This Designer Shops for Winter in the Middle of Summer—Here’s Her Offseason Shopping Philosophy

August 7, 2025 / Kim Browne /

[ad_1]

If you’re on a certain side of TikTok, you already know there’s an entire demographic of people waiting with bated breath for the crowning of what’s being referred to as “the shoe of fall 2025 for real city girls.” The video begins, “Stylish women of New York City, Paris, Tokyo, Barcelona, London, Copenhagen, wherever there are some real city steppers—we’re talking over 10,000 steps a day most days.” It’s Talia Mayden, a designer and writer who is currently looking for the perfect chic flats or loafers she can walk five or more miles in.

I’ve followed Mayden for a while now, and recently, she went viral for wearing a different pair of shoes every day for over 30 days—walking 10,000 steps or more—so she could reveal her winner for “the ultimate city summer shoe of 2025.” It ended up being Camper’s Dana Sandals, and now, she’s onto her next investigation for the season ahead.

In another post made at the end of June, she shares her take on “marinating your clothes” aka shopping offseason. “Here’s a fashion trick that the most fashionable people you know and follow are using but they’re not telling you about because they don’t want you to get the best deals, and I’m calling it ‘letting your clothes marinate,'” she explains. “This whole marinating idea is why it’s literally 95° outside, but I’m looking at full-blown coats on The RealReal right now.” The idea is twofold: You get the better prices, and you’re less tempted to impulse buy.

Other highlights include her suggesting the ideal wedding guest outfit (which I now want to buy), testing pieces to find the “no bra heatwave dress of 2025,” and reaching out to her style icon—Orna Guralnik of Couples Therapy—to ask her to ID her wardrobe from season 4. Beyond clothing, Mayden’s impeccably curated and refreshingly niche recommendations span design, art, and beauty as well.

I spoke to Mayden about her approach to shopping and argument for shopping for winter in the middle of summer.

Can you share more about your offseason approach to shopping?

I wish I could say this “marinating my clothes” ethos came from a deep commitment to delayed gratification and sartorial zen, but I really started buying offseason because it’s when I could find the best deals. A fresh-off-the-runway Lemaire wool coat in December was not in the cards for me, but a Lemaire wool coat in June on The RealReal with a 20% coupon code? I can make that work.