Welcome to This Is Cute. We’re Jenna, Jayna, and Verena. We text all day about cute stuff so you don’t have to. If you’re interested in seeing the previous and equally unhinged editions, they’re here. It’s been a while! The end of the year brought some exciting things (new jobs!) and some annoying things (new variants!) which temporarily sidetracked us, but we are b-a-c-k and ready to ring in the new year with…new brands! Whether we found them while coughing up a lung at 3 in the morning (Jayna), strolling the streets of Red Hook (Verena), or vacation shopping (Jenna), these are the things we’ve been screaming about on the group text. And while they might not all be new new, they’re new to us, and maybe (hopefully) also new to you. So happy (belated!) 2024 everybody—let’s make it a cute one.
New to Jayna
If you know me, you know I love two things: shopping and magical things. Sea creatures, fairies, elves, I’d honestly take a Bigfoot at this point–I’d just love for something truly fantastic to be proven real in my lifetime. What does all this have to do with fake vintage sweatshirts? Not much, honestly! But one night when I was half-scrolling, half-sleeping, I was served an ad for Firstport, and thought I was about to have my magic moment. It is—no joke—a brand that I somehow conjured into existence. They make vintage-looking sweatshirts, but not the kind that are obviously fake and have that weird not soft underside that sweatshirts have now (you know what I mean?). These are somehow legitimately broken-in and perfectly ratty and soft inside and also celebrate…my favorite parts of Connecticut like the Long Island Sound and the Merritt Parkway? But also places that have nothing to do with Connecticut (but a lot to do with me) like Emilia Romagna and Rome and Florence? But then ALSO weird sort of mashups of Connecticut and Italy?? Some of it has absolutely nothing to do with me, but I blame that on the fact that it’s hard to make a magical brand using only your brain, so everyone should cut me some slack.
Another sleep-scroll, another cute brand! This one isn’t magical, but it is magical. I love a ribbed knit, and I love a comfy bralette, and I love stripes so the algorithm really nailed it when they served me this gal. I ended up ordering the bralette and a tank aaaaaand some high-waisted briefs because they looked cute but also sort of like, sturdy? Which is maybe a disgusting way to describe underpants but oh well, here we are. I just don’t like it when everything is slip-sliding around and these seemed like they wouldn’t budge. And Cutes, budge they do NOT. Everything I ordered was so well made and soooo comfy and I’m excited to maybe be brave and wear the bra as a top in the summer (maybe!). Anyway! Apparently they’ve been around since 2014 (but only launched women’s in 2021) and are based in Biarritz and make everything sustainably. I kinda want to try the long johns next because it’s freezing and how fun do they look?
Ok, I discovered this shoe brand Grenson about a year ago and also they’ve been around since the 1800’s so, lol. But! I was thinking about my Grensons (no longer on the site unfortunately, but available in a few random spots, including ebay) the other day because the three of us were talking about how you can have a decent shoe collection and STILL have glaring holes (why don’t I have a single pair of black shoes, for example??), and I realized that I probably wear them more than any other shoe. They are SO comfortable, and have been since day one, which is certainly part of their appeal. But they’re also just a really great everyday staple. They’re sort of somewhere between a Wallabee and a creeper and I think whenever I wear them—as opposed to, say, a sneaker— I feel just a little more schoolboy chic and put together. They were a spluergeroo, so I’m very glad I wear them as often as I do and can’t afford a second pair, but if I could, I’d be very interested in these (on sale!) or these or these.
