LYST 129

Create A House Calendar, The Movie That Sent Me to Mercari, Plush Crush, Pie Nights,and More.

THE MOVIE THAT SENT ME TO MERCARI

I watched The Comfort of Strangers (1990) last week, drawn in by this incredible lineup: director Paul Schrader, screenplay by Harold Pinter, story by Ian McEwan, score by Angelo Badalamenti, and a cast that includes Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren, Rupert Everett, and Natasha Richardson. I loved it.

What I really want to talk about, though, are the costumes. Schrader, who famously helped launch Giorgio Armani’s Hollywood career with American Gigolo, brought him back to design the entire wardrobe for The Comfort of Strangers. The clothes are so integral to the mood of the film. Between them and Venice itself, every frame is impossibly seductive.

It was Natasha Richardson’s sisal market tote that sent me to Mercari. You know the one: woven straw, long leather straps, something many of us carried in the ‘90s with flowy skirts and oversized jackets. I went searching and found one on Mercari for $17! I’ve carried it nearly every day since, feeling delightfully out of step with the current moment, like I had been reunited with an old version of myself. Then, as if the universe was rewarding my persistence, I saw Tory Burch send nearly the same bag down her Fall 2026 runway, inspired by the “deadhead” totes she carried to Grateful Dead shows. Great minds, Tory...

Watch the film. Stay for the costumes. You may find yourself rummaging through your closet—or hunting for a sisal tote of your own.

A HOUSE CALENDAR

Loro Piana’s latest Icons collection is photographed at Lille Strandkær, the summer house of Danish writer, naturalist, and philanthropist Ellen Dahl, sister of Out of Africa author Karen Blixen. Buried in the story behind the collection was one detail that eclipsed the clothes for me. Each year, Dahl created a handwritten calendar for the house, pairing every month with a poem and botanical drawings inspired by the landscape surrounding her home. I’d never come across the idea of a house calendar before. Not one of appointments, but of seasons. The first jacaranda bloom. Tomatoes finally ready. Hummingbirds returning to the garden. The annual peach galette. A poem for October. I’m tempted to begin one this year.

MORE WONDER BRINGERS (A FEW TO START…)

A LOOK Jessica Fletcher needs your help. Solve-Along-A Murder, She Wrote arrives at L.A.’s Montalbán Theatre this month, turning an episode of the beloved series into an interactive whodunit where the audience competes to solve the crime before Jessica does • A LISTEN I would not have discovered this excellent record that encompasses “sensual art-folk, leftfield disco, and experimental synth-pop” if it had not been for my in-the-know son • A TASTE I don't know why more bakeries aren't open at night. Beginning July 31, Proof Bakery is testing the idea with Pie Nights, serving pie, cookies, and non-espresso drinks for those of us who think dessert deserves its own outing.