The Strategist Haul: What the Editors Bought in June (2024)

I tried Jungmaven shirts for the first time and was immediately sold. I’m not generally buying $50 tees, but Jungmaven’s were so soft and substantial yet breathable that I want to replace all my tees with Jungmavens. The ones I tried were full-length, and I loved the loose but not-zhlubby way they fit. But as someone with a short torso, cropped tees often fit me best, so I tried the brand’s cropped striped tee. I am already strongly considering buying one or two more.

I tried these (in burgundy) for Running Week, and they were among my very favorite pairs of shorts. I’ve been wearing them a lot since, so when Bandit restocked them in black, I decided to indulge in another pair — quickly, because they sell out fast. They’re just a really perfect running short. Given the quality and the truly hundreds of miles I expect to get out of them, I think the $78 is ultimately worth it.

The pet store I go to, on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, has a big rack of these toy animal figurines. At first, I thought it was a strange thing for them to be selling, but now I realize the genius behind it: It scratches the itch for kids and adult animal lovers who want a pet (or another pet) but not everything that comes with one. I’ve bought one of the animals every time I’ve been there in the last six months. My son recently started saying “moo” when we ask him what a cow says, so over the weekend I got him this cow.

Photo: Retailer

My boyfriend’s birthday was this month, and part of his gift was these shorts. He was desperate for a pair and felt overwhelmed picking them out himself, so I dove into the category and obviously turned to Strategist. This particular pair was just recently recommended by a contributor, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint: comfortable material, perfect length and form and wash, casual but still nice enough to put together an out-of-the-house outfit. Plus, I’m delighted by the fact that they come from a shop in Honolulu called CRAZY Shirts that sells … truly crazy shirts. (Capitalization mine for effect.)

I have a decent amount of kitchen storage for a Brooklyn apartment, but lately, given my job, it’s been overloaded. I bought this cabinet to place in a small nook on my stairway landing (it fits like a glove, and I have a taller version of it downstairs in the living room). I rearranged a lot of stuff: So far, the new shelves hold serveware I don’t pull out every day, plus stuff for outside eating (like a big set of old glassware I don’t care too much about, leftover disposable plates, and the newspaper scraps I use in my grill chimney).

My 2-year-old loves painting, but it makes the most unbelievable mess. A friend recommended these to me — they’re far more saturated than crayons, almost like oil paints. They dry very quickly, and leave no mess, so I’m happy for Aoife to “paint” in the mornings after breakfast (and in the evenings before her dinner, and then before her bath …).

My favorite book is Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons. A first edition tends to go for about $1,000, but I spied a first edition of the sequel (Conference at Cold Comfort Farm) for a very reasonable £35 and snapped it up — there are quite a few still around, like this one I’ve linked. I long to make the cover into a print. I love these campaigning cows and their placards.

I go through a copious amount of paper towels, to the point where I may be single-handedly responsible for razing about an acre of the Amazon. Luckily, a new crop of environmentally friendly alternatives have presented themselves, including Reel, which offers paper towels made out of either bamboo or recycled paper. (I opted for bamboo, which is abundant and extremely fast-growing.) I really haven’t noticed any difference from Bounty, except for the fact that I can now release my guilt about employing some thousand-year-old forest to mop up oil splatter.

I picked up an Askinosie chocolate bar from Foster Sundry on a whim, and while I’m certainly no stranger to bougie artisanal chocolate, I was truly blown away by how good it was — rich, smooth, velvety, balanced. I promptly went on their website and ordered a big variety box of their dark-chocolate bars in mini grab-and-go sizes, and there’s literally no better midday pick-me-up.

I am utterly completely smitten by Bisou Balm. I bought two of these, and my favorite shade is Amour Fou. I am not a makeup or lipstick person and I hate the feeling of heavy products on my face. I had been using the same cherry Labello for far too long (truly embarrassingly long) and finally decided I needed to do something about it. I wanted a similar experience to the cherry Labello — to be able to apply the product and simply get bright-red lips without having to look in the mirror to apply it. The Bisou Balm can do just that, and it also functions as a moisturizing lip balm. It’s matte without being flat. I put it on blind and don’t look like a clown. I’ve now been using it for about a month as my daily go-to lip balm and as the lipstick I use for red-carpet events.

I bought this ring at El Be Goods in Tucson, and I’ve been wearing it every day for the last few weeks. It’s made by a local artist, Claire Webb. And we have a problem because I now want all of her rings. They’re made with a polymer-clay set with vintage Swarovski crystals, covered in a metal leaf and then a layer of resin. It’s incredibly light and it catches the sunlight so beautifully. I wear it on my middle finger and treat it like sort of a fidget spinner when I’m deep in thought. I’ve never had a piece of jewelry like this; it’s so pleasing to play with and I’ve gotten so many compliments on it.

I ordered six of these confetti soup bowls from Felt and Fat. I happened to catch them on a day they were spraying new bowls, so they sprayed them in pink for me. I already own the bowl in a white finish, and it’s my go-to bowl, so I decided I needed six more (I also own the confetti plate, and I’ve just reached the point in my life where I think maybe my tableware should match a little bit). This is the perfect bowl. It’s not too heavy, not too light. It’s good for soup, yes, but also cereal and microwaving anything for one person (I’ve been microwaving a lot of stuffed cabbage), and it’s fancy enough for a dinner party (which is why I needed six).

Last month, I bought this cute pair of pink striped shorts that quickly became my go-to pajama bottoms (and occasionally my work-from-home bottoms when I was feeling lazy). They’re made of the same material composition as the Strategist’s favorite affordable pajamas, so they’re smooth, soft, and flowy, making them perfect for summer. I love a good groutfit and wanted a second pair of the shorts, so I bought the same pair in heather gray this month to give my pink pair some backup. In the past, I’ve found other pajama shorts with a tight waistband to be uncomfortable, but the waistband on these shorts is flexible enough for me to sleep without a problem.

