What is the first thing you would do after pulling off a $110M gamble?

The only time I smiled during last night’s Industry finale was seeing Sweetpea Golightly’s answer: ordering McDonald’s fries with caviar on them, and graduating from secondhand Prada to “actual fucking Prada.”

It was a brief flash of joy and levity in the season’s darkest episode yet. Everyone else took the plunge into the depths of desperation (Whitney applying wig glue in a seedy Best Western) and depravity (Yasmin completing her chilling transformation into Ghislaine Maxwell). These characters are so far gone in their soul rot that they’re numb to their private jets and luxury shopping sprees and hotel suites.

In contrast, something about Sweetpea being excited to celebrate with caviar-loaded fries felt so…normal. It almost felt like innocence—or whatever semblance of it could exist in the hellscape of this fictional world.

The destruction of Tender should feel like a massive achievement for Harper Stern, my favorite TV anti-hero. She has spent the season trying to land a financial short that would further cement her position as a top dog in this 1% elite society. But as Sweetpea and Kwabena hug and jump and scream giddily over the $110M windfall, Harper’s body language remains hardened. Her expression reads as relief more than happiness. She retreats to another room and cannot help but give Eric a call to relay the news. He does not pick up. Her face finally breaks into tears as she sits in a puddle of abandonment and loneliness, wearing last night’s club clothes.

“I don’t even know if she has hobbies,” muses, as he analyzes Harper’s “empty ambition” in his recent newsletter. She might have fancier clothes and digs compared to previous seasons, but she still lives to work. Her passion is insider trading. Can you imagine Harper ever baking banana bread? Or reading a book for FUN??

By the end of Season 4, we can see those financial crime wheels turning in her head as she plots her next target, her next gamble, her next win.

Harper’s wardrobe is a masterful window into her character arc; I wrote about her corpcore evolution in past seasons here.

I’ve always found Harper’s wardrobe and presentation to be the most compelling out of all the Industry women, because she’s such a chameleon and keen observer of social codes. While Yasmin’s wardrobe is a predictable luxury fashion Substack dream blunt rotation (Bottega, MaxMara, The Row, etc.), Harper’s is a bit more unexpected. In this season, she wears Chanel and YSL bags, but also Nili Lotan barrel leg jeans and Completedworks earrings. And my personal favorite, a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier conical bra denim jacket!

To understand Harper’s sartorial psyche, I interviewed costume designer Laura Smith.

Our conversation is centered on this bespoke three-piece Savile Row suit that Smith designed for Harper. It epitomizes who she is at the start of the season. She wears it for her entrance scene, stepping out of a black car with a Hugo Boss coat draped over her shoulders and a new micro braid hairstyle, which points out is “one of the most expensive and labour-intensive braided styles available.” She oozes money and power.

Below, we discuss:

• Why gray is Harper’s signature color and what it symbolizes

• Why Season 4 Harper never wears button-down shirts or blouses

• How Harper’s outfit repeating was inspired by Donna Karan’s 7 Easy Pieces

• How Harper’s mentor/father figure Eric influenced her wardrobe choices

Interview has been edited for concision and clarity.

Viv: Tell me about your design choices for Harper’s custom three-piece suit. The criss-cross neckline in particular is quite unexpected, and the fact that it’s sleeveless (as opposed to a traditional button-down shirt).

Laura: The suit for Harper came from something Mickey and Konrad scripted about the way Harper looks as she exits her car and we follow her through the halls of Mostyn Asset Management. (Serving cunt, basically.)

It had to read as a complete turn from where we met Harper at the start of Season 3. It was why it could not be a traditional button-down shirt. Harper has done shirts and blouses and they are packed in her past—they did not serve her. It had to be a look that took up space in a particular way. It had to feel light, taut and mobile.

It felt important talking with Myha’la to give the look a femininity, because we have rarely seen Harper in such elevated heels or in a skirt. We discussed her pragmatism, and working with the modular wardrobe of Donna Karan—the 7 easy pieces. This is something Harper may have been aware of in her own mother’s world.

It felt right to have the suit explode and break up and reform after Harper’s relationship with Mostyn Asset Management breaks apart.

Viv: This is a bespoke Savile Row suit, it’s a major status flex for Harper. To ground it in material terms, how much would a suit like this cost?

Laura: Anything from £8,000 ($10,700) to about £22,000 ($29,500). There are three tiers: ready to wear, made to measure and bespoke. This is the bespoke price bracket.

Viv: Was there a particular reason why you chose gray as her signature color? Harper wears a lot of gray suiting and silver jewelry in Season 4.

Laura: Yes—this silver grey is a tone we haven’t seen worn by any of the leads in this way. It cut through tonally in the world of Mostyn Asset Management and shine in the world of Al Mi’Raj Pierpoint. It felt like an understated but elegant tonal range for Harper. It made her visible and distinctive in moments like the Alpha Conference.

Viv: I interpreted the color as a metaphor for moral grayness and how Harper is always operating on the edge of legal vs. illegal. In their final argument, Yasmin justifies her choices to Harper with her worldview of “both, and”—to her, trafficking young girls is both “exploitation and opportunity,” Eric is both “a man and a monster.” Nothing is black and white, everything is gray.

Viv: I love that throughout the season, we see Harper wearing individual pieces of the suit, treating it like a modular part of her wardrobe. What was the intention behind these outfit repeat/remix moments?

Laura: It spoke to her pragmatism. It’s one less choice for Harper in a system of a multiplicity of choices, where each has to be right and well-timed. A suit like this also has a way of being worn and supporting the wearer. These clothes give confidence, but it also takes confidence to wear them. It’s a reinforcing feedback loop.

We took the block of the suit and translated it into the boucle tweed dress in episode 6. The intention in the story was that Harper was meant to do the CNN interview that Eric goes on to do. She is wearing a look that calls back to the skirt suit look we see at the opening.

Men’s relationship with their suiting is that they will often return to a favourite suit, often having two pairs of trousers made for one suit in a bespoke context. These are all things you gradually become aware of in this world.

Talking with Ken about Eric’s relationship to suiting, he felt it was like armour—it changes the way you stand. Transposing this into Harper’s world was also important in terms of the information a mentee takes from their mentor.

Viv: Did Myha’la end up keeping the 3-piece suit?

Laura: Yes!

xo viv

Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;) I may earn a small commission from purchases made through affiliate links.

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So, let me introduce today’s guest contributor!

Natalia Gevara is a writer hailing from the San Joaquin Valley of California. She has written for Teen Vogue about Central Valley activists fighting against ICE raids, and is currently based in New York City.

As One Battle After Another is expected to win awards at this Sunday’s Golden Globes, Natalia’s article offers a timely lens for examining how film, fashion, and politics intersect.

This awards season, I’m reflecting on the most impactful pieces of media—and Paul Thomas Anderson’s action thriller One Battle After Another (OBAA) definitely makes the list.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a jaded ex-revolutionary who is forced back into his old lifestyle when he and his teenage daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) are pursued by a white supremacist military officer.

There are a number of things that I love about this film: the heartwarming relationship between a father and daughter, the engrossing performances of an all-star cast, a riveting score that amplifies every scene—and the costuming. Colleen Atwood, the film’s costume designer, told Vogue that the costumes were “firmly planted in reality.” What struck me about Atwood’s work was the subtle yet precise character portrayal through clothing.

OBAA was filmed in parts of Northern California—specifically in my hometown of Stockton, located in the Central Valley.

There’s a strong sense of local pride here stemming from a long history of immigration. Throughout the 20th century, waves of migrants from Mexico, India, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Laos, Palestine, and the Philippines settled in the Central Valley, primarily to work in agriculture. With the country’s skyrocketing anti-immigrant sentiment these past couple of years, fashion has been an ever-present mode of community resistance.

So, watching the film as a Central Valley native, I couldn’t help but notice the ways the costume design reflected this sartorial reality.

The street style here is a means of holding onto our culture. For example, sportswear is popular, reflecting the impact of Black culture on the Northern California fashion scene. Even Sensei Sergio (Benicio Del Toro) was rocking a Puma jacket and Adidas slides with his martial arts gi pants, a very nice touch.

Button-ups (to the TOP) and flannels are also a decades-long closet staple that fall under the broader umbrella of the cholo/a subculture birthed by the Chicano movement.

In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, revolutionary leader Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) shoots an automatic rifle in a red and black checked flannel, military green cargo pants, combat boots, and a bulging baby bump.

The color and pattern of Perfidia’s flannel is echoed later in the film through Bob’s house robe, mirroring how he is continuing her legacy through protecting their daughter.

Let’s zoom out to examine how community groups are dressed.

The vato skateboarders in Sensei Sergio’s alliance are actual skateboarders from El Paso, Texas who were cast to play themselves. Like cholos, Latino skateboarders are another subculture with a profound impact on Central Valley fashion. When I was watching this scene in theaters, all I could think about was how much they reminded me of my younger brother and other Latino skaters in Stockton.

The Central Valley epitomizes cultural amalgamation. These garments reflect how we’ve integrated into the United States without being homogenized—honoring our roots and political identities through what we wear. Additionally, our fashion choices don’t just signify who we are, but who we aren’t.

This idea is explored in the protestors vs. police face-off scene.

The film’s fascist villain Colonel Lockjaw invades Bob and Willa’s community with a slew of military men at his command. In these scenes, it is obvious who the enemy is because they are homogeneously outfitted in army uniforms.

The community stands in protest against these interlopers, but they are quickly infiltrated by a military man disguised in an outfit similar to that of the vato skaters—a black graphic t-shirt, backwards hat, and black balaclava. In this disguise, the infiltrator disrupts the community’s attempts at resistance by throwing a molotov cocktail from their side of the protest to that of the military police. This enables the police to escalate violence against the protestors.

In this instance, fashion is utilized as a political weapon. In the Central Valley, it is one that we wield in our everyday lives in the face of ICE raids. I believe this is what Atwood and PTA were aiming to convey through their costuming choices, underscoring how diverse self-expression is an antidote to fascist homogenization.

You have one side, the military and police primarily composed of white men in uniforms, versus a diverse community who display their resistance by protecting their neighbors and wearing clothing that honors their roots. These scenes are effective, because they mirror the ones occurring in the Central Valley.

One Battle After Another will remain one of my favorite films of 2025, because every little detail—especially the costuming—hits extremely close to home.

Thanks for reading.

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xo viv

Last night, at 9pm PST on the dot, I sank my maw into my turtleneck sweater funnel, laid out a snack spread of assorted Pocky sticks, and hit play on Episode 6 of ‘Heated Rivalry.’

And WHAT a Christmas treat it was.

I had never heard of the show, or the original books by Rachel Reid, until about 2 weeks ago. Like most people who stumbled into it knowing very little beyond “sexy queer romance set in professional hockey,” I quickly animorph’d into a fangirl who spent her free time watching Hudson William’s 20-minute skincare routine on The Cut. This show is powerful stuff, guys.

described its premise best:

“Two obscenely hot, star hockey rivals spend over a decade hating each other while secretly finding every possible opportunity to enter one another in minimalist lofts across North America […] They are also in love during a time when being out in professional sports was far rarer—even in a sport where center-split pelvic thrusts comprise the warm-up.”

‘Heated Rivalry’ is not a fashion-y show. It’s mostly gym clothes, hockey uniforms, and heinously 2010s millennial male getups. And yet!!! I found myself poring over the costuming details because clothes are a window into someone’s internal world, and I wanted to climb inside the heads of Shane and Ilya to understand their characters wholly.

So I called Hanna Puley, the show's costume designer, to ask her all my burning fashion questions. Our conversation took place earlier this week, and has been lightly edited below for clarity. Enjoy!!!!!

All photos courtesy of Crave/HBO.

Viv: Let’s start with Ilya. His signature cross necklace has become a beloved accessory, similar to Connell’s chain from Normal People. Can you confirm that he’s always wearing it?

Hanna:

We never see him without the necklace on. In fact, Connor would just wear it constantly. I don’t think he took it off throughout the whole shoot.

It was one of those pivotal character pieces that grounded the character. There’s so much related to family, identity, what it would mean to go home, and all of these contradictions he had to deal with as a bisexual man in Russia.

It was an artifact of his character for sure.

Tell me how you sourced the necklace. Was it difficult to find the perfect design?

