Episodes
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In this episode, the hosts are joined by our favorite fashion theorist and Rick Owens collector, Rian Phin, to analyze the recent rise of post-apocalyptic desert drip, inspired by the release of Dune 2. We discuss the different factions of Rick Owens wearers, the influence of Middle Eastern fashion, climate absurdism, exoskeletons, and hero worship in uncertain times. With the insight of our honored guest, we speculate on the battle for fashion futurism and the legacy of the Rick Owens house.
Links:
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Interview with Dune costume designer Jacqueline West — Vogue
Luca Maxim worldbuilding wiki
Luca Maxim on TikTok
Coperni Futurism — VogueRian Phin on Youtube
Rian Phin on Twitter
Rian Phin on Instagram
Rian Phin on TikTok -
In this episode, we reflect on what we call the Loner Girl aesthetic, an eccentric style epitomized by the vulnerable yet spunky YA protagonistas of decades past, best accessorized with a messenger bag, sneaker flats, and a starry-eyed disposition. We reinvigorate the teen traumacore literary canon, including the works of John Green and Ellen Hopkins, and discuss its associated social phenomena, mental health themes, and expression through personal style. We also take stock of Manic Pixie Dream Girl discourse and discuss early-career Marc Jacobs, "Banal Eccentricity" at Prada, the forgotten appeal of eggplant purple, and our own personal thirteenth reasons ...
Links:
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Thirteen Reasons Why book cover styling
Related aesthetics on CARI: Hipness Purgatory, Corporate Grunge
When Miuccia Prada Invented Ugly Chic – NSS Mag (Prada S/S 1996)
Marc Jacobs Fall 2005 RTW
Your Fave is Problematic: John Green
The Teen Whisperer (John Green 2014 New Yorker profile)
Why John Green Likes Writing for Teenagers (2019 NYT interview)
John Green and his Manic Pixie Dream Girls – LA Review of Books
Mori-kei – Japanese Fashion WikiFind exclusive episodes here <3
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Missing episodes?
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Full Episode Available on Patreon <3
In this exclusive episode, we discuss a litany of misguided rebrand attempts, interrogating the dogwhistles of Gen Z bizarro cash-grab styling. Inspired by the ignominy of Camila Cabello's new "era," we unpack the major influences behind alternative rebrands, from Myspace celebrities to the visual identity of PC music. We investigate the authenticity crisis, the definition of hyperpop, being niche gay famous, the digital camera and camcorder renaissance, and more!
Links:
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Camila Cabello for PAPER Magazine (came out after we recorded LOL)
Call Me Back by James Charles
Charlotte Rutherford Photography
Trisha Paytas shot by Alyssa Kazew
Ayesha Erotica Twitter Rant
The Media's Succession Obsession
Tara Yummy's 1 Million Subs Party -
In this episode, we conduct a meeting of the minds with brilliant wordsmith and beauty industry critic Jessica Defino. Together with Jessica, we embark on an impossible journey of cosmetic ethical dilemmas, unpacking the undulating discourses of makeup and skincare. Tune in as we ask questions that keep us up at night: are Sephora Tweens canaries in the coal mine of disintegrating self-esteem? Can the age of the multi-hyphenate sustain the explosion of celebrity beauty brands? Is self-actualization possible in a minefield of appearance optimization? Why is there such a thing as baby skincare?
Read Jessica’s Work:
Jessica’s Website
The Unpublishable – Substack
Ask Ugly – The Guardian
Links:
Sephora Tweens
ISAMAYA
2016 Makeup Nostalgia
Tarte Brand Trip Controversy
A Guide to Every Celebrity Beauty Brand
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This week, we address the critical levels of silliness we've detected in today's culture, from the debut of Drake's adorable alter ego Anita Max Wynn to the rise of cute-forward hypewear. We theorize as to why silly ass white boys are suddenly doing dances in crews, rediscover the influence of mid-2000s ringtone rap, and canonize a new generation of digital Merry Pranksters, including Joeyy, the Laundry Day boys, Sexyy Red, and others.
Links:
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The birth of Anita Max Wynn
EvanDaGreat, Maxevasi0n, Laundry Day
JerseyyJoe, Hugo Hilaire, That's My Dawg
Zack Bia and Yeat getting silly
White guys dancing to afrobeats
Chief Keef style on TikTok: one, two, three, four, five, six
"Narcofashion" Polo trend in Mexico
Playboi Carti Is in His Hello Kitty Era on “EvilJ0rdan” – Hypebeast
Anonymous Club by Shayne Oliver Resort 2024 – Vogue Runway
Creature World
BustaMove Store
Kerwin Frost x McDonalds Merch
TisaKorean silly merch also McDonalds Sprite song and Soulja Boy tribute?
Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the U.S. South 1997–2007 – Matt Miller in Southern Spaces
'Laffy Taffy': So Light, So Sugary, So Downloadable – New York Times, 2006
Rondell Conway snap rap cover story for Vibe magazine, June 2006
Hurrikane on TikTok, Y2K Dallas style in Brazil, Dallas boogie style (2009)
9 ways Soulja Boy revolutionized today's hip hop culture – Revolt
Nettspend on Know Your Meme
Timothee Chalamet's digital footprint
Glorb – The Bottom 2 (Official Music Video) (SpongeBob AI rap?) -
Full Episode Available on Patreon <3
In search of the zeitgeist, we make our way out west to discover the spirit of Los Angeles and its enigmatic hold on our collective imagination. We analyze its patchwork urbanism, its thrilling eroticism, and its enduring associations with novelty, maximalism, and existential dread. From midcentury novelists to Y2K socialites to nouveau riche influencers of the 2010s, we draw upon a wealth of references to make sense of the city's cultural milieu and distinctive sartorial character. BONUS: Ky Newman of Emergency Intercom joins us as an expert witness to discuss the reality of the LA content creator lifestyle, the future of influencing, and the city's fashion landscape.
Links: [Subscribe on Patreon for full LA Bibliography Masterlist!!!]
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Emergency Intercom
Ky Newman on YouTube
Ky Newman on Instagram -
In this episode, we open up the yellow Kanken of history and unpack one of the most influential archetypes of the 2010s: the art hoe. We rediscover the work of the Art Hoe Collective, revisit the Tumblr art historical canon from Matisse's cutouts to Van Gogh's sunflowers, and trace the aesthetic's propagation through musicians like Mac Demarco and Tyler the Creator. We also discuss the forms in which art hoeism lives on today, from TikTok's indie teens to zillennial art world professionals.
Links:
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Art Hoe Collective in the Dazed 100
#Arthoe: the teens who kickstarted a feminist art movement – The Guardian
Amandla Stenberg: Don't Cash Crop on my Cornrows
Rex Orange County - Loving is Easy [Official Video]
Claud - Wish You Were Gay [Official Video] -
This week, we investigate the recent destigmatization of theater kid energy and its resurgence in mass culture, from musical-movie adaptations to the irresistible charms of improv-trained comedians. We discuss the peak of the NBC fandom, the timelessness of "difficult" leading ladies, star factories such as SNL and NYU Tisch, the ineffability of theatrical sexuality, the rise of craft and tryhardism, and more.
Links:
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Renee Rapp on Call Her Daddy
SNL 1975 (upcoming SNL movie)
Ariana Grande - yes, and? (Official Music Video)
Audio-Visual Cocktail Party by Steven Phillips-Horst for Spike Magazine (on late night shows)
Paloma Diamond is Winning Awards Season – Vulture
Power Bottoms: The NYU classmates behind the year’s most delightfully dumb comedy – Vulture
NYU brainstorming sesh for Bottoms
Tina Fey clip that came out after we recorded this episode?!Find exclusive episodes here <3
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Full Episode Available on Patreon <3
In this emergency roundtable, we drop everything to take a walk through the streets of Paris with John Galliano, discussing the viral Margiela show that brought on a fashioncore love surge the likes of which the world has seldom seen before. We talk about the broken down babydoll effect, the emerging field of cosmetic forensics, our love for steampunk, the body shop, fashion hunchbacks, merkinis, early career Adele, despair, theatricality, and more. We celebrate the termination of the "Year of the Girl," and herald the arrival of the "Year of the Lady" ... and the Tramp.
Links:
Maison Margiela Spring 2024 Couture – Vogue Runway
Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection 2024 – Full Show on YouTube
Maison Margiela’s Couture Collection Will Go Down in Fashion History – Cathy Horyn for The Cut
Osman Ahmed's Instagram Caption
Interview with Luc Bruyère -
To mog, or not to mog ... This week, we take a trip to the Mogwarts School of Profound Self-Improvement to check in on the next generation of looksmaxxers and their charismatic leader, Kareem Shami. We discuss key figures of the male beauty pantheon—male models Jordan Barrett, Chico Lachowski, and Sean O'Pry— and discover what they represent to young men today. We also dive into the dark history of looksmaxxing, from the Legend of Zyzz to the alleged crimes of orthotropic madman Dr. Mike Mew.
