Becky Malinsky’s Five Things (Plus a Sun Valley Bonus)

30:17Sure. We won't encourage him. We won't encourage him. Look, we go to the Brentwood Country Mart, hit up Sid Mashburn. Honestly, Sid Mashburn's a little too preppy for him. I love them. But then a five-pocket khaki is going to be too preppy for him. It doesn't exist. It's not real. All the ones he got were stretchy. You know where we went is to Buck Mason, and he got a plain Chino that is a little higher on his waist, which is something that he has a belly. He's going to love that. I'm like, he doesn't want to really wear a higher waisted thing all the time, but he will. Like he's like into fashion, whatever.

30:55This is a perfect pant. I think the Chris Black and I discussed this a couple of weeks ago. The giant Ficino is like, even though it's not giant, that's not my husband's thing. He just wants like a Chino. And he and our friend Nick were talking about this. And Nick is like skinny, probably six feet tall. and they're just the I think like generally it's just there isn't a lot of guidance on what the the pants are supposed to look like because of the fact that any celebrity you see most of them are not wearing their pants in the appropriate sizing I just feel like either it's too tight or they're just like saggy or they don't there's not a lot of understanding of how to get them to just like hang straight.

31:46And I, and I think like, I actually think the Twitter menswear guy has, has been helpful to a lot of men on the internet, which is interesting because he, he's kind of obviously annoying, but I do think he has helped like a lot of regular guys who were on Twitter get their get their shit together. But I just there's no because men are reticent to change. There's no sort of guidance on where to move. And it looks like women wear pants that don't fit all the time. But it's it's just more noticeable in a man's pants because it's just right there and there's not a lot else going on around it. I think, yeah, it's about getting the waist to fit properly.

32:40I mean, the waist to crotch ratio needs to fit properly and the break needs to happen at the right spot to not look sloppy or not look like you're trying to be a 22 year old kid in Williamsburg. What's the break? The break is where the hem hits on your shoe. So a tiny a little bit of a break so it's not pooling, but it's not propped so that it doesn't look messy. Yeah. The messiness is the tough part. So Becky, thank you for this guidance. I think it's really helpful, but I hope no, I think that it's just like, I do think the break is a big part of it. And I have one more thing. Also most clothes need tailoring.

33:23And this is a men's and women's thing I deal with with clients is that it's okay to get your inexpensive clothes tailored. Making your clothes fit the way they should is worth the investment 100 % of the time. So I think like just get it to fit right. Not everything is going to fit exactly right out of the store. It's meant to fit billions of people. Anyway. Yeah, totally. I need to come to your tailor the next time I'm in New York. Please do. I will. So on to something that you probably don't need to get tailored, but there are a lot of fit issues too. Your email this past weekend was about jean shorts, a.k.a.

34:06jorts, and you provided five options of different silhouettes and styles. What brought you on this jorts journey? George's journey. I got a lot of questions about it. A lot of readers asking in, what's my, what one do I like? Would I do a newsletter about it? It's just a topic that a lot of people seem interested in. And I don't wear a ton of jean shorts. So trying to back up and figure out the psychology of why don't I like this category very much and how do I navigate that was an interesting challenge for me. I think it's very interesting and I I meant I was one of the people who said something to you about it because when I was in Paris I am also I've never been a jean shorts person before this summer just let me tell you I used to have a pair of um one earnest sewn jeans that I cut off into shorts that were really good and I don't think I have them anymore but when I was in Paris in June for like three days.

35:11It was pretty hot. I wasn't there during the kind of cool, but it was like pushing 90 on a couple of days. I saw a lot of people wearing jean shorts and I was like crazy because it's too casual for Paris. In the six, like I was in the six at a coffee shop and there's cool girls and like, are they wearing these to work? I don't understand. I was very confused. How were they wearing them? Were they wearing them with sneakers or were they? They were wearing them with Adidas and like a big shirt. And what it made me realize was, why am I not wearing them more in LA? Because all I do in LA is wear track shorts or I wear jeans a lot of days.

