Issue #007: The Spread

farfalle, fall fashion finds, and our foray into finance bro culture

Happy Monday

and welcome back to The Spread, where we dive a little deeper into topics that I love to talk about and hopefully you love to read about. I just got home from a long wedding weekend for some lovely friends, and all I want to do is curl up on the couch and watch Industry (more on that later) with some truffle popcorn I bought at the train station yesterday. Before I enter horizontal mode: The Spread this week is fairly shopping / fashion focused, but there’s some really good nuggets in here. I’m sharing a luxe fall fashion drop from an amazing brand that goes up to a 6X, the suitcase I couldn’t not buy, 14k gold pasta accessories, and more. It feels like fall in here 🍁

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September has been full of travel + plans, making it my slowest reading month since April. I’ve only finished two books, just one since we last spoke.

📖 The God of the Woods |Liz Moore | Literary Thriller | Finished

Since I have so little to share on the reading front, here are a few things on my TBR:

📖 Butter | Asako Yuzuki | Mystery | I WILL read this one next, finally

📖 Selling Sexy | Chantal Fernandez & Lauren Sherman | Nonfiction

📖 A Reason to See You Again | Jami Attenberg | Contemporary Fiction

📖 Free Food for Millionaires | Min Jin Lee | Literary Fiction

And if you missed it, here are full reviews for everything I read in July + August

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I’ve been working hard to reduce my social media doomscrolling these days, which means I’m reading more articles and consuming more intentional content - which I LOVE. These are the things that caught my attention this week.

Some quick picks:

☀️ A bright spot of fashion optimism “amidst exclusivity fatigue” from

Loose Leaf Tea

🍦 Noah Kahan released Northern Latte-tude flavor with Ben & Jerry’s

💊 Kardashian’s "Ozempic Alternative" Helps Feed the Lie That Natural Is Better

🪐 Stranded astronauts will still vote in the presidential election - from space

🏠 “This Family Is Miserable. You Should Meet Them Anyway”

If you like this quick picks section, be sure to check out my weekly send, The Digest, a lovingly curated list of links to replace your AM social media doom scroll.

“Apple of my Pie” | The Cakewalk

If you’ve been here for any amount of time, you know I’m enthralled with the intersection of food and fashion, CPG, and just the general culinary aesthetics we’re seeing across so many categories. I was thrilled to find

The Cakewalk

this week, a newsletter that covers all things food - “the edible kind, the wearable kind, the decorative kind, the abominable kind, the literary kind, you name it”. Some of my favorite moments from this week’s send:

🍎 Chloe Wise’s tantalizing food chandeliers on display at WSA here in the city

🍎 Literally EVERYTHING from Panache Bklyn. When I tell you I am obsessed?? I lost the strap to my beloved Coach Tabby a couple years ago, and I’m strongly considering this 14k gold farfalle strap as a replacement. This is a great way to take on the playful customization trend, and I’ve added a restock alert for these because I need them in my ears ASAP.

“Nonsense Sells” | Airmail & “Prada vs. the Algorithm” | NY Times

“Blueberry-milk nails. Hot rodent boyfriend. Tomato-girl summer. What do these things have in common? Absolutely nothing. They are all utterly meaningless. That and, within the last year, each one has become a micro-trend, a niche and short-lived yet pervasive fad that sweeps the Internet” - Nonsense Sells | Airmail

“They were talking about the echo chambers created by online algorithms. Suggesting the resulting alternate realities don’t just warp our politics, establishing a self-perpetuating loop in which we are constantly shown only those things already identified as triggers for more viewing — they warp our wardrobes, too. Hence the proliferation of micro trend after micro trend: the avalanche of “cores” currently dominating shopping sites everywhere (tenniscore, balletcore, dadcore, you-name-it-core)” - Prada vs the Algorithm | NY Times

News outlets have been denouncing the idea of “cores” for some time now - and it’s true, the constant cycle of aesthetics can be tiring. Personally, I quite enjoy some of them and think it can bring a bit of much needed whimsy to the table. However, in many cases, these names are overused, misleading, or sometimes just… mean absolutely nothing. If I had a dollar for every newly named trend based on Hailey Bieber’s nails, I could buy a Rhode product or twelve. (See here omg lol, and here, and here).

While the execution may not be my personal favorite, I think the idea of this season’s Prada show was quite interesting. The cohesiveness of the show relied upon the lack thereof - “What if auto-generated style were replaced by original style? What would that look like?” A question to which the answer was 49 different looks banded together simply by the spirit of human curiosity, heterogeneity, and originality, reimagining our approach to personal style in a vacuum of taste.

