Who's buying $490 running cardigans?
+ Ashley Madison is back with a new pitch, condos above $2 million are selling.
Good afternoon everyone.
Ever since coming down with an inconvenient cold while on a trip to New York, I’ve been on a mission to find out how the high-functioning people I know avoid getting sick in the midst of winter, when the environment is working against you but slowing down just isn’t an option. One well-known realtor told me his secret to staying healthy and maintaining high energy levels is to book in B12 boosters ($50) before international travel, one investor told me she has a monthly standing appointment for an immune support IV drip ($350), and a marketing executive told me she turns to Vitamin D boosters (also $50) when her mood starts to dip.
It’s a small sample, but I was surprised to hear similar answers from people who breeze though winter while glowing from the inside out. Needles scare me so I’ll stick to my concoction of German B, D, K2, and Zinc vitamins, but good to know.
In today’s edition: The market for $490 running cardigans, Ashley Madison is back with a new pitch, and condos are selling—as long as they’re above $2M.
Exclusive: Trove is eyeing a second location in Rosedale, according to a reader tip. They must be selling a lot of IV drips (and red light therapy).
Ashley Madison is taking another crack at the whole online dating thing. The rise and fall of the Toronto-founded dating platform for married people was the subject of a 2024 Netflix documentary series that I assumed would be the nail in the coffin for its business—and yet the company has spent the past decade figuring out how to hold onto its users in the era of app-based dating. Doubling down on affairs hasn’t worked, so the pitch now is to use the same functionality that enables a high level of discretion (at least compared to the screenshot culture of other apps) to speak to single people (the company says single sign ups are up by 57%) who want to date more privately, but online.
The Wall Street Journal wrote about the Toronto brand selling $490 high-performance running cardigans. The garment by Literary Sport is “granny’s favourite garment, reworked” in a light, flat-weave merino-wool blend. And if the company’s new running collection is any trend indicator, I would assume that working out in baggy T-shirts is set to make a comeback for spring 2026.
I’d love to meet the five Neo credit card holders who use United as their preferred airline. To be fair, the loyalty points will work with Air Canada.
The CEO Club is a new eight-part docuseries following the lives of women founders. It makes sense this show concept was likely green-lit at the height of the girl boss era (or end of it, depending who you ask), categorized by this intense pressure for women to present a curated image of success. We since saw the rejection of hustle culture in the form of Lazy Girl Jobs and Quiet Quitting, but now the economy has slowed to the point where we might be back in a cycle where this messaging makes sense again? Unclear. I’m most excited to see Hannah Bronfman in action but the cast also includes Serena Williams, Loren Ridinger, Winnie Harlow, and Isabela Grutman.
Sam Edwards wrote an explainer for The Globe and Mail about everyone’s favourite dinner party topic, Clavicular. Everything I have learned about this 20-year old influencer in the manosphere has been against my will.
Spike’s Table is actually the ideal restaurant set-up for a six-person meal. Spike Nath cooks for one table out of his Leslieville kitchen every Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m .There’s no menu, it costs $208 a head, and is BYOB.
Manulife topped the Guinness World Record for the most expensive life insurance policy ever sold. $300 million for a Singapore-based billionaire.
Condos are selling, actually—as long as they’re priced above $2 million. It helps if your condo project is the first one seen in the Bridle Path in 20 years, which is what North Drive has figured out. Beyond living on a palatial estate, residents who move into the building at 2 Post Road just north of Lawrence Avenue will have access to valet service, catered meals, and a fitness facility with golf simulators and a pickleball court. It’s so smart: demand is driven by those who are downsizing and want to stay in their neighbourhood (adopt me).
