📚Kyla’s Musings: AAPI recs for Lunar New Year!
All recs approved by Zoe Zeng, the main character of VALLEY VERIFIED 😉
Hi friends,
It is Lunar New Year!! And you know I can’t pass up the chance to gush about my favorite AAPI brands.😊
But there’s a twist—these AAPI recs will be from the POV of Zoe Zeng, the main character from Valley Verified.
(Look at this absolutely sick fashion illustration that artist Kelly Maryanski (@kellypaintswithwater) did of Zoe Zeng from my book cover!🤩)
Zoe is bubbly and vivacious. She adores bright colors, vibrant prints, fun textures and bold accessories. She loves seeking out quirky brands and pieces that make a statement. Yet, when she joins a Silicon Valley tech startup and find herself plunged into the tech posse, she finds herself under pressure to swap her frilly frocks for functional fleeces. But over the course of Valley Verified, she gradually learns how to stay true to her fashionista self in Silicon Valley’s male-dominated corporate environment.
Without further ado, here are a list of Zoe Zeng recs from AAPI brands, covering fashion, food, lifestyle goods, and of course, tech.
Dauphinette
This brand carries the most intricate outfits and accessories. Zoe would totally adore their chainmaille pieces made of dried flowers, fruits, and vegetables preserved in resin. And this chinoserie vase bag and this surrealist
bag in cherry red leather are to die for. Plus, the founder of Dauphinette is only 25 and her works have already been featured in a MET exhibit!
Mukzin
This brand infuses traditional Chinese elements into their modern designs—a combination so adored by Zoe that she even gives them a shoutout in Valley Verified as one of her favorite brands. On her love list are: this pair of funky cut out high socks; this floral jacquard qipao that she would totally pair with the high socks; and this satin tiger-print set with the coolest frog buttons—meant to be pyjamas, but Zoe would totally wear them out.
Chunks
Zoe loves an eye-catching statement accessory and she will definitely find that at Chunks. They specialize in making colorful, oversized hair claws and clips that are as funky as they are functional. Zoe would also appreciate that Chunks has an Oopsies! section on their retail website, where they sell slightly imperfect items at a discounted price—that’s how you know their stuff is handmade. 😉
V Coterie
There’s the prevailing stereotype that all Asian parents want their kids to become engineers, lawyers or doctors. And although Zoe eschews these conventional paths to work in fashion, she wouldn’t mind embracing stereotypes with these funky doctor-inspired accessories. Like this Beauty & Brains & Botox brooch that would jazz up any outfit, or this stethoscope enamel ring. And this Break Glass Ceiling enamel pin fits the themes of Valley Verified so well!
Bokksu
When Zoe leaves New York and moves to California, she finds it hard to keep in touch with her old friends now that they are on opposite coasts and no longer working together. But a Bokksu gift box is a great way to show your friends that you’re thinking of them! This Japanese snack box is packed with over 20 authentic snacks, candies, and teas from family-run businesses in Japan, accompanied with a culture guide magazine that tells you each product’s origin. I personally love giving Bokksu boxes as presents!
Irvins
Tasked with securing an eight-figure investment that could make or break her startup—and her own future—Zoe often has to work late into the night. And whenever she needs a pick-me-up, she turns to the “dangerously addictive” (in the brand’s own words) snacks from Irvins. Zoe can go through an entire bag of salted egg potato chips in one sitting. And she even got her coworkers addicted to the black pepper salmon skin despite their initial dubiousness about eating fried fish skin.
Cadence
When Zoe is selected for a business trip to meet an eccentric tech billionaire who’s deciding whether to invest in her startup, her skin starts breaking out from the stress of this upcoming make-or-break meeting. So there’s no way she’s embarking on this trip without her trusty skincare. And these Cadence capsules are a spill-proof and stylish way to pack her cosmetics for travel. They even come with customizable sticker labels for each capsule so you don’t get the products mixed up.
Personal finance tracker by Lillian Zhang
After leaving her fashion writer job and taking on a new one in tech, Zoe finally has a bit more spending power—she no longer has to store her coats in the oven now that she can afford to rent a place that’s big enough for a proper closet. But Silicon Valley comes with a very high cost of living, so Zoe wants to stay on top of her spending. And this super aesthetic spreadsheet helps to tracking your personal finances look fun and cute!
And that’s the list of Zoe Zeng-approved AAPI purchases for Lunar New Year! Happy LNY to all who celebrate! And if you’re looking for books starring bold Asian women, might I suggest Valley Verified and The Fraud Squad?😉
Valley Verified
Imagine The Devil Wears Prada meets Legally Blonde, but this time Elle Woods is an Asian woman tackling the cutthroat startup world.
Zoe Zeng is forced to leave her fashion job and take on a new challenge at a Silicon Valley startup, where she must secure an eight-figure investment that could make or break the company—and her future. In the cutthroat land of tech bros, this fashionista will have to tackle judgmental coworkers, tech billionaires and her own insecurities to prove she’s more than what meets the eye.
The Fraud Squad
Crazy Rich Asians meets The Devil Wears Prada in this tale of an ordinary woman who goes to extraordinary lengths to get her dream job.
Samantha Song enlists her friends to help her masquerade as a socialite and infiltrate high society, all in the hopes of getting her dream job at Singapore’s poshest magazine. But as her fraud deepens, so do her fears of being exposed—especially with a mysterious gossip columnist on the prowl for dirt. As she slowly realizes not all that glitters is gold, Samantha is forced to reconcile her pretense with who she really is before she loses it all.
And that’s all for this newsletter, friends! Take care xx
Love,
Kyla