Here's Looking at You, 2024
Wherein I put a nail in the coffin of the year that was (but mainly wasn't), and celebrate what will be in 2025
2024 was weird — and I’m writing from the incredibly fucked up vantage point of January 2025. Not my favorite year by any means and I’m glad it’s over.
It wasn’t a total wash. I’m lucky, I know. There was joy, there was fun, there were pyramids in the sun.
In no particular order, three big 2024 highlights:
I became a cat lady. I welcomed George (named after my maternal great grandfather) and Thomas (for my paternal great-great-great-great grandfather) from under my HVAC and into my home in late August and it’s been a non-stop snuggle fest since. I was not prepared for how their love and mere physical presence would change my life. Yes, my house is 70% messier than it was pre-kitten, I’m spending way too much on fancy cat food (only the best for my #fancyboys), my arms are often marred by red scratches, my clothes constantly get hung up on the double-sided sticky stuff that keeps G&T from destroying my furniture, and my verbal default is now baby (cat) talk. Screw it. Cats rule. I should have done this years ago.
I went to Egypt. This bucket list trip with dear friends was my first time in both Africa and the Middle East. We went during low season, so no lines, but oy, the heat: we topped out at 116 in Aswan. But the majesty of that country, its people and its landmarks (I finally got to see the Sphinx!) is something not even the heat can beat. There is so much more to say about this trip that I can’t even begin to now. Soon.
I saw Joni Mitchell at the Hollywood Bowl. Another bucket list item — two, actually — checked. I’d never been to the Bowl, and it was an incredible night to do it. Joni still sounds amazing (the vibrato I love is still there) and ruled the stage in royal purple, a gold-topped cane in hand. And she made my night (my clear, dark, star-filled night, that is) by playing “Coyote.” And my sister Millie and I weren’t the only East Nashvillians in the house: friends Jess Wolfe Katz of Lucius and the inimitable Allison Russell played in Joni’s band.
Live music runner-up: T Bone Burnett at the CMA Theater in Nashville back in May. He’s such a badass.
See? It wasn’t so bad.
2025, as I mentioned, is off to a terrifying start (I can’t fathom what Los Angeles is going through right now; please help however you can). But I’m still in glass half-full mode. Despite all of the horrifying news, I feel positive. We are going to learn to live and work together through this mess and come out stronger on the other side. I hope.
To do it, we have to finally break free from the comfort of the isolation many of us have been drifting in and out of since Covid ended (sorta kinda) and really engage to make it happen. Smart people I know are feeling deeply introspective right now, thinking about what changes they can make to improve our collective social, cultural and physical communities. Through this, I hope we’ll all learn to work creatively, venture outside of our silos more freely, and begin to really think and act locally, because that’s where we can really make real change happen. Small is big.
With this in mind, I’m relaunching this newsletter, without a solid content plan and any expectations for what its going to look like in, say, three months. I’m going to riff for a while and see what sticks when I free-style. I’m a professional over-thinker so this is going to be a bit of an experiment in habit-breaking. I’ve given it a lot of thought (SEE?), and I get into trouble when I launch into personal projects with too much structure and too many expectations in place. Yes, it’s great to be ambitious and have a plan, but you can end up building your own cage that way. And I’m feeling free. And, after a long time, I feel like sharing again. I hope you’ll follow along.
WHAT I’M INTO RIGHT NOW
MY PERSONAL COLLECTION OF VINTAGE SHOPPING BOOKS
I have a pretty special stash and I’ve been digging them out lately for inspiration — what, I’m not sure of. But it’s been fun. I especially love this one:
I thrifted a first-edition copy of this 1975 gem at the old Music City Thrift store in Madison almost 20 years ago. (A fun, very unrelated story about MCT: an acquaintance of mine once found a circa 1820 copy of the Declaration of Independence there for $2.48, one of 200 commissioned by John Quincy Adams. No shit.) Cheap Chic was written by former fashion journalists Carol Troy and photographer Caterine Milinaire, and despite its age, the book is pretty thorough in its scope and depth, packed with history and how-tos, as well as interviews with devoted “rag store” shoppers of the era and style icons like Diana Vreeland (a three-page monologue about her ideas about personal style and life post-Vogue), Zandra Rhodes and Fran Lebowitz. But Cheap Chic’s biggest strength is its mission, which posits that we should buy less and invest more in our clothes.
“We’ve become spoiled in America,” Troy writes. “Surrounded by mass manufacturing and mass marketing, we stuff out closets with masses of mistakes. Fashion seduces us from Sears to Saks in a dizzying array of styles, prices, fabrics and colors. We end up with far too many clothes, without stopping to consciously work out our own personal style and gather together the basic elements we need to get it going.” Guys, this was written 50 year ago. Will we ever learn?
