There are people with good taste, and then there is Alessandra Codinha, the writer you turn to for the book, the hotel, the beauty discovery, or the piece you’ll soon be telling everyone else about. She has a rare instinct for finding what is worth knowing before the rest of us do, and an even rarer gift for explaining why, with intelligence, wit, and an ease entirely her own.

 

Picture by @markleibowitzpictures

 

Her career has taken her from Women’s Wear Daily, Into The Gloss, and Harper’s Bazaar to Vogue.com, where she worked as Fashion News Editor and later Culture Editor, before becoming Style Director of Departures. Today, she writes for leading publications and shares her best discoveries through Here We Go, her newsletter. If Alessandra says a book, a hotel, or a piece is worth knowing about, we take note.

Now based in Los Angeles and navigating a new chapter after the arrival of her son, Woody, Alessandra speaks to Josefina about style, magazines, travel, pregnancy, and the joyful, disorienting reality of new motherhood.

Alessandra, you are a writer, editor, and former style director. How did your path into fashion and storytelling begin?

I started off during the summers while I was still at university, trying to feel my way into where I wanted to be through different internships. I knew I was interested in fashion, but I wasn’t sure what it would look like: I tried a lot of things. Different roles at different magazines; working with the design team for small New York designers; assisting a stylist (really, assisting her assistants).

I enjoyed all of it, to varying degrees, but I always came back to writing.

After graduation, I freelanced for Women’s Wear Daily in New York until they brought me on as a reporter for the Eye section, which was the culture and party pages. As a result I got to know the city, the major players of the fashion industry, and everyone in and orbiting around it very quickly—as well as how to write well, and fast.

A few years later I pivoted to a stint at Into the Gloss (then an editorial beauty startup with I think three employees, not quite yet on its way to becoming the behemoth that was Glossier) before going back to fashion glossies to fill in as fashion news editor of Harper’s Bazaar.

I was there for about six months before Sally Singer called me to ask if I was interested in coming over to Vogue.com, which I definitely was, especially under her, because she was always such an incredible inspiration to me as an editor and as a person (she’s an excellent example of both). I was a fashion news editor there for a few years before switching over to edit the culture section (covering everything from politics to art and books and travel) from around 2016-2019, which were very tumultuous years to be in American cultural media. 

After that I went to be the style director for a beloved magazine called Departures, which focused on travel and culture and fashion and other wonderful luxury experiences for American Express platinum card members, which was one of the more fun jobs ever until it folded during the pandemic. And now I live in Los Angeles and write various things (cover profiles, travel stories, wellness and beauty features, and interior and design stories) for various publications, as well as for my substack, Here We Go, which is where I take all my culture and fashion and travel recommendations and send them out in a newsletter. The idea is to write the kind of email that I would love to get. Since having a baby these have been less regular but I’m working at getting back on schedule.

Which designers, writers, creatives or cultural references have most shaped your aesthetic and the way you approach fashion today?

If I look at my closet and try to find a common denominator I definitely see a 1970s Los Angeles thing happening, a little Hal Ashby movie, maybe some Eric Rohmer. (I love denim, I love a button down shirt, I love a mini and a flat sandal, long hair and simple beauty.) When I lived in New York it was more micro shorts and vintage tees and my mother’s Chanel jackets. Different vibe, same girl. I don’t ever like to wear anything I have to think too much about.

In terms of approach I think it’s really important to cast a wide net. The internet and more specifically social media has created this great flattening of culture in a way that really depresses me. It used to be that you would go to Paris or Stockholm or Tokyo or New York and there would be distinctly different fashion codes in each place: now because everything is online and we’re all seeing so much of each other through our phones it feels much more monotonously homogenous. My hope is that the next generations will get more and more offline and we’ll get to see what they come up with without algorithms interfering.

What does a typical day look like for you? How do you balance work, social life and family?

Balance? Wow, working on it…

On a good day I wake up before the baby, but that happens maybe once or twice a month. He’s almost 7 months. Most days I wake up when he does and spend the morning with him.

I work out and have breakfast and answer emails and do what needs to be done while he naps or until the nanny arrives. We have only recently started with a nanny and it has been a game changer— before I had about 90 minutes a day to write, tops. Now I have at least a whole afternoon, if I’m lucky, once you deduct the time needed for errands and life admin.

I try to see friends for lunch or a hike when I can—I live in Beachwood Canyon, which is in the hills by the Hollywood sign, so walking around my neighborhood is a hike—and still love going out to dinner, though ideally it’s early. Like, 6pm. (I know this is sacrilege in France. In LA I swear it’s normal!)

Picture by @katemoorephotos

What is the most special vintage piece you own and the story behind it?

My rings! They were my grandmother’s and I wear them every day.

Your favorite vintage store in Paris or Los Angeles?

ThanxGodI’maVIP in Paris and Scout Vintage in LA! Amarcord Vintage and Marlene Wetherell in New York.

Your favorite restaurant in Paris, Los Angeles, or elsewhere?

I love restaurants, so that list is often changing but here are a few that will never let you down: A Tí and Chainsaw in Los Angeles. Balthazar in New York. Gus and Marty’s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Bell’s in Los Alamos, California. La Copine in Joshua Tree. And certain taco trucks and strip mall sushi spots that I would have to show you in person.

Picture by @lacopinekitchen

Any tips you would share with mums during pregnancy?

Sleep as much as you can. Move as much as you can! I lifted weights and hiked and walked every day and was so glad I did. Motherhood is very physical. The Sculpt Society had a great prenatal workout program filmed with pregnant trainers. It’s excellent. As far as self care: Massage! Acupuncture! Drink way more water than you think is normal. Prioritize  organic, whole foods, but have treats if you want, and for the love of god, try and stay offline! (Reddit is not your friend.)

Any styling tips during pregnancy?

Don’t buy a ton of new clothes, because you won’t wear them for long and chances are you won’t love them that much either. Get one or two things you’re actually excited to wear (nice colors, good fabrics, things you feel like yourself in). Don’t be afraid of prints or color. Lean in to your new shape: it’s temporary! Have fun with it.

What do you enjoy most about motherhood?

My son, Woody! Every day he surprises and delights me. Also, baby clothes. I am having a LOT of fun dressing him.

Picture by @katemoorephotos

What do you find most challenging about being a mum?

Lack of sleep, hormonal shifts, lack of time to read, sore muscles, and the way your brain gets totally rewired. It took me probably 6 months to feel like I could really deeply think again, and I still don’t feel all the way back.

Also, tragically for someone who loves travel as much as I do, airplanes and staying in even the nicest hotel rooms with an infant is… not relaxing.

Who inspires you as a mother?

My mother! Who is always calm, cool, and collected as well as loving and charming and generous and warm. But also honestly mothers everywhere. I still can’t believe we do this every day. It’s incredible. Nothing has convinced me more than motherhood that women should run the world.

Which Josefina bag did you choose, and why?

The black braided backpack, because it looks great (and totally un-diaper bag like, thank god), and also cleverly protects you from unevenly straining your shoulders. Brilliant.

Picture by @katemoorephotos