This is a rather boring purchase, but it has been so helpful as I store my cold-weather clothes for the summer. The pack came with 15 storage bags of various sizes, so I could store everything from my heavier duvet cover under my bed with room for other necessities. To vacuum-seal, you just use a no-frills hand pump that attaches to a resealable valve.

I’ve been really into platform sandals, so when I saw these snake-print Teva Flatform sandals at a discount shoe store, I bought them on a bit of a whim. I’ve already worn them once — for a night out that involved lots of walking — and they proved as cute and comfy as I had hoped.

I ran out of conditioner recently and after consulting Rachael Griffiths’s story on the best conditioners, I bought a bottle of this Monday conditioner. I’m hoping it works for me, because it’s really inexpensive and easily accessible (I picked it up while grocery shopping!).

My grandmother turned 100 this month, so I wanted to give her a gift that felt special but that she could still enjoy day-to-day. She’s very chic and always looks put-together, so a pink Agnes b. snap cardigan seemed like just the right thing. She loved it, and now we can match when I break out mine in black.

Speaking of celebrations, I went to San Francisco this month for my best friend’s bridal shower. I was there with my group of college friends, and we all went to Chez Panisse for dinner one night and had a truly great meal. To remember it, I brought home a pair of these etched Chez Panisse water glasses, one of which promptly took up residence on my bedside table when I got back to New York.

I also treated myself to a pair of actual sunglasses — I was drawn in by the look of the “infinity lenses” on these ones from Krewe, and the brand’s “second chances” replacement guarantee helped justify the price.

Finally, I bought this handy silicone doodad to use as a streamlined makeup bag in my purse because I’m never ready to leave the house on time and I’m always doing my already minimal makeup in the car. It easily fits my personal essentials — an eyebrow pencil, a small tube of mascara, a concealer stick, and a blending brush — and has a nifty magnetic closure, too.

If Sk*ms has one hater, it is me. I’m also a reluctant consumer. Nothing compares to the brand’s classic scoop bra, which, like a healthy relationship, makes me feel held but not restricted. I missed out on the sale because of a self-imposed no-buy, but when my fiancée said she was in dire need of a new bra, I knew what to do. Usually, she wears sports bras or bralettes in a similar sweat-wicking fabric, but after years of rotating the same six bras, she noticed she was getting acne in the areas where her band sits. I suspected it had to do with the material trapping the bacteria (is it just me, or after a while athletic stuff doesn’t feel as clean?) and suggested cotton instead. I’d only ever worn the stretchy compressive Skims fabric, but I liked the shape enough to buy the cotton-jersey version for her. They arrived a few days ago and once she put it on, she shrugged and said, “Comfy,” and wore it for the rest of the day. No rash, either, so I’d say it was a success.

I edited the story on the sprouting kit and immediately purchased my own. Now I, too, eat broccoli sprouts daily.

I had been waffling for years over buying a personal blender, but then I recently learned that Vitamix has a special adapter that lets its classic models — one of which already lives on my kitchen counter — blitz up personal-size quantities of smoothies and sauces. I’ve used it three times already.

After years of resisting the Sambas trend, I finally caved and bought a pair of Adidas. I wanted a pair with a slightly different silhouette than the Sambas, and I wanted one with a more visible gum sole, and the Gazelle Indoors fit the bill. I really like the bolder colors (like the classic red or blue), but opted for a pair that I’d wear more often, so I went with the navy-and-cream combo.

Sandals have been much on my mind this month. It took a lot not to buy every single one on sale right now. But when I caught these — only in my size — marked down at Net-a-Porter, I knew I couldn’t wait. I heard about them first from Joanna Fu, the New York correspondent for Vogue Hong Kong, who described the square-toed, thick-strapped sandals “as dressed up as flip-flops can be.” She was right. I have them in a delicious buttermilk hue. I have them on while writing this and plan on wearing them everywhere this summer.

I’ve been watching these hypnotic TikToks of a creator with the bounciest, plumpest skin really going to town with her oil cleanser, and it has finally influenced me to start double-cleansing. I have sensitive skin and can’t use anything with fragrance, so it took a little searching (on our site and on Reddit) to find the Rohto Hada Labo cleansing oil. It’s sold out at a lot of places online, but it was still in stock at Senti Senti, a beauty store in New York. I bought it online for in-person pickup at its Chinatown location, and it was a scene! Tiny narrow storefront packed with people, stacks of face masks and ampoules and tiny brow razors. I’ve only used the cleansing oil once so far, so take my review with a grain of salt, but it feels lovely — so lightweight and not at all greasy or sticky — and I do think the pores on my nose look a little smaller.

This year, I have set an intention to dress more evil, which means buying many of the same things I already have except in black and optic white. I had a big success this month when I found a black Pendleton skirt from a Depop seller for about $30; I’ve been wearing it constantly since. I actually owned a navy-and-green tartan Pendleton skirt suit, which I loved for its authoritative swoosh and structure. The black one is even better — more of a suiting-weight wool, lightweight and loose enough to wear in 80-degree weather, and it goes with anything and adds an unexpected proportion and texture to your outfit. Look for the label that says “100 percent virgin wool” and “pure virgin wool made in USA.” Here’s one that really needs to be ironed but has the right specs; here’s a two-for-the-price-of-one special.

I literally never get hangovers anymore because I take these electrolytes before and after drinking. I recently had a birthday dinner and had the good sense to bring one with me. After my second martini, I mixed a Cure pack with water and downed it. The next morning, I woke up as if the night before had been a regular, retiring evening. I even bought a bag for a friend — jury’s still out on whether they work as well for him.