You can find OG copies of Cheap Chic on re-sale sites and the 2015 40th anniversary re-issue online. Worth it.
LAUREN SHERMAN’S PUCK COLUMN
If you’re even slightly interested in how the fashion business works, you must subscribe to Puck to get access to ace journalist Lauren Sherman’s terrific column about the subject. Lauren is someone I’ve known for almost 15 years, having brought her to Nashville several times in the past when she was working for Fashionista and then Business of Fashion (also a must for fashion business followers who really like to get in the weeds). She’s one of the most informed fashion reporters out there, with an unpretentious approach that’s rooted on old-school reporting chops, hard-earned contacts, and a quick wit. It’s a must — especially if you want to get the behind the scenes info (and great goss) about the upcoming international Fashion Week carousel and award show dressing over the next few months.
BUTTERLAMP BREAD & BEVERAGE
This incredibly cozy new addition to the East Nashville culinary ecosystem opened last fall, and since the new year, I’ve made it part of my weekly repertoire. I really have no excuse for waiting to do so: Butterlamp was on my radar after it was featured in last fall’s New York Times roundup of top Nashville restaurants (we can thank the great Ellen Fort for that) and is literally a block from my house. Like, out the door, turn right, walk 100 yards, turn left, quick right and I’m picking up the best bread I’ve eaten in Nashville. From 2 until 10 PM, Thursday through Monday, they do carry out: I pick up loaves of the O.G. and Konbu sourdoughs every two weeks, cut them and keep the slices in my freezer for easy access (don’t worry: I eat it fresh, too). But the real magic happens in-house, where there’s a small kitchen in one corner and a tall, mirror-backed bar near the entrance. The menu is built for snacking: oysters, deviled eggs, a small selection of salads, pork fat fries, and bbcc cookies to wrap it up (that’s brown butter chocolate chip: I asked). And the wine list — including many NA offerings — is clutch. Another reason I love Butterlamp: they don’t take reservations or allow kids. Yay for adult time!
MIUCCIA PRADA’S SOCKS AND SANDALS GAME
Prada’s FW 2025 men’s show was great — a hodgepodge of unstructured suiting, faux fur vests, and cold-weather outerwear layered over candy-colored pants and Western boots, styled in a layered thrift store chic that I’m crazy about (see the show here). That said, the men’s outfits weren’t the highlight for me. I’m obsessed with the purple ribbed knit socks that namesake designer Miuccia Prada (who since 2020 has designed the collection with Raf Simons) wore with open-toed T-strap sandals for their bow.
It’s not the socks-and-sandals thing that struck me — that’s a classic Prada styling hack. It’s the color of said socks (maybe they’re tights but for some reason I doubt it), which Miuccia wore under a loose white silk dress tamed by a gray V-neck sweater. It’s very specific shade of purple and I’m having a bit of trouble finding a solid dupe: everything I’ve come across so far has too much brown and not quite enough blue, both of which are critical to nailing the shade. I’ll let you know what I find as I try to recreate the look myself.
MEN’S FASHION WEEKS IN GENERAL
I covered fashion shows for the New York Post for seven years, and 98% of them were womenswear. The Post didn’t really care about men’s fashion shows (no boobs, duh), but I still made it my business to go to as many as I could in New York, because I really dug the vibe. Later in my career, I worked for two heritage fashion brands that skew predominately male (imogene + willie and Billy Reid) and it was a revelation: men’s fashion is way more fun than women’s.
This is a broad generalization, of course. But I’ve found that the men’s side of the industry is less pretentious and more organic and creative than women’s. There’s less drama and more fun, not to mention some really spot-on layering and suiting. The fashion guys I know who love clothes really love clothes. They do their research, seek out what they love with stealth and precision, and respect the labor and workmanship that went into their favorite pieces. It’s inspiring. And so much fun to watch them all in peacock mode.
I’ve been tracking all of the men’s shows in Europe this month, starting with the Pitti Uomo trade show in Florence, which I’ve always wanted to attend. If I never attend a women’s fashion show again, I’ll be fine (with a few major exceptions, most of them in Paris). But I would jump at the chance to get to hit a men’s fashion week again. If anyone wants to invite me, I’m game.
Until sometime,
Libby
Been a cat lady since childhood, Coyote is also my fave Joni song and I will be sourcing “Cheap Chic” stat. Already read and listen to above podcasts 😊
Seems we are in sync for 2025! Good to see you back!
Loved every bit of this!