MERMAID CAFÉ is a newsletter/blog/community/lifestyle brand/Goop 2.0/fashion oasis. It’s about how fashion informs our lives and what it means to give into fashion as a sensory pleasure.
It’s written by me, writer and HALOSCOPE Editor-in-Chief Savannah Eden Bradley. I’ve worked in fashion journalism and criticism since I was a teenager. My work has appeared in Business Insider, L’Officiel, and Rookie (RIP), among other outlets, and I currently work as a freelance critic, fashion consultant, and trendspotter.
What is Mermaid Café?
For the past several years, my DMs have been deluged with panicked requests, from how to get a good deal on a pair of custom cowboy boots to how to dress for your adult conversion to Catholicism. Of course, I always answer.
In the process of doing that answering — and growing HALOSCOPE — I’ve built a community of fashion acolytes, jewelry hoarders, devoted slowmaxxers, yes-I-make-my-own-soap-why-do-you-ask-ers, and so on. I’ve always felt like there’s a dearth of spaces online to talk about fashion&living in an emotionally instructive, free-spirited, “”bohemian”” (sorry) way that does away with pollarded convention. This is that place.
I want people to see clothes the way I see them and bear witness to their instruction. I want to write thoughtfully about fashion’s blithe emotional power, from crying in the dressing room to how a good pair of jeans can be a metaphysical experience. Most of all, though, I want to explore all of this with you — essays, shopping guides, recommendations, Q+A’s, podcast eps, and more.
This is the first project I’ve ever led as ~*Savannah Eden Bradley*~ and not an invisible hand behind the wheel. People tell me I have “very specific tastes” which is usually an insult but not wholly incorrect. I am very discerning, overly critical, horribly ambitious, incredibly particular, and skeptical of all neatly-defined causes. I once spent seven whole months trying to find the exact right pair of baby blue Swedish Hasbeens and didn’t even buy them. I dislike meretricious displays of connoisseurship and love dressing like I’ve been lost in the desert for 30 years. This newsletter is named after a Joni Mitchell song about running away to Greece and doing a bunch of coke. I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself. I know who I am — and what I love and loathe — very deeply. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place.
ANYWAYS! I’ve been writing for a decade, now, and I’ve always longed for a space where cool people talk about cool things, especially when it comes to fashion. Mermaid Café is just you, me, my broken closet, and a lot of are.na links. Whether you have a paid subscription or a free one, I’m happy you’re here.
You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter for updates, visit my website, or subscribe to HALOSCOPE to read my other work.
Everybody gets two occasionally free newsletters:
MERMAID CAFÉ (every Tuesday) — dispatches on fashion and living, shopping roundups, critical responses to beauty/wellness/culture, Q+A’s, playlists, podcast eps, and more
🦪 OFF-MENU 🦪 (every Friday) — round-ups of the things I love, from oyster rings to Robert Altman’s Nashville, along with new things I’ve discovered (as recommended by you!)
You actually get so many cool things if you pay btw. Paid subscribers get:
Access to all past and future articles from Mermaid Café and 🦪 OFF-MENU 🦪
Access to the Mermaid Café subscriber chat (I’ll be in there every week too— sharing things I love, answering questions, and more)
The ability to suggest topics for future posts
The ability to comment on articles
My eternal gratitude
If you want to be a 🕯🧜🏻♀♾️ Forever Mermaid ♾️🧜🏻♀️🕯, aka a Founding Member ($100/year), you get everything in the Paid tier and some occasional founder-only posts where I divulge my deepest, darkest secrets. Plus, you’ll be paying it forward for people who can’t afford the Paid subscription. For every 50 Founding Member signups I receive, I comp 10 paid subscriptions for people who can’t afford it. The comp program launches in November, so be on the lookout for more information.