We found about six different options that were all a real size and texture and all that, but we knew it needed to be a gold Russian Orthodox cross.

To find that specific thing, you have to go off the beaten path a little bit. We ended up finding it at a jeweler in Toronto that was a bit tucked away.

For the styling, were you intentionally trying to showcase the gold cross in his looks?

No, I think gold naturally just shines. And if the lighting is serving that, you’ll get a little bit of a glimmer.

With Ilya’s style, there’s a lot of collarbone. The necklace sat higher because the pendant is on a woman’s chain; it’s supposed to be his mother’s necklace. It’s not sitting as low as a lot of men’s necklaces would.

So the way that Connor ended up wearing the clothes served to showcase it. Or if he wanted to engage with the necklace as an object, then that would happen organically on the scene.

You nailed the cultural specificity of Ilya’s wardrobe. The Adidas gear, the muscle tees, the black house slippers, it all feels very Slavic/Eastern European. Were there any references that went into his outfit moodboard?

For most of the people in this show, I didn’t use any filmic references. Ilya is someone who lives in my act of imagination, where we all know this guy to a certain extent and that’s why it resonates.

I did what I could to make it as grounded as possible while bringing in some fun designer pieces. The sweatpants that he’s wearing in his house for the tuna melt scene, those are Rick Owens pants.

We tapped into this low-effort, ostentatious vibe.

Wait wait wait—those were RICK OWENS?????

Yeah. It’s funny because they have a string that hangs down the back, but I think it was throwing people off. So they tucked it in while we were shooting.

And I was like, no, that’s so important! You can’t tuck in the string!

But these things happen where you can’t lose the forest for the trees and it’s fine.

The most obvious archive designer piece I noticed was the 1998 Jean Paul Gautier leopard print silk shirt for the club scene. Were there any other subtle designer pieces Ilya wore?

Yeah, I leaned into the designer stuff for Ilya and gave him more of my budget so that we could play with looks that felt unique and specific.

The coat he wears to his dad’s funeral is Helmut Lang.

Where did you source the designer pieces?

We bought these clothes at this amazing shop in Toronto called Archive Threads/20 Maud St. They have amazing consignment designer pieces, great menswear.

The rose shirt that Sasha wears in Episode 2 in Russia when they have their bathroom cocaine scene, that’s an ERD shirt. It’s like a $2,500 silk chiffon shirt.

Gotcha. I’m browsing their website right now. I can see how it suits Ilya’s flashier tastes, without necessarily looking like he’s like a fashion boy…

Yeah. Which I wanted to avoid—I don’t think any of them are fashion boys.

Ilya’s archetype for me was the bad boy and Shane was the boy next door. Scott is the daddy figure. And then Kip is an art history student, so he’s like, sexy and poor.

These are the kind of archetypes that I was playing with, along the lines of ‘Sex and the City,’ so the audience could relate to these characters.

Let’s dig into Shane’s wardrobe. He’s canonically a boring dresser who doesn’t care about clothes or peacocking through his appearance. Similar to ginger ale being his “safe” drink of choice, it feels like he picks his “safe” outfits and sticks with them.

Shane wears so much basic athleisure wear. A large percentage of what we used for him was Reigning Champ. There’s all these factors I took into consideration when I’m dressing a character like Shane. He is Canadian and has money, but he doesn’t think about clothes at all. It’s just like, oh, now I can afford the $200 hoodie or whatever instead of the $60 one.

Reigning Champ is a Canadian company, and it’s slightly higher-end athleisure wear. So it reads a little bit nicer and the colors are great. It’s not overtly jock.

People on TikTok are calling this show a period piece because the 2010s millennial styling is so accurate. Specifically the outfit Shane wears when he’s standing awkwardly in the hotel room, about to leave for Ilya’s house.

I mean, these men are millennials. I’m a millennial. This is what I know really well because for all of my friends, this is our coming of age period.

This outfit plays with the 2010s basic man look, which is the white sneaker and a slim jean a tight t-shirt. It’s a bit of a uniform from that time.

Shane’s line in Episode 5 about hiring a personal stylist was hilarious.

Can you break down his Miami Vice cream suit look?

It’s an inverted color scheme to what he usually wears. I think it’s really funny that this is his version of being stylish…instead of a white t-shirt and a navy suit, he’s wearing a navy t-shirt and a cream suit.

It’s a full white suit, which you don’t see. Our budget wasn’t huge for this show. I had to be really strategic with how we spent the money, but it was a full suit.

He’s wanting to shift and be perceived a little differently, but I couldn’t picture him taking too big a leap. This character is still so cautious in terms of how he interacts with the world. The constraints put in place through his family and the league are so tight.

I can see a personal stylist trying to give some great pieces to him, and him getting nervous and being like, “no.”

Were there any moments where Hudson or Connor gave their input on the costumes or put their own touch on the styling?

For the costumes, I don’t think so. When we were doing fittings, they were very open to whatever I was wanting to do.

But inherently as we shot, there would be a natural movement to the clothing within the scenes, like Hudson chewing on the string of his hoodie.

Or wearing the hood up in a scene, because there’s something about feeling protected. That’s all the actors making those choices.

I wonder if in Season Two, we might get a little more input. We’ll see. They definitely feel more in their characters now.

How much tailoring was needed to get the clothes to fit well?

Well, I can tell you, with athletic bodies, every suit needs to be tailored.

Most pants also need to be a bit tailored. Our approach was sizing up a little, and then tailoring it so that it looks good around the butt and waist.

Last question. What went into making the hockey jerseys? I’m not a hockey person, but it looked very realistic to my untrained eye…

The hockey jerseys were the most time-consuming aspect of the show from my end. We had something like 285 jerseys that we made through a company in Toronto called Marchants. It took something like three months or more to get them all made.

There’s so many design elements to consider: whether it’s cut and sewn and then embroidered, whether it’s sublimated, all of that. You have to be really specific about the player name and the number.

I wanted to make sure that the quality was up the snuff and that they could be held up to scrutiny.

You did an incredible job bringing these characters to life through the clothes. Hopefully you and the whole team feel like you’re getting your flowers, with how much the show has blown up!

We’re very lucky to have a show like this that’s joyful and sexy and seems uniting. And with the NHL responding positively for the most part, hopefully we can shift culture a little bit.

Thank you Hanna. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions today.

My pleasure. I hope everybody enjoys the finale.

xo viv

Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;) I may earn a small commission from purchases made through affiliate links.

I would love to hear what you think of the show so far, who your favorite (or least favorite) character is, or a fashion moment that had you pressing replay :)

I’m also reposting the handy show notes that Tara wrote below, in case you want to skip around to a specific topic:

• 1:29 — Maggie (Viv’s perfect poodle) and Björk (my perfect pug) meet and show off their winter sweaters

• 4:00 — Our first takes on the show and how we’re enjoying it so far

• 8:50 — We share our Aralda vintage experiences. The IRL vintage shop, whose owner Brynn is fabulous and I have interviewed a couple of times, has to die for archival fashion. Viv talks about the Yohji dress that got away and I talk about the time I thought a $3,900 Prada corset was $390. (Spoiler: we were both humbled).

• 24:48 — Addressing the Girls and I Love LA comparisons.

• 25:34 — The generational tone of the show: how they represent millennials and Gen z characters

• 28:19 — Girls vs. I Love LA tackling work and career. The girl boss uniform vs. the personal brand aesthetic.

• 35:12 — Tallulah’s Cou Cou intimates PR package

• 38:00 — We mention Girls comparisons again…but is Tallulah the anti-Jessa Jessa? How both shows address the idea of how the ‘cool’ girls dress and how that is reflective of the culture of the time

• 49:00 — Maia’s fashion deep dive! How she dresses for the job she wants while also grappling with the insecurity of not being the talent herself.

• 1:01:48 — The sweetie that is Josh Hutcherson’s character Dylan and his Bode shirt. He is the anti-performative male and feels like he was written (and dressed!) by a woman.

• 1:14:14 — We hate Charlie…so much. How do you dress an insufferable transplant stylist who defines himself by the city he lives in…despite only caring about certain aspects of it and people in it?

• 1:20:00 — What is the christian singer TikTok guy going to end up wearing for his Las Vegas residency?!

• 1:32:40 — Alani’s nepo baby fashion: is it accurate? Do nepo babies wear Miu Miu and fresh out the box Margiela tabis?

xo viv

Count me in with the legions of women above 30 who have been losing their minds (and free time) to Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP).

But you know what??? I’m trying to be more shameless about it.

Because everyone thinks it’s just this silly teenybopper TV show until they really give it a chance—and next thing they know, they’re rewinding the *surfboard accident scene* and humming Wild Horses while doing the dishes. It’s campy and unserious at times, but you’d be surprised how delightfully bingeable and tearjerking it is as well. For me, enjoying the show is about unabashedly connecting with my inner teenage girl. It’s what Susannah would have wanted.

I’ve always loved this show from the start, but there’s something especially soul-gripping about the romantic tension of this final season. Also, the music budget goes hard. I’ve never seen a fanbase get this excited about song/needle track predictions.

To tide us over till tomorrow’s new episode (pls pls pls let us get the grand love confession on the beach), I’m sharing 8 fashion thoughts I had watching the season thus far. Includes spoilers.

My commentary is more focused on the hilarious accuracy of the costume design and how they make the characters feel like real style archetypes, rather than Easter egg-type insights—I’ll leave that to the TikTok sleuths!

And even if you’re like, *Viv I have no idea what this show is*, you’ll probably still recognize and enjoy these examples of character-building via fashion.

All images courtesy of Prime Video/The Summer I Turned Pretty.

1). Laurel is such a slow fashion smock dress mom.

Age-wise, I’d say I am right between Belly and her mother Laurel, so I can genuinely relate to and appreciate both their fashion choices. But if I had to pick, I identify with Laurel way more. Maybe it’s because they made Laurel Asian in the show (vs. white in the books), but I just know this sort of woman so well. She wears lots of slow fashion brands like Apiece Apart, Black Crane, Ulla Johnson, Rachel Comey. But also mixes in simple t-shirts from Gap and Uniqlo. It’s about feeling polished but comfortable. Lots of linen and drapey cotton and easy shapes.

Her tote bag has an advanced reader copy of Pachinko, organic cotton menstrual pads, and a refurbished iPhone 8 from Back Market.

I would bet my life that Laurel has a Noihsaf Bazaar account where she buys these pieces secondhand because (1) it’s sensible/good for the environment (2) she’s on a modest writer’s budget. She oscillates between more structured pieces when she’s at work or being a strict mom, and more floaty smocks when she’s letting her tender emotions out more.

Honestly I could see Laurel finding out about Substack through her writer’s network, or Cleveland Castillo (I MISS HIM!!) mentioning that he has a newsletter about mental health breathwork tools for creatives. I bet she would be a paid subscriber to for the blazer guides and jogger pant recs, and she’d keep up on book recs from .

2). Did Belly inherit any of Susannah’s generational wealth (aka her Doen collection)?

Belly has been wearing a lot of Doen this season, mostly during her *will they won’t they* scenes with Conrad. As eagle-eyed internet fans pointed out, her outfit formula of Doen puff-sleeve top + jean shorts looks exactly like something Susannah wore in Season 1.

Aside from the narrative symbolism, I have to wonder if Susannah passed her clothes down to Belly. I think she would have.

3). Belly’s “wifey mode” dresses are synthetics trying to look like silk…symbolic of Jeremiah vs. Conrad?

What’s a girl to wear to her bridal shower for a marraige that she’s in complete denial about wanting??? A viscose Reformation dress, of course!

Disclaimer: I am not judging anyone for wearing Reformation viscose dresses!!!! I enjoy them from time to time, I’m just being real about what they are. Which is usually an overpriced viscose/acetate dress the brand is trying to pass off as “silky” or “silk-effect.”

In another scene where she and Jeremiah are apartment hunting, she plays the wifey role by wearing a green polka dot Ref dress.

And her “wedding dress” (actually $1K+ from Victoria Beckham but we’re supposed to believe it’s from a mall prom store) is made of an acetate-viscose blend. I checked.

Given the stark difference between the cotton Doen blouses and jean shorts she wears around Conrad, I like the idea that this is a costuming device to convey that her relationship with Jeremiah is similar to a viscose Reformation dress:

Cute, flirty, fun! But it’s viscose trying to look like silk (the real deal) and may fall apart after a few laundry cycles.

