In late April the New York Times deputy editor Dodai Stewart made an impassioned if straightforward argument: The entire nation needs a simultaneous—and, this part is key, paid—week off. Although filed in the paper’s “After Thoughts” column, Stewart’s decree stopped me in my tracks and remained lodged in the foreground of my mind. Stewart admitted she didn’t have answers to all the questions that such a concept inevitably dredges up (“How will hospitals function? Who will feed the tigers at the zoo?”), but that isn’t much the point. In the past year I’ve done as many in my peer group have: wistfully daydreaming, manifesting, willing an escape from the ever-present weight of responsibilities and work—reveries that remained just that, too paralyzed by the precarity of everything to even exhale. For me, Stewart’s piece raised another hard-to-answer question: When was my last proper vacation?
“I think we're at such a societal point of fatigue that a genuine 'summer slowdown,' as Charlie Warzel wrote, feels essential,” Anne Helen Petersen, author of Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, explains by email. (She and Warzel, her partner, are next cowriting a book on working from home.) “We need actual delineated time not just to rest, but to grieve and process—things that many of us have had very little time to do. I think you can fill a vacation with activities and distraction, but it's also important to just have some time to do nothing.”
A free-for-all week shouldn’t be an opportunity to fill the void with endless scrolling, both women point out. What is there to do, then, without Instagram and Netflix? The recent legalization of recreational marijuana in more states offers one idea, Stewart says. Another is simply to spend time with one's own thoughts or with friends, having what Petersen calls the “sort of implicit or explicit processing time that we've avoided or haven't had the intimacy (or physical proximity) to really engage in.”
This proposal to clock out and unplug arrives at a time when people are starting to re-evaluate the relationship between productivity and success. When I was younger, I equated a long career with a proper, well-lived life. But by high school, that framework fell under scrutiny when older friends made it clear to me they only worked in order to live a life they loved. For them, that meant taking extended Colorado camping trips, frequenting music festivals, following a beloved band’s tour. But the same logic also applies to the rest of us, I’ve come to realize, after diving deeper into my political beliefs and understanding of capitalism. Living to live is exactly the point—and that doesn’t mean indulgent reprieves. I’m determined to make dreamy musings a reality even in small ways.
“I like thinking of it as a slowdown, or a rest, and not a ‘vacation,’ which has come to signify some sort of competitive, performative leisure,” explains Petersen, who likes to spend time away from work in her own backyard. “Gardening is enveloping and rewarding, and there's always more of it. Plus, she adds, “you're outside.”
That simple directive—to get outside, without your phone in hand—guides this list of Vanity Fair editors’ escapist essentials. Of course, new books and sun hats and things won’t solve the state of burnout many of us have been pushing through for months. (There is little comfort in studies that correlate oppressively long work hours with dire consequences, but some employers are apparently wringing their hands about a looming “vaccine vacation crunch.”) It will take time to chip away at the live-to-work mindset and the systems that reinforce it. In the meantime, we make lemonade. Lots and lots of lemonade.
“Protect your baby’s head, but make it cute! These bonnets are beyond precious—a great gift, and a nice price point. (The Nigerian-Canadian founder named her company after the Yoruba words for “crown” and “joy,” and the bonnet perfectly reflects that.)” —Claire Howorth, executive editor
“After not having done it in what seems like forever, flying once again feels a bit whimsical. In a love letter to the mode of transport, Come Fly With Me highlights the celebrity lane of zipping through the sky. Could there be a better source of inspiration for your return flight home than flipping through pages of the chicest jet-setters in history?” —Daniela Tijerina, executive assistant
“In my favorite episode of this podcast, ‘Garden to Table...and Cocktail Shaker,’ host and all things plant-care enthusiast Mangesh Hattikudur makes the case for thinking of the garden as an extension of the bar cart—to yummy results!” —Arimeta Diop, editorial assistant
“Leather and beach aren’t words that align. A transition to a bag of a woven variety is a welcome refresh after months of slogging around the heavier ilk. This Loewe yellow bag is as sunny as it is lightweight.” —Daisy Shaw-Ellis, accessories director
“This natural-leaning outdoors brand had my back (and legs and arms) last summer, by way of Golden Hour—its DEET-free insect repellent that I used throughout a long, muggy hike. (The cheery bottle is an added bonus.) Now comes another skin saver: a new solid balm designed to soothe bug bites and other flare-ups. The formula pairs nourishing ingredients (colloidal oatmeal, shea butter) with anti-inflammatory arnica and cajeput, which helps tamp down itching. It’s definitely coming with me on the next hike.” —Laura Regensdorf, beauty director
“Every summer I look forward to that post–beach day, post-shower transition to evening—when your skin is perfectly sun-kissed, your hair is still damp with saltwater, and you can finally slip into that perfect sundress to head to dinner. That's the exact feeling that Miaou has bottled up and poured into this ocean blue mini dress.” —DT
“I use everything and anything Kiehl’s, but these two products are summertime standouts. The sativa cleanser has a fresh, outdoorsy scent, makes me feel like I’m camping, and complements my documented passion for Vitabath. The sunscreen goes on ultra-light and never irritates my extremely sensitive skin and eyes, which is a serious feat—plus it actually works. Two decades of trying facial sunscreens and this is the only one that I rely on.” —CH
“Ami Colé has been on my radar since 2019 when their mood-board posts celebrating melanin-rich skin captivated me. Not only does this kit fit my makeup philosophy (minimal, enhancing, subtle), but it feels especially enriching to support a fellow Senegalese person celebrating and uplifting the culture.” —AD
“I must have read this for the first time some summer—I have a vague recollection of brushing sand from its pages—because in Pavlovian fashion, as the weather gets warm and the possibility of sprawling waterside approaches, I itch for this brilliant and singular novel, published just over a decade ago. In it, a single mom raises her precocious kid as though he’s some kind of 19th-century princeling with a curriculum of dead languages and Kurosawa films and classical music history, which young Ludo tackles voraciously while secretly searching for the father he’s never met. Laugh, cry, brush up on your Ancient Greek.” —Keziah Weir, senior editor
“Showering after a sweaty, SPF-greasy day at the beach: sublime. Washing away that natural eau d’ocean: sad. This soap, which is packed with gritty sea salt and moisturizes exactly the way six hours at the Rockaways doesn’t, is like taking a shower in the Hollywood version of a seaside vacation. Take it on a trip to amplify the environs; use it at home to pretend you’re away.” —KW
“The barely there sandal is a summer staple. The minimalist approach of this St. Agni pair gives them the versatility we’re all looking for this summer.” —DS
“The most inviting means of exfoliation might be a handful of saltwater-damp sand, but it’s best to get a jump on things beforehand. This new allover scrub takes sensory cues from the tropics, with notes of orange blossom, dragon fruit, and heady tuberose. The formula itself, with sugar and coconut oil, buffs and replenishes skin at the same time.” —LR
“I may not have ever said, ‘I’ve always wanted a cabana,’ but the fact is, I’ve always wanted a cabana. Business & Pleasure has their algorithms primed, apparently, because their perfect-looking beach gear just follows me around on social media, and now I’m infecting all of you.” —CH
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What to Pack for the Weeklong Rest We All Deserve - Vanity Fair
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