Hi! Welcome back to another special travel edition of the newsletter. (You can see part one here.) Today’s interviewees are two style-obsessed fashion insiders who’ve got that cool factor down. Let’s get into it! x Alisha

Featured in this issue…

• How the co-founder of Alex Mill expertly packs a single suitcase for a trip from a cold to a warm climate (and the intriguing art book he’s bringing).

• A chic NYC-based writer’s easy, breezy approach to packing and the summer setting spray she swears by for glowing skin. Plus, her hot tips for visiting Montauk if it's on your list.

• My personal recs, exclusively for my paid subscribers, are at the bottom of the newsletter this week - including thoughts on “medium friends”

Somsack Sikhounmuong’s Top Travel Tips

Gather the men in your life who want to step up their style game and share this interview with them. Meet Somsack Sikhounmuong, the co-founder and Creative Director of Alex Mill and former head of design at J.Crew and Madewell. I was thrilled to chat with the creative mind behind a brand I love. Somsack also pens a newsletter, somstack, where he offers his distinct POV on style and his best NYC tips (like all the good spots to eat without needing a reservation).

The travel uniform he swears by…

When I travel, I’ll most likely be in a T-shirt with a hoodie (the hood, when worn up, provides extra padding when I'm resting my head when sleeping), and if it’s fall or winter—chinos. But if it’s the summer, it’s a pair of shorts.

The things he never steps onto a plane without…

I'm pretty low-fuss when packing and try to pack as little as possible. In terms of outfits, the things I pack will fall into one of these three colors: white, black, or khaki. If it’s winter, I’ll sub the khaki for heather grey. I find that when I keep things edited this way, I'm able to get a lot of outfits with the smallest suitcase possible.

His suitcase of choice…

The Rimowa Essential Check-In L.

His packing strategy for a tricky climate switch-up…

I’m off to Alaska in early July, but on the way home, I’m headed to a wedding in Minnesota…sooooo, my suitcase will probably look like an REI x Comme des Garçons collab. It'll be my first time in Alaska, and I’m very excited to be somewhere so different from NYC.

As I'm planning ahead, I’m thinking my suitcase will be a combination of my Arcteryx rain jacket, Alex Mill shirts and shorts, vintage Levi’s and cut-off shorts, my Comme des Garçons suit, Bode dress shoes, and a tie from Drakes.

[Editor’s note: I asked Somsack where the best spot is for guys to buy vintage Levi’s. He said Front General Store in Brooklyn. “And when I’m in LA, Harvester.” Hot tips!]

The book he’s packing in his tote…

I'm currently listening to Picasso's War by Hugh Eakin. It'll be the first of many non-fiction art books I’ll be reading this summer, I hope.

I’m also a huge Dave Eggers fan. My two favorites are Zeitoun and A Hologram for the King.

Jess Graves’s Top Travel Tips

The NYC-based writer Jess Graves writes the newsletter THE LOVE LIST, and I’m prettttty certain she’s got an absolute encyclopedic knowledge of what’s trending amongst the fashion set. For instance, don’t miss her recent trend report on what the “hot girls in the Hamptons” are wearing—an entertaining read even if you don’t “summer” there. Here’s what Jess shared…

The travel outfit she swears by…

Only that my shoes need to slip on and off without the use of my hands, and you better believe I'm wearing socks. No barefooting it through TSA.

The things she never steps onto a plane without…

I have seizures, so my dogs, which are trained for response, are my #1 travel buddies!

Past that, I've got to have a backup battery for my iPhone; nothing is worse than a dead phone at the airport. You need it for ticketing, finding your gate, luggage pickup, and calling a car.

If it's a long-haul flight, I love a silk sleep mask to block out the light and headphones that cover my whole ear.

The trip she’s looking forward to this summer…

We love the cabins at Crow's Nest in Montauk. Packing is such a breeze: white cotton dresses, workout clothes, and sneakers for bike rides, swimsuits, and dog food. We pick up a few groceries at Citarella on the way in, and that's it!

The most labor-intensive part of packing is probably my beauty kit: I take body and face sunscreen, tinted SPF, and setting spray so my makeup doesn't melt off.

The buzzy (and provocative) book she’ll be reading on the beach…

All my friends are raving about A Year On Earth With Mr. Hell by Young Kim. I think it's going to be this summer's The Guest by Emma Cline. I'm saving it for a beach chair!

Thanks, Somsack and Jess! Part three—the final installment—is coming next week with two special guests, Aliza Sir and Elise Hu. ❤️

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Now for 5 quick things I noted this week, including a big decision I made that relieved so much stress…...