4). I can finally tell the dads apart!

I used to get Adam and John so mixed up because they genuinely look the same lol.

But now that Season 3 includes more scenes at Adam’s workplace, Breaker Capital, we get a better glimpse at his office fashion. He wears the classic finance bro vest, which signals his high position as (managing partner??? co-founder?? not exactly sure), while the analysts wear suits and ties.

This specific combo of the check shirt with the quarter-zip pullover is also very finance guy. Adam comes across as “big fish in a small pond” to me. He chases wealth and status, but doesn’t seem very smart and could neverrrrrr keep up at a place like Pierpoint in Industry. Harper Stern would destroy him in a day.

John, however, is usually in Costco-esque polos and dresses extremely plain.

Outside of Cleveland Castillo, he seems to be the only example of a healthy father figure in the show, and I wish he got more interesting scenes. Work-wise, he’s a history professor but you don’t really get that from how he dresses. I wish they played this up more—like a leather messenger bag, or corduroy slacks would be more convincing without looking like a caricature.

5). The girls can take a page from Conrad’s 90s styling too.

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Last Friday, as another episode of ‘Love Island’ finished to the tropical electronic ba-da-ba-ba-ba/ba-da-ba-DUM sting, my brain prepared to switch gears for ‘Too Much,’ the new autobiographical-ish romcom series from Lena Dunham.

The premise is this: Jessica (a winsome Meg Stalter) moves from New York to London after a breakup, finding herself in a unexpected romance with Felix (Will Sharpe), a brooding but sweet struggling musician type.

My advice? Don’t go into it with GIRLS expectations. It’s not GIRLS.

Reception to the show has drawn comparisons to ‘Emily in Paris’ because of the whole *American being a fish out of water in Europe* thing, but I think it’s tonally more gritty and less frothy. And while Emily is notorious for her aggressively busy designer outfits that she probably styled using ChatGPT, Jessica’s wardrobe is trendy in a familiar way. She reminds me of the local girls in SF who wear sailor collared frocks and dainty floral prints from brands like Lisa Says Gah, Damson Madder, and Rachel Antonoff.

But perhaps the biggest style star of the show is Astrid, the gremlin-esque floppy-tongued dog Jessica adopts from a shelter and spends half her savings on for tumor removal. (This backstory struck a chord with me, because I also have a rescue dog who needed a life-saving expensive surgery).

Astrid’s dog outfits are just as vibrant and whimsical as Jessica’s, which reflects the pair’s deep connection.

In one of the first scenes, we see them bedrotting together in these matching frilly nightgowns (cute, my dream date). You quickly understand that they are attached at the hip. Inseparable.

On their travel day to London, Astrid sports a sky blue cloud sweater from Little Beast, purveyor of the stylish pet onesies you see on Instagram. Sometimes, she’s naked and bundled up in a pastel crochet blanket, wispy hairs sticking out. Other times, she’s throwing fits in a fur trim coat.

So I reached out to two sources to learn more about the “real” Astrid: Tayler Lewis-Bungay from Urban Paws Agency and Arielle Cooper-Lethem, the show’s costume designer.

We talk about:

• how she was cast for the role

• what was on the dog outfit moodboard

• why she is portrayed as more than an “accessory dog”

• the deeper symbolism of Jessica and Astrid’s matching wardrobes

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The animal actor who plays Astrid is 13-year old Chinese crested dog named Mia. She is repped by Urban Paws, a leading animal talent agency in the UK.

Her agency profile reads: “she is almost completely hairless, with soft pink skin that develops brown markings in the summer. She has a few wisps of hair on her head and just a handful on her tail, making her look truly unique.” Wahhhh. Baby angel!

Star power clearly runs in the family, because Mia’s brother is Mugly, winner of World’s Ugliest Dog in 2012.

Lewis-Bungay shares that Mia has been on the agency’s roster for over a decade, but this was her first major project. “The only reason Mia hasn’t done a huge amount of work previously is because of her very unique breed, which is exactly what makes her such a perfect fit for ‘Too Much,’” she said.

According to Cooper-Lethem, Lena Dunham’s own dog Ingrid (also a hairless rescue) was originally going to play Astrid. However, Ingrid’s health issues wouldn’t allow for the demands of long set days, which led them to seek an animal actor.

Mia had no formal acting experience, but her experience as a therapy dog and shop dog at Mutts-Nutts in Peterborough helped with her sociability. Lewis-Bungay describes her as “social bunny,” adding that “her mum Bev got a trainer to help her do all the requirements, which she smashed.”

She also wants viewers to know that "once an animal is cast in a role as big as Astrid, it isn't as simple as carrying a dog on set a couple of times.” There’s a ton of behind-the-scenes work. Behind Mia's scene-stealing performance lies months of training, custom fittings, and travel to various set locations. And a British Vogue shoot, of course!

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I asked Cooper-Lethem whether there were any cultural references she used as inspo for Jessica and Astrid’s outfits (such as Elle Woods and Bruiser). She explained that Jessica’s style was really the “North Star” for Astrid, who is “in no way an accessory dog.”

Astrid is the purest love in Jessica’s life, and I think the show successfully portrays a human-dog bond grounded in respect and care. I’m not saying that Elle loved Bruiser less…but Jessica and Astrid’s bond is particularly tender.

“We treated her like the main character she is […] and even had illustrations for most of her looks,” Cooper-Lethem mused.

Most of Astrid's wardrobe was designed by Cooper-Lethem and custom-made by the show's production team—unfortunate news if you were hoping to buy a “precious gown” for your pet. Some pieces were based on Lena's wardrobe for her own dog Ingrid.

Then, there are the intricate practicalities of animal costuming that most viewers never consider. “We had to design garments that kept their private parts covered,” Cooper-Lethem explained, “which most manufactured dog clothes completely ignore.”

Her favorite look? “Definitely the leopard print coat we made for her with shaggy cream faux fur trim. Iconic!”

The show’s central theme revolves around emotional baggage from previous romantic relationships. Throughout her time in London, Jessica revisits painful memories of the way her ex treated her. His criticism of her outfits, habits, and interests still resurface as negative self-talk as she navigates her new relationship with Felix.

Ultimately, Jessica’s journey is about staying true to herself despite this baggage. We see this arc reflected in her choice to wear big tulle skirts and ruffled pink frocks despite the overall sartorial drabness of her British counterparts.

Cooper-Lethem elaborates on this analysis of Jessica’s healing process: “I think [she] is definitely participating in some form of therapy via Astrid.”

“She’s treating [Astrid] the way she wants to be treated, embracing all of her quirks, and through that is proving to herself that true love does indeed exist.”

When the two wear matching outfits, it’s a way of saying “you belong here and are a part of this pack,” she adds.

Their dynamic is possibly the true romance of the show—a win for fashion girls and velcro dogs everywhere.

xo viv

Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;)

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Ok, you’ve been warned!

I also scoured the web for the ID on everything Dakota Johnson wears in the movie, and everything that is in stock or shoppable is saved here.

'Materialists' was one of those movies I had to see in theaters on opening day for the full magical cinema experience.

I knew I would love it regardless of the plot because it’s directed by Celine Song and shot on 35mm. What can I say, I’m a simple woman! (Also, Americans are too hung up on plot…can we not just enjoy the music and images and vibes onscreen??).

Anyways guys, I loved it.

From the moment Miss Dakota started strutting in her knee high Paris Texas boots to “Manhattan” by Cat Power, I sunk deeper into my seat, eyes glazed over. The movie is stylish in a familiar, frictionless way. It has a soothing blandness. Like yes girl give us more neutral NYC street style Pinterest outfits. It’s also funny, snarky, and heartfelt. I did sprout tears a few times.

Here’s the synopsis: Lucy, played by Dakota Johnson, is a 30-something single woman who works as a high-end matchmaker in New York. She’s caught between two love interests, the charming rich “unicorn” aka Harry aka Pedro Pascal, and her starving artist ex aka John aka Chris Evans. The story taps into the tension we all feel between idealism and pragmatism.

If you’ve seen the movie, perhaps you have strong opinions about the ending. Maybe you are pissed about it, even! But I am not here to talk about that.

I am here to talk about the way ‘Materialists’ tackles the subject of money with a razor-sharp sociological scalpel.

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This past Sunday, all my text convos included some variant of are you watching the White Lotus finale tonight!?

I love collective TV moments like this. I find comfort in the knowledge that every Sunday night for the past 8 weeks, we were all ordering our favorite Thai takeout and burrowing into the couch, tuning into the percussive paranoia-tinged melody of the theme song.

And like everyone else, I was charmed by Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). Her earnestness and smiley warmth was a refreshing reprieve from the fake rich bitches we have come to expect (and love lol) from the series. She just brought something different. A winsome quality, a pure heart, a devout belief in pop astrology. I just know she sends Rick Costar posts on IG with the message “so us.”

So yeah, I hated that she died. She was doomed because she was so optimistic and chose to see the good in everything and everyone. “Romantic fatalism,” as Mike White called it. Rest in peace Chels.

In the finale, I noticed that Chelsea’s outfit looked very similar to what Portia wore in White Lotus Italy.

Remember Portia? Our chaotic microtrend print-clashing Gen Z gal??

After some digging, I found more parallels between her and Chelsea’s outfits. Despite the outfit formulas being similar, Portia always ends up looking like a microtrend final boss, whereas Chelsea gives earthy sophistication.

I don’t know if costume designer Alex Bovaird did this intentionally—I haven’t read anything about past characters informing new characters’ wardrobes. Regardless, it demonstrates that White Lotus style transcends seasons. And it’s fun to dissect :)

Here are all the four style twin moments between Chelsea and Portia.

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1). Mint Green Tee + Blue Floral Midi Skirt

We see Chelsea on her last day at hotel breakfast wearing a pale mint green baby tee with her signature gold dog tag necklace. It’s a realistic, comfy “last day of vacation” outfit. You’ve exhausted your sparkly party dresses and just want to relax.

She’s telling Rick why a Cancer Venus and an Aquarius Moon would never work together when he interrupts her to get more food. She asks if he can get her a donut. He picks one with green glaze—people online have called it matcha flavored, but my money’s on pandan.

My interpretation was that the color of the pale green shirt signified rebirth, new beginnings, the cycle of life. It’s one of my favorite colors…hence why it’s in the Molehill logo.

We don’t see the rest of Chelsea’s outfit until shit starts going down.

She paired the tee with a blue floral midi skirt, worn low around the hips with a sash tie. And red flip flops. Overall, it’s nothing fancy compared to her other resort outfits, and I think that enhanced the tragedy of it all. It’s down-to-earth and easygoing.

Chelsea died wearing an outfit that was true to who she was.

Now, let’s revisit this outfit Portia wore for a day out with Albie and his family.

Also a mint green tee, though hers is a polo, and a blue midi skirt (old Urban Outfitters, according to wornontv.com). Portia gets a lot of flak for her disheveled fast fashion vibe, but I do like some of her individual outfit decisions—such as the chartreuse Crap eyewear sunglasses! I would totally wear those.

On paper, these outfits follow the same template.

But what distinguishes Chelsea’s ease from Portia’s chaos?

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If you’re a Severance obsessive like me, then last night was a banger of an episode.

Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger with the words “she’s alive!”—referring to the fate of Gemma, Mark's wife, who we have known as the cryptic wellness director Ms. Casey with the fuck ass bob. We finally get answers about how she ended up at Lumon, what they’re doing to her, and her and Mark’s relationship arc.

For the first time, we get a close look at what life was like before Lumon meddled with their lives. The cinematography in these poignant flashbacks employ a grainy, warm film look as it takes us through their initial meet-cute, domestic bliss, miscarriage, and emotional distance caused by the grief of infertility. You truly get a sense of their love, and the pain and guilt that would push Mark to chose the severance procedure after Gemma’s “death.”

I want to break down all 11 of Gemma’s outfits in this episode.

Because they’re an excellent study in costume design. As we flip flop between vignettes of her life before Lumon, and life inside Lumon, the costuming functions to accentuate the stark loss of autonomy and identity. The vintage outfits were especially disturbing—we’ll get into why.

Oh, and please try to enjoy each outfit equally.