35:56And in LA, the funny thing is you can't, you have to dress because it gets cold at night. So if you go out at night, like the nice, the nice thing is you can always have a change of clothes in your car and change when you don't have to go back to your house to change because you have a car, but I, I can't, you can't really wear shorts at night. You have to wear pants because it gets pretty cold. But so I don't like, I don't need the thing you don't need in LA is the, the light summer dress. It just, you don't need it because you're not outside in sticky at all. so I don't need like the linen dress that's going to get me through.

36:36Yeah. It's interesting because a, I've always had trouble with that category, but B it just, I, it doesn't need to exist. You would, you don't need to wear a dress at night unless you want to, cause you need a sweater or jacket. It's interesting anyway. So I came home and my immediate thing was I asked my friend, Amanda Dobbins, who does wear jean shorts a lot where she gets hers. And she said a Goldie, which I want to talk about a Goldie specifically, but the Parker long. So that's the one I ended up getting. And I really love it. The thing about this, Jane, I got it in two sizes. I got one that's like a little more with, without a cutoff.

37:16That's a little more, I don't want to say dressy, but a little, and that one I got in a smaller size and I got one bigger size of the cutoffs that I am basically wearing as if they're sweatpants and just wearing them everywhere. They're super comfortable. But I like them because I have a bigger waist and they don't they like deemphasize that, which is extremely hard to do with anything, any kind of short. Like I don't wear shorts a lot because I just don't think they are are what we it's called pattern. Anyway, they, they are my pick. You had to a Goldie on your, on your list. Can you kind of go through the styles you use?

37:57And then I want to talk about that, this brand in particular on why you think they're so good at jean shorts. Yeah. Maybe we should start there. A Goldie, which is owned by citizens of humanity or vice versa. It's the same company. Um, they just have fit nailed down. So unbelievably, like if you're going to do a skinny jean. If you want to do a baggy jean, they've scaled it to so that it fits the way you want it to fit and you don't have to change your size that much. I don't know what it is. They just have the secret sauce and it's a brand I use so much for my clients that are not trying to be fashion, but just trying to have a pair of jeans.

38:32So I was like, okay, well, jean shorts in particular are going to hit all of these neuroses because we are women and sensitive about our bodies. So if we're going to talk about fit, we have to talk about them. So I wanted to try a really short short because there's so much about like hot pants and short shorts right now, but like I'm not really trying to walk around in hot pants in New York City. So I was like, if I'm going to try a short short, it has to be them. And it was so flattering and I was so surprised that I felt comfortable in this short. So that was one of the first winners. What was the style of the short shorts?

39:11It's the Ridley. And I actually tried it on in like a very tidy, dark rinse with a hem and it felt great and it looked great. I sized up one size because in jean shorts, I always size up one size. But same thing you were talking about, the waist, nothing cutting on the waist, not riding up. But I also tried it in a cutoff black denim and it was not the one I felt like I was trying to be 23 again and I had to take it off immediately so the Ridley short and reissue and reissue so nice and then the second one I put in from citizens or a goldie was the Indra in fortune cookie which is just white and it's a really baggy almost like men's board short looking jean short where it goes to the knee sits really slouchy um I loved that for me my issue with a goldie is I didn't want to pick a short from them that felt like it was trying to be a vintage Levi so it had to have some sort of other style or design element so that was why the really short in the dark rinse or the white in the really baggy I don't like a designer jean short that pretends to be a vintage Levi.

40:31I would rather just full court press go in that direction. So, but really amazing that brand. Yeah. It's so great. And is citizens, would you say the fit on the citizens jeans is as good as they Goldie? Yeah. If not better. Yeah. Yeah. That's a great, I think Sarah Shapiro, I told her, I was like, you need to just do a big like business story. on this company because they bought the brand back when I worked at business fashion, they bought it. They bought the company back from the PEO, the private equity owner. And I don't know, I'm, I'm endlessly impressed by them. I actually don't own any of the, the jeans jeans because I mostly just, I go back to the same pair of Levi's and I just got a pair of white vintage Levi's at Scout that are perfect.

