Let's Get Coastal Weird, Shell We?
Exploring fashion's latest food obsession: dressing like a seafood tower. Plus, glowy skin essentials, family beach gear, and insight from an intuitive medium!
Editor’s note.
It’s me, hi. Before we dive into all the eclectic, cool, coastal crustacean weirdness, I wanted to share something that’s been on my mind lately.
When I started dreaming up Bedtime Treat, I knew I wanted to do two things: make people laugh and make them think.
I didn’t want to dissect every fashion trend to death or give you another boring-ass roundup of pros, cons, and sterile product reviews. I wanted this to be light, but not mindless. A source of style inspo, pleasure, and discovery. A place where women, moms especially, could find cool things for themselves and their kids, feel seen, and maybe look at fashion, beauty, and life a little differently.
I also genuinely enjoy testing new products and sharing what’s good with you. Like trying on clothes IRL, sometimes the best stuff is the pieces or the products I thought I would like the least. Go figure.
Really, I wanted this newsletter to feel like an easy summer beach read (brain break) and serve as a thoughtful conversation (brain candy). A little substance, a little shopping indulgence, but always fun, honest, relatable, and inspirational. A Bedtime Treat from me to you, best enjoyed after your little monsters are finally asleep and you have a second to yourself. ❤️
Now, on to the important stuff: dressing like seafood.
Eat so many shrimp we get iodine poisoning.
You are what you eat, so maybe it was only a matter of time before we became… seafood. Uh, yum. Shout out to Pimp C and Three 6 Mafia (IYKYK). Though I just Googled iodine poisoning, and apparently you’d have to house 207 lbs of shrimp in a single sitting to show symptoms, so now I feel sort of lied to!? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, do yourself a favor and give the song Sippin’ on Some Syrup a listen. It’s a classic.
While prawns aren’t exactly fashion’s fave crustacean to slap on a tote or sweater, shellfish, particularly lobsters, are very much the current vibe. Sardine girl summer 26 is still going strong, and seashells are all of a sudden very chic: dangling from necks, ears, ankles, bags, and sandals too.
Everywhere I look, it’s all conch shell clutches and crustacean cardigans. The whole marine animal motif is served up on everything from silky skirts and track shorts to colorful beaded anklets, terry striped beach totes, and fancy flip-flops that look like a mermaid DIY’d them. And bikinis with shells to hold your tits up. Honestly, love this one from L SPACE.
If you told me a few years ago I’d be drooling over a $300 shellfish bag or excitedly shopping for a puka shell necklace again, I would have told you to STFU. My 7-year-old daughter lives for this kind of stuff, as kids do. She owns a sequin seashell crossbody bag that changes color with a swipe of her hand and sweet-talked me into buying her a sparkly blue mini backpack shaped like some sort of sea creature on a Royal Caribbean cruise last year.
But me? A grown woman dressed like a tin of fish or toting a $600 shiny clutch shaped like a fish. Um, I guess? And to be clear, I’d never spend $600 on a fish bag no matter how much I liked it…the math just ain’t mathing. But if a brand wants to gift me one, go ahead (I live at the beach so we are practically swimming in collab options over here)! I’ll style the shit out of a seabass or beaded lobster clutch. In the name of journalism, right?
Quiet Luxury Lobster
The seafood trend is very much split into two camps. We’ve got little Miss Lobster Luxe, Crab Couture, and Minimalist Mediterranean girl who is no stranger to Nantucket summers and yacht life. She loves a simple but chic raffia tote for day, which she trades for a sleek, sophisticated metallic shell clutch for night. Her perfect white tee is emblazoned with a single tiny lobster, paired with breezy bermuda shorts and simple thong or fisherman sandals. Think a more pared-back version of Coastal Kitsch that looks effortlessly expensive, and probably is.
Modern Mediterranean Mermaid
And then there's the Boho Babe Who Just Crawled Out of the Ocean, wearing a starfish bikini, carrying a fish for a bag, and draped in what looks like a fishing net. She's a modern Mediterranean mermaid with an eye for all things weird, wonderful, and shellfishy. This girl dresses like she's permanently on vacation and isn't afraid to have fun with it. Think saturated colors, cheeky prints, and enough quirky jewelry to stock a seaside gift shop, but somehow she still makes it look chic.
“If you’ve felt your whole wardrobe drift toward the tide this year, you’re not imagining it, and it’s not just a ‘summer vibe.’ It’s something deeper. Energetically, we are being called to the water.” - Janet Rae Orth
So why are we craving crustaceans?
One thing about me: I love a little woo woo. Before I got into fashion, I actually majored in psychology. I've always been fascinated by why we buy the things we buy, why certain trends go viral, and what they’re really telling us.
So when my PR friend Daniella pitched Intuitive Medium, Spiritual Coach and Energy Healer Janet Rae Orth for this story, it felt divinely aligned. According to Orth, there's a reason we're suddenly drawn to shells, sardines, lobsters, and dressing like a seafood platter (and it’s not just because it’s summer).
“We’re in a double Fire Horse year,” she explains, “and water is the antidote.”
Whether you buy into the energetic side of it or not, I think she's onto something. I’ve been feeling so much pressure lately. To do more, be more, work more, but also be present with my kids more. “Water represents a completely different way of creating: with ease, from a place of flow instead of force,” she says.
Maybe that’s why coastal everything feels so good right now? Shells are cute, but they also remind us of our children, vacations, slower mornings, simpler times, salty air, and the unplugged version of ourselves that isn’t constantly checking emails or Substack notifications every five minutes (guilty).
