted but could not initially justify or afford, as almost everything you could ever want is on sale/at the price it should’ve been if it weren’t for nonsensical tariffs/corporate greed.

Let’s start with G.H. Bass, the classic American footwear brand (est. 1876!) known for its well-made (affordable-ish) New England-preppy loafers. Most of us sleep on Bass for summer shoes, but their sandals are actually pretty great. Right now, you can find cool-looking leather flip-flops, a double-strapped style that would go with everything, a sleeker Birks-alternative (yes, they’re men’s) and this classy-artsy fisherman (I like the snakeskin option though they could read a little Duckie Dale, but is that bad?) — all on serious sale.

If you’re in the market for a new bathing suit, each and every one of the beloved/flattering/body-size-inclusive Summersalt styles everyone talks about is currently 30% off. I recently got this cutout one-piece, which I like because it kind of looks like a bikini without feeling quite as exposed as they often can/do.

I hesitate to recommend anything from Madewell because, like my distrust/distaste for Banana Republic, I mostly think most of their clothes are always a little OFF in terms of fit, and scratchy in terms of fabric, especially for the dumb prices and I rarely find anything better there that I can’t get at Old Navy for less (+ often better quality), but they’re having a big “wear it now” (translation: we’re need to get rid of this summer shit) sale and I did find a good poplin button down that could be worn now over tanks and dresses with the sleeves rolled up and later under sweaters. I equally feel you could do something fun/stylish-but-not-too-trendy with this boxy eyelet shirt.

Speaking of Old Navy, there’s so much to choose from on sale that’s worth it, including the (best) tank top I told you about last week. Also, I can attest that this cotton pajama shorts set is amazing and an incredible deal, especially with the extra discount. I’m considering a second pair in green.

Should you want to update your beauty cabinet! Beauty retailer Dermstore is having an anniversary sale on brands that rarely go on sale, like Skinceuticals. You can check out the entire skincare sale here, and there are also discounts on best-in-class sun protection, including many people’s favorite, Anthelios from La Roche-Posay. I’m about to recommend this Medik8 peptide serum in an upcoming wtf/should you use peptides story and they’re currently 25% off.

And, there’s more!

• Striped-tee-fave-brand Kule is having a literal going-out-of-business sale (I gasped when I heard?). Many sizes are sold out, but it’s worth checking out because their shirts were expensive, but also so good.

• J.Crew has loads on mega-40+% off sale, but the sizes are annoyingly limited (but but the terry cloth thing I’ve been obsessed with is finally marked down).

• Marine Layer, a brand I associate with faux-surfy-Venice-Beach-pilates-influencers, is in the middle of a discount event and surprised me with this on-sale gingham shirt that I love a lot.

• Last, a friend had this portable fan at an outdoor party a few weeks ago, and I tried it and found it to be wondrously effective at cooling down the neck, and then I saw a bunch of them at Disneyland, and even though I find this entire hand-held fan enterprise embarrassing, the world is devastatingly boiling enough that I may have to invest?

Happy Monday, everyone. As a boy named Steve wrote in my 1990 yearbook, stay cool out there.

xoxo