1). Meet-Cute in Bookish Basics

My first thought to seeing Gemma in “plainclothes”—whoa, her hair! Everything about it looks so lived-in, a little tousled, she loves a face-framing moment. Very different from the Miss Casey topiary bob. Her clothes are relaxed and sort of nondescript to highlight her facial expressions. Super minimal makeup.

The key to understanding her is in the styling, I think. Dark button downs with the sleeves rolled up, soft fabrics that pool and wrinkle, and the star of this look—the saddle brown Coach turnlock messenger bag (similar). It suits her identity as a professor. Mark’s outfit is actually very similar to hers in color palette and feel, to underscore the message that they are a *perfect match.*

They also use a lot of books and paper in the background in all of the “pre-Lumon” scenes, which made me associate their clothes with the worn quality and smell of old books.

2). Lumon Mint Matching Set

We learn that Lumon keeps Gemma as a prisoner on the testing floor as a science experiment, pushing the limits of how many ways you can sever a person’s consciousness. On the testing floor, she’s wearing a Lumon-issued mint green uniform, hair pulled back in a bun and thin elastic headband. The pastel green, used in this context, achieves an uneasy, hyper-sanitized effect: it reminds me of the blueish greenish shades of hospital uniforms, soap, and dental floss.

The full coverage, high-neck cut of the matching set underscores Lumon’s control over her entire body. It affects her posture and restricts her movement. You could imagine it’s not comfortable to hunch over in this top! It’s also modesty by the hands of a controlling force. This is a recurring silhouette for Gemma/Miss Casey throughout the seasons.

3). Dried Blood Dentist’s Dress

Gemma’s “closet” is basically a fluorescent vending machine of vintage outfits she has to wear to visit the “rooms”—where her innies undergo unpleasant ordeals. In this instance, she has to visit the dentist room. The way the clothes are displayed resemble that of a toy doll’s. Everything is picked out for her, from the wig to the shoes. The unsettling part is that it’s so detailed:

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This post contains spoilers for Nosferatu.

On a foggy Bay Area evening, I bundled up in a puffer jacket, and fur-lined clogs for a 7:30pm showing of Nosferatu.

I snuck a foil-wrapped burrito in for dinner, which was very risky because I almost choked on a piece of asada at the first jump scare-induced GASP!

It had been a few weeks since the film’s release, so I felt like I was late to the party in terms of discussing its reception. My expectations had already been shaped by a few Letterboxd reviews and Orlock thirst trap edits that popped up on my TikTok fyp, but still! I was excited to see Lily-Rose Depp do her haunted corpse bride thing (she was actually great in The Idol, I was singing “I’m just a freak yeahhhh” that whole summer).

Depp plays Ellen Hutter, a woman whose psychic abilities lead her to make contact with a demonic spirit (the vampire Nosferatu). He torments her in nightmares and takes over her body—causing seizures and sleepwalking.

She is generally enjoying newlywed life with Thomas, her devoted husband who is eager for a good performance review at his real estate agent job. So when his creepy boss tasks him with the journey to Transylvania to help a mysterious Count Orlock buy property, he reluctantly leaves Ellen (with her chatelaine locket dangling from his hip—loved this jewelry detail).

While the film’s most apparent stylistic influence is all things Gothic, I was struck by the subtler nods to the visual (and philosophical) codes of the German Romantic movement.

Because FW Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror (1922) was a quintessentially German Expressionistic film, I’ve seen some reviews calling Nosferatu a Gothic-meets-German Expressionist work as well.

However, Jarin Blaschke, the film’s cinematographer, specifically states in an interview that it is not:

“What’s important to him is having it told through the eye of the culture of the time, which was not expressionism, not black and white,” says Blaschke. “Rob was clear it should be romanticism […] You just get a feeling from romantic paintings; there’s something to the light that is a little other.”1

Ok, brief art history lesson.

The German Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th century was a revolt against the values of capitalist industrialization, manifested through artistic mediums like poetry, music, and painting.2 It was a reaction to the European Enlightenment, which ushered in a new world order that prized rationality and logic.

You could think of them as the original anti-STEM movement.

The “romantic” in Romanticism doesn’t refer to love, but rather the condition of being prone to emotional intensity and chaos. Of standing on a cliff with crashing waves, overcome with the awe and fear of the elusive sublime. If Beethoven’s later life works were the sound of Romanticism—stirring “mists of terror, of grief”3, then Caspar David Friedrich’s paintings are its visual embodiment.

As I watched Nosferatu, I kept thinking—this looks exactly like a Friedrich painting.

Indeed, Eggers mentions in an interview that he looked at Friedrich’s paintings as moodboard inspiration.4

I argue that Nosferatu uses the visual language of German Romanticism to convey the movement’s values to a contemporary audience. This is the message I took away from the film:

A society ruled by rationality and industrial progress (ahem, AI and climate change) is at risk of self-destruction, as it fails to value the mystical, the folk traditions, and the deep cultural wisdom that technology cannot convey.

We are Wisborg—the paradox of the “scientific” society that is destroyed by a supernatural demonic plague. Nosferatu speaks to the epochal anxiety of techno-capitalism and horrors it will bring.

The shot of Thomas overlooking the mountains resembles the most famous German Romantic painting: Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog by Friedrich. The images are compositional twins: man seen from the back, facing a blustery natural landscape that conjures both fear and awe (the sublime).

The back shot was central to the Romantic style, which emphasized the power of natural phenomena. Man is faceless, rendered a shadow, looking onward with a sort of reverent communion with the landscape.

During his long journey to Orlock’s castle, Thomas seeks respite in a small Transylvanian village for a night. The villagers urge him to stay away from the castle, speaking of its darkness and general cursed-ness. He decides to stay anyways.

So begins the tension between the rational and the mystical…at night, he has a nightmare that the villagers went out into the forest to perform a ritual that ends with exhuming a vampire corpse.

The contrast between the Transylvanian "folk superstitions” against Wisborg’s “scientific doctors” reflect the Romantic philosophy: the people who believe in vampires seem to be protected from Nosferatu’s evil, while those who scoff at the talk of the supernatural are the first to succumb to the plague.

Here’s another film + painting pairing:

Ellen and Anna strolling along the sandy shores of the cemetery. The outdoor scenes were my favorite fashion moments, because the women always wore these incredible hats with brims, long ribbons, and dark florals.

Doesn’t that look so similar to this?

Again, we see compositional parallels: two figures, closely connected as a unit, surrounded by a natural landscape with a distinct horizon line. Ellen and Anna’s friendship is meant to evoke sisterhood, and Friedrich’s painting implies the pair in his scene are brothers.

Paintings in the Romantic tradition never depict a sprawl or a crowd—that would conjure the dense population of the industrialized urban center. Rather, these images zero in on a stirring individual connection with nature, or 1:1 human relationships with depth.

Here’s another Friedrich painting that echoes those themes:

One woman drapes her hand on the other’s shoulder—a gesture of care and familiarity. This image brings up a sense of wistfulness. Romanticists believed that good art should move the viewer, and stimulate emotions that could not be explained by reason.

It is on this outdoor nature walk that Ellen opens up to Anna about her psychic experiences (being possessed by Nosferatu). Ellen looks out into the gray skies and water as she explains the inexplicable to Anna.

Whenever Ellen speaks more openly about her connection to Nosferatu, there’s an element of letting the “outside” in. Like when she opens the window on the final night, luring him in to find her. Applying a Romantic reading to this observation suggests that inviting in the tumultuousness of nature is a portal to connect with your inner emotional world—especially the parts that feel dark and shameful.

I am left wondering if Nosferatu is indicative of a resurgence of Romantic values for modern times, as technology tightens its firm grasp on every part of our lives. The Met Museum is running a Caspar David Friedrich exhibition this Spring, and there’s talk of more Gothic movie adaptations on the way (Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights).

The direction of art and literature is tied to our collective cultural psyche. It seems that we are hungry for answers to questions that the Romantics asked centuries ago.

Where does humanity fit into the larger natural order?

Why do we feel a bittersweet longing for an unknown past?

Where do we go to seek the sublime?

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you thought of Nosferatu.

Personally, I didn’t think it was meant to be a huge “fashion” film in the same way as say, Poor Things was, but I liked Ellen’s floaty nightgowns and period-specific dresses.

xoxo viv

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If 2024 was all about the great Sex and The City revival, I hope 2025 is the year we collectively rediscover the cultural gem that is Ugly Betty. No offense to Carrie—but we’re long overdue for a canonical fashion writer girl who represents the reality of the industry, and Betty Suarez is that girl.

From the start of the pilot episode, I was rooting for Betty. She is optimistic, earnest, hardworking, and incredibly relatable. If Carrie has the unattainable fantasy life we dream of (making $4.50/word for Vogue WTFFFFF?), Betty is the girl most of us can *actually* see ourselves in. She is Latina, comes from a working class background, lives in an intergenerational household, and has dreams of becoming a magazine writer.

Her story starts when she lands a job at Meade Publications as the assistant to the editor-in-chief at MODE, a major fashion magazine. It’s hard to get a foot in the door of an industry run by wealthy white people and nepo babies, so this is a big deal for her.

So, the show is far from perfect. There are countless problematic moments that range from cringey to outright cruel. The MODE bitches incessantly mock Betty’s appearance, body, and “lack” of fashion sense. The 2000s “thin is in”/diet culture comments are just so eye roll deep sigh (and I understand why you would pass on the show because of this).

However, I think the new guard of Ugly Betty fans recognize that her character was unfairly bullied and she was *always* a stylish, inspiring, badass icon. Justice for Betty Suarez.

My favorite thing about the show is its detailed portrayal of the fashion media industry in the early aughts (the show ran from 2006-2010). The world-building of the MODE office is done spectacularly, I can picture what it would be like to work there: check in with Amanda at reception, walk down the mod space age-esque hallways, pull a Marc Jacobs dress from the Closet, get roasted alive by Wilhelmina at the pitch meeting…

Here are the 10 things Ugly Betty got right about working in fashion media, according to a freelance fashion writer.

Obviously, this post contains mega spoilers.

1.) The bravest thing you can do is to stay true to yourself.

From Day 1 at MODE, Betty is relentlessly hazed and bullied.

It’s hard to watch at times. Like when they start a blog where they post Betty’s daily outfits to laugh at. It breaks my heart tbh :/

Throughout the series, her colleagues do experience some character growth that leads to glimmers of friendship.Her boss Daniel probably gets the most character development into a “good guy” who truly cares about her, but Amanda and Mark are frenemy types always revert back to their horrid Tweedledee and Tweedledum ways.

She’s surrounded by a lot of morally gray characters and gets confronted with ethical dilemmas herself, as she rises up in the ranks of MODE.

Throughout this, Betty stays true to herself. She does not stop dressing in her brightly colored tights, printed blouses, and red glasses. She wears her “B” necklace even though it doesn’t go with everything she wears because it’s from her mother and has personal sentimental value. And when given the option to play dirty to advance her own career, she does the hard—but right—thing.

I wrote about the effects of peer pressure and parasocial envy from working in proximity to the fashion industry here:

The more I grew connected to fashion brands, designers, and media publications through my work, the louder that voice of compulsory desire of “being at fashion week” became.

You will run into situations that test your code of values. Listen to your intuition when you feel like something isn’t right, or if someone’s conduct makes you uncomfortable (the fashion industry is a massive HR handbook violation).

It sounds so simple, but don’t lose yourself to try and fit in with the cool girls, the glossy editors, the rooms that make you feel unwelcome.

There is always a kinder table to sit at. If you can’t find it, build it.

2). Learn how to network.

Betty’s first test in the Young Editors Training Initiative (YETI) program is to get 40 contacts. A good journalist must have sources, after all! Stressed over how to network, Betty turns to fellow assistant Mark for advice. Mark has a dog-eat-dog worldview and explains his transactional approach to networking.

(Today, we’d call Mark a clout chaser).

Mark is the type to use people for his own personal gain. But worse than Mark are the ones who pretend to be your friend just to let your guard down before they use you. (Betty learns this the hard way when an ELLE employee she trusted turns out to be an opp who steals a cover shoot dress from MODE).

There are a LOT of people like this across all industries, not just in fashion or media. You know, no intro or even a “hi how are you”—just straight to asking for something and will stop interacting with you after they get it.

So how do you network without being a clout chasing troll? In my experience, basic respect and a little consideration go a long way. Back in the 2000s, networking was about getting someone’s email or phone number. Now, thanks to Instagram and social media, everyone is reachable—it’s just about how you approach. Send the DM or email, introduce yourself, and most importantly, be genuine.