41:22Every time I go to Scout, I walk in and I say, I need this. And she was like, we only have one pair of white vintage jeans right now. Put them on. They fit perfect. I really want to come to LA just to go to Scout. It was so funny. You know who I ran into when I was there is John Caramonica. Oh, yeah. He was shopping with his girlfriend. And I was like, I walked in and I was like, oh, hi, got my jeans. I was like, see you guys later. it was great it's a real meeting this is my point though like fashion people just want a vintage levi it's the same as what we've talked about in the past about nike we want it to succeed because we want the classic thing to be the best but for regular everyday people who just want to look good that sort of effort is not going to work and a goldie citizens has figured out how to make people just feel really good in their jeans and not have to do that.

42:18Okay. We will still want the Levi and it doesn't replace that. Like I also don't, I have one pair of citizens jeans, the, and it's the gaucho. It's the big wide crop because it's not going to replace the Levi for me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking at the jeans right now and they all look nice, but I don't need any of them. Whereas I need I need I needed the shorts for me the it was worth getting the Parker which is they're like I would say they're Levi's because I jean shorts are just different for me and yeah yes okay so let's move on and go through the other three because I I thought you did a very good job at like giving reasons to buy shorts

43:09Okay, the next category was my most surprising jean short was the Buck Mason Montecito Cutoff, which it kind of goes just a little bit above my knee. I'm 5 '5", and it has kind of a dirty wash. And again, I sized up one size, and it fit almost like these vintage pedal pushers trend that's happening, but yet it was really comfortable and I felt very easy. Like I wanted to wear it with all the muscle tanks I've been wearing this summer. Um, and it, that was the most surprising one, I think. Um, and then the next category was sort of the next best thing to a vintage Levi, which was a tie between, was a tie between three really, but their Levi's makes the 501 cutoff which is very short so if you want a levi's it was great but very short and it runs so tiny i had to size up almost three sizes like i sized up two wish i sized up three but very good if you want a levi and it's like 60 bucks um and very good faux distressing um that tied with a reformation short which was their like two and a half inch inseam short reformation just makes really good jeans.

44:26Is it still the Brock designer? You know, we don't know. I, I don't know at this point. I can ask him. He, there's a great New York times article about this guy. He also designs Kate's jeans, Ula Johnson's jeans. Like he does a lot of different, um, denim. I don't know if they still work with him. I, even if they don't, they have like, he worked with that. He worked there for a lot with them for a long time so they have the understanding he's very interesting i had coffee with him once and he made the point of like you can tell when a brand doesn't have a denim designer working with them for sure because it's not but he's really good i've never bought the rough jeans but i've tried them on and they are amazing and the k jeans are great the thing is about the reformation ones too is that the price is right like there were i tried on a bunch of jean shorts that were like 350 450 it's just like that's not the category where i want to invest at that price point because i'm really only gonna wear these casually with my child or running around so it's sort of like the reformation has it has the fit the wash and the price so that was great if you do want a vintage jean short and not feel like you have to go try on a million pairs of Levi's.

45:48There's a brand called Mousy Vintage. Mousy? Mousy? Mousy. Yes. They have a line and they rework vintage Levi. They rework Levi's into cutoffs. So if you really want a vintage Levi that you can just buy online, you can get a Mousy Vintage pair. Yeah. I bet that Redone probably has something similar too, right? Similar, but I tried a few Redones. They weren't. the, the waist cut a little bit for me on the redone. Sorry. When you have a small waist. So that, so that is, that's okay. That's great. Great. Thank you for your service. You're welcome. So really quickly, I wanted to give a running tights update and I feel like you went through this journey with me.