Links:
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Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot – New York Times
Mogwarts Official Website
Kareem Shami aka @syrianpsycho on TikTok
Inside Jordan Barrett And Fernando Casablancas’s Celebration Of Love In Ibiza – Vogue
Dr. Mike Mew Tribunal – The Guardian
More Dr. Mew evidence – BBC
Mikhaila Peterson interview with Dr. Mike Mew
Weston A. Price research overview (see "Our Children" section)
The Legend of Zyzz video essay
"full looksmaxxing playist" on YouTubeFind exclusive episodes here <3
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In our first episode of the new year, we discuss the infiltration of Mormon culture into the online mainstream, from the highly engaging TikToks of Nara Smith to the reign of the Stanley Cup and the alchemical innovations that fill them. Why are there so many Mormon influencers? Since when do Mormons have kind of cool style? How is Lucky Blue Smith eating so much every day? We dive into snarky subreddits, genealogical archives, and obscure theological sources to bring you the answers; Sam also introduces her Class to Crass spectrum to make sense of Mormon content.
Links:
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Nara Smith on TikTok
Taylor Frankie Paul on TikTok
Why So Many of Your Favorite Beauty Personalities Are Mormon – Allure
Influencer culture and LDS theology – The Christian Century
Polygamy Chic Tumblr
FLDS Hair Tutorial
Polygamist Hair – Huffington Post
Ex-Mormon Subreddit
Identify pioneer principles, apply them in modern times – LDS Church News
Pioneer Principles: Your Heritage – Latter-Day Soprano
Mormon history in the pioneer age: the mob assassination of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Wars, Brigham Young's wagon train
Mormonism and the color white – LDSLiving
The Granite Mountain Records Vault in Salt Lake City
Building Mormonism: History and Controversy in the Architecture of the Latter-day Saints – Art in America
Mormonism, Empathy, and Aesthetics – Beholding the Body
Toward a Mormon Aesthetic – Brigham Young University
Rational Faiths: Keeping Mormonism Weird -
Full Episode Available on Patreon <3
Welcome to the Nymphies! In this inaugural ceremony, we honor 2023's greatest achievements in fashion and culture with awards from us at the Nymphet Alumni Academy of Arts and Sciences, including categories such as Biggest Fashion Faux Pas, Most Camp, and Best "Core," and culminating in the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. We offer exclusive access to our careful deliberation process, which features extended discussions of Chris Pine's street style, tooth gems, eco-terrorism, Keith Lee, and more. -
This week, we investigate the emergence of TikTok Shop, exploring its bizarre interface and offerings as representative of a new era of e-commerce and consumer psychology. We discuss the redefinition of the “small business,” the vulgarity of commerce as content, and strategies of pathological guerilla marketing. We also take a stroll through the Shop ourselves to observe the “gyatt pajamas,” chamoy pickle kits, and pheromone oils that are sweeping the nation.
TikTok’s official Shop press release
TikTok Shop in the New York Times
Chamoy pickle kit explainer
Dr. Candice Lin on Zheng Xiangxiang
FV Makeup foundation videos
China Too Cool: Vernacular Innovations and Aesthetic Discontinuity of China – Yijing Zhou
UX in China: More Is More, Super Apps, and Community - Yuan Qing Lim (Config 2022)
Livestream Shopping Is Not Going to Take Over E-Commerce – Forbes
Twitter as a Payment Processor – Financial Times
Indonesia’s TikTok Shop Ban – Financial Times
Teens Selling on TikTok Shop – NBC, Financial Times
TikTok Shop’s Snail Mucin Dupe Problem – Wired
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Ho ho ho!! We Three Queens arrive to you with our hearts full of cheer and our sleigh stocked with the greatest gift of all … knowledge!! In our very first Christmas special, we discuss the visual language of the holiday season, from the scourge of minimalist Christmas decor to the history of department store spectacles. Joined by ghosts of Christmas Past, including the original Coca-Cola-sanctioned Santa Claus, Thomas Kinkade, and Jack Skellington, we also make our predictions for theoretical Christmas aesthetics to come.
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Kim Kardashian’s Minimalist Christmas Decor
Minimalist Nativity Sets
Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Art
Joan Didion on Thomas Kinkade
A History of the Department Store – BBC
History of Christmas Catalogs
Santa’s New York Roots – NYPL
Christmas Drawings for the Human Race (1890) – Thomas Nast
Haddon Sundblom and the Coca-Cola Santas
Why Hollywood films, Christmas music and jazz are so intertwined – Jazz FM
Brenda Lee’s Comeback – New York Times
Vogue’s Christmas Archive
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Subscribe to our Patreon for the full episode <3
This week, we snap into our intellectual spring-lock suits and analyze the phenomenon of creepycore internet media, discussing digital horrors that have us shaking in our boots. Tune in to hear how FNAF falls into the tradition of Victorian storytelling, what creepypastas tell us about the participation gap, how iceberg-style consumption has changed the media landscape, and more!
