Trigger warning for millennial women.
The shoe we were all praying wouldn't make a comeback is making a comeback.
Good morning.
NEWS:
Sexual wellness brand Dame is launching at-home STI tests. The brand, known for its vibrators and lube, is moving into the health space with four STI kits, which are available on the brand’s site starting Thursday. Tests include Gonorrhea & Chlamydia, HIV, Syphilis STI Test Kit 1-site, $125; Gonorrhea & Chlamydia, HIV, Syphilis STI Test Kit 3-site, $150; Gonorrhea & Chlamydia STI Test Kit 1-site, $70, and Gonorrhea & Chlamydia STI Test Kit 3-site, $140. After purchasing the kits, users will take the test at home, ship it to a lab and then will receive virtual results. After years of searching, the team partnered with Ash Wellness (cool site), an at-home diagnostic testing company that has more than 10 labs across the U.S. that service the tests to ensure an efficient turnaround time. I think this will do well — no matter how de-stigmatized and available testing is, people still dread the experience of doing it. I’m curious if brands like Maude and Julie will follow similar trajectories this year. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of women who are not pregnant are ordering abortion pills via telemedicine just in case they might need them someday, especially in states where access is threatened, according to a study published on Tuesday.
L’Appartement 4F’s business story is one of the best that came out of COVID. During the pandemic, owners Gautier and Ashley Coiffard delivered pastries that they marketed on Instagram. They eventually opened a brick and mortar bakery in Brooklyn Heights. This week, they announced that they had signed a lease in the West Village at 119 West 10th Street, between Greenwich and Sixth avenues. And want to know what’s cool? The building is James Beards’ old apartment. “Brooklyn Heights will always be our baby but excited to bring our croissants to Manhattan,” they wrote on Instagram. The Coiffards opened the first location of L’Appartement 4F in 2022. The bakery became an online sensation for selling boxes of mini croissant cereal for $50. Its croissants and other baked goods continue to draw a crowd.
After working at Vogue for 4 years, news editor Sarah Spellings announced she’s leaving. Where to, she has not announced yet. Speaking of Vogue, they recently took that open Digital Director role down, so hopefully we know who’s getting that job soon. They have a lot of work to do…