3). Talk to the caterer.

So many networking lessons in Ugly Betty!

She spends 20 minutes talking to a caterer named Ryan at a mixer, and it pays off when she needs someone to sneak her into the ELLE offices. The moral of the story is to never discount someone based on your perception of their importance in an hierarchal workplace.

When I am writing a story, the sources who are overlooked by society often have the most interesting perspectives and anecdotes. This is because power-hungry people write you off when they think you’re beneath them, and open their big mouths or misbehave. So the ‘caterer’ is the holder of many secrets. In my old job, I would interview people from all walks of life and shadow them at work: social workers, plumbers, steelworkers, doctors, executives, attorneys, etc.

The social workers and plumbers were always the best to interview.

4). You can learn a thing or two from Sports Guy.

Betty initially meets Matt (a future bf) through a YETI assignment where they have to shadow a peer who works in an entirely different subject area. At first she is dismissive about sports and doesn’t think she can learn anything from him. It’s a little cliche, but she realizes that any topic can be interesting if you find a personal connection to it.

I intentionally seek out non-fashion content in my media diet; recently wrote a piece about breaking the fashion Substack algorithm that I loved. You just learn so much by reading about topics outside of fashion, AND you actually end up having more interdisciplinary ideas to write about. The intersection of fashion and X is where I’m happiest as a writer.

If you are a Sports Guy reading this, maybe we can swap notes on our respective beats…

5). Knowing how to write a press release is useful anywhere.

Betty goes through a minor crisis when she realizes she’s “on track” to become a fashion editor, but her actual dream is to be at The New York Review (a fictionalized New Yorker of sorts). She’s interested in international politics and humanitarian efforts, and decides she needs to develop some non-fashion specific skills. Why not start with drafting a press release?

Though I love what I’m doing now for work, I keep an open mind about where life might take me. Writing (and communication more generally) has been the most valuable transferrable skill in my career thus far.

It’s not just press releases—writing litigation briefs and papsmear awareness campaigns 100% prepared me to write stories about Japanese vintage sellers on American road trips.

And I expect that writing about vintage sellers will prepare me for whatever it is I will be doing 10 years from now!

6). You have to start with fluff pieces before you’re trusted with bigger stories.

This one is pretty self-explanatory.

If you’re writing for a publication (whether as a freelancer or full-time staff), expect to write a lot of fluffy SEO stories about Taylor Swift’s handbag or whatever before you are entrusted with higher-stakes stories.

7). Expect to get laid off (all adventurous women do).

Due to con man Connor, MODE ends up in deep financial trouble. Daniel and Wilhelmina do everything they can to save the magazine, but are left with no choice but to fire people.

Everyone I know who has worked at magazines/publishing for a good chunk of their career has been laid off at least once. It got especially bad after the peak Covid years, which contributed to the explosion of editors and writers turning to Substack as a professional lifeline.

I was once laid off from a part-time job for a lifestyle media brand due to budget cuts. I was kind of relieved when it happened because for the two weeks leading up to it, I had a feeling that I might be getting cut, and the anticipation gave me so much anxiety.

If you’re able to, take time to process the shock and figure out what you’ll do next. My thought process was: well, if writing is going to be unstable anyways, I might as well put all my chips into myself and go freelance.

8). Never meet your heroes. Or at least…don’t idolize them.

Through the YETI program, Betty gets mentored by Jodie Papadakis—her publishing world idol.

However, when Betty finally gets an offer for her dream job as an editor for the New York Review, Jodie pulls a Game of Thrones move and steals the job for herself. Ruthless!!!!!

To me, this scene shows that despite being a well-respected editor, Jodie is not immune to the scarcity mindset that plagues the financially struggling media industry.

The lesson here for Betty is to never worship her role models. They’re people too, and people will do bad things out of desperation.

It’s easy to look at a seemingly accomplished writer with several published books and a vanity column in Vogue and think they’re thriving in their career.

But the truth is, you truly never know that’s going on. Like Jodie, are they lowkey resentful of a cherry 20-something TikToker waltzing in to “take their job”?

Find mentors. But don’t put them on a pedestal.

9). But does your pitch have a trend angle?

When Betty joins her first pitch meeting as a newly promoted associate editor, she is called on to offer an idea. She’s in the hot seat and not fully prepared, so she throws out the first topic that pops into her head: mosquito-borne disease in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s a start—she tries to draw a connection to African fashion but Meegan (another junior features editor) jumps in with the trend angle that gets approved on the spot.

If this was representative of trend-driven journalism in the early aughts, multiply it by 100 and that’s the reality we’re operating in today. wrote about this “trend journalism” phenomenon, explaining why every headline seems to refer to niche internet jokes. I’ve pitched enough stories to fashion magazines by now that I can recognize when my idea lacks of a timely news peg. Which means I can pitch it as a evergreen story, or roll my sleeves up and find the angle I need.

Editors are trained to pluck out fresh original ideas, but they’re also beholden to the publication’s business performance—we can’t pretend that clicks and SEO and web traffic aren’t a major factor in what makes the story a “good fit.”

10). Start a blog (or newsletter).

Betty gets sick of writing fluff pieces, so she starts a blog at the encouragement of her bf Matt and her sister Hilda. She’s scared no one will read it (the first post has 3 views) but DOES IT ANYWAY.

Last week, I did an open call for a Q +A I’m recording (you can still submit a question by commenting or replying to this email). The most common question was some variation of “I want to start a newsletter but I am scared/nervous/conscious.”

Maybe no one will read it. Maybe a stranger thinks you are a bad writer (oh well, whatever). Maybe a friend judges you for it (they’re not really your friend). You have to decide that your dreams and authentic expression are more important than avoiding judgement from others.

I will be channeling Betty Suarez big time in 2025.

Drop a comment with your favorite Ugly Betty moment—can be a character, ridiculous plotline, or outfit!

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo

viv

The theme for the next secondhand sonar drop (paid reader perk!) is jewelry, and will include:

• Elsa Peretti silver

• charms in whimsical shapes (swans, bunnies, birthday cakes!)

• lockets

• jewelry/trinket boxes

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Wanna get the word out about your secondhand clothing app, vintage biz, or podcast/newsletter? Submissions open for the next round of The Molehill Classifieds here.

Hello!

I’m thrilled to have a special guest on The Molehill today—Sue Smey from Survivor’s latest season, which came to a dramatic close this week (the fire challenge had me screaming at the TV). The casting was what really set this season apart, in my opinion. I made a video about how it was sooo GIRLS HBO-coded, mainly because Teeny reminds me of Hannah Horvath and you can’t convince me Gen isn’t Marnie in another timeline.

Even if you do not watch Survivor, its enduring influence on pop culture is undeniable. It took the age-old hypothetical “what if you were stranded on a deserted island” and turned it into reality television gold—introducing phrases like the tribe has spoken and forming alliances into our cultural lexicon.

Each season I pick one contestant to interview, purely based on vibes (see: my chat with Jess Chong from Season 46 who regrets packing an Aritzia sweater for the island). Several castaways had standout fashion/beauty moments that made them a contender—like Sol’s jury outfit that had everyone shook and thirsty—but one person captivated my intrigue above others…

Meet Sue.

Sue is iconic because:

1. She lied and told everyone she was 45 (she was 58/59).

2. She is the oldest woman ever to win an individual Immunity Challenge *and* the oldest finalist in Survivor history.

3. She always had soot marks on her face, which read as an intentional attempt at contouring (no makeup is allowed on the island). Fans were obsessed with this “island beauty hack”, leading Sue to make a cheeky tutorial on how to get her signature SUEnami snatched cheeks.

So naturally, I was dying to know more about Sue’s island beauty secrets—and dig deeper into conversations about feminine aesthetic labor on reality TV.

We chatted on Thursday via Zoom. Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Hi Sue! Ok, let’s clarify the whole ‘soot contour’ thing. Was any part of it actually intentional?

Sue: Once, I tried using soot as undereye liner by dabbing it on with my pinky. Afterward, I panicked, afraid I looked ridiculous since I didn’t have a mirror to check. The rest of the soot and dirt on me came from playing with the fire, gathering wood, and searching for things to burn or idols.

I didn’t realize how dirty I’d gotten until Rachel or Caroline occasionally pointed out spots I should wipe. Looking back, some of it might have come from my morning routine. I splashed my face with water to rinse off the dirt from sleeping on the ground. But I never scrubbed, and obviously we had no soap.

Can you walk us through the cosmetic/aesthetic work you got done in preparation for the show? And your thought process behind it?

I think it’s hard for most of us to imagine being on camera for 26 days, in such a stripped-down and vulnerable state.

Sue: First, I've always used eyelash serum to help my eyelashes grow a bit. The week before I left for the show, I had eyelashes extensions put on, and I did the shortest possible ones they make in a C curl. I had so many people reaching out asking, what mascara did you use? There was no mascara, was eyelash extensions.

I also did laser hair removal. I was just like, I don't want to be standing there with a bunch of underarm hair—not that I have so much and it's so dark, but I don't know…I was self-conscious about that.

When I first got the call that I possibly could be cast, I had my eyebrows microbladed.

Then I got hair extensions. I only did two rows, just because I wanted to be able to pull my hair up. And obviously people saw them anyways, but I don't hide anything. My biggest concern was whether they were going to last, if the saltwater and not washing them was going to destroy them.

Obviously, I do a lot of stuff. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm proud of my lips, I'm proud of everything.

How did you decide what to pack?

Sue: The show runners give us a clothing list of what they want us to purchase and mail in for approval. My assigned color was blue, so I went with all blue clothes. The bra I sent in was actually blue leopard print.

They purchase extras of everything in case you lose an item because of the weather of something. But they couldn't find the bra in blue, so instead they bought it in brown. So that’s what I wore because you need to be wearing the exact same thing the whole show. When you’re halfway through and you lose the weight, you have smaller sizes to change into.

I just purchased a whole bunch of bras that I thought would be not revealing. I mean, I got good boobs, but it's a family show so I wanted it to be more of a sports bra.

Was it strange not having mirrors on the island? Did you find yourself wondering how you looked?

Sue: To be honest, I just felt like I looked normal. I knew I was getting tanned, I hoped my lash extensions were still there, and I did what I could to keep my hair from getting tangled. So I never really gave my looks much thought. When you are basically struggling to survive, you really don't think of how you look.

What was your reaction to seeing your reflection for the first time?

Sue: The first time I saw myself in the mirror, I was mortified. It happened when Genevieve took me to the sanctuary near the end. I barely recognized myself—I was so thin, and my face was so wrinkled. Seeing my reflection was a shock, and it embarrassed me. I actually felt scared looking at myself and had to walk away, telling them I couldn’t bear to see it.

What upset me even more was knowing other people would be seeing me like that. I felt incredibly self-conscious and ugly.

People on the internet can also be so mean. How have you dealt with negative comments on your appearance?

Sue: I don't really care what people think about me. I knew it was going to happen because I've obviously had my chest done and I've had my lips done. This is my life.

If you are the type of person that wants your gray hair, wants to not wear makeup, I support you. I'm never going to tell someone how they should look. People making fun of my lips and they were calling me McTitty Duck Lips or something. I was laughing at that because it doesn't bother me.

I own it and I'm proud of it. And let me tell you, there's more people out there doing what I do than what people think. Maybe they're ashamed to tell people, and that's okay too.

As for the haters, I feel bad that it's so upsetting to them that they have to say mean comments, but that's their issue. People say they don't like when people look fake, well then you don't like me. It doesn't bother me. I have to love myself.

How do you nurture your inner beauty? Do you have any role models you look up to?

Sue: So you may think this is weird. I'm a huge, huge, huge Esther Hicks fan. She's a channeler. I listen to her all the time. She's changed my life. She helps you to learn to manifest positive things in your life. Everything I've done since I started listening to her has changed my world. I've gotten over my childhood trauma. I've been able to accept my life. That’s who I would have brought with me on the island if I could.

Did you manifest your way to Survivor?

Sue: I keep a list every day. After I finish my morning 2 mile walk, I write a list of to-do’s. If you scroll down my list, all the way to October, it says “manifested Survivor.”

Literally in October, I was just visualizing myself there. I could see myself there and I made it happen.