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I know many of us want to use better discretion in our purchasing, an increasingly important concept. These are items I want to purchase, have purchased, or think you may enjoy, and are mindfully curated. My goal at The Composite is not to shill items, but to be a helpful resource.

The Cafe Edit | AWAY | $45 - $485 |

Everything about the launch of this collection has been, in my opinion, wonderfully executed and the cafe inspired styles feel tailor-made for me personally.

☕️ I really enjoyed their collaboration with Eckhaus Latta to promote the line (bonus points for Naomi from MUNA, my fave band)

☕️ The Nitro Bar has long been one of my favorite examples to show for a use case of really good social media brand presence. Despite being a locally owned small business in Rhode Island, their videos have widespread reach with people around the world saying that going to The Nitro Bar is on their bucket list. (PS, I’ve been, it’s incredible + so worth the hype). AWAY’s TikTok video with TNB to promote the Cafe Edit saw comments like “collab of the century” and “I’m about to book my flight just for this coffee”. The fact that so many people are sharing their desire to travel to Rhode Island just to try the coffee not only ties in the cafe aspect of the collection, but seamlessly integrates the travel thematic

☕️ This video ultimately convinced me to snag the bag - the handle and wheels!!

If you know me, you know I love all things coffee (I have a coffee plant tattoo on my arm) and the tortoiseshell details evoking milk being poured into coffee just sent me over the edge. I travel quite a bit, and while my 7+ year old plain grey AWAY bag is in perfect condition, I wanted to treat myself to a luxe upgrade of something I use very frequently (and I’m telling myself it will help with my flight anxiety). I grabbed The Carry On in the brown pebbled leather - I love chocolate brown and while I prefer the look of the cream, I just know the inevitable scuffs would really annoy me.

AWAY also recently turned all their stores into voter registration hubs to increase election participation 🗳

Fall Collection | WRAY | $95 - $415 | XXS - 6XL

I’ve been a longtime WRAY supporter from afar (I mean who else has this incredible size range AND such gorgeous designs!?), but when I saw this IG post I knew I’d be adding some of these fall collection pieces to my wardrobe.

wraynyc

A post shared by @wraynyc

It’s true that every fall is typically a time for more sumptuous fabrics, heavier hand feel, and richer hues (browns for fall? groundbreaking) but this year we’re leaning into that more than ever with the extra emphasis on suede and chocolate tones. Not only do these WRAY pieces feel luxurious and decadent, but they have the added benefit of versatility through mixing, matching, and layering. While on trend / seasonally appropriate, they aren’t so specific that they can’t exist beyond AW24 - you can invest in these items and feel confident about the cost per wear over time.

WRAY has a wonderful NYC store, and I’m hoping to get over there soon to snag the Long Sleeve Maya Tee + the Lulu Skirt, both in the Dulce color. I also love the Madeline Top for an elevated basic that will make you feel chic when you don’t have the effort to do anything more than throw on a top + jeans.

I’m incredibly obsessed with the styling of this, as well as the pairing of this more relaxed coat silhouette with the all-the-way buttoned up top underneath. Everything about this is toooo good

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Trying to cut out the useless fluff and hone in on the good stuff

Watching | Industry | Max

Yes, I am late to the party and I know you probably all have already heard much ado about Industry. I wasn’t feeling well one day last week and moved my living room TV into the bedroom, hoping to find something I could lose myself in for the day. Industry really delivered. I can’t remember the last time I was so enthralled with a show from the first few moments - I’m talking phone down, eyes glued to the TV. I couldn’t be less familiar with the world of finance and I actually cannot believe this is something people actually do in their 9-5. This is not something you want to watch with your parents or around children, but it’s perfectly devourable and unnervingly riveting.

In a wonderful combination of my interests, the Fashion People podcast just dropped a new episode called “Finance Bro Fashion” featuring Industry’s co-creators Konrad Kay and Mickey Down, & costume designer Laura Smith. I can’t wait to listen.

Corp core, Wall Street inspired fashion launches, and nicotine products aimed at the likes of the Industry characters themselves - there’s no doubt we’re making a collective foray into the culture of finance.

Listening | Podcast Episodes

🎧 “How Claire Mazur + Erica Cerulo Started a Romance Publishing Imprint”

The most clicked links last Spread were about the rise of the lit biz, so I think you’ll really enjoy this episode from one of my favorite podcasts, Bad on Paper. Claire & Erica are true innovators and listening to their thought process behind 831 Stories is fascinating.

