LEISURE LETTER Nº25
Editor of D&D’s Sunday Paper
HEY YOU, IN THE BANANA SKIRT.
Recently, I’ve been daydreaming about 90s resorts; to be precise, the all-inclusive Hibiscus Island retreat of 1994 rom-com Muriel’s Wedding: tables draped with gaudy tropical prints, well-meaning tourists in leis, twin-sets barnacled with real, edible bananas, not a single iPhone in sight. I’m lusting after a very particular type of holiday, something sweaty and sandy and feel-good, some place full of strangers, where every meal and mode of entertainment has been pre-selected for the group’s enjoyment, and all I need to do is bask in the company of whoever happens to be there. Here is the purest image I’ve had in recent times: that a person might go all-in, adorned in a fruit hat at a table of people without fruit hats, just because it feels good in the moment, and not for a photo or follow or anything at all. Some people fantasize about cities like New York before the internet—fizzy, creative melting pots where every slither of grit wasn’t the subject of an Instagram livestream. I fantasize about all-inclusive resorts, pre-internet. These resorts, where fun existed outside any widespread, shareable, realtime documentation, where ABBA made total sense (the only sense) as a soundtrack, and where one would wear a fruity hat for the sheer joy that is wearing a fruity hat, are my Studio 54. Pleasure for pleasure’s sake. A fruit hat for fruit hat’s sake. A conga line. The buffet. A skirt festooned with plastic lobsters. My my, how could I resist you?
WEAR: this fun and flirty Cuban set.
ACCESSORIZE WITH: a fruit salad for your neck! A lobster garnish for your wrist.
WATCH: Muriel’s Wedding, of course.
LISTEN TO: all the ABBA bangers. Chase with this luxurious and laid back line-up, made with National Relaxation Day (it's today!) in mind, by our very own, and very brilliant, Zee.
DRINK: not this tiki cocktail, apparently.
LIGHT: this candle, a collaboration between Catbird and Cassi Namoda, brandishing a message we wish Muriel took to heart.
TRAWL: this loving salute to the regional motels of Australia. This pretty cool fantasy hotel tour.
GUSH OVER: this joyful and jaunty Niki de Saint Phalle vase. A blanket that puts bananas in the spotlight, where they so obviously belong.
SUNDAY UNIFORM SUGGESTIONS