46:33I, I finally was like, Oh, because I wore an, an arm band with my iPhone in for more than a decade and had a big tan line on my arm for all that time. And then, and I'm just like anti-tan line this summer. I'm really trying not to wear my Apple watch in the sun. I'm like really just trying. So someone was like, oh, you should just get running tights or running shorts with pockets in them and put your phone in there. And I was like, oh, that's such a great idea. Actually, Becky, it doesn't work. It's the worst thing in the world because your phone gets all hot. And then also I listen to podcasts while I'm running mostly.

47:19Sometimes I listen to music, but usually podcasts just like get through it. And no matter how I position my phone. It like screws it up. It was like, this is not helpful to me in any way. I don't, it's not, it's not the solution. Also like running tights with pockets are annoying and too much. I just, I would, I'm very, I'm, I'm annoyed that this is the situation. I wish there was a better solution. Can't you get one of those really like flat, slim fanny pack things? I've seen those. Sure. Yes, I can. But like, again, seems better. The issue, the issue for me is like, I don't want heat on that area.

48:07Yeah. Like I don't want like extra stuff. It's just, I find the whole, and also I have very narrow hips. So who knows if that would stay up? Like I can barely get my pants to stay up. So, so I don't, yes. I mean, I just, the point being that like I wish that someone would create some sort of better solution for storing your phone whilst exercising. I know. But what would that be if it can't be on your waist, your arm or your leg? Honestly, you know where I used to keep it sometimes in in a sock in my bra? Oh. But the The biggest issue is it's still the sensitivity of the phone and then screwing up and having to be pulled out.

48:55Sometimes I just hold it in my hand. Yeah. The other day I went to the Rose Bowl to run and I forgot my headphones and I had to run with no music and just be with my thoughts. It was really hard. I mean, I got through it. What if you did the armband but switched it every day? Which arm? I tan very easily. Oh, how nice for you. I think it would just, yes. So thank you. But if you were going to buy a pair of running tights, what would be the one that you would buy? Okay, this is a funny question because I hate leggings. Anything tight on my legs makes me go insane. So I've been doing Pilates and I even bring them with me and change into them there because I cannot walk there.

49:38And that drives me so crazy. So I don't know if I would. But I think I would figure out a solution to do it with shorts. And I have been wearing those horse sport shorts, which are glorified Sophie shorts, every single day to the point where I'm like, oh, my God, they're dirty. And I have to go a day without wearing them because they have to be washed. Makes me upset. OK, maybe I'll get them. But like you're still going to need your arm band fanny pack thing because I just I will say this is literally the one category where I don't have advice because I just hate the feeling of leggings so much.

50:12I know I bought those Beyond Yoga gray leggings that you were like, don't buy. Yeah, don't buy those. But I love them. There's no less flattering color to wear on your button thighs than a pale gray Heather spandex. You're right. But I'm not like wearing them with a crop top. And also, we have different things. Yes. I don't, I like am very, I'm very straight and I have no leg issues. Well, then they're perfect. Yeah. So I did buy them like a size. Probably I could should have sized up then. Then I would I would wear them with a crop top. I imagine that beyond yoga, that super soft fabric would be too hot for running.

50:58Yeah, I don't wear them running. I've been wearing them during Pilates or solid or whatever. I mean, yeah, if I were to buy a running tight, I would buy a Nike one for better or worse, no matter the fix. That would be the one that would make me feel like I can run the fastest. Yes. Speaking of one of these new fangled sporty brands, literary sport, I got a bunch of stuff and I got, and they're, they're the running tights I've been wearing. And the reason I like them so much is a, they do have a pocket. They do have pockets, but B they're a mid waist. And that is better for me. Like the super high waist looks bad.

51:38And then obviously, I mean, I don't even know if there are low waste, but they are, they look great. They, in that case, I should have gone down a size and they, because I'm pulling them up for the first like five minutes of the run. I would try that. Yeah. I have their like a Capri pants. They're like windbreaker ones. Love. Their stuff is awesome. I, I am, I highly recommend the fabrics are really good and they, I want to try a couple of the t-shirts, but it is exactly again, not to be a jerk. I don't love the name and I wish that it was a different name, but it's not to change it. I agree, ladies.

