Sasha Mei

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Wish List: Winter 2020

When I started this website months ago, the most interesting and simultaneously understandable request I received was that I publish a wish list. A wish list? This kind of thing is ever-changing with me. There’s an oversaturated market of things that I absolutely need and want and desire - how was I supposed to consolidate all of my thoughts and wishes into a single list?

With my job as well, I am so fortunate to be able to receive and try out so many different things. There have certainly been periods where I feel overwhelmed with cardboard boxes piling up in my doorway, waiting to be broken down and recycled. I’ve started to be overly picky with gifting - do I really want this? - is a thought that I have to let ruminate for a while before I respond to emails or DM’s. I say “want”, because quarantine really made me reconsider and reevaluate what I really needed. What I need is shelter, a roof over my head, good food, exercise, friends (whether we keep in touch via FaceTime, Zoom, or from six feet apart), and a good book. The rest is filler. However, filler can be really nice and really helpful when times are dreary and we need a little pick me up.

Here’s how I think of it - I sometimes felt like I was in a slump at the gym (remember when we could go to gyms?). I would go through periods of not wanting to work out or exercise, which was absolutely tragic to me. As a former dancer, you might as well put me on bedrest if I don’t feel like moving. Nothing was really wrong, I just had no desire to run on a treadmill or do crunches. While that’s perfectly okay (I encourage resting), sometimes all it took was a new pair of leggings or some other workout gear to kick my motivation into gear. When I was living off of a student budget, I would go to Winners and find rejected pieces from Nike or Alo Yoga and feel like a new person the next time I showed up to the gym. Today, I have the luxury of being able to go to Lululemon, but the feeling remains the same.

Anyway.

The point is, a little something new (or vintage) serves as just the pick-me-up that we need sometimes. And while this list that I’ve made for you might not be a hundred items long, that’s because there aren’t a hundred different things that I want. I’ve carefully curated and selected classic items that I love and should last you for a long time.

Another thing that you’ll notice is that very few of the items come cheap. Actually, this is most definitely a mid-to-high-end priced list. Let me explain: I don’t buy a lot of things. And I certainly don’t purchase a lot of fast-fashion items. Lately I’ve been working on becoming a more conscious and careful consumer for predominantly environmental reasons, but also due to the fact that buyer’s regret is so real. When I was younger I’d purchase more than three items at a go and instantly hate myself for it. I didn’t have a ton of my own spending money to throw around - the act of buying was an instant thrill, but the dopamine rush would wear off so quickly and I’d find myself dissatisfied with what I had. Blowing through my seasonal budget in a single go always ended up feeling so underwhelming, and I always wished I’d spent more slowly, deliberated for longer, looked a little deeper and more selectively. Now that’s what I do - I often wait months to see if I’m still wanting an item later, and I never regret a purchase as a result.

I encourage you to peruse this list like a glass of really good wine - select carefully, sip slowly, and enjoy deeply. Not everything on this list will end up in my possession, nor do I encourage this. One glass of really good wine serves me better than a bottle of cheap wine from the dépanneur, and that’s how I like to think of spending habits. On that note, I hope you find something that you like.

FASHION

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  1. Jil Sander x Browns bag Paloma Wool set: top and bottoms

  2. Reike Nen platform boots Loewe scarf

  3. Loewe scarf

  4. Valentino black small Garavani bag

  5. Paloma Wool set: top and bottoms

  6. Chanel green tortoise Pilot sunglasses

  7. Wolhide lounge pullover and pant Chanel green tortoise Pilot sunglasses

BEAUTY

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  1. Kosas tinted face oil Resorè anti-bacterial face towel

  2. Bottega Veneta Parco Palladiano VIII Eau de Parfum

  3. Hermès lipstick case

  4. Nécessaire Body Essentials set

  5. Resorè anti-bacterial face towel

  6. Dr. Barbara Sturm Sun Drops

HOME

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  1. Ceramic pedestal bowl Bill Curry mushroom lamp (though I’m on the hunt for ones with thinner stems)

  2. Loewe candle (pictured here: Honeysuckle)

  3. Reidel for Nespresso tasting glasses

  4. Cold Picnic bath mat

  5. Le Creuset 8.9L french oven

  6. Cold Picnic bath mat Blacksaw recycled alpaca and wool blanket from Holt Renfrew’s H Project

  7. Williams Sonoma walnut ravioli stamps

  8. Bill Curry mushroom lamp (though I’m on the hunt for ones with thinner stems)

  9. Malfatti Glass beverage set

Sasha Mei