The Good Sort Selects 003

Everything we’re reading, watching, wanting, and generally enthusiastic about.

January 15, 2023

The Good Sort is a digital magazine from SearchBar — a shopping engine that serves extraordinary products from high-quality, purpose-driven brands and designers that aren’t on your radar.

Hello! It’s great to have you here. If you were forwarded this email by a friend, do us a favor and please subscribe. This week I’m sharing some of my favorite finds, the new show I’m swooning over, and more. Let’s get to it. — Danielle

Personal ShopperAs in things I’m personally digging this week.

  1. Play-Doh-green everything, but especially this oversized (on me, at least) hoodie.

  2. The wannabe marine biologist of my youth is excited to dive into Ocean: Exploring the Marine World. h/t Airmail

  3. A billowy blouse from No. 6 for sure, but royal blue or apricot?

  4. My sister-in-law let me borrow (Read: I went into the medicine cabinet sans invitation) a couple of pumps of Merit’s Glow Serum last month and I was instantly rewarded with a youthful visage. Please restock!

  5. Does my hot water bottle need an upgrade? Nope. Do I still think this cozy sheepskin cover is the dressing it needs and I deserve? Yep.

Why Made-to-Last has Become a Thing of the PastUnderpaid and overworked factory employees; a continuous cycle of microtrends; skyrocketing consumer demand — Izzie Ramirez breaks down the cultural shift in consumption, manufacturing, and product quality in her thoughtful piece for Vox.

Design has shifted more toward manufacturability and appearance than functionality, when it should be a balance of all three. Arguably, it’s nearly impossible for corporations to avoid participating in the trend cycle as long as consumers have an appetite for more — whether it’s a predilection for cooler clothing or whatever new incremental yet buzzy technology just came out. At the same time, the blame does not lie on consumers’ shoulders; corporations are responsible for creating and stoking the “new and more is better” culture we have today.

Read “Your stuff is actually worse now: How the cult of consumerism ushered in an era of badly made products” here. 

Shop TalkFor Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean, "it's not worth trying to buy things in real life anymore" — a sentiment he shares with journalist Lauren Sherman and, well, most everyone we can think of. That’s not to say he’s adding-to-cart with reckless abandon, or deserting in-person specialty shops altogether — he’s still focused on supporting independent makers and avoiding online marketplaces. Head over to to read his subscriber-only post with some online shopping strategies we can get behind.

And don’t miss The Good Sort's interview with Michael here, where he talks to us about the culture of consumerism, what to consider before making a purchase, and why time is his greatest extravagance.

Sarah put together a collection of goods inspired by A Continuous Lean, too. Check it out here.

At Your ServiceLast week, SearchBar got a request for help finding what I think is a wardrobe essential, when a blazer seems like too much, but a denim jacket won’t do: the chore jacket. Here’s a collection of picks from Sarah.

If you’re searching for something specific and can use an expert hand, hit her up.

Now You Know• In Florence, the boys are back in town for the autumn/winter ’23 menswear tradeshow, Pitti Uomo. New to the show, “PittiPets" for brands that make products for animals; and "The Sign", which debuted homeware at the show for the first time. Peep some looks from gents on the street like Mr. Mort, Kévis Manzi, and Carlos Do ínguez, and more.

• Now Playing: Paul T. Goldman, the suis generis meta masterpiece from Jason Woliner is so fantastically well-done in its believable unbelievableness (or maybe it’s unbelievable believableness) that I can’t sort out what’s real and what’s invented — even down to Paul, himself. I refuse to Google anything and spoil even one minute of my joyful giddiness. Stream it ASAP and then thank me ASAP.

• The internet is ablaze with news of Frank Ocean headlining Coachella (high five if you caught him with me in 2011 at the Bowery Ballroom!); i-D's calling it a comeback, which to me seems a bit hyperbolic — can’t anyone take a break?! Alas, the people want what the people want.

And on that note, Frank, play us out. 

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