In this edition of Fast & Loose we’re talking: the best Kansas City vintage, the new Charli album, The Odyssey, the Hailey Bieber GAP jeans, I accidentally bought some new Versace, and more.

I just spent a week in Kansas City (Kansas not Missouri) visiting my cousin Nikki and cosplaying as a denizen of the Midwest and it was honestly thrilling. Low-key fuck Europe, it’s all about a Midwestern summer. There is so much parking. The barbecue is transcendent. Every drink comes with ample ice, and in the case of Sonic, the best ice on the planet. (I did make my cousin take me to Sonic nearly every single day I was there and she kindly obliged).

What else? I bought the GAP Hailey Bieber jeans simply because I could. (I was less excited about them than I was about the on-sale-for-$30 foldover yoga pants I got there though). We visited not one but two SUPER Targets, each the size of a football field, with the shelves stocked to bursting and not one single item imprisoned behind locked plexiglass. There were exactly seven people roaming each one.

I went a little crazy, purchasing multiple lip glosses and tinted balms and other teenage make-up, marveling at the kaleidoscopic array of products. Nikki is an absolutely amazing sport because in addition to ferrying me to Sonic every single day (for those who asked, I get a Diet Coke with cherry every time, I know I need to venture out and get crazy with some cranberry limeade, but I’m not ready yet) she also accompanied me to the premiere vintage t-shirt dealer in Kansas City (and potentially the entire Midwest?) WYCO Vintage.

The proprietor Patrick gave us a 90 minute tour of his legitimately incredible collection which included but was not limited to: Pink Floyd tour jackets, shirts that the security guards at Woodstock wore, and multiple original Sex Pistols tour shirts (this is when I considered robbing him). I picked up a 1986 Prince shirt and this insane Live shirt from the 2000s which somehow encompasses every graphic design style of the ‘90s all at once? Meanwhile my cousin who does not care about any of this deserves a medal for sitting patiently and quietly throughout. As for you, you can shop his collection online.

Thank you to everyone who gave me Kansas City recommendations and apologies that I did not get to most of them (it was extremely hot and Nikki and I needed to watch like twelve episodes of The Americans and drink Sauv Blanc indoors).

What else:

The new Charli XCX album Music, Fashion, Film came out today and I think it’s definitely knocked how i’m feeling now out of the #1 spot in my personal Charli albums ranking. It’s excellent, taut, smart, and truly moving (I cried?). The album is about what’s important (relationships, honesty, self-reflection) and what’s not (ego, perfection, legacy) and the tension between those two poles. The last 40 seconds or so of the album are absolute fucking magic, that bit will alchemically change your spiritual make-up. “2007” and “Yeah” are god-tier bangers and “Persona” is a feat of lyrical genius. And you already know how I feel about “Rock Music”!!! (Inject it into my veins).

interviewed Sue Tompkins of Life Without Buildings about her art practice and her time in the band for Interview Magazine. It’s a great read.
And lastly in shopping news I picked up these shoes and this skirt from the incredible Dario Vitale Versace collection because they were on sale (half off!). I was going to only keep one or the other but let’s be real I’m keeping both. Nothing lasts forever especially my bank balance.

xx

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