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What's Left · Aug 19, 2026

Summer hyperfixations and the search terms to find them secondhand

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Virginia Chamlee · What's Left

I live in Florida where “seasons” are merely a thing in Lifetime movies or a vague feeling that comes via the latest Starbucks offerings. A nip in the air is nonexistent unless it comes by way of the air-conditioner. Even then, it won’t be enough to cool you from the 93-degree heat we’ve seen this week. The point is this: Fall isn’t even on my radar. It feels like summer here, and so, I’ll be living in summer for the foreseeable future. Maybe forever.

With all things summer in mind, Delaney Lundquist and I decided to do a newsletter swap — writing about our summer hyperfixations on each other’s letters, and getting together to chat about them live this evening.

You’ll find all of the stuff Delaney is shopping and searching for below, and mine are in her newsletter.

Delaney is a very fun watch on Instagram and I adore her newsletter. She has a wry sense of humor that resonates with me and she recently spent a considerable amount of time in the English countryside, which I thought was only something characters in Nancy Meyers movies were allowed to do. She and I are kindred spirits, and I guarantee that her newsletter will be a new favorite.

If you reallllyyyy wanna get in the nitty-gritty of our summer hyperfixations (or ask Delaney about her Costwolds stay! or me about the longest yard sale!) then join us for a live video chat this evening: Wednesday, August 19th at 5:30pm ET, right here on Substack.

Subscribers will get an email and a push notification from the Substack app (if you have them turned on) to join when we go live.

Now, from Delaney:

I’m just a wannabe summertime coastal Maine girl trapped in the hot and sticky swamp that is Charlotte, North Carolina. As a result, I will use any excuse to work a drapey, oversized cotton knit sweater into my outfits (usually over my shoulders, around my waist, or actually ON my body when inside an aggressively air conditioned restaurant). Because of the J.Crew rollneck resurgence, I find their secondhand options to be needlessly expensive with modern remakes masquerading as vintage OGs, so I search the below brands instead — usually for men, since I like ‘em LOOSE.

Search terms:

  • Mens [brand] roll neck sweater

  • Mens cotton sweater

  • Mens summer knit sweater

Brands

  • Lands End

  • Polo Ralph Lauren

  • LL Bean

  • Eddie Bauer

  • Tommy Bahama

  • Banana Republic

Links:

If your middle school art teacher would have worn it, I want it. The internet’s fixation on whimsy has increased my tolerance for all of the jewelry I would have poo-pooed a few years ago and now I cannot get enough juicy, funky, candy-colored beads.

Search terms:

  • Millefiori necklace

  • Lampwork beaded necklace

  • Art glass bead necklace

  • Mixed gem necklace

  • Italian art glass jewelry

  • Mixed media necklace

Links:

And if beaded jewelry had a baby with evening bags, they would be Mary Frances’s creations. Like, what in the eccentric aunt are these?! Feathers, sequins, beads, ruching, appliques — no embellishment is left unutilized. Accessorize with one of these as a wedding guest and you’ve got yourself a conversation starter.

Search terms:

  • Mary Frances bag

  • Mary Frances clutch

  • Beaded embellished clutch

  • Applique evening bag

Links:

Polka dot popularity in fashion is cyclical (though of course, like stripes, they are too classic to ever go out of style), but ever since picking up an antique polka dot pitcher in England this spring, my eyes have been more attuned (and interested!) in polka dots in homewares.

Search terms:

  • Vintage polka dot pitcher

  • French polka dot ceramics

  • Vintage wood polka dot bowl

Links:

I know I am not the only girlie having a cabochon summer because I saw this DIY did numbers on Instagram and I too was like, “ohhhh YES.” While I have not felt compelled to execute this vision myself, I have taken the easier route and been perusing what’s out there vintage-wise that might scratch the itch. I’ve seen a few ice buckets come and go (they sell fast!) and there are a number of trinket boxes with the look, but I’m kind of sitting tight and hoping this maker on Etsy does another pair of serving utensils.

Search terms:

  • Gem encrusted

  • Cabochon trinket box

  • Bejeweled vase

  • Bejeweled ice bucket

  • Inset gem

Links:

Are any of these items also on your radar?

Certainly, Delaney’s list resonates with me (in our live tonight, I’ll share one of my favorite gem-encrusted finds, for instance, plus maybe some odds and ends I found on my recent multi-state yard sale adventure). See you tonight at 5:30 pm ET for our live chat!

xx,

VC

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