2026 Recommended Reads

*last updated 5/3/26

**view previous Recommended Reads here

Books I'm reading

They All Came to Barneys: A Personal History of the World's Greatest Store
- Started on 2/1/26, Finished 2/27/26
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
- Started on 2/28/26, Finished 3/7/26
I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki by Baek Se-hee
- Started on 4/2/26, Finished 4/7/26
- "Light and darkness are part of the same thing. Happiness and unhappiness alternate throughout life, as in a dance."
- "Being imperfect is all right and being awkward is okay."
- "When we're sinking in water, it can be a relief to feel the ground beneath our feet, the rock bottom, because we know we can kick against it to rise again".
I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki: Further Conversations with My Psychiatrist by Baek Se-hee
- Started on 4/10/26, Finished 4/24/26
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
- Started 4/27/28, Finished 5/3/26
- "But I think of life rather like a long road we walk in one direction."
- "What I have made for myself is personal, but it is not exactly peace. Most of us live less theatrically, but remain the survivors of a peculiar and inward time."

Articles I've enjoyed

How to Turn 300 Pairs of Jeans Into a Billion-Yen Business (Ssstein)
- "Wholesale currently represents 90% of Ssstein’s revenues, while the remaining 10% comes from direct-to-consumer, including Carol "
My List: Tom Ford in 24 Hours
- "I put on my "uniform": a white shirt, a dark tie, a gold collar pin, a black or dark-gray single-breasted peaked-lapel suit, and black cap-toed shoes. I wear a variation of this look every day that I am in a city"
NYT: How Corteiz Restored Streetwear's Long-Gone Thrill
- " The thing about Corteiz is that it happens offline"
Speak Softly and Carry a Sick Overshirt: Inside the Very Chill World of PAA, Menswear's Quietest Brand
- "I think we've tried to stay away from telling people exactly what we do because we want them to have their own opinion. We don't talk a lot"

Fashion Podcasts I've learned something from

Jack Carlson on J. Press and Made in America
- "Authenticity is the most powerful tool in a brand's arsenal"
From Intern to Creative Director: David Rivera on Building The Hundreds
- "If you understand who you are as a creative or a person, then there's no one that can stop you. Everyone is so unique in their own ways. Know yourself and you'll be fine"
Semi Permanent Auckland 2017 - Valentin Ozich (founder of I Love Ugly)
- "Too many people don't realize that dealing with temporary frustration of not making progress is an integral part of the path towards excellence"
The Carter Young Altman Interview with Throwing Fits
- “If you're going to make something, you better have a reason or a narrative or something that you're adding to the conversation because otherwise just go design for someone else”
The Josh Willis Interview with Throwing Fits (Second Layer)
- "You can't just do [trends] online. You got to go - if you want to go see something, you have to seek it out"
The Keith Henry Interview with Throwing Fits
- "I think it's a tough business to be in in general. You just need to focus and stay in your lane and really progress forward in your own way that you see fit"
The Nicholas Daley Interview with Throwing Fits
- "To achieve what you want to do, self-belief is the first step"
The Nick Williams and Phil Ayers Interview with Throwing Fits (Small Talk Studios)

Life Podcasts I've learned something from

edgykatrina: I chased my dreams for 1 year...this is what really happened.
- "You are your only limit. Give yourself the chance to believe in yourself"
Leon Thomas: You Can’t Be Great Without Being Disruptive
- "Writer's block is a message from your body that you're not living live enough"
State of Sonder ep. 22 kintsugi
- "Do not let societal timelines define where you should be at whatever age. Reinvent your life the way that you’re supposed to or you want to because it’s your one life"
The New Rules of Becoming a Full-Time Content Creator in 2026 (w/Adrian Per)
- "Who cares if your peers look down on you? Ultimately they’re not paying your bills"
To Those Feeling Lost in Their 20s...featuring Mel Robbins
- "Life is like a road trip...every major life change will cause you to stop and pull over on the side of the road of life and go, who am I, where am I, and what do I want to do next?"

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