I've had it happen with my flight school, when I'm like, oh my god, I need another instructor. But now, okay, let's visualize that it's here already. And all of a sudden—I'll never forget that day—I did some really deep concentrating and meditating. And within two hours I got a phone call of someone looking for a job.

You can manifest anything. I believe you can.

Do you think lying about your age was an effective strategy?

Sue: Looking back, I still believe it was the best move for my game to lie about my age. I could be wrong, but I felt that by keeping it vague, no one would dig too deeply into it. In the end, it made for a great surprise when they finally learned my real age. Honestly, it was kind of fun, too, knowing I went in with this plan, and then actually executing it.

Whether they believed it or not…I never got my torch snuffed!! It seemed most were very surprised!!! This plan went off EXACTLY the way I envisioned it. (Other than the million dollars lol).

So much fun!!!

If it’s not clear by now, Sue is the Jessa of the cast, if we’re going with the GIRLS HBO analogy. I asked Sue if she knew this reference (she didn’t). So I sent her a Youtube compilation of Jessa being a beautiful trainwreck for 7 minutes straight, to which she responded:

THANK YOU SUE! <3

I LOVE debriefing Survivor and don’t have enough people to talk to about it…so please chime in with your thoughts on the finale and hot takes from Season 47!

We also have a chat going where you can find your people…

xoxo viv

Rounding out today’s newsletter with a mini gift guide and a newly-launched Classifieds section! Full gift guides here and here. So far, lots of interest in the Ginseng and Gummy Bear lip glosses, black loafers and Liis Studied (my daily fragrance).

Gifts for the Girls Who Love Silver…

Ok, I had already written this gift guide and then this morning saw that the NYT published a piece about how people are gravitating towards silver as gold prices soar. I’m very interested in how these economic shifts affect our cultural relationship to precious metals.

*Disclosure: some affiliate links below

• Cirque Colors Slyph Nail Polish—a true “pearlescent” color. My nails look like tilapia fish scales. Or a cold puff of air in snow. Somehow it looks even better a little smudged/chipped after rock climbing because it’s lived-in (a la Margiela’s “cracked” paint Tabis).

• Silver Crescent Shoulder Bag—I was gifted this silver bag from Reformation. To show some “behind of the scenes” of how PR works: they let me pick something off a linesheet. I don’t like most of their clothes because the material quality + construction is usually not there. The leather shoes and bags, however, are worth a closer look next time you can (ideally) feel it in-person. This a nappa leather bag that looks like a silver crescent moon—it has a magnetic clasp closure at the top, versus a zipper, which I’ve found to be quite ergonomic. Here are some vintage options for $64, $95, $110, and a puffy dumpling-esque vintage Coach for auction starting at $25.

  

• CLED Silver Bean Ring ($229 with code VIVTHEMOLE)—I love bean-shaped jewelry and predict more jewelry designers will be leaning into legumes for inspiration. It’s sculptural, organic, womb-like…for this ring I recommend the “light olive” color + a silver base.

Wanna spread the word about your secondhand clothing app, small biz, or creative project? (Or maybe you’re seeking a man with a union job).

Run a classified ad in The Molehill here.

• Heavy on sentimentality and thoughtfulness, Studio Second Sight curates vintage jewelry and objects of intrigue! $1 from every purchase goes to organizations working to make the world more equitable and safe for all. @studiosecondsight

• Seeking single man in LA area who loves karaoke and works with his hands (union job preferred). Find me at Krazy J’s in the LA suburbs. Sing me a song. XO, karaokeprincess99@yahoo.com

• Oakland-based baker offering her services! Reach out next time you’re looking to celebrate with a decadent dessert. Specialties include fruit-forward seasonal cakes & cinnamon roll towers. buttermilkbabushka@gmail.com & IG @buttermilkbabushka

• “Hard-hitting garments for hard-hitting women”. W’menswear collections tell stories of pioneering women through history. We work with independent dyers, weavers, and makers who are dedicated to authenticity and preserving heritage. Visit wmenswear.com

• Nicholas Knacks—We’re consignment service based out of the SF Bay Area, focused on secondhand designer clothing for all genders! We carry a wide selection of vintage & modern pieces, with an emphasis on items made with high-quality materials. Use code THEMOLEHILL at checkout for 10% off until 2/1/25.

ON ELECTION NIGHT I drove to the local theater to watch a 4pm showing of Anora with a brown paper bag of buttered popcorn doused with nutritional yeast powder.

The movie begins with the soaring, synth-y vocals of “Greatest Day” over the opening lap dance shot, eventually panning to Ani’s smiling face and tinsel-flecked hair whipping in the cinematic slow-mo strip club wind.

Like everyone else in the theater that evening, I was watching the movie instead of scrolling election coverage.

But really, it was impossible to NOT think about our political reality watching a movie that interrogates the American Dream through the lens of a sex worker.

Directed by Sean Baker, the movie is about Ani (short for Anora), a 23 year old strip club worker struggling to make ends meet in New York’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. One night she meets Vanya, the 21 year old son of a Russian oligarch (I could see him being roomies with Baron Trump at boarding school), and the two begin a “romance” that escalates into a spontaneous Vegas wedding. I put “romance” in quotes because the story’s tension centers on the ambiguity of their dynamic, which to me read mostly as a transaction but with justtttt enough euphoric cinematography to convince us/Ani of the potential for real feelings.

Anyways, their marraige falls apart quickly when Vanya’s parents catch wind that he “married a prostitute” and thus brought shame on the Zakharov family name. Poof! American Dream goes down the toilet—but not without Ani fighting tooth and nail at every turn in a world stacked against her in every way.

As a Californian, I’d never heard of Brighton Beach before.

But Baker does a beautiful job portraying the cultural specificity of a Slavic diaspora community. Many scenes had the allure of a Sam Youkilis photo dump: regular people at church baptisms and late night diners and Coney Island candy shops, the mundanity transformed into romance through the fairy dust of Kodak 35mm film.

This week I’ve been processing the movie at the same time as the election thinkpieces and one night, it hit me…

Ani and Melania Trump both offer character studies of the Slavic Bimbo aesthetic archetype.

I’ve read a lot of takes about how the tradwife agenda, soft life propaganda and other seemingly innocuous internet trends were, in hindsight, signs that the incel Trumpies were winning all along.

I believe the Slavic Bimbo aesthetic trend,

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The first time I watched Uptown Girls as a tween in the 2000s (as a DVD from Blockbuster, RIP) I was utterly enchanted.

We meet protagonist Molly Gunn on her birthday, waking up from a midday nap in classic Y2k rom-com style to the optimistic track of “Charmed Life” by Leigh Nash. She prances around her fairytale-esque apartment collecting garments strewn about to assemble her birthday outfit: a pair of pink underwear hanging off a miniature carousel, a shimmering beaded pink gown with floral appliques, and a tiny lampshade worn as a hairpiece to top it all off. Her pet pig trots around while she gets ready. It’s sooooo charming. It was then and it is now, though the passage of time has imbued it with potent nostalgia. Part of that is due to Brittany Murphy’s passing in 2009, which shifted the perception of the movie from one of lighthearted charm to one of poetic poignancy.

Uptown Girls has aged well, and so has the iconic birthday dress.

Last year marked the 20-year anniversary of the movie, which sparked a cultural revisiting of the movie’s messages and how they resonate with us today. You’ve probably seen pictures that spinning teacup scene, repurposed on the internet today as a movie still meme with girlhood-inflected captions about inner child work or grief work. Like many zillennials, this movie reminds me of the joys and pains of growing up; I first watched it as a child like Ray, and I am an adult like Molly. I can see through both perspectives now.

Christian Allaire wrote an article for Vogue last summer about how fans are still obsessed with the Uptown Girls dress two decades later. Count me in as one of them.

The dress is a 2002 piece from Blumarine, and it’s basically impossible to own because (1) there’s so few of them in circulation and (2) the movie’s cultural legacy has inflated prices. It’s not “the Blumarine dress,” it’s the “Uptown Girls birthday dress.” I believe one sold online to the tune of $8500. Ivy Getty was quoted in that Vogue article about how she was looking for it forever, so….just being realistic here, I’m not gonna beat an oil industry nepo baby in an eBay bid, and that’s IF it pops up on eBay at all.

All to say, I started toying with the idea of DIY-ing the dress last year. I bought a vintage beaded dress with the intention to rework it into a similar version of the iconic Blumarine one.

A full year later, I recreated my version of the dress for my 30th birthday. It was truly magical.

Reworking a vintage piece into the dress of my dreams was such a fun creative undertaking. The effort I put into it made it feel far more rewarding than say, ordering something online.

For an Uptown Girls dress transformation, nothing will be perfect off the bat.

The key is find something with good bones to work with.

I loved the process of sourcing a vintage dress and looking for potential and using my imagination. I found the original dress from La Poubelle’s vintage Diane Freis deadstock drops. Diane Freis is best known for her beaded bohemian gowns in the 80s, she is from LA but relocated herself and her brand to Hong Kong after visiting a friend there and falling in love with the silks. In her words:

“The Chinese Arts and Crafts Department stores displayed the finest dyed and embroidered silks that I had ever seen. I found a backstreet tailor and designed and ordered some colorful, embroidered flowing silk tops along with matching skirts.”

Going into the dress search, these were my non-negotiables:

• 90-100% silk composition

• shiny element (beads or sequins)

• primarily pink color scheme

• long maxi length

• body-hugging shape

This is the original Diane Freis dress. You can see the bust area and the straps are completely different. I wasn’t sure exactly how I would alter it at the time (or what would be feasible), but the dress ticked off the non-negotiables. The beadwork was critical for that glimmering look I wanted to achieve.

I lack the technical tailoring skills, but I do have a vision and will bring ideas to the table! So I brought the dress to my tailor, showed her the Uptown Girls reference pics and asked what was possible. It was an exercise in creativity because we had to establish limitations: due to the beadwork placement, we couldn’t cut the back into a deep V or take the back in with two darts (only one).

But, my tailor listened to me and we went back and forth on ideas. I had the dress on, in front of a mirror, as she pinned different areas to offer a visual of the final result.

These were the alterations (a lot of work!!):

• Removed bust padding

• Removed pleated edges under and above bust

• Changed the neckline to be more U/V shaped

• Removed original straps, cut into two thinner straps that cross in the back

• Taken in at sides and back for better fit

• Sewed floral appliques to the shoulder straps and by the lower thigh (this also helped cover up the seam transitions near the bust/straps)

I was unsure of where to get floral appliques, and my tailor recommended fake flowers at Joann’s. I spent a good 20 min deciding which one would work best and concluded the Pink Dogwood branch would do the trick.

The labor was $150 and the materials were $6 (on sale at my local store).

I joked with my tailor it felt like we were on Project Runway, working on this dress together.

I highly, highly recommend experiencing something like this once in your life—it will change your relationship with clothes.

If you feel inspired to recreate an Uptown Girls dress (for a special occasion, for Halloween, for anything!), you need a good base dress, a tailor if you lack the technical abilities like me, and some inspired embellishments. I also like that my dress turned out similar enough to the Uptown Girls that the reference lands (a few strangers noticed when I was wearing it out), but it has my own touch. I will treasure it forever.

Here are 15 secondhand dresses that have good bones.

They all have potential to be rework into something different. Some of these are minis and could be paired with a beaded skirt, some are more green and call for infusion of pink through appliques or sequin patches. I think the best part is using your imagination and making design decisions with consultation from someone with technical expertise. It will build confidence.

These range from about $40-$300.

1. 2000s Diane Freis Asymmetrical Silk Party Dress (XS-S)

2. ICE Silk Beaded Dress (Sz 16)

3. Paradise Tropical Print Beaded Rayon Dress (L)

4. J Kara Handkerchief Hem Slip Dress (Sz 16)

5. Oscar De La Renta Lingerie Mini Slip (M)

6. Silk Y2K Beaded Strap Slip Dress (Sz 8)

7. Monsoon Y2K Evening Dress (Sz 6)

8. Vintage Y2K Beaded Chiffon Dress (4P)

9. Emmanuel Ungaro Silk Flower Mini Dress (S)

10. Mac Duggal Sequin Evening Gown (2XL)

6. Sue Wong Nocturne Silk Pale Green Beaded Dress (Sz 6)

7. Vintage Y2K Pink Sheer Dress (M)

8. Rainbow Beaded Y2K Dress (Sz 6)

9. Y2K Silk Beaded Dress (Sz 4-6)

10. Sue Wong Pink Beaded Dress (Sz 8)

Hope this brightened your Monday inbox. Also, what are you guys doing for Halloween?? I love hearing about costumes and themed party ideas.

xoxo

viv

What paid subscribers are loving…

I’ve been jotting down costume design notes from Industry since Season 3 aired. Today I finally watched the finale and decided to bang out this newsletter while all the corporate espionage leather jackets and van cleef nepo baby necklaces are fresh in my head.

