Olivia Hawkins: Personal Shopper
A very long list of shopping links for you and all of the people in your life (men's and women's).
Everyone on here (Substack) loves to provide links.
This is fun for me because I can shop without spending money. It’s also fun for you all because I did the heavy lifting of figuring things out that you should buy for the year ahead. On my list, you will find everything from affordable wardrobe staples to expensive one-of-a-kind vintage pieces, for you, your boyfriend, your sister, your co-worker, your super, WHOEVER.
I tried to select from a range of places, some are things I own, some aren’t but are on my wishlist. Some are great things I’ve been given or bought for other people. You get the gist.
So, who wants to go shopping?
If you don’t care to shop, scroll to the bottom for regularly scheduled programming (my Heated Rivalry review).
MEN
Uniqlo Pleated Pants, $59.90 for when your boyfriend wants to experiment outside of khakis.
Alex Mill Relaxed Straight 5-Pocket Jean in Antique Indigo, $225 for when you want vintage jeans but don’t want to work for them.
Todd Snyder Silk-Cashmere Crewneck in Light Blue, $219 (on sale) last sweater I promise. I just need straight men to invest more in sweaters, and this blog is my sermon. I love this color.
GAP 90s Loose Jean, $50 for when you need jeans, but not so badly that you’re going to spend over $200. I like all of these washes.
Blundstone Brown Premium Leather Chelsea Boots, $220 I have war flashbacks from this guy in college I knew who only wore these (and I mean ONLY), but I love the leather ones.
Le Laboureur x Gardenheir French Cotton Farm Pant in Stonewashed Brown, $138
WOMEN
Uniqlo Heattech Turtleneck, $29.90 (on sale) for the extra-harsh winter we’re about to face.
Jacquemus Hot Pink Turtleneck with Fur Trim, $155 for the sake of not gatekeeping my TRR Wishlist. You’re welcome.
Emilio Pucci Drivers Cap, $189 for leaning into my hat movement.
Retro-inspired Silk Embroidered Slippers, $34 for watching Mad Men.
Emily Dawn Long Sonko Reversible Cowl Neck Sweater in Fuzzy, $500
GAP Modern Rib Long Sleeve, $23 for the perfect winter layerable.
Tete Couture Paris Rouge Knitted Hat, $30 for when you want to marry a love of wigs with wintertime practicality.
Cleo Camp Cachet Wallet, $328 for when you want to make me very jealous and borderline hurt my feelings by buying this before me.
HOME
Plastic midcentury three-tier side table, $94 I have one of these in my bathroom and it’s really nice for attractive but hidden storage.
Nitori Zaisu Seiza Chair, $143 for my floor sitters.
That was fun. If I run into you and your boyfriend and he’s wearing the Gardenheir French Cotton Farm Pant or an EDL Cufflink, drinks are on me.
Now to the juicy stuff. In missing my weekly Friday post the other day, I decided to make it up to you all by watching Heated Rivalry all in one sitting.
I wasn’t necessarily against it as I am an ally of the gay community in both private and public—
—it just wasn’t on the top of my watchlist. The more viral things go, the less I’m inclined to watch. I also didn’t want to wait week after week, so conveniently I commenced my viewing the day after the season finale heard round the world.
I think it would’ve hit better for me if I was made to wait and really paid attention. It came across a little cheesier than it did for all of you who were in it from the first few episodes, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. These boys are booked and busy, last week alone they had features in GQ, Interview Magazine, The New York Times, Cultured, and Vulture (to just name a few). And I understand why, not only are they gorgeous, but they seem to be having a lot of fun with each other (not in that way, guys).
The most impressive part of the show to me was Connor Storrie’s Russian and voice change. When I heard what he actually sounds like, I was truly blown away. He took this role very seriously for something that started as a Kindle smut book, and I guess we can all say with certainty that it paid off.
When things like this become such a phenomenon, it’s very interesting to me. It reminds me of when Bridgerton became so hot, when we were all casually discussing in workplaces and classrooms how obsessed we were with a show that was 90% sex. Heated Rivalry even came up at my family Christmas—we are from Minnesota and have bred multiple hockey players, after all.
I’m excited to see these boys shine in whatever they do next. It’ll inevitably be amazing, and we will definitely all be waiting with bated breath for whatever it is.
I still have an entire week before going back to real life, which is kind of unfathomable. I feel like I’m 15 years old again. I’ll be headed back to the city soon to give myself some sort of fake structure before the real stuff kicks back into high gear. That Bingo card isn’t going to start itself, after all.