We've reached Peak Personalization. (Sort of.)
Happy first day of fall, or autumnal equinox, or Mabon, depending on your degree of witchiness. (Doesn't it just make you want to buy school supplies?)
Back-to-school in my youth was invariably characterized by the unveiling of a months-long art project: the customization of my school supplies. Color-coded folders would get screen-printed or collaged, then laminated with a protective coat of clear contact paper. School bags were stenciled, stamped, and then festooned in dozens of 1" pins, which I went to great pains to collect, treasured beyond reason, and would invariably lose, one by one, throughout the school year as I went from class to band practice to color guard and back again. But on the first day of school, I was in fine form: the entire strap of my messenger bag was covered in those pins, and the flap would have a few DIY patches anchored with oversized kilt pins, too.
This is relevant only because I feel like we're culturally obsessed with customization lately. I've touched on this before, but the rise of Labubus and TikTok's fascination with "Jane-ified" Birkin bags (the original, pried free of its characteristic stickers and baubles, recently sold at Southeby's for over $10M) seems to point to something bubbling up under the surface. Bag charms are having a major, inescapable moment. So too are garments covered, in true maximalist style, with lapel pins and brooches. As we approach a Pinterest-predicted Medieval fall, even chatelaines are back—and what are chatelaines if not bag charms that you affix to yourself, really? Hell, there are even miniature handbags that are themselves bag charms, if metafashion is your thing. Magpie style is here—and on the one hand, it feels like a breath of fresh air.
Blame it on AI (I certainly do), but we've seen a growing push toward the tactile and the experiential in recent months. I suspect the swing toward all-personalized-everything comes from a similar place: a reaction against a technology that doesn't care who you are, where you're from, what you did—it'll still make you sound exactly the same as everyone else. So maybe it stands to reason that we're all looking to feel a little unique and special these days.
The other force at work may be more...practical. Smarter minds than I can comment on whether the push toward a personalized/DIY aesthetic is, in fact, a recession indicator, but it certainly tracks that—unless you're hunting the one and only 24-karat gold Labubu—tacking a bunch of pins and bag charms onto your handbag could instead of buying a new bag altogether could be a form of The Lipstick Effect in action. DIY is thrifty. And although I spent what felt like a teen-fortune sending away to zine distros for my 1" band pins in middle school and high school, in reality it was a pretty inexpensive form of self-expression.
The irony, of course, is that leaning into this because it's a trend is sort of counter to the point. Jane's Birkin was iconic because it was an authentic expression of her and what was important to her—with charitable causes and activist slogans scotch-taped to a now-priceless bag—rather than because she was chasing a trend. Likewise, the slew of TikTok girls running to eBay to scoop up an oversized lot of bag charms and baubles to make their own trending pin-covered bag feels a bit icky to us, sometimes for reasons we can't totally put our finger on. I'm a broken record about these things, but, well, too late to stop now: actual personal style is accumulated over time. You can't buy it in an eBay lot.
But. If you're feeling drawn to something a little more personal in our era of automated, mass-produced everything, that's certainly a feeling I can get behind. An object that's a true reflection of ourself and our taste can become a beloved talisman for your life, and for generations to come. (Just think of the heirlooms you treasure—there's something about each one that's "just so [the person you inherited it from]," right?)
So without further ado: 5 impossibly chic items you can (and should) personalize, without succumbing to the candyfloss high of Labubus or bag charms.
- Louise Carmen Bespoke Notebook (price determined by customizations)
Louise Carmen notebooks are a favorite among creatives for many reasons: their modular, refillable design is utilitarian, and the full-grain veg tanned leather covers fit multiple notebooks at once—a godsend for anyone who switches from project to project throughout the day. Sure, you can buy an in-stock style from their website, but the real spirit of the brand comes through when you build your own bespoke notebook complete with foil-embossed details and the brand's so-called "lucky charms"—either in their Paris studio, or (more practically) via a video appointment.
- AMES The Journal Cover (by inquiry only)
Then again, if you're going for bespoke, why not really go for it? Designer Lizzie Ames offers a fully-custom journal cover service that's limited only by what you (and she) can dream up, and can incorporate your most treasured found objects. This example is made from Sterling Silver and features, among other things, star rubies and mammoth bone. But you do you.
- Guerlain The Customizable Ultra-Care Lipstick, from $85
Lipstick cases have never stopped being chic, and (as many have said) Guerlain has some of the most trusted skincare and makeup formulas in the world. This refillable configuration lets you mix and match between dozens of their signature lipsticks and ten stunning case designs (which include croc-embossed leather, tortoise-effect, and this very vintage-y art deco motif), plus free monogram engraving of your choice. But even if personalization isn't your current obsession, having a discreet little mirror attached to your lipstick at all times feels unassailably chic.
- Molinard The Paris Workshops, from ~$105
There are a fair number of places nowadays that will help you make a custom perfume—but not that many that are heritage parfumeurs based in Grasse (the epicenter of fragrance) for five generations. Molinard is, obviously, just that. Next time you're in Paris, book a workshop at their outpost near the Boulevard Saint-Germain and let a classically trained expert help you craft something that's irreplicably you, but also...well, better, because they're experts.
- Pamela Love Scallop Signet, from $470
Okay, forget everything I said about personalization being a cost-effective trend. I couldn't resist including Pamela Love's incredibly distinctive signet rings on this list. Not only do they come in a bevy of metal and stone combinations you can mix-and-match (some of which, like 14k gold and jade, will run you over $3000), but they're able to be engraved with a monogram amidst Pamela's signature iconography of a dagger and crying eye. The "scallop" detail on the band is also remarkably unique, and the overall effect is something that, while new, feels like an heirloom. (I'm partial to the rose gold and moonstone and sterling silver with lapis versions, myself.)
Okay, that's it for personalizations. But if you're interested in heirloom-y things that don't require you to put a monogram on them, heads up: my shop HEALER is offering a preview of our first-ever ARCHIVE collection (curated vintage, objects with histories) starting today. You can take a peek by visiting the ARCHIVE here and entering password SS25ARCHIVE.
Until next time—happy fall, y'all.