This Industry fashion-focused newsletter will cover:

• Harper and Yasmin’s style evolutions and character analyses

• Similarities to Mad Men and Normal People

• ID’d pieces of clothing from the show (with links)

Also, the best Industryhive writing on Substack is from by Brendan Holder, he recently did an interview with the show’s creators.

If you appreciate this kind of TV commentary & analysis, consider supporting with a paid subscription:

ok, count me in!

Industry reminds me of my first job—which incidentally, was my most corporate job. While most days as an entry-level consulting analyst were far more boring than the Pierpoint’s trading floor, there are little things the show gets so right about these hypercapitalist work environments and the archetypes that persist within them. The male manager with a short temper, the female manager who you will think be better but turns out to be even more iron-fisted, the fellow first-year girl you overhear crying in the bathroom stall. Sometimes bottles of liquor would be rolled down the hall, dim sum cart style, and everyone would be expected to take a shot.

And then there was the conundrum of building a corporate wardrobe from scratch. I remember the excitement of having a real adult paycheck for the first time and wanting to buy the “right things.” That’s how Everlane got me and every other 22-year old working girl in 2017. I’ve moved on from that world and its dress codes. I genuinely cannot imagine wtf I’d wear if I had to work a capital C corporate job again. For me, that’s the appeal in the observing the clothes of Industry: I can admire Harper’s tailored trousers and Yasmin’s rich bitch silk blouses from the distance of someone who doesn’t *need* to dress for a conservative office environment.

Clothes convey identity—especially in the heightened class consciousness of Industry—and each character’s arc can be understood through their clothing evolution. Let’s take a closer look. I focus on Harper and Yasmin in-depth, and feature a few honorable mentions from other characters.

Harper

In Seasons 1 and 2, we see Harper navigate the cutthroat dynamics at Pierpoint, a prestigious London investment bank. She gets fired and in Season 3, joins Future Dawn, an ESG-centric hedge fund that invests in “ethical” (lol) companies. While Pierpoint is mostly run by men in suits, FutureDawn’s top dogs are white women who do corpcore with a Scandi twist…think Toteme.

So how does Harper adjust her style to fit into the values of this new office? In short, she ditches her suits for sweaters.

Harper is an expert at picking up on the unspoken dress codes around her:

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you can read part 1 (covers episodes 1-5) for free here. if you appreciate this kind of tv commentary, consider supporting with a paid subscription:

ok, count me in!

so if you follow the show, you know the big hook of part 2 is that emily goes to rome and the whole thing is like, roman holiday for gen z.

i’ve said before that this show is cocomelon for fashion girls—therefore, i try not to intellectualize the viewing experience too much—but i just HAVE to point out how this show has joined the ranks of la dolce vita industrial complex.

starting with la dolce vita (fellini, 1960), the film industry had a crucial role in shaping our global perception of italy as a romantic, passionate, rustic place people go to “escape” the grind of techno-modernism and “find themselves.” it’s why the glorification of italy is so common across the romantic comedy genre. and emily in paris part 2 is no exception, with its vespa rides through the trevi fountain and rose-tinted vignettes of communal pasta lunches.

okay, now that i’ve gotten *one critical thought* out of my system, let’s sit back with some popcorn and enjoy the show. we’ll cover:

• imaginative scenarios of how the emily in paris cinematic universe would interact with the mad men cinematic universe (cause don draper would 1000% simp for sylvie)

• gabriel’s advocacy for the ESL community

• the time camille looked like a winter edition sonny angel

• genevieve looking like a sandy liang shopgirl

• marcello’s episodes are basically one big brunello cucinelli ad

• and ofc, analysis of emily’s outfits and styling

we begin with: THE OFFICE HOLIDAY PARTY

• i would love to work at agence grateau in december. they would all clock out at 3pm and sylvie would be the kind of boss to give a really chic ass holiday gift to her employees, like a monogrammed tekla PJ set or the tomato loewe candle. sigh

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• ahhhhh, christmastime in paris! i’m liking the festive winter setting for this. it’s a nice change of tone

• the winter coats are actually making me feel excited for cold weather

• emily’s look here feels like 2010s era jenna lyons with the bow tie and blazer lapels (remember when lena dunham and jenni konner showed up the met gala dressed as jenna lyons?)

• i want to see an episode where gabriel goes to wrigleyville chicago for a proper cooper christmas and they eat deep dish and go to a cubs game and then he gets a tummyache from the midwestern fromage during the 7th inning bc his french GI system isn’t built for american cheese

• omg…she would be from a turkey trot 5K family. also where did the ugly christmas sweaters come from? i doubt she bought them in paris and she definitely didn’t get them on vestiaire collective lol

• yes…if i were flying internationally i would also wear a newsboy cap, a heavy ass teddy coat and thigh high TRIPLE buckle boots to sit in a tiny metal tube for 9 hours

• ok if the airline says you’re business class WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TRY TO CORRECT THEM. just take the upgrade girl!!!!!

• but also, we’re supposed to believe she has all these $$ designer clothes but has only flown economy?

• peep the matching teddy shearling purse

• lol when she’s like “we should do the marketing for air france” this girlboss never misses a work opportunity. she would have thrived at sterling cooper. wait, her last name IS cooper…is she a secret descendant of burt cooper?

• wowwwww megeve is really cute. take me there now. i want to eat a piping hot hazelnut chocolate strawberry crepe in the cold with mittens and boots!

• camille looks like a sonny angel x hanes collab

• the winter snow outfits are really hitting for me. the hats!!!! i love that camille’s dad is a little eccentric and wears bright colors

• isn’t it interesting how gabriel is between the parents as if they were his own? and the grip the mom has on him. clever little hints that show how embedded he is in camille’s family life…

• i SHRIEKED at the screen. the coat?? the green mesh tights??? the boots with the orange heel????

• papa camille in a hanes onesie

• the ski costumes are giving me major winter style inspo. the little acorn hat is a clear audrey hepburn reference

• ughhhh gabriel and camille bickering is just so much drama, it’s so exhausting. i’d be pissed too if i were emily

• OK MEET CUTE WITH MR. EMILY IN ROME!

• they have way better chemistry together. i ship it

• go off emily. GET ANGRY! i found this to be so refreshing, her just venting and expressing how she really feels and being vulnerable instead of making jokes about how there’s 3 in the relationship. the resentment was simmering for a while

• wow. all this drama and camille isn’t even really pregnant

• emily’s emotional catharsis after she runs into alfie (who has a new gf) was a powerful scene for a show that’s usually so cocomelon cotton candy. it shows a side of lily collin’s acting we rarely get to see and i was moved by it

• this episode has me on emily’s side, i wanna see more emotional character development like this

• the outro of the sad church-y christmas music, the snow and emily bawling…why was this kind of a cinematic masterpiece?

• wow ok these two in their villian era throwing emily’s christmas sweater at her. the car is cool though

• new character alert. hi genevieve! lmao the american girls at the office—two people who match each other’s freak!

• emily proposing a welcome lunch is so american corporate culture. she’s probably been WAITING for a moment to mentor to a younger girl in marketing

• wait why would brigitte macron follow emily on instagram??

• loved this montage. but also, why didn’t sylvie ever take emily shopping for a new french wardrobe? gen is so lucky that sylvie handed her a job, a salary and makeover. oh, to be an agence grateau nepo baby

• she would thrive as a sandy liang shopgirl

• emily nailing the hey bebe perfume pitch. it’s so funny to contrast the pitch scenes in this show to mad men. peggy olson preps for days, pulls all-nighters and has to re-do pitches bc the clients are wishy washy. emily never preps, comes up with the idea on the spot and the client always thinks it’s brilliant!

• this was the ESL advocacy we needed to hear. gabriel saying “i feel ripped off” felt harsh but he’s right about the fact that their relationship relied on him speaking mostly in english and emily not being able/willing to learn french fluently enough to meet in the middle

• hmmm i feel like i see where this is going…genevieve has taken an interest in gabriel

• just two microtrend final boss besties at a polo match <3

• wish mindy had more character development though. all her scenes and storylines feel so stagnant idk what’s going on w her music career

• ok i was WONDERING when they would bring marcello back!

• he is 1000% not a goatherd lol

• emily saying she’s been to eataly is funny. like yes she’s kinda basic but is earnest and authentic about it. honestly i’d rather hang out with her than someone who’s a snob about it

• kicking my feet bc they have good chemistry!

• hair theory WHOMST. i feel like the bare forehead looks symbolize emily being more vulnerable and embracing her true self

• also sighhh gen asking about apartments. she’s creeping into emily’s life and crossing boundaries

• gen is emily’s karma though. cause emily did the same thing to camille when she moved to paris. will be interesting to see where they take this arc

• julien’s green blazer! corduroy bear fall

• bavazza espresso martinis is such a new york girlypop marketing idea

• i wonder what don draper would think of agence grateau. i mean he would definitely be drooling over sylvie’s but dump his deep-seated mommy issues on her. sylvie would humble him in an instant (he’d be into it though…). emily would be like a cross between peggy (the workholic mentee archetype) and megan (the fashion girlie/personality hire archetype)

• hah sylvie clocking the cashmere from marcello as “quiet luxury”—somehow i feel like she wouldn’t actually be into saying “quiet luxury” though

• mindy’s performance at crazy horse. i never expected them do the fully topless thing. this is a show where they boobs but draw the line at areolas.

• eye roll v exhausted of this love triangle dynamic. can the writers just move this along and give mindy a better storyline

• loving emily’s more undone looks in part 2 of this season—the knit sweater worn off the shoulder, the relaxed hair. she’s more comfortable and confident in her own skin

• every scene w gabriel so far just feels so heavy and exhausting and depressing. it just seems like he’s never able to be happy for other people unless things are going well for him

• and that’s why marcello’s energy just feels sooo much better. i can’t believe i’m rooting for them so much but i just really like them together!

• athleisure queen doing her stair sprints

• outfits are getting good. i think her character growth is showing in the wardrobe choices—more power suiting, the slick back hair, the pops of red (mirroring marcello)

• someone please tell her she should be using ALL her PTO. sylvie is probably like thank GOD, go have fun bitch!

• emily in rome is marketing the italian dolce vita aesthetic to american audiences, in the tradition of eat pray love etc. setting aside the politics of western european tourism, this vespa ride scene through the landmarks was indeed fun to watch

• really just roman holiday for gen z

• the butterfly shaped backpack representing rebirth and new identities!

• sandy liang shopgirl.

• emily is LIVINGGG. we just rarely see her have pure fun and let loose and i’m rooting for this version of her. the fingered glove dress thing always makes me feel weird though lol

• oop sylvie crashing their romantic weekend with…talking business?? oh how the roles have been reversed.

• shop talk over little breakfast cakes. i love seeing emily’s forehead

• JVMA is definitely LVMH

• another roman holiday homage

• ok marcello’s family business is 1000% supposed to be a fictional brunello cucinelli. the small family business, the whole “we treat our town workers like a family” thing, investing in the local infrastructure

• mama muratori is team “no phones at The Row”

• i kinda zoned out during this part but sylvie is also thriving in rome

• ok PERSONALLY i don’t really love the mindy musical performances that randomly get shoehorned into the show

• mindy overall just gets the typical side character treatment. it feels like she only exists on the show to launch the actress’s singing career cause why is the character/storytelling so flat

• love julien’s jacket. need to get a peek at his SSENSE wishlist…

• gen and gabriel are both very annoying lol. she’s gushing over him winning the michelin star while clearly he’s all moody and thinking of ~emily~

• celebrating bc they saved brunello cucinelli from going corporate. sylvie looks soo good in orange

• this is what i don’t like about gabriel! once things are going well for him (winning the m-star), he’s suddenly all cheery and wants emily back in his life

• why is it so comforting to see alfie back in the picture?

