SAMIRA NASR
EDITOR IN CHIEF

Welcome back! My flight home from Paris was canceled as I was en route to the airport, so I am still here but grateful to be able to catch the Balenciaga Spring 2025 show. There's a slight chill in the air, and it has been so fun to throw on a jacket and get back to the joys of fall dressing. Let's get into it!

PERSON

If New York City ever had a minister of culture, my vote would be for my colleague Stellene Volandes, Town & Country's editor in chief. She delights in discovery and is quite the globetrotter. Plus, her Instagram is the ultimate resource for where to go, what to see (be it on Broadway, at the ballet, or the Met), where to eat, where to stay in every major city, and MORE. Here, she shares a few of her favorite things.

(1) Elsa Peretti silver pill box (2) Lalaounis beaded necklace (3) Spanakopita (4) Proenza Schouler White Label cropped black pants

There are three questions I get asked almost daily, so I thought I should jot those answers down here first for Samira. Those questions usually are:

1. Where should I go in Greece? 2. What theater should I see? 3. What jewelry should I buy? Okay, also: How do you just do carry-on?

A PERFECT GREEK ITINERARY:

You can choose your own island adventure. Mine is always Paros, and my dinner on the first night I'm there is always the seafood orzo at Sigi Ikthios. Breakfast and coffee from Cannelait. I rent a house from Five Star Greece, but for hotels Cosme is chic and Kallisti is warm and cozy.

In Athens, have breakfast at the Hotel Grande Bretagne or Taverna 37 at the Four Seasons. Cheese pies from Ariston. Lunch at Cherchez La Femme. Dinner at Papadakis or Seychelles or Vezené or Papaïoannou. The Museum of Cycladic Art. The Benaki. The National Archaeological Museum. A performance at the Herodion theater. My Athens guide? Michael Patmanidis. You can find him on Instagram.

REQUIRED BROADWAY VIEWING:

I'm going to tell you now to get tickets to Sunset Boulevard. I saw it in London and waited at the stage door after because it was so good. Now that it's playing in New York, make a night of it: Have dinner before at Joe Allen (I have a burger and martini at the bar), then go for drinks at Bar Centrale after.

MY ANNUAL ELSA GIFT:

I'm an Elsa Peretti Tiffany & Co. addict, as some of you might know, and it's a big anniversary year for her. I buy myself something Elsa every year, and just last week a friend bought me an Elsa silver pill box. It's the perfect gift.

GOOD-LUCK CHARMS:

I wear a piece from Lalaounis every day. They are my good-luck charms. Right now, I'm obsessed with the beaded necklaces on cords that are done in lapis, carnelian, turquoise, and more. I wear mine high on my neck.

CARRY-ON ESSENTIALS:

I'm a uniform dresser, which helps. I wear Proenza Schouler White Label cropped black pants, a Blazé Milano blazer, and either suede Manolo Blahnik pumps or Santoni loafers or K.Jacques fisherman sandals. My other secret is Aida Bicaj. I've been going there for facials for years, and there's a great selection of Biologique Recherche products in travel size!

PLACE

Images courtesy of Alamy (left) and Shutterstock (right)

So here's the deal: My friend Leah Chernikoff, Harper's Bazaar's executive editor, has been going on and on about this "spot." So this week, I am going to have her do a little takeover so she can share it with you.

I know Stellene says you have to see Sunset Boulevard, but you're going to have to make two trips to the Great White Way because you absolutely must get yourself to the Lyceum Theatre to see Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola's hilarious, utterly deranged, and undeniably genius fever dream of a show. The play, which has now been extended until January 19, 2025, reimagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a bored and nasty drunk who is trapped in the White House as her husband tries to bring an end to the Civil War. She longs to do cabaret, so to appease her (and curb her drinking), her husband finds her an acting teacher named John Wilkes Booth. The rest really has to be seen to be believed. Laughing out loud with a packed theater full of people and probably a few celebrities (Richard Kind was there on the evening I attended the show; everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Madonna to Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum have gone) for 80 minutes straight to this unhinged masterpiece is without question the best time I can remember having in a while.

THING

Remember how last week I told you that leather jackets are the new blazers? Well, guess what? Gray sweaters are the new T-shirt. Yup, I said it! My packing this season was not the greatest, but one thing I did manage to bring was an oversize gray Phoebe Philo sweater I bought last fall. Sometimes, being stuck with a single piece forces you to discover its versatility, and this is exactly what happened to me with my sweater because I lived in it all week. I have worn it as a scarf, used it around my waist to secure my jacket, and, yes, as a top with just about every bottom in my suitcase. In a text exchange with J.Crew's Olympia Gayot, she told me she has been wearing her favorite gray sweater over a lace-trimmed slip with a loafer. Doesn't that sound so perfect? Here are a few of my favorites:

J. Crew

This one is the closest to the sweater I have lived in all week. I recommend going up at least one or two sizes in men's so it's very oversize. This looks good with absolutely everything. I have been trying to think of a way this should never be worn and can't think of a single one. Consider this your favorite big T-shirt and go forth in all your chic glory.

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The Row

This is a little gutsier in weight but no less versatile. This version allows you to forgo a jacket on those early-fall days and maybe just add a scarf. It's also somewhat oversize, so size down if you are looking for a closer fit.

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Extreme Cashmere

If the J.Crew version is your large tee, then this long-sleeve option is like its more fitted cousin. This one is great to tuck into skirts, pants, and jeans (because some of us like to tuck absolutely everything in.) If you want a super tight fit, then size down.

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Phoebe Philo

This is a more cropped alternative and an absolute forever purchase. Keep in mind, this one could be hard to layer under more fitted jackets and blazers but would be perfect under a bomber or anything a little more oversize.

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Happy shopping, friends!!

Chat soon!