52:21I don't know. We love the clothes. I wore the muscle tanks on vacation my whole week of vacation in the boiling hot Italy. Yeah. With like very cute skirts, like all my little vintage prod on Louis Vuitton skirts I get on the real real and those tanks because they're so thin and such a nice cup. Yeah. Yeah. They are. They're so highly recommended. So highly recommend. So two more quick little, little things. One is that we both in the past week or so have engaged with this television show, the, or whatever, I don't, can you call something a television show now the better Sister, which I believe is on.

52:59Is it on Hulu? No, it's on Prime. Amazon Prime. Congrats to Amazon Prime. It's starring Jessica Beal, who looks truly an Elizabeth Banks. I mean, they both look great. But Jessica Beal's shout out to this woman. She always she was in college when I was in college. She went to Tufts. So I would see her around Boston. She's always had a great body. This woman works her ass off whatever she does. Her body looks amazing. And I just want to congratulate her. She deserves an award for whatever she does. Like she's naturally gifted, but also very impressive. But the reason I started watching it, and I watched one episode and as you know, decided to just Google what happened.

53:43And very interesting story. But one was enough for me. I really enjoyed the one I watched. But so many people reached out to me about what she was wearing. Same. On the show. I only watched because so many people texted me about her clothes on the show. So explain to me why you think people have engaged with it so much and maybe talk a little bit about what Jessica Biel's character, her job, her job, quote unquote. Biel's character is very confusing. She's an editor in chief in this year, 2025. And that has somehow afforded her to have a wraparound terrace on Central Park West. I'm sorry for laughing.

54:28It's so funny. Quit making people editors of magazines. Magazines do not exist, people. Like, they just, they don't even exist anymore. So quit making them. You have to make them head of editorial content. I mean, the real congratulations, though, goes to the Roe Park Tote, which is in every single scene and deserves its own cast of credits. The wardrobe is just, like, unbelievably tight. You know, it's like exactly what you would think. Like, can I say like a rich, but we had to say it. Can we say that on podcast? Or it's just like the, it's like the ultimate rich bitch wardrobe. It's like whatever the top tier is on Net-A-Porter, that's all being delivered same day.

55:11It's like everything is very perfect. Like Saint Laurent, Neely Low Tan, like the Varley sweatsuit. Everything is very much exactly what you think it is. And it's kind of unbelievable. And it just like stays very consistent through the whole show. Like everything is like exactly what you think this person would be wearing in exactly this place. And then I looked up last night because I just finished it last night. The costume designer is Stacey Batat. Oh, my God. Of course, it's Stacey Batat. Yeah. Of Sofia Coppola fame. Stacey. Yeah. Stacey is Sofia's stylist for the last probably like seven films.

55:51Oh, that's so funny. I get it. And whoever I'm like, whoever did this really understand sort of like this sort of New York woman. Wow. That's really interesting. That's so fun that she did that. Also, people have requested that Stacey come on the podcast. I don't know if she's if she would want to do that, but I would love to have her. Yeah, that would be a nice thing. So can we talk about this white dress really quickly? Because I got emails from readers who are also BICs who wanted that. Is it what it what is the white dress? And can you still get it? I think it might be. It came up when the Proenza blue dress from have you seen materialist yet?

56:37No, I'm dying to see it. Yeah, you should see it for the dress at least. No, I got to see it. Yeah, you got to see it. Let's see. And people were like, yeah, but have you seen this is how I was. I was pushed to watch which makes perfect sense. There's a lot of Proenza in the show, which I actually buy a tone of Proenza for my female clients who are professionals in New York City. This makes a lot of sense. Yeah. I wonder, I wonder if they're going to get a name, name designer to do Proenza. Also the, can we talk about the barn coat really quickly or the field coat? Who, which one is it? I couldn't identify it.