“Astrologically, several of the outer planets, which symbolize broad cultural shifts and generational change, are moving into new signs. Together, they mark the beginning of a new collective chapter — one energetically oriented toward ease, abundance, creative renaissance, and joy, after a long stretch defined by grind culture.”
Orth also believes we’re entering a broader cultural shift away from hustle culture and toward more ease, creativity, and play, which is already being reflected in our wardrobes. From bold color combinations to punchy prints and kitschy accessories, it feels like everyone is having so much fucking fun getting dressed right now. Joyce Lee’s post on unexpected color pairings is the perfect example of this playful dressing mindset. The girls just want to have fun, whether it’s in loud colors or a quirky lobster cardigan.
“Nobody goes to the ocean to work. We go to play, to float, to let our minds go soft and quiet,” says Orth.
Coastal kitsch embodies that energy. It’s playful. It’s a little weird. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. And personally, I love that.
5 Glowy Summer Skin Essentials
A few glowy things I tested and loved this week.
Epiclight Luminizing Glow Gel: Packed with skincare ingredients and peptides, including Argireline, which Vogue has dubbed “Botox in a bottle”. I don’t think this is replacing your Botox anytime soon, but it is a very good, very lightweight, silky glow gel that effortlessly melts into your skin and can be used as a highlighter or an all-over bronze for your face and/or body. I love mixing the Universal Bronze with my foundation for a lil glow-up (makes my dry skin look instantly younger/fresher!). Flushed lives up to its name with a healthy, natural flush (I use it as blush), while Rose Gold gives the backs of my hands an expensive-looking, just-moisturized sheen.
Balibody Sheer Glow Sunscreen Gel SPF 50: Not a greasy tanning oil, I swear. It’s actual sun protection in a weightless, non-sticky gel that won't ruin your clothes or your swimwear. It has that delicious and classic, nostalgic coconut scent and leaves my skin looking so hydrated and glowy. The results definitely speak for themselves!
No glitter, all glow. Lilfox Flower Goo: Look, there are a million good serums out there, but nobody is doing "scent-as-a-psyche-reset" quite like Lilfox. Like everything they make, Flower Goo is packed with naturally derived ingredients, but the real magic is how it turns your beauty routine into a meditation. If you’re going to financially justify one splurge this week, make it this. It is quite literally glass skin in a bottle, and the scent experience is transformational. Consider me fully indoctrinated into the cult of beauty rituals. Also, highly recommend pairing it with these intuitive beauty oracle cards.
Aeston West Cellevitae Marine Treatment Mist: TBH, this review sums up my thoughts perfectly: “Buy it for the scent and keep it for the results!” So dang yummy, hydrating, and refreshing. Also, true story, I thought it was a cellulite spray the first few days (it says Cellevitae on the bottle) so I was spritzing my legs and ass, oops. My butt has never felt softer. Not saying you should do this, but also not saying you shouldn’t.
Riddle Muse Roll-On Fragrance Oil + Muse Milky Spray Lotion: Smells like frolicking on the beach at golden hour. Very subtle, yet sexy. I’ve never dabbled with a spray lotion before, but now I’m not sure I can ever go back?
A Natural Deodorant That Doesn’t Suck
Felt like this deserved its own section, because I’ve tried so many natural deodorants over the years and have never used one that actually worked longer than a few hours.
I only tried Evolvetogether Deodorant on a whim. It was one of those rare “sure, I’ll test it” sample days. (Those are becoming fewer and farther between because I’m absolutely drowning in pitches, and a girl can only test so many things, you know?)
Anyway, I’m so glad I said yes. It smells delightfully fresh, like the first whiff you get when you walk into a high-end hotel spa. The clear roll-on formula glides on without leaving a single mark so you don’t have to worry about messing up your clothes.
The scent itself doesn’t necessarily linger all day, but somehow it completely neutralizes my underarm odor instead. Even on scorching hot days, I might catch the faintest hint of myself by the end of the day, but that’s honestly still better than what’s happening lately with my regular Dove deodorant.
Kids Menu: The Goldfish Edition
Shell(fish) accessories, cool crab goggles, a retro rainbow beach chair for you and them, plus more chic sea and summer thangs for the beach, backyard, pool and park.
Some summer stuff we’re using on repeat.
A couple of cute new launches for your minis.
Something to chew on.
A little Internet brain candy: things to inspire, make you think, or simply enjoy.
I instinctively chose Clownfish.
What animal did you pick? Was it exactly what you needed to hear right now?
Self-Reflections.
“Air is mental. Fire is passion and drive. Wood is productivity, structure, stability. But water is where the feeling lives: it’s depth, emotion, intuition, healing. Water doesn’t push or force anything into being; it flows around obstacles and finds the path of least resistance. It receives rather than grasps.” - Janet Rae Orth
**Small note: If you buy something through my links, I might make a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. Sometimes brands send me free things to try, but I only recommend products I actually like. Recommending bad shoes or subpar serums is just poor form (plus, I have a reputation to maintain). You can shop all my favorite finds and products featured in Bedtime Treat over on ShopMy.
The insight about water being the antidote is thrilling. I've had the pull to be near water all summer and have wondered why. Beautiful post!
A coastal feast for the eyes - loving all the shellfish vibes! So happy your littles are enjoying the Pigeon Water Bottle!! Thanks for including, Liz!