Daily Skimm

EDITOR’S NOTE

Happy Sunday. It’s still balmy in New York, but did that stop me from buying my first vintage sweater of the season? Nope. So if anyone knows a spell to make cold weather come sooner, send it my way. Until then, I’ll…

Debate whether to add a new purse to my collection, thanks to pony hair — the undeniably sophisticated texture that instantly elevates shoes, coats, bags, and just about anything else. Horse girls, take note.
Whip up a batch of brownies using Ina Garten’s secret ingredient. I can personally attest that you can even add it to the boxed stuff, and everyone will think you made them from scratch. I won’t tell if you don’t.
Take the guesswork out of getting dressed for fall with these no-shopping-required outfit formulas. No. 2 is everything I want to wear to the farmer’s market the second it gets a little chillier.
Test-drive new-to-me color combos, after discovering this shockingly spot-on trick for taking fashion inspo from some of the least likely fruits. BRB, cosplaying as a fig.
Ease into closed-toe shoe season with these podiatrist-approved tips, because this 30-something’s daily-step count isn’t getting any lower. Did you know your feet can get bigger as you age? I, for one, did not.

— Julia Reinstein / Writer, Culture & Leisure / Brooklyn, NY

🫒 Think brown is the most expensive-looking suede? Stylish people disagree, and their alternative is being called “Fall’s Most Wearable Trend.”

💅 Attention, anyone who can’t function with long nails (read: us) — short, square nails are apparently the key to a cooler autumn mani. Someone check on Cynthia Erivo.

💎 Per the runways, wearing your jewelry the “wrong” way is about to be everywhere. If you see us with necklaces tucked into our shirts, blame Fashion.

🛍️ Pants haters, your time has come. Fall is officially the Season of the Skirt — and these seven impossibly chic outfits are all the proof you need.

🦶 Millennials, we take no joy in reporting that the tattoo placement once called the “equivalent of a permanent pair of skinny jeans” is having a renaissance. No, not the lower back.

It’s October 4, which means Anne Hathaway has, as promised, “vanish[ed] into a plume of smoke.” And on behalf of anyone (correction: everyone) whose 2026 looks embarrassingly low-output next to hers, praise be. Annie just pulled off something not even Press Tour Ultramarathoner Zendaya has managed: promoting five movies in a little over six months — all while carrying the future third heir to the Genovian throne. She transformed into a haunting pop star (everyone say, “thank you, Beyoncé”), brought back the bangs for The Devil Wears Prada 2, had the internet calling her “My Queen” after The Odyssey, and delivered a surprisingly good dinosaur movie. And for the final act of Anne Hathaway’s Year, she made out with Dakota Johnson in Verity (her idea, apparently) and ran a victory lap on the press circuit.

Of course, she continued her maternity-style master class with a look that proved wearing pleats and ruffles together could actually be chic (our prom dresses would like a word), an outfit memorably described as having “a built-in window” for her bump (🤔), and a gown that made us wonder if she was auditioning for Practical Magic 3. But she also delivered all the delightful moments we'd expect from someone thiiiiis close to the finish line. The Woman with the Most Ironic Allergy disclosed the, shall we say, superpower she developed during her third pregnancy (we’ll never look at NYC garbage the same). She went into full Mom Mode on the red carpet (Exhibit Z for why we’d trust her with our lives) and had the perfect reaction to the World’s Best Baby Gift. Plus, she revealed she has the mind of a 13-year-old boy (Anne, we also “shouldn’t be allowed in public sometimes”) and had Johnson admitting “I need help” when it comes to dating (Alexa, play “Patient Zero”). And when asked what book she’d write, she gave an answer so brilliant, Johnson could only respond with, “f*ck yeah.” In fact, the only thing she didn’t do? Go on Hot Ones — though, that’s because her doctor advised against it. All of which is to say: Anne, enjoy your year (well, five months) of rest and relaxation…or whatever that looks like while raising a bunch of kids. We hope you get a big plate of hot wings very soon.

If few things sound more terrifying than the words “Tom Cruise in the Jennifer Hudson Spirit Tunnel,” you’re not wrong. Cruise appears to be attempting some sort of Totally Normal Guy rebrand. It started when he was seen chatting with his close and personal friend Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chiefs game (we’re confused too). Then came what was purportedly his first in-depth cover story in years, which spoiler, didn’t address the alien (sorry, elephant) in the room, and was basically a word salad of vague platitudes with a belly button-forward image we’ll never unsee. Not to mention, he third-wheeled Prince William and Princess Catherine at the premiere of his new film, Digger — which we presume is the reason for all of this. While Cruise seemingly thinks the climate-change satire is his magnum opus (or, more specifically, “the culmination of all my skills”), critics beg to differ. Some have called it “the worst movie of Tom Cruise’s career,” panned it as “excruciatingly painful” and “exasperatingly shallow,” and compared the experience of watching it to “being trapped inside a tuba for two hours.” The press coverage has been so…rough, even the studio acknowledged it, releasing an ad that urged audiences to “decide for yourself.” We’ll take the tuba instead.

Lena Dunham, we commend your herculean efforts to make sure no baby ever wears a basic white onesie again.

And you thought your cousin’s friend’s divorce was messy? Enter War, the new anthology series from HBO and Britain’s Sky TV that follows two of London’s top law firms as they face off in what one character calls “the biggest divorce trial in British legal history.” That’s because the feuding couple is billionaire tech mogul Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) and movie star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller), whose marriage collapses when Morgan has a one-night stand with what he thinks is a stranger — but is actually a honey trap set by Carla. What transpires from there is a Game of Thrones-level showdown with plenty of backstabbing, tabloid fodder, and at least one mole working both sides of the table. Add to that: a presumably large costume budget, Succession-worthy insults, and the rich-people-behaving-badly energy we’ve come to expect from HBO — and suddenly we’re considering taking the LSAT.

Merit Clean Lash Mascara

Caroline, senior commerce editor, here. It was a dark day when the mascara I’d faithfully used since college suddenly made my eyes itchy and irritated. (I still love you, Better Than Sex.) But there was a silver lining: I discovered what’s become my new emotional support mascara. The buildable, flakeproof tubing formula wraps around each lash, delivering plenty of thickness and volume — unlike other lengthening mascaras, which I often find flimsy. Plus, the soft, flexible wand allows you to reach the tiny inner corners of your eye without jabbing yourself, and the rich black pigment slides off easily with warm water. Best of all, though? Every time I wear it, I get compliments. That’s not a humblebrag — it’s just the truth.

“I was on that set, calling that man Harry Potter all day”

— Megan Thee Stallion on working with, well, you know who. Meg, we raise a butterbeer to you.

Trending products and brands our shopping team has been loving recently.

Use code ALTSKM20 to get 20% off your order at Aldo. If we were you, we'd grab these cool riding boots while they're still in stock.

Candy-colored knits and bright patterns are big for fall. We can't help but feel happy when we gaze upon this swan argyle sweater.

How about a Carrie Bradshaw-coded necklace to go with that sweater?

How to be the most prepared for cold and flu season.

PS: Want more product recs? Follow @skimmshopping on Instagram.

Unleash your competitive side with today's games and puzzles. Go wild.

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