Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Zaynab Issa
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“My general style follows the same principles I have when it comes to presenting food,” recipe developer and Third Culture Cooking cookbook author Zaynab Issa tells the Cut. “Parsley and flaky salt finish a dish in the same way that accessories finish my outfit.”
For accessorizing and styling inspiration, Issa turns to Pinterest; it’s her app of choice for mindless scrolling. “Since I dress modestly, there’s a natural adaptation that needs to occur with most of the looks I see, and that’s what makes my style uniquely mine,” Issa says. She also turns to content creators like Fatou Fall and Hodan Yousuf for outfit ideas. She prefers to shop in person because any good find feels like kismet — her stores of choice include Bode, The Row, and antique and thrift shops.
Below, see where Issa got the pieces that made their way into her curated wardrobe and home.
“My kitchen scissors from Amazon. They just get used in the kitchen so often opening up a package or a container of meat. These can cut through bone, so I can use them for spatchcocking a chicken or cleaning up meat. It’s great that they can cut tape and chicken bone; they’re so versatile. A good pepper mill is a must for me. I have one that I’ve had for five years — it makes black pepper a true, pronounced flavor. You can’t really taste the pepper with pre-ground pepper. I like the Unicorn pepper mill.”
From left: Photo: Zaynab IssaPhoto: Zaynab Issa
From top: Photo: Zaynab IssaPhoto: Zaynab Issa
“Food52 — I use that regularly. The plates are a great size, and the bowl is beautiful. It’s such a good set. They’re simple but have a little bit of visual interest in the details. My glassware is from Fable, and I’ve had it for years; it’s shatter-resistant, which is so helpful because I drop them all the time and they’re fine. I also have these Material glasses, and they have the thinnest lip and they make drinking so comfortable. My flatware was a gift: It’s a 64-piece set of Sabre dinnerware in the vintage finish, and it always looks nice.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“The fruit bowl I have is from my mom’s house. It used to be on the island in her house, and it was where she put all her fruit. It has a silver footed base and rim, and the bowl itself is embossed and it looks like croc. It’s really interesting to me. During my cookbook shoot, I was looking through my mom’s stuff for things that sparked memories to share with the prop stylist, and I found this in the basement. It was out my whole childhood, and she let me take it. It was dusty and had cobwebs, and now it’s on my island and I love to look at it.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“Olive oil from Flamingo Estate or Ya Albi. Flamingo Estate has taken the food world by storm. They’re doing food products really well. They have a persimmon vinegar and chile oil that’s great. Olive oil is a great gift because you always need it, and having a good one on hand is really special and it can make regular meals feel special. Ya Albi I came across through a fellow editor who had posted a screenshot of their website, and I was drawn to the packaging. I ordered it and really loved it and gifted it to a few people who loved it.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“A vintage fur coat from Worth Repeating on Long Island. There was a bakery on Long Island that I used to go to a lot when I lived there, and this was right next door. She had a bunch of really interesting things and a fantastic fur-coat collection, and the prices were unreal. So I said, Why not just buy it? I’ve always wanted it, and vintage is so much better. The length and cut are perfect, and I wear it with anything: fur and sweats, fur and trousers. It has a presence.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“I bought the Amouage Guidance perfume on my way back to New York. It has a more nostalgic, feminine scent. My mom would wear oud, and it’s what she would burn in the house when she wanted the house to smell nice, so it’s nostalgic. It also has this floral, feminine, almost powderiness that you don’t really get from oud, because it’s such a heavy scent typically. I also got Mistpouffer by Stora Skuggan from Copenhagen. It’s truly such a unique scent. I bought it kind of randomly, which isn’t like me. I usually let it settle, but I needed it immediately after I smelled it. I found out it has notes of fig in it, which I think makes it unique.”
“Theraplush from Soft Services. I’ll put this on before I go to bed, after I do my skin-care routine. My night routine after I’ve cooked is to do the dishes and clean. I love to watch TV — I’m watching Severance right now. TV allows me to shut off my brain, so I watch TV with a cup of tea and Hu Kitchen Salty Dark Chocolate.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“A leather tote from Prada. It was the first designer bag I ever had. It’s in my closet, and I don’t wear it but I can’t part with it. It’s incredibly inconvenient to wear.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“My Chanel bag from the RealReal. I’ve been putting my laptop and cookbook in it, and it fits. It’s such a dream because I can wear it without feeling too corporate. I have the Dries Van Noten lip balm, cough drops, peppermint tea, a Victoria Beckham lip gloss, and Tylenol. I also love the Saie lip gloss.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“A lapis ring that I got from Marché aux puces de Saint-Ouen. I saw it and left, then I ended up coming back for it. It’s something I do often, but I feel inclined to buy after I go back. I’ll see so many things I like and then rarely pull the trigger on things, but this was haunting me. I wear it so often. It’s on the cover of my book.”
Photo: Zaynab Issa
“Salomon. I will wear them with anything: an oversize dress, leather pants, or jeans. If I’m going to be walking a lot or in a professional kitchen, I’ll wear them. I’ve had them for over two years, and they’ve lasted me so long. I wore them walking in Paris, and it was, like, 25K steps minimum per day. I want to choose another sneaker, but I just can’t — they’re too comfortable. I like Vagabond Shoemakers for shoes and boots. They’re a reasonable price point, and I can wear them to the ground. I’ve also been wearing these boots from Loeffler Randall.”
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