57:18It's a barber jacket from free people. Wow. Great job, Stacey Bittat. Great job, Stacey Bittat. She also has really amazing curly hair. We have a lot of mutual friends. I met her years ago. Anyway, great. So in the jean shorts email, you wear this ringer tee that is from when you were a cheerleader with which what? Wait, you didn't know that? no I think I guess it makes sense I was captain of the cheerleading team I believe it in another life I think that that would have been for me as well but like you have to understand that I've only ever did any sport for the uniform so like obviously I was a cheerleader because the uniforms were amazing I took up tennis because I wanted to wear the skirts same yeah no I would I play tennis and lacrosse.

58:11I understand. Yeah. Love. I also had capas in middle school. Wow. Just because I like them and I wanted to do the like the triangles clips. Yeah. Change out the colors. Yeah. Yeah. I understand. I it makes sense to me. Oh, my God. That brings up such a core memory because we had the capas my freshman year on the cheerleading team. And then they changed the uniform to Nike where we had this little disc where we switched in the color. And I was so devastated. Yeah. I mean, that's so cool though. I guess. And anyway, you had this ringer tee from when you were cheerleading. And the thing I want to ask you really quickly, I want a ringer tee so badly, but I want one that fits like your cheerleading one, which is kind of not boxy, just like a classic t-shirt.

59:01And I can't find one anywhere. It's Gildan, that brand that does the custom tee, you know, that's really stiff. yes yeah yeah so but that's from how long ago i mean 25 years so they probably don't do that one anymore gilden ringer t okay maybe because i just oh maybe they well they still make them but i just yeah you might have to get it off like a like whatever the u line is for t-shirts you know it doesn't look exactly right like none of them look right and it's upsetting to me okay i think okay i found there's one is it it's like a terrible name this brand i wonder if this has it industry of all nations i think you're literally going to have to go on to like amazon or there's all these companies like organic basics industry of all nations that make these really plain ones yeah they just the rib the ring doesn't look right it's not thick enough on a lot of them.

1:00:03Yeah. Yeah. I just want, I want your cheerleading t-shirt. Okay. Final thing of the day. Yeah. Really quickly. The, the real news of the day is this Birkin last week that sold 10, 10 million dollars in 10 minutes. What do you think? Not surprised. I don't know. I just was sort of like, yeah. The, the thing that was the most shocking to me was that in the Sotheby's press release, it was like, this is the most expensive fashion item that we've ever sold in. And then the most expensive fashion item in Europe. But, but like then in Marissa Meltzer's piece, it noted that the most expensive fashion thing that has ever sold is Dorothy's Ruby slippers for 32 million or something, which like, obviously.

1:00:51Right. But I was surprised that it's, it was only that I mean that's a lot obviously there were people who ducked out because their limit was much lower than that interesting from it yeah yeah it just seems like the pool of people who would be able to afford it and want it don't have priced like there is no price tag pay 50 million for it someday it will sell for that yes so when when this guy who bought it his um secondhand company needs some money he could sell. I hope that he they put it in a museum, though. Me, too. That would be great. I decided for Marissa's book. Maybe it was Marissa who said to me, I don't remember someone.

1:01:37Someone said something to me that I I just hope it goes to someone who's not going to let their kids play with it. You know what I mean? Like who can understand that Marissa would say. Yeah. So hopefully. I think she's coming on next week. So maybe we'll discuss it. Or no, she's the week after. Next week is somewhere now. A special guest. Want to keep it a surprise. Becky, this was so fun. Thanks for taking the time as always. Great to see you. Thanks for having me. Fashion People is a presentation of Odyssey in partnership with Puck. This show was produced and edited by Molly Nugent. Special thanks to our executive producers, Puck co-founder John Kelly, executive editor Ben Landy, and director of editorial operations, Gobby Grossman.

1:02:24An additional thanks to the team at Odyssey, J.D. Crowley, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and Bob Tabador.