bumper holiday roundup!

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about good stuff by Reilly Hodson. This week, we’re catching up after a few weeks away over the holiday break. If you enjoy clipboard, share it with your friends, and consider chipping in financially at the link below.

summer pickups

I return to the office for the first time in three weeks tomorrow, and honestly, I really needed that break. After a year where I took all of three work days off, and spent about half of my first year in a “real” job working at the dining table, some time away from laptop screens and my living room was exactly what the doctor ordered.

As I return to the office, I am also returning to writing clipboard every weekend. As it’s been a bit of time off, I thought I’d recap that break the best way I know how: through things. Here are the gifts, purchases, reads, movies and other stuff that got me through the holidays.

clothes

Summer, particularly the summer we’ve had this year so far, is a difficult time for getting dressed, because everything goes out the window in favour of just staying at a bearable temperature. That aside, I’ve found a couple of truly awesome pieces in the past few weeks.

Thom Morison nylon shorts

I’m on the record as a Patagonia baggies only guy when it comes to shorts, so I was pleasantly surprised when these shorts, which are longer than I usually go for, became my absolute go to. I bought them a few days before Christmas, and basically haven’t taken them off since. They’re waterproof, too, so you can swim in them (although I haven’t tried yet).

Goodlids Sports Hat

I’ve wanted this hat ever since I spotted it on Guy Montgomery on Instagram. Local brand Goodlids is everywhere this summer, but this hat hasn’t been as prevalent as some of their other styles, which I like. I wish the fit was a bit deeper for my big head, but I think this hat is very good.

Stan Ray Fatigues

When I went to Wellington this week, I made a customary stop at Good As Gold, which remains my favourite store in New Zealand (bring back Ponsonby GAG, folks!). I tried on two pairs of Stan Ray pants, and bought these ones, a classic olive green fatigue style with a truly excellent fit. They go just as nicely with a white tee as a blue Oxford shirt, with sneakers and dress shoes, and I fully expect to wear them to death this year.

Checks Downtown Oranges Graphic Tee

I included this tee in an issue of clipboard a few weeks before Christmas, and it apparently went gangbusters (not taking credit, Chris Parker also owns this tee and he’s much more famous than me). I bought myself one as an end of year present and it’s my favourite graphic at the moment. Checks print their tees on a custom blank which is one of the best fitting tees you’ll find, and super soft.

culture

One thing I’ve made a concerted effort to do, with varying amounts of success, this holiday, has been to take in culture/art/stuff, primarily books and movies, instead of social media content, which is what I fill my head with mostly in other times. These are the best bits. You can follow me on Letterboxd here if you want more unqualified movie takes.

Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney

The first thing I did in 2022 was read this book in its entirety on January 1. Classic Rooney: slightly wanky literary type characters, steamy sex stuff, propulsively written in a way that makes you want to do nothing else but read it.

House of Gucci (book and movie)

The House of Gucci book by Sara Gay Forden is a meticulously reported mix of The Godfather and Succession, with immaculate fashion and heaps of detail. The House of Gucci movie directed by Ridley Scott is a ridiculous, over the top feast for the senses featuring some of the world’s greatest actors truly going for it in a way you do not often see. Both made me want a pair of horsebit loafers.

The Men’s Fashion Book

One of my favourite gifts this year was this book, an A to Z of 500 iconic menswear figures, brands, designers and style icons, from Tom Ford to the Duke of Windsor to Kanye West. It’s an awesome resource for style inspiration with amazing pictures, and it looks great on the coffee table.  

food and beverage

The finer things in life! Here are a few great food and beverage type things I had over the break that made it that much better.

Chilled red wine

Don’t listen to my dad: chilled reds are delicious. They tend to taste less funky than an orange wine, and the best ones are a bit like Ribena for grownups. You can’t buy my favourite, the Still Life Chilled Red by the bottle anywhere I can find, but if it’s on the menu wherever you’re drinking, buy a glass (or three). Ascot in Wellington has it on by the glass for $11(!!), if you’re in the area. The perfect summer afternoon drink!

Huski Wine Cooler

My aunt had the brilliant idea this Christmas to buy everyone in the family one of these and it’s truly brilliant for the picnic drinkers among us. Keeps your wine cool when you go to the park, simple as that!

Fred’s Sandos

Another Welly rec. This place was blowing up at lunch time when we were there, and with good reason. Fucking delicious sandwiches at a great price, with excellent service, in a cool space, right on Cuba St. What more could you want? Hot tip is to go in before 12pm if you can. Wish there was somewhere like this within walking distance of my office.

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! Clipboard will be back to full regular service next week, with clips and updates and all sorts! If you want to get in touch, flick me an email, and you can find clipboard on Instagram for to-the-minute updates.