Links:
“The Troubles of the Automaton” by Clementine Black
The Participation Gap
Creepypasta Wiki
The Laws of Lorecore by Shumar Basar
Kid’s Stuff in Contemporary Horror
The Uncanny Valley by Marisho Mori
Perpetual Mismatch Theory
Configural Processing Theory
Uncanny Valley Makeup Trend
Serbian Dancing Lady Trend
Opposite Features Makeup TikTok
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In this episode, we expand on the edgy, high-octane aesthetic of the Harley Davidson Harlot. From the checkerboard-and-flames motif of the 2010s to the 2020 revival of Diesel under Glenn Martens to Kylie Jenner's new clothing venture Khy, we chronicle fashion's obsession with all things moto-inspired ... and evaluate the dystopian implications of this petrochemical path. On this journey, we encounter Che Guevera and Julia Fox, uniform fetishism, the BP oil spill, Global South cyberpunk, and much more.
Links:
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Khy by Kylie Jenner
Betsy Johnson's Khy callout posts
Motorbike culture in the Global South: Vietnam, Brazil, Kenya
The Importance of the African Motorcycle in Art
Kim Kardashian in Chrome Hearts
How Glenn Martens Saved Diesel from its Midlife Crisis
Diesel's Daily African print campaign (2001)
An Incomplete History of the Akira Bike Slide
Apple's Mother Nature report starring Octavia Spencer
Azealia Banks' Yeezy Modular Survival Kit
Prix WorkshopFind exclusive episodes here <3
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In the second installment of this two-part episode special, we set about the path of high cotton heaven, tracing the waves of country influence upon the modern. We discuss Bella Hadid’s rough-handed cow-beau, Gram Parsons' trustafarian tragedy, the poetics of agricultural science, Lucchesse’s Sufjan Stevens moment, and more! Plus: we expand our red-dirt horizons with the help of two world-renowned country music experts, Kevin Fontenot and Caroline Gnagy, wrapping up the episode with a special dispatch from the Texas Overture HQ.
Listen to our playlist here <3
Extended interview with Kevin and Caroline is available on our Patreon <3
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Links:
Texas Overture
Caroline Gnagy’s Website
Goin’ Hillbilly Nuts: Fashion Culture and Visual Style in Country Music by Caroline Gnagy (are.na link)
Louisiana Women by Kevin Fontenot
Accordions, Fiddles, Two Step & Swing: A Cajun Music Reader by Kevin Fontenot
Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’ by Bill C. Malone
How the West Was Worn by Holly George Warren
The Mind of the South by WJ Cash
The Battle for the Heart of the Great American Nudie Suit | GQ
FFA Tik Tok
Poor Little Rich Boy - Chicago Reader
Jody Rosen on the Rise of Bro Country
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Subscribe to our Patreon to hear the full episode <3
Howdy, listeners! In the first installment of this two-part episode special, we three Southern belles brace ourselves for the incoming wave of country music revival. From Tyler Childers to Jelly Roll, and Lana Del Rey to Morgan Wallen, we track the aesthetic inclinations of Southern living in the post-bro country era. We talk Tik Tok cowboys, buttered biscuits, nudie suits, cosmic cowgirls, Nashville bridal showers, and more!
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Lana Del Rey Waffle House Shenanigans
Cosmic Cowboy History
Linedance to S&M
Chreesh Cowboy Dance
Nudie Cohn
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In this week's episode, we ring in the upcoming Thanksgiving season and its assorted fashion implications, from the domestic humiliation of living room glam to the mercantile hysteria of Black Friday shopping. Does the donning of brown leather subliminally evoke the turkey and/or football? How does Thanksgiving day become a social minefield of gendered and generational tensions? We also reflect on the visual monoculture of Thanksgiving Americana— Charlie Brown, Norman Rockwell, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade— and the genealogy of the boot known as the "Pilgrim Stepper."
Links:
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The Pilgrim Stepper meme
Iconic Macy's Thansgiving Parade moments
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade wiki
Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation
Eli Roth's Thanksgiving trailer (2023)
Eli Roth's fake Thanksgiving trailer (2017)
Pilgrim style on the runway – VogueFind exclusive episodes here <3
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This week, we’re joined by fitness expert and Flexin’ Texan Sarah Herse! We discuss the worlds of fitness influencing and bodybuilding, getting strong as a means of embodiment and developing agency, and the evolution of the fitness market from the yoga pants armageddon of the 2010s to today’s athleisure landscape and the extreme visual language of pre-workout and protein products. Plus, we discuss Jack Antonoff’s jock theory, the complexities of being a woman in fitness, and Sarah tells us about her own journey from NYU student/peak-indie sleaze American Apparel employee to pro-bodybuilder, powerlifter and crossfitter!
Download the Sarah Herse app: https://my.playbookapp.io/sarah-herse
Follow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahherse/?hl=en
Links:
“Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body” Kathy Acker
"Against Exercise" by Mark Greif
“Body Work” by Barbara Ehrenrich
“The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding” by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jack Antonoff by Shaad D'Souza for The Face
Listen to exclusive episodes here <3 - Show more
