Miami Tips, Game-day Outfits and Fall Fragrances
With Nicole Loscavio, Sr Director of Partnerships at Inter Miami!
Hi friends,
For our next guest edit, we’re delighted to welcome Nicole Loscavio! Nicole and Cait met while working at Levi’s, trauma bonded through a Super Bowl, pulled birthday pranks on coworkers (she’s a real Prank Sinatra) and she along with both OT authors attended the 1989 tour together! Cait and Rach sporting matching “Starbucks Lovers” tanks, as one would in 2015. Nicole went on to manage partnerships for the Sacramento Kings and then was courted by David Beckham himself (kidding, but she has breathed the same air as him!) to join the squad at Inter Miami to do the same. Nicole agreed to share some Miami inside scoop and what she’s reading/eating/buying with us all.
Enjoy!
Rach + Cait
Open Tabs
CP: You just got back from an insane travel sprint — a wedding in Mallorca (congrats to Kinsey, an OT reader!), Spain and NYC. During your travels, did anything catch your eye to buy? Any restaurants or shops back in Miami you’re excited to visit?
NL: First of all I have to say, traveling to Europe with a toddler is not for the faint of heart! So this trip was less of the beach-clubs-and-wine-bars that’s usually our Europe vibe and no time for shopping, unfortunately! Now that we’re home, I’m patiently awaiting the end of hurricane season (my first one - WILD!) and the arrival of fall. Florida natives say it’ll finally cool down in November, so I’ve started browsing for my fall/winter wardrobe. I’ve got my eye on these J.Crew booties that seem like they’d be able to weather the Miami rainfall. Are trench coats still in? Because I’ve been looking for a good staple to add to my closet. Do I go classic with this Sézane trench, sporty with this one from Athleta, or light-weight & water-repellent (sensing a Miami theme?) with this one from Soia & Kyo?
I have a few important Miami Open Tabs that we want to get around to this fall. At the very top of the list is Tâm Tâm, a Vietnamese spot that I found on your Miami list Cait, which everyone here has validated! Dying to get to Chèvre for an artisan sandwich and to shop their famous cheese & cheesecake selection. And I’m constantly refreshing @Bigfacebrand on IG – which is Heat star Jimmy Butler’s coffee brand, as he’s supposed to be opening his first coffee shop in the Design District this fall!
It’s not too soon to start thinking about Christmas, right? Advent calendars have become a bit of a thing in the Loscavio-Wise household, with our dogs each getting their own every year! I have my eyes on this BARK Advent Calendar filled with treats and toys! This year I want to include our 1-year old daughter Sophia in this tradition, but don’t want her eating 24 days of chocolate, so I have my eyes on this Little People Toddler Toys Advent Calendar, which I think would be really fun! For myself, I’m thinking this Williams Sonoma 24 Days of Baking Cookies Calendar as I’m an avid baker, but my ultimate Treat Yo Self dream would be this Diptyque advent calendar that I envy every year!
CP: Love that my Miami map has been useful and can’t wait to go to the places on it with you in a few short weeks! Let’s see if Florida(!!!) really is one hell of a drug.
In that vein, I’ve already started eyeing stuff for our NYE Miami trip. A designer that feels right at home in southern Florida is Justine Menard. Her glass necklaces like this one would be so cool with an ivory silk top. I also like this strapless tank with neck tie or this slinky halter for the Miami humidity, maybe with a shell bag that isn’t TOO on the nose? These sculptural silver earrings, oval sunglasses, highlighter and this red lip (obviously) also are on my packing wishlist.
Similarly, I’ve been shopping like a fiend for my upcoming girls trip to New Orleans for Halloween. After making multiple Google Slides moodboards of potential costume ideas (bless my patient pals who fielded these), I landed on recreating the Claire Danes angel ensemble from the Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet. To make it even more unnecessarily niche, I’m going to attempt to recreate this makeup look from when Euphoria mimicked Claire’s costume, using this eyeshadow made by the show’s makeup artist. I’m also into these square sunglasses, this silky Doen top, this pointelle tank or this frilly sheer shirt with this multi-strand vintage necklace to wear when not in costume. Aspirationally, I think this Mr Larkin fringe dress would be so cool in the ole big easy, too.
As for restaurants, I’m excited to have a little date night at Pearl Box, a new bar in Soho offering reservations via DM and caviar service (among other things) and to pick up pastries from the Brooklyn location of Smør, a Scandinavian bakery.
