I don’t recommend ever visiting NYC in July but August can often be quite pleasant. Not the whole month mind you. I’m sure we’ll get another oppressive heat wave at some point but the weather this week has been delightful. The light in August also starts to get lower and warmer and you can feel that September is near. Summer is not my season and I’m definitely looking forward to fall. Until then, here’s what you should see, read, try, and do this month.

I went to artist Lucy Sparrow‘s Felt Bodega in 2017 and was blown away by her creativity. Every single thing was made of felt and now she’s taking her work to the Hamptons with Feltz Bagels at TW Fine Art in Montauk. You can buy felt bagels, bread, black and white cookies, candy, condiments, pickles, pretzels, and more inside while real bagels and coffee will be for sale outside. It runs through September 4, 2023.

I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t think I’ve ever been to The Jewish Museum but I am excited to see The Sassoons exhibition on view until August 13, 2023. “The exhibition highlights the Sassoon family’s pioneering role in trade, art collecting, architectural patronage, and civic engagement from the early 19th century through World War II through over 120 works—paintings, decorative arts, illuminated manuscripts, and Judaica—amassed by family members and borrowed from numerous private and public collections. Highlights include Hebrew manuscripts from as early as the 12th century, many lavishly decorated; Chinese art and ivory carvings; rare Jewish ceremonial art; Western masterpieces including paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and magnificent portraits by John Singer Sargent of various Sassoon family members. The Sassoons explores themes such as discrimination, diaspora, colonialism, global trade, and war that not only shaped the history of the family but continue to define our world today. “

One of things I loved the most on my trip to London was the Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. The petite museum is a very civilized experience and has air conditioning unlike Kensington Palace but it’s their collection that will impress you to no end. The exhibition reveals how the Georgians ushered in many of the cultural trends we know today, including the first stylists and influencers, the birth of a specialized fashion press and the development of shopping as a leisure activity.

“Discover what fashion can tell us about life in 18th-century Britain, a revolutionary period of trade, travel and technology which fuelled fashion trends across all levels of society. Delve into the Georgians’ style story and get up close to magnificent paintings, prints and drawings by artists including Gainsborough, Zoffany and Hogarth, as well as luxurious textiles, sparkling jewelery, and a range of accessories from snuff boxes to swords.

I also highly recommend the accompanying book, Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians.

If you happen to be visiting Stockholm before January 1, 2025, make sure you visit the Moderna Museet for the exhibition Pink Sails: Swedish Modernism in the Moderna Museet Collection.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Sweden is transformed from an agricultural society to an industrialised nation. Social reforms and optimism about the future are mixed with preparedness and fear of world war. Based on Moderna Museet’s collection, “Pink Sails” looks at art from 1900 to the 1940s. A period when major social changes, events and also influences from big cities such as Paris and Berlin make a clear impression on art.

During this period, many Swedish artists began to search for new expressions that could describe and reflect modern society. Others did the opposite, turning their gaze away from the outside world and towards motifs that reflect a longing for a bygone era. This is evident, for example, in the depictions of landscapes where the new industries emerge and in motifs from the rapidly growing cities and their suburbs. But also in intimate depictions of everyday life and the portrayal of emotions.

“Pink Sails – Swedish Modernism in the Moderna Museet collection” brings together around 100 works by artists such as Anna Casparsson, Siri Derkert, Sven X:et Erixson, Isaac Grünewald, Sigrid Hjertén, Bror Hjorth, Hilding Linnqvist, Vera Nilsson, Ragnar Sandberg and many others.

The exhibition title is borrowed from Ragnar Sandberg’s twilight landscape “Pink Sails” from 1934.

If you are looking for some nostalgic fun, definitely watch Wham!, a 2023 documentary film on Netflix, about the English pop duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The film marks the 40th anniversary of their 1983 debut album Fantastic. It’s worth watching for the 80’s fashions alone but it was also fun to learn more about this iconic duo.

Afire has drawn comparisons to an Eric Rohmer film and I can’t wait to see it soon. It follows a group of friends in a holiday home by the Baltic Sea as the parched forest around them catches fire and emotions run high. It’s playing at Film at Lincoln Center and the IFC Center in New York.

August is not a hotbed for new shows which is why it’s exciting that the amusing comedy Only Murders in the Building season three debuts on August 8, 2023. It follows the trio as they determine if foul play was involved in another murder in New York.

Best-selling author Dan Buettner’s new doc series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones takes viewers around the world to investigate the diet and lifestyles of those living the longest lives. Explore the original blue zones, be immersed in their culture and lifestyles, and see how Blue Zones is applying the research in communities across the United States. it will debut on Netflix on August 30, 2023.

I already started reading Jackie: Public, Private, Secret on my Kindle but need to stop scrolling and get back to it. The book is based on hundreds of interviews with friends, family, and lovers over a thirty-year period―as well as previously unreleased material from the JFK Library. Kennedy historian J. Randy Taraborrelli paints an unforgettable new portrait of a woman whose flaws and contradictions only serve to make her even more iconic. “I have three lives,” Jackie told a former lover, “public, private and secret.” In this revealing biography, readers will become intimately familiar with all three. 

I have not picked up High Time which is the follow up to Hannah Rothschild’s book House of Trelawney form 2016. It delves once again into the aristocratic antics of the Trelawney family in a delicious story of madness, mayhem, and mischief run amok.

I created my Summer 2023 Spotify Playlist in May but never shared it until recently. It’s a mellow mix of new songs and old favorites perfect for a long drive or a dinner party.

If you like the look of Khaite sandals but not the price, these Kitten Heel Sandals are a chic alternative.

I love the Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Body Scrub but the price for the amount in the container has always annoyed me. So when I was in Sag Harbor in June, I picked up a tube of the Nécessaire Body Exfoliator in Eucalyptus at Goop. It says it’s “a weekly physical and chemical exfoliation treatment with AHA/BHA/PHA, Charcoal, and Volcanic Pumice to detox and resurface the skin” but I’ve used it a few times a week. My skin is so much softer now and I swear my hyperpigmentation looks lighter. When I was working on this post, I noticed that it’s also available fragrance-free for those of you who are sensitive to scents, as well as in Bergamot and Sandalwood. The Sandalwood just arrived today and it’s a very subtle unisex scent. I can’t say enough good things about this product.

I like a glow but for days when I don’t want to look too shiny, this Chanel Le Base Matifiante Perfecting Makeup Primer just arrived today. It’s blurring too. I also ordered the Rouge Coco Baume Hydrating Beautifying Tinted Lip Balm Buildable Colour in Sweet Treat which is great when you want color but don’t want to wear a heavy lipstick. It feels like it will stay on longer than glossy lipstick too. I wanted Natural Charm as well but I just had to order it from another website because it’s already sold out on Chanel.com.

Happy August!

XOXO,

HC