Watching | Shop Cats | TikTok

I hardly get on TikTok these days, but every Friday night I sign on to watch Chuck + Hailee’s Friday night dinner episodes. I’ll usually scroll for a few minutes after, and the new Shop Cats account has majorly caught my attention. Several of my non-NYC friends have sent it to me as well, likely a testament to how incredibly engaging the host is. She has star power!! The series takes you into bodegas and shops in the city to meet their bodega cats and the people who love them. If it doesn’t sound interesting, just try it anyway - you may be surprised.

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“Fashion Authorities Analyze the Winter 2024 Trends Women Will Actually Wear”

This is a shopping focused section. If you’re not interested, you can end your read here! No hard feelings - I know not everyone wants or needs more product recs in their life.

I read so many trend round ups and runway rundowns in trying to keep my pulse on what’s happening. I really enjoyed this one from Marie Claire because of its focus on the every day woman and what she would actually wear this fall.

“Read any fashion-focused newsletter or dive down a wormhole of TikTok trends, and you’ll find the same declaration over and over again: 2024 was the year women went pantsless. But outside of the fashion industry echo chambers and bar Hailey Bieber’s street style, have you actually seen the no-pants trend out in the wild? When you’re grocery shopping or walking your Goldendoodle, are people wearing Miu Miu’s $6,000 sequined panties and little else?”

I started thinking about how I might personally interpret some of the trends from the article, which turned into a round up of the below items. This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive guide but rather some things I found poking around the internet today. I focused mainly on pieces I can actually wear - very few of the trend news pieces I read include options for us (and I wish I was able to find more in larger sizes). Yes, you’ll see many of the same retailers repeated - there’s a reason! Beyond the lack of options, I tend to stick to a few main retailers that are reliable, have my size, and are an accessible to intermediate price point. In general, I find that Anthro, J.Crew, and Dolce Vita are my go-tos for this fall. I hope you’ll find something good here or draw inspiration to wear the clothes you have in new ways.

*The asterisk denotes my favorite option from that section

BARN JACKETS:

• Old Navy | $59.99 | sizes XS-4X

• ASOS | $65 | sizes 14-26 (almost out of stock, so put restock reminders on!)

• L.L. Bean | $129 | sizes XS-3X + petite

• J.Crew | $248 | sizes XXXS-3X *

BARREL JEANS:

• H&M | $39.99 | sizes 0-26 (multiple colors)

• Target | $40 | sizes 00-30

• Eloquii | $65.97 | sizes 14-28 *

BURGUNDY:

• ASOS | Curve Chunky Crew Neck Rib Sweater | $30 | sizes 12-26

• Old Navy | High-Waisted Corduroy Wide-Leg Pants | $35 | sizes 0-30

• RAID | Bonito Ballet Flats in Burgundy | $35 | sizes 5-11

• Dolce Vita | Largo Flats | $130 | sizes -15 *

• J.Crew | Stratus Pant in Textured Satin | $148 | sizes XXXS-3X + petite/tall

• Dolce Vita | Mia Tote in Wine Leather | $258 *

BOAT SHOES:

• Sebago | $195 | sizes 6-11

LADIES WHO LUNCH:

• J.Crew | Pleated Denim Lady Jacket | $99.50 | sizes XXXS-3X

• Anthro | The Willa Oversized Sweater Vest | $128 | sizes XXS-3X + petite

• J.Crew | Long Giselle Sweater Blazer | $134.50 | sizes XXXS-3X

• Dolce Vita | Kandi Mesh Slingback Kitten Heels | $135

• WRAY | Madeline Top | $165 | sizes XXS-6X *

SUEDE EVERYTHING:

what I need is a plus version of this!!! I’m not crazy about a lot of suede tbh - it either looks very cheap or very luxe, the latter being difficult to nail

• J.Crew | Large Berkeley Tote | $228

• Dolce Vita | Marie Tote | $298

ANIMAL PRINT:

• ASOS | Lavinia heeled ballet in leopard * | $37.99 | sizes 4-12 (wide fit option here)

• Gia IRL | Bella Leopard Maxi Skirt | $90 | sizes 10-30

• J.Crew | Featherweight Cashmere Cardi + Tank Set | $118-$148 | XXXS-3X

• Pilcro | Double Hem High-Rise Wide-Leg Cuffed Jeans | $148 | sizes 000-30

• Maeve | Faux-Fur Coat | $168 | sizes XXS-3X

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*There may be affiliate links in this post. If you purchase an item through these links, I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support*