Dia’s Dreamland is an ongoing series in which I break down my current obsessions. Here you can find everything from brands to muses to songs I have on repeat—a general brain dump of what’s got my juices flowing at that moment in time.
Jia Tolentino
About a month ago, I had, perhaps, my most millennial experience to date: an obsession with a cult brand. Social media has revolutionized the way we consume marketing, with endorsements from regular people (who just happen to have really attractive Instagram feeds) urging our capitalist allegiance. My drug of choice? Outdoor Voices. I went down a pastel wormhole studying Ty Haney and her reverent soldiers when I applied to a copywriting job there that I unsurprisingly did not land. During this time, staff writer at The New Yorker, Jia Tolentino produced a long-form investigative piece on the brand. Socks fully blown off, I peeped her Instagram and realized, “hey, this is the chick with the fantastic commentary from the Fyre Fest documentary.” I went on a tear reading all her work (she’s prolific af) and found myself rightly inspired. I can’t wait to snag her breakout book, Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion when it drops in August. After all, I support the creative endeavors of most women whose names end in -ia for karmic benefit. Ok, ladies, now let’s get in formation.
Crystal Dishes
Blame it on Instagram or my lifelong inclination toward all things sparkly, I am on a hoarding kick with crystal dishes. There’s something infinitely more luxe about seeing my coffee through a brilliantly clear, ornately detailed cup than an opaque mug I got for $4 at Marshall’s. My gold jewelry looks pretty nice in it, too.
Slim Aarons Photography
Slim Aarons was an American photographer famous for photographing celebrities and socialites throughout the late 50’s-70’s. According to Aarons, he shot “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places,” allowing his work to ooze effortless glamour from the mountains to Palm Springs poolsides. Aarons’s eye for color, landscape, and a well-timed candid motivates me to think differently when I whip out my iPhone.
Oat Milk
Two unbearable millennialisms in one blog post? You bet. I did, indeed, jump on the oat milk train. And thanks to the perfect creaminess it adds to icy espresso, I have no intentions of getting off. All I can think of when I order my iced oat milk latte, half decaf at Bluestone Lane is this piece from Man Repeller and the barista’s perfectly perfunctory Twitter clapback. What a time to be alive.
