Please don't ask me if these pants make you look fat 😔

+ Ensemble Weddings is back!

“I don’t want to categorise the shape of a stranger's body and determine its worth. I don’t want to look into her eyes and see the smile drop the longer I am silent. My own relationship with my body is a minefield; I don’t want to trip on someone else’s and go kaboom.”

I was really moved by Rosanna H.S Meikle’s beautifully written essay about retail woes and the body issues many of us share — from her perspective as retail staff. And that headline! It immediately sets the tone for vulnerability and honesty, coming from a 24-year-old “surrounded by wonderful older woman, learning lessons that are worthy of sharing” (her words). I first read it after we published a similar story about retail and body image, and it felt like the perfect companion — a bookend to that conversation, directly from the shop floor.

I’ve written here before about both Rebecca and my shared history as ‘shop girls’, and had lots of chats with others about their time in retail (Emma once worked at Country Road; Dan at Ralph Lauren Newmarket, RIP). With physical retail under immense pressure (just last week, both Smith & Caughey’s and Tanya Carlson announced the closure of their longstanding stores), it feels like working the shop floor, and helping customers feel good in their own skin, is more complex than ever.

PSA: Upgrade today for $7 a month or $75 a year and you’ll get access to May’s ‘Nice Things we spent our own money on’, which we’ll be sending to paid subscribers on Friday. It’s a humdinger edition too!

A Mediterranean elopement, with an after-party in Tāmaki Makaurau

“We’re not big on anything too ostentatious or flashy, but we’re definitely perfectionists (and probably pretentious design snobs), so we wanted everything to be right. Words like ‘classy’ and ‘timeless’ feel quite loaded (is anything really timeless?) but they were definitely what we had in mind.”

India-Rose Clavis Kohika and Sam Clavis’ wedding story spanned Matakana island to Malta, with an after-party at Basement theatre.

Last call: Ensemble Supper Club, this Thursday

If it’s been on your mind, now’s the time as there are only a couple of seats left: this is your final chance to grab a ticket for our intimate dinner party in the San Ray private dining room, featuring special guest actor Morgana O’Reilly. Enjoy a three-course meal from San Ray, perfectly matched with Grava wines, alongside great company and conversation. Plus, you’ll take home a $50 Juliette Hogan voucher and an Emma Lewisham Sunceutical SPF50 Mineral Glow Serum (valued at $89).

22 cool people on their ultimate wellbeing treat, at any price

“We are all made differently, and wellness is a buffet,” writes Rebecca Wadey. “What will work for one person won’t necessarily sit well with another.” So she asked a handful of the best people in the biz to share their wellbeing essential, at any cost.

This new portrait series celebrates African creatives in Tāmaki

To celebrate Africa Month, and the influence of African diaspora shaping the future of creativity, photographer Synthia Bahati used her camera to spotlight 11 local talents in a tribute to community, visibility and creative presence.

The Ensemble Edit

Things we’ve seen, saved and shared, a column for our paid subscribers. This week, recommendations from Zoe.

💄 Sometimes, targeted digital marketing works: it recently alerted me to the fact that Bobbi Brown’s beauty brand Jones Road now ships to New Zealand, yay! Bobbi is the queen of no-makeup-makeup, aka my whole vibe, and I’m excited to try the Miracle Balm and the famous What The Foundation.