RKH: Trench coats are always in, IMO! Truly timeless. I vote for the Soia and Kyo option. And Cait, you really are queen of the outfit moodboard. I can’t wait to see your Halloween and NYE looks!
Sports Season is officially underway in my house (and likely in yours too, given the “Sports Equinox” yesterday), and I'm always trying to infuse *some* of my personality into gameday outfits. Who else is inspired by ScarJo wearing her The Met hat to the Mets game? Iconic. Typically I'm looking at Etsy, or for vintage t-shirts, most often locally but have had some success on eBay, too! I like the Stoney Clover Lane x NFL collab from earlier this year, and if I was a headband or bow girly the Lele Sadoughi options are also very cute. Also on my radar: this *sports* crew neck, a green varsity jacket from Sporty and Rich (or this BlankNYC version for ~$400 less!), the Sky Ting collegiate sweatshirt and LAX shorts, this customizable Gameday Social Club hat and an oversized striped rugby shirt.
Also in the cart of my dreams: the Ed Ruscha x Flamingo Estate honey collab, these Prada velvet platform sandals, this Ralph Lauren fleece pullover in black, the pavé diamond raincloud necklace from Logan Hollowell (because the real deal is $6k - maybe one day!), the Kallmeyer Clara stirrup trousers mentioned in , this brown suede bag and this pink flower Murano ceiling light (soo cute!).
CP: Mike gave me the white version of that Met hat when we moved to New York, with the intention that I could wear it to Mets games! Great minds 😂
Closed Tabs
CP: Any exceptional meals in Miami lately? Or, recent purchases that stood out for you?
NL: My most important closed tab is something only toddler parents will relate to, but we recently secured the infamous Ms. Rachel Speak & Sing Doll for Sophia, which will without a doubt be the highlight of her Christmas…if we can wait that long to give it to her! The pre-sale for this doll gave me Jingle All The Way vibes (90s kids will know)!
One of my favorite meals I’ve had so far in Miami was dinner at Pastis! Everything was delicious, but the standouts were the escargot (I was surprised but YUM) and their pickle martini that I often think of fondly. I don’t know if this is a hot take, but I think Miami has great Italian food - especially in Coral Gables where we live. There are so many good options, but Zucca is a Coral Gables classic where I haven’t had a pasta dish I didn’t like! We’ve become regulars at Terre del Sapore because pizza is one of Sophia’s main food groups and they have an amazing wood-fire oven that makes me want to book another trip to Rome! A South Beach favorite for good measure - Call me Gaby, where the vibes were just as good as the food.
CP: Pastis has one of my favorite burgers in NYC! Keith McNally (the owner) is a character but the man sure knows how to serve a martini.
I’ve been on a quest for a fall/winter fragrance, which brought me to the door of Stéle, a new Williamsburg boutique that offers tons of independent perfume brands and cool candles. SO useful to “try before you buy” when it comes to scents. The standouts for me (as a white floral/citrus gal) were the spicy, neroli jasmine mix of Verdades by Maison d’Etto and the tuberose-heavy Tóor Tóor by NYC-based Regime Des Fleurs, which I ended up snagging. Bonus — Stéle ships samples of certain perfumes nationwide, if you want to try!
While in Williamsburg SoHo 2.0, I walked by a new vintage boutique, Ebreo. Come to find out, the founder used to pop-up in our old neighborhood before securing his retail space and he actually had sold Mike a wool coat last winter! Their selection of Italian outerwear was truly stellar. Around the corner, I had to go see the updated version of one of my favorite NYC vintage spots, Chickees, which is now called Sorbara’s. Their new space is stunning and combines their inventory of men’s and women’s luxury vintage, so it’s a much tighter assortment. I, selfishly, miss the old stores, where it felt like a bit more of a treasure hunt. But, this new one is definitely elevated!
Food-wise, we recently had an incredible meal at Bridges, a new spot in Chinatown opened by Estela alums. The space was quietly buzzing and full of industry friends (literally, I ran into two people!), but not in an annoying new-restaurant way. Everything from the service to the design to the food had a light-touch but was simultaneously very special. Highly recommend the sea urchin custard (trust me! So velvety) and the toasted meringue dessert.