Tim Key
Not a brand at all—a man! A British man who is also a writer and poet and actor and stand up comedian. I’ve become deeply obsessed with British comedians over the last two years which is weird but has brought me a surprising amount of joy, and Tim Key is the best best best of the bunch. I’m not really sure what his status is over in the UK but if he’s not considered a national treash then I don’t know what tf is wrong with them. He wrote two books—He Used Thought as a Wife and Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush—both centered on the beginning of the pandemic and, more specifically, how he (or a sort of exaggerated version of himself) navigated the UK lockdowns as a single person living alone. That might sound a little bleak/heavy/too soon but they are absolutely, easily the best things I’ve read that have captured what 2020-2021 felt like (remember forming BUBBLES??), but filtered through the very very funny and fanciful and sometimes yes, melancholy prism of someone who also seems to be searching for magical things. Put another way: He has a conversation with a mouse that made me cry on the G train. Please read one (or both) and then schedule a four hour discussion with me, thank youuuuuu.
New To VvP
I’ve been on a no-shopping diet for a while now because my closet is so stuffed that sometimes my hangers break when I try to pull something out. (I’d blame the hangers for being flimsy, but unfortunately I also need the super thin flocked ones in order to fit everything and that’s the trade off.) But I allow a little makeup here and there as a small treat. I recently fell down a rabbit hole of Japanese beauty products, and found this tubing mascara from D-Up. I love a tube mascara, because they never smudge, and they’re extremely satisfying to remove, but find that they can sometimes be a little more mascara than what I like to wear everyday, if that makes sense. (Trish McEvoy’s Lash Curling formula is a great alt for a heavier look.) If you like a Glossier Lash Slick-esque style but with a whisper more oomph, length, and wear, then D-Up’s is the one for you. Plus, I promise you’ll feel like a super in-the-know redditor every time you use it.
I sent Hades Wool to our group text thinking I’d discovered something NEW and CUTE and of course Jayna already knew about it. (She’s the number one brand-discoverer in our group.) But with her validation, I’m sharing it here, in case you, like me just a month ago, haven’t heard of it. Known for their knitwear, Hades Wool also regularly releases band and music-inspired collections, including one with The Cure that I’m very sad to have missed. They’re currently offering a blue-and-black Blondie sweater and David Bowie vest that I want, but cannot buy, so one of you should.
This one isn’t super new to me, but I’m regularly shocked by how under-the-radar this New York-based brand is. Every single piece is made and sewn by hand from upcycled textiles and scraps, including table linens, antique wool blankets, and French pillows, which means every single piece is also one of a kind. While I sort of hate this comparison, it’s the best I can come up with: think Bode but even more special—and, in my opinion—more visually interesting. I have one of their caftans and dream of someday owning a coat. If I could buy one right now, it would be this one, made from Victorian wool and mohair carriage lap blankets. (Can you stand it?)
New to Jenna
This past summer I went to Copenhagen, and amidst the suitcase full of Scandi cutes I brought back were two pairs of socks from Japanese brand Antipast (can you even with that name?!)—one for Jayna, and one for VVP. At first I was bummed when I realized the socks weren’t actually Danish, but then, like, is there anything cooler than a souvie that’s Japanese by way of Scandinavia?? And like most designs out of Japan, Antipast socks are just a cut above—fun but painstakingly considered, with patterns ranging from throwback plaids to whimsical gardenscapes. The brand’s online shop is currently closed, but La Garconne has a whole cute wintry array in stock.
I’m telling you ALL of the good stuff is in Copenhagen, and this sustainably-minded line of oversized cords and bundle-y Fair Isle knits is yet another proof point. I mean just look how perfectly layered up those two ladies are! Serious mac-spiration. (Also maybe hairspiration?? As if Jayna and Verena chopping theirs wasn’t already influencing me enough…).
Omg am I obsessed with Scandinavia?? Not no. Though I actually discovered this particular Nordic brand while shopping stateside in the Berkshires, where apparently all sorts of heritage-y goodness can be found. I’m a little late to the party because it seems that Devold has been turning out hefty wool knits complete with their signature national flag logo since 1893. Their price point and outdoorsy aesthetic leads me to believe maybe they’re like a Norwegian L.L. Bean? I bought one of their bulky AF merino sweaters (pictured above), which reminds of what people wore to ski in the 80s. It’s itchy (you need an under layer), but SO warm, and looks cute over a primary-colored turtleneck tee.
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