11 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Striped Stools to Unitards

While in theory, a unitard should be the ideal exercise outfit (it combines a sports bra, top, and leggings into one), Strategist contributor Katie Stone says, “It’s been nearly impossible to find a unitard with decent support.” So she set out to hunt for one that both is nice-looking and actually works for working out. Her search led her to this one from Splits59. “I think of it as the Goldilocks of unitards,” she says. “Not too long but not too short, not too relaxed but not too suffocating, and so smooth and breathable that I forgot I was wearing a unitard at all.”

As a longtime eyeglasses wearer, Scarlett Johansson has learned that her glasses need to be large enough that she’s not constantly looking at the frame. She’s found a solution in these wire-rimmed ones, which she describes as “somewhere in between, like, a weird Jeffrey Dahmer style and safety glasses.” While she does need to “take them in to the eyeglass place and have them unbend them” about once a month, she says they’re still something she can’t live (or see) without.

This week, a reader wrote in to Chris Black asking for his favorite alternatives to the taupe Birkenstock clog, which, Black says, “has become too popular by no fault of its own.” One of his recommendations is this recovery clog that is “unassuming and inoffensive with no holes to attach ‘Jibbitz,’ etc.” Black adds, “They are very well priced, easy to clean, and not as ubiquitous as Bostons or Crocs.”

The grand finale of Jeans Month was a master list with all the denim-related wisdom we acquired over the past few weeks. Along with our picks for a beginner-level barrel-leg (Madewell’s Darted Barrel-Leg) and a pair for men with a hockey butt (AG’s Kace 28 Selvage), we recommend this fabric dye that Strategist writer Rachael Griffiths uses to revive old jeans that she might’ve otherwise thrown out.

This week, we peeked into the Strategist Brain of Ailbhe Malone, our senior editor from across the pond, who reports that “the cap from The Face exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery is the hottest piece of merch in London.” For a less frequently sold-out alternative, she suggests this Kylie Minogue tee, which features a photo taken by German photographer Norbert Schoerner in 1994.

Editor’s note: The National Portrait Gallery Shop lists all prices in pounds, so the price shown for that retailer is an approximate conversion to U.S. dollars.

In its latest collaboration, West Elm teamed up with interior-design studio Pierce & Ward to create a collection that Strategist senior kitchen and dining writer Emma Wartzman says is “worth a full scroll-through.” She describes all the pieces as “extremely nice-looking — earth-toned with mixed materials and fun stripes and pretty patterns,” but we’re partial to this striped vanity stool that spins.

If reading our Jeans Month articles had you wondering what jeans the Strategist team actually wears, well, you’re in luck: The team divulged our favorites, selfies and all. Along with a low-rise pair from Topshop and the Rudy Jude Utility Jean, the list includes these glamorous bell-bottoms that Judi Rosen personally recommended to Strategist writer Kitty Guo. “I’ve owned them for a few months now, and I’ve noticed that whenever I wear them, I stand taller and glide rather than walk, compliments trailing in my wake like a cloud of perfume,” Guo writes.

As our resident jeans expert, Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla put her knowledge to the test by answering all of your highly specific jeans-related questions. For “apple shapes,” she recommends Wray’s Hester, and when it comes to jeans for men with a “kinda large belly and smallish butt,” she suggests these high-rise Wranglers, which should sit closer to the waist than the low-riding pants our querier’s husband was wearing before (making them less likely to ride down).

The March installment of “The Strategist Haul” included Gap tank tops for the summer and heels for wedding season, along with this delightful dining set that Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang bought for her son. Yang says he “has been very into pretend play, especially with the dollhouse we originally got his older sister.” Since he’s been pretending to cook in his play kitchen, she adds, “I got him this Hape dining set for his second birthday since the original house came with just about everything but that. Those tiny mugs and utensils!”

“When I first started becoming someone who was speaking my opinions to the public on the internet, I used the mini-microphone to feel like I was in a news desk to make it feel less surreal,” internet personality Blakely Thornton told us. Though he doesn’t rely on the microphone as much anymore, he still counts it among the items he can’t live without, especially when he’s making his fashion reviews. “It kind of made me feel like a little Bryant Gumbel when I was really starting on TikTok three years ago,” he adds.

“Once my economical protein choice for breakfast, lunch, or sometimes even dinner, eggs are suddenly feeling like a luxury,” writes Strategist contributor Tessa Kauppila. As she waits for the time when she can once again enjoy soft-boiled eggs with abandon, she window-shops for egg cups, like these terra-cotta striped ones. They come in a range of colors, including mustard orange, brown, and green, but she says, “I’m partial to the yellow, which would match a runny egg yolk.”