RKH: I recently ran out of my forever favorite Osea Undaria Algae body oil, and then remembered I had picked up the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse as part of my French Pharmacie shopping spree (apologies for yet another reference to our June issue!). I love it, and I feel like it just *smells* like what Paris smells like? There are threads in the r/fragrance subreddit dedicated to this very idea, and the general consensus seems to be that Paris smells like … Nuxe Oil. It’s very good and very specific. Also on the beauty front, with the Sephora sale starting this week (where my fellow Rouge tiers at? Pray for our wallets) I’m planning to re-up on a few of my go-to’s, specifically the goop Vitamin C eye cream, the refill for my 5oz Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream and Dieux Instant Angel.
We’ve officially been back in Portland for four years as of this month (how?!) and the annual pilgrimage to the Nike employee store has really cemented for me that we’re back in the PNW. I picked up a pair of brown and white Dunks, and this cropped black puffer that is already on heavy rotation. And of course, some teeny little baby sneaks!
Open Books
CP: Since I feel partially responsible for you crying on your honeymoon after reading an emotional scene in a Sarah J Maas book I recommended (sorry, Jason!), very curious what’s on your kindle right now.
NL: So funny that we were just texting about ANOTHER Sarah J Maas scene that made me sob as I finished the 3rd book in the Crescent City series! My heart feels a little hollow now that I’m caught up on the Maas-multiverse. I’m currently on #43 of my 30 book goal for the year! A couple recent favorites include The Book of Doors which is a time-travely fantasy thriller about ‘unusual books’, Tom Lake which I listened to on audiobook and was narrated by the iconic Meryl Streep. A few books in my queue that I can’t wait to read are Somewhere Beyond the Sea (the sequel to the adorable book The House in the Cerulean Sea), Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and The Brothers Hawthorne which is the most recent book in The Inheritance Games saga!
CP: Having recommended Brothers Hawthorne in this very newsletter, I co-sign! I’m currently borrowing The Ministry of Time (t/y Lindsey!) and it’s really living up to the hype. Caroline, of Sentimental Garbage (wouldn’t be an OT if I didn’t mention SG) said it was one of her favorite books of the year, so I knew it had to be excellent. I’m also excited to pickup the Cafe Cecilia cookbook, ahead of FINALLY eating there on a London trip next year.
RKH: Is this a safe space to admit that fantasy just isn’t my bag? I love this for you both, though and I am in FULL support of a little escapism! I just devoured everyone’s summer fav, God of the Woods, and also flew through Entitlement, the latest book from Ruuman Alam (author of Leave the World Behind). You know when you’re filled with anxiety watching a character make bad decision after bad decision but you can’t look away? That’s how this read was for me. Reminds me of this New Yorker piece that came out recently about the recent “women’s mid-life crisis” novels - an interesting read, if you’re also a fan of the “women behaving badly” genre I love so much! I also just got my copy of Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker and am excited to read.
Open Obsessions
CP: There are lots of pop-culture things we all jointly obsess over (red carpet fashion, being an oldest daughter), curious what show/podcast/meme/trend is taking up real estate in your brain these days?
NL: I am currently OBSESSING over the movie adaptation of Wicked, which isn’t surprising as the Broadway show is my all time favorite–and I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve seen it seven times! Not only am I a sucker for a good licensed product campaign, but my Tiktok FYP is filled with videos of Cynthia and Ariana’s recent interviews and I can’t get enough. Plus my SNL cutie Bowen Yang is in the movie! Speaking of Bowen … like Rach mentioned last edition, I’m currently (still) obsessed with Moo Deng. So much so that a hippo will be one of my daughter’s two halloween costumes this year! Her other costume will be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, so yes, Wicked really is my entire personality right now!
When it comes to TV, my husband and I are currently loving The Penguin on MAX which stars a completely unrecognizable Colin Farrell as the title character. I’ll happily tune in to just about anything HBO wants to put out while we wait for HOTD S3 and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms coming in 2025!
CP: The Penguin is SO so good. Especially episode 4 — give Cristin Milioti her Emmy!!
To keep with the DC Comics theme, I recently saw this video of Suki Waterhouse pranking Batman (Rob Pattinson) by convincing him she’d signed them up to be the new hosts of Love Island. His support of her, even when he thought the idea was “mad,” was very precious!
RKH: Suki <333 I love her. Ok on the topic of Wicked - my current obsession is (unfortunately) the SNL bridesmaids Espresso skit. Who else can’t get “deeeerect from Domingo” out of their heads??
That’s all for Nicole’s guest issue! To see more of what we talked about, including Rach and Cait’s Starbucks Lovers tanks, follow OT’s Instagram at @opentabsletter or shop all of our issues here.
