Nine Ins, No Outs

My visual fixations of the moment

Every once in a while, I like to take a scroll through my latest Instagram saves, screenshots, and Pinterest boards to see if any themes jump out. I don’t really have song fixations or food fixations in the same way some people do, but I do have several visual fixations—things I just can’t seem to get enough of—in play at any given time. They aren’t necessarily trends in the larger sense (although some of them happen to be, maybe?), but I guess they are my own personal trends, ones that might eventually earn their place in my lexicon of forever references. (I get word fixations, too, and “lexicon” is one of them.)

There’s not much more to it than that! Here are nine things I’ve got my eye on lately.

In the next couple of days, I’ll be following up this post with a huge collection of products to shop from across these micro-trends—I’m basically cracking open my Etsy saves and wish list. It’ll just be for paid subscribers, so be sure to get on the list!

HUGE, UNRULY FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS. Especially ones that look like they were freshly picked by the armful and plopped right into a vessel. I’m partial to gardens that look slightly overgrown, trees left untrimmed, and vines creeping past windowsills, especially at this time of year, so give me a tangled blob of a bouquet over something perfectly sculpted any day.

PRE-INTERNET INTERIORS. I keep finding myself saving images of interiors that look like they were scanned from books, which makes them difficult to track down source-wise, but infinitely more inspiring than your average Open Door shot. When I stumbled on my pink rug and was trying to assess whether it would read Barbie or Barragán, I looked at a bunch of images from the late ‘90s and early 2000s of rooms that always felt a little imperfect, in a good way—a worn-in sofa, a collection of books stuffed onto shelves, a chair upholstered in a boring taupe that, against a bold colored rug, suddenly looked cool. I think it cracked something open in my head around rooms feeling “theme-y” that I’ve realized I’d like to try and avoid.

Which brings me to… PINK. Look, I’m dangerously close to crossing the line into overuse when it comes to the color pink, and I really am trying hard to pace myself, but something about it against all the browns and creams in my home and closet is doing something for my brain. I think I was growing weary from the seriousness of it all—I read a joke about how every girl on Substack has a white-sofa-brown-rug combo that shook me to my core—and adding in some color in a very considered but high-impact way has really turned my aversion around. Ask me again how I’m feeling in six months.

ANTIQUE HEADBOARDS. I love how these ornate, dramatic headboards look when paired with crisp, white hotel sheets. I’ve been looking at a lot of beautiful hotels across Italy this week as I brainstorm where I might go after my group trip to Milan and Turin, and ideally, I’ll be resting my head in front of one of these. (By the way, we’re down to our last couple of spots on the trip! Come with us!)

PAINTINGS OF TEXTILES. I’m so glad that Domenico Gnoli’s work is getting in front of so many new eyes thanks to this spring’s showcase of his work at Lévy Gorvy Dayan in New York City—he’s one of my favorites. Along similar lines, I’ve been continuously captivated by several potentially lesser-known artists who paint in adjacent styles of textile-centric details, like Vladimir Dunjic, Florence Reekie, Alexandra Barth, and Alli Conrad, among others.

WOVEN METAL BASKETS. I got an Instagram ad for a collection by Italian design studio CASPAL called Entrelacés, which includes a handful of stunning metal basket-woven objects that look like they’re made of wicker. It’s all “price upon request”—so, basically $$$$—but it led me on a fruitful search of other metal baskets, of which there are plenty. Check Etsy for a variety of vintage options—there will be a bunch in my round up for paid subs—or even Zara Home for a couple of pieces made in collaboration with Colin King.

THE PRADA SS26 PALETTE. I know this collection is now several months old, but the fixation, specifically on the color combinations in each look, is still going strong. Not to mention all the satin car coats, the taffeta skirts, the parkas, and the opera gloves… But back to the color palette, it’s definitely influencing the colors I’m using throughout my book! (Shout out to Madeline Sensibile-Yazzetta, who I know is as infatuated with it all as I am.)

PAPER DOLLING. I’ve been saving a lot of paper doll-adjacent images, like this paper armoire by Luísa Silva for nightgown brand Nuisette, this book of artist James Castle’s paper coats, and this paper doll fashion show from Les vacances d’Irina. I’m also completely in love with the work of LA-based artist Jasmine Archie, AKA Dorque World, who makes beautiful, whimsical dollhouses, headpieces, and installations out of papier-mâché. They say we’re going to see a lot more handmade, obviously-by-a-human content as AI continues to convolute everything we see, so I guess there’s an upside to the impending doom. Also, twee is back, baby.

CAKE. I’m in my cake era. Not making them, but looking at them, and ideally, eating them, too.

x

Ali

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