• gabriel being even more triggered when mindy says emily has MOVED ON SHE IS IN ITALY W HER NEW BF

• the end. emily has a new boyfriend and looks out the window of her agence grateau sponsored apartment, excited to market the shit out the dolce vita lifestyle for more brands :)

overall, i truly enjoyed part 2. the show felt like more of a drama at times, and i hope the writers give us more emotional scenes and character development.

interviewer asks lilly collins where emily should travel next…

@marieclaire_auEmily in TOKYO?! #LilyCollins is already dreaming up the next location to take #EmilyInParis after a stop over in Rome 🇮🇹 Let’s hope Marcello comes with her… #emilyinparisseason4 #emilyinrome #netflixseries

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my response? emily in tokyo has been done, babes:

thanks for reading! i’m really on a film/tv kick lately :)

what are you guys watching right now?

xoxo

viv

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i love emily in paris for the same reason i loved crazy rich asians. it’s literally just cocomelon for the fashion girls. put that shit on an ipad in front of me with some chicken nuggets and a fizzy drink, and i will stay mesmerized for hours! it’s not pretentious. and i don’t expect to glean anything insightful from it.

this makes it the perfect airplane entertainment (especially since i was headed to miss emily cooper’s hometown of chicago). what better way to spend the flight than tuning into the latest escapades of our favorite print-clashing product-launching girlboss??

what follows is my live commentary and reactions as i watched.

it contains spoilers for everything that happens through episode 5!

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• ok emily’s episode opening outfit is bubblegum pink and emerald green. that romper looks very uncomfortable. very stiff and i just know it’s giving the worst wedgie. what is that bolero thing? this looks like a lily pulitzer x jacquemus collab, which might actually be the perfect characterization of our protagonist

• our girlypop careerist is careering as usual. her obsessive work ethic and uptightness reminds me a LOT of marnie michaels (you have to read this marnie character analysis by ). emily would also 1000% start a *fun* business marketing substack in the style of feed me and be obsessed with validation like being on the leaderboard

• lmaooo course gabriel is ~injured~ so emily can play the flirty nurse role and help him. you know, i do like the leeks sticking out of his bag though. gabriel would have a softboi cooking substack called something like letters from normandy. it would be stories about his rustic childhood food memories like how his maman taught him the the importance of fresh butter <3

• this egg cooking scene is feeling very product placement-y already…the zoom onto her dainty gold ring stack while she cracks the eggs

• wait wtf. she just messes up his eggs and leaves the hot pan midway to go to work?? rudeeee! ringarde!!

• sylvie just dropped a bar: “you broadcast your entire life for public consumption and now it’s affecting my business.” sylvie’s substack would be about being a bad bitch in her 60s and if you ever left a comment asking where her jeans are from she would just be like, “vintage x” also she would not be on notes cause that’s too ringarde for her

• ok it annoys me when sylvie samples the maison lavaux baccarat perfume and literally just inhales the top note after a spritz. her character would be the type to let it settle and take in the base notes, no?

• lol not the labor exploitation of the two asian characters + working class benoit cause there’s no budget for eurovision. but isn’t mindy a nepo baby? i feel like it’ll be fine. they’ll get the money

• poar alfie! getting punched in the face at boxing bc emily barrels into the gym to talk to him before he’s emotionally ready. and then she gets to play the flirty nurse again with the ice pack. also i don’t think alfie would write on substack but he would subscribe to some random finance ones and emily’s knockoff feed me newsletter to be a supportive bf!!!

• mkay back to sylvie in the drapey neutrals

• lol at mindy criticizing the gig economy and referencing her feet pic era in high school in one breath. it’s interesting they wrote this chinese heiress character to have arguably the most class conscious lines. also she’s definitely the friend who always drops random lore years into knowing her

• nicolas not being able to stand up for mindy is the reason why we should not go along with the whole “i want a man in finance” wealth fetish thing. i do not like him

• mindy is very chaotic but fun. i think she would do a fashion/lifestyle substack with juicy stories about yacht parties and relationship q+a’s. she would also be unapologetic about her branded posts with net-a-porter. #affiliatequeen

• julien consistently has great style imo. that little crystal lizard brooch???? im taking notes

• outfit change for emily, aka circus tent. it’s giving nicole kidman amc commercial but tbh, i don’t hate it. she’s done worse

• eye roll when alfie conveniently decides to forgive emily just in time to save the ami ad with their kiss cam moment. pointing to a literal AD as proof of their true love is so lame :/ not to get too media critique rn but i feel like the ubiquity of social media couples showing their “love” for views has really messed up a lot of our expectations of relationships

• oh i’m seated for this vestiaire ad!

• i like mindy’s cotton candy hat but i hate the jumpsuit bc it reminds me of a weird rose printed rayon skirt i had from urban outfitters in 2014

• this is really peak ad, they’re not even trying to make it subtle

• and cue the vestiaire employee in the lab coat to signify authority and scientific methodTM

• ok cool she gets her eurovision money! lmao the immediate vestiaire payday is unrealistic

• camille is missing?? way to shoehorn the missing white woman syndrome plot at the end of the episode. did she pull a gone girl?

• i can’t believe she just outs camille to gabriel…

• the monochrome lemon drop set is a nice color though

• mindy is valid, nicolas is such a coward for not standing up to his dad. i do not think they will be endgame (but it’s funny that the couple is together IRL!!!)

• this brand closet shopping spree doesn’t feel like a real apology or commitment to accountability for his actions but ok…gotta remember this is a girlypop brand marketing tv show

• wait i’m confused why does she need a brand closet buddy

• ohhh ok…so nicolas’s dad is a creep…surprise surprise

• idk who this is but the styling is lovely, the tied silk scarf and the slightly popped collar with the vest layering!!!

• ok so camille ISN’T in greece? she might have really pulled a gone girl or a year of rest and relaxation. camille’s substack would be cool art girl vibes. lots of personal essays about girlhood with screenshots of old paintings (she would definitely caption every single painting with the artist and the year, in italics). she would post every 5 months and also be a bestseller despite or because of this mystery girl act

• big win for brunette girls with long bangs and blue suit jackets. i knew this outfit looked familiar

• wait what???? they located camille—all this time they could have just checked find my friends???

• camille and emily working it out on the remix

• hands down the best costuming moment of the season. i love that they had to buy emergency museum gift shop monet clothes from head to toe. this costuming enhances a rare moment of vulnerability in the show, which makes their friendship feel slightlyyy more realistic. you know it was silent in the car ride home too

• girl. i know you did not just check out the police.

• camille ate here. 10/10. looks like shushutong. emily’s outfit would eat if she were in a pacific heights (san francisco) run club

• is it bad i kind of want to see a storyline where they get together…

• these drinks are very ghia coded. also i have to say i really like emily’s suspenders and tie. it reminds me of thom browne

• this grin when she accidentally leaks camille’s pregnancy in front of everyone at work is positively villainous. she is such a bad friend for not being able to keep a single secret

• missoni king

• emily’s outfit is like if you asked AI to create something based on marimekko and stine goya

• lmaooo you know what my favorite thing about this show is? how none of the characters really balk at emily’s theatrical outfits or comment on them. gabriel just sees emily in this madeline-joins-a-nunnery getup and is like, hey :)

• i know where i’ve seen this striped situation before…

• out of all the fake names she could have chosen she went with anna o leary???

• somehow emily strikes me as the kind of person who loves the “bow trend” but also has never heard of sandy liang if you know what i mean. she is looking positively pilgrim-esque here

• wait also i think i didn’t fully pay attention to the living situation drama but the fact that emily snitched on camille and sofia to the landlandy character is truly vile. honestly it’s these character traits about emily (checking out the policemen, ratting people out to property owners) that makes her soooo deeply american imo

• i love the colors and the knit textures here. they look so cozy and i feel like this is a costuming strategy to make gabriel and camille appear more “compatible” or at least in the same world. whereas sofia and emily both feel on the outs in this point in the show, and that’s reflected through their bolder/more chaotic clothing. camille and gab look so mom and dad here

• LOVE CAMILLE’S JACKET

• aw they kinda broke up :(( i get where sofia is coming from though…

• now they’re back together cause they said i love you. also they’re both wearing tailored long coats in this scene! costuming is definitely being used to reflect the characters’ interpersonal relationships

• hmm i feel like it was intentional to write in a skincare product storyline and make the founder mindy’s asian friend. the show is trying to get in on the k-beauty market/hype

• so this is a face lube??? where is this going

• classic emily solution, raising the price to save the brand. she is definitely the kind of marketing person to tell pharma brands to raise the price of insulin if it serves the company :D sigh

• oh no….miscarriage?? also why did they put her in a leopard print top for this obgyn appointment? are they trying to imply something feral is about to happen

• so that whole storyline ended up as….a fake pregnancy…

• this trio hug is so awkward. clearly there’s still secrets and tension between them

• and i guess that is THE END OF PART 1

thank you for reading!!! this was really fun and i hope it felt lighthearted and a nice mental break from work or whatever else you are doing else.

PART 2 will be out soon after the next batch of episodes release, and will be for paid subscribers.

If you enjoy this sort of fashion writing, a paid subscription or tip is deeply and eternally appreciated <3

ok, i'll sign up!

xoxo viv

more reads like this one…

My hand reaches into the fruit bowl. Two fruit flies stir, floating away away like the soot sprites from Spirited Away.

Juicy brats with grill marks and sesame seeded buns, air dried wavy hair, neighbors leaving giant garden zucchinis on the curb to share, corn cob bits stuck between your teeth, the pinkish gold horizon line glow at 8:30pm, painting your toenails a “summer color,” ketchup stains on your tomate colorway Gil Rodriguez top, people-watching from under the brim of your secret agent straw hat, excessive blush but not a lick of eye makeup, morning stretches with armpit hairs flowing freely in the crisp breeze.

This is the beauty of California summer, and I’m really trying not to take it for granted.

My style is just better in the summer.

The sun just does something for me. I soak up inspiration from heat and hot places…summer is when I go through big style "growth spurts.” Last year, I was heavily influenced by the energy of the southwest—New Mexico, specifically. Because of my time there, I now think of ornamentation and adornment in a different way. I loved wearing breezy slip dresses last summer and that remains true this summer.

What’s on my mind this summer? Honestly, it’s Carrie Bradshaw.

I’ve been thinking about her a lot…her enormous presence in y2k style and fashion as a whole…and what it means to engage with Carrie Bradshaw inspo as a nonwhite woman.

Carrie has always been a popular source of fashion inspiration for women, but this is especially true for summer 2024. SATC landed on Netflix in April so we’ve had 3 months as a culture to marinate our eyeballs in tube tops, fluttery dresses and kitten heels…so yeah, Carrie’s influence is in full swing.

There has been a noticeable uptick in Depop descriptions that leverage Carrie/SATC as SEO keywords. Some Gen Z viewers are discovering the show for the first time, whereas older millennials are viewing it from a nostalgic lens. While she isn’t my one of my personal style icons, I do appreciate bits and pieces of her y2k style!

I’ve been seeing several examples of social media emulating the “Carrie Bradshaw aesthetic” and want to tease apart what I think are two very separate conversations: dressing like Carrie vs. looking like Carrie. And when they get conflated, it can be really confusing—or at worst, perpetuate the glorification of whiteness as the aesthetic ideal.

When a trend or aesthetic is hinged around a specific character played by a real person (SJP in this case), the physical characteristics of that person are infused into their overall “style.” There’s a lot of Carrie cosplay on social media right now. When a thin white woman with curly blonde hair dresses in a tube top, skirt and kitten heels, comments applaud the successful accuracy of her Carrie-fishing. This response stems from her physical resemblance to Carrie—not necessarily the outfit that is playing into the aesthetic.

But most of us do not look like SJP.

What’s missing from the Carrie style inspo and SATC meme-sharing is a conversation about the race and body politics at play:

I have worn outfits that could fall under the category of dressing like Carrie (midriff showing, patterned skirt) but I’m not really trying to look like Carrie—nor would most people associate my outfit with her. I am not trying to dissuade anyone from loving Carrie’s style, by the way. Go for it! But I think we ought to recognize that SJP and her whiteness are an inherent part of being “Carrie-coded”—and why she is the poster child for that particular y2k style.

That said, when I look at some of my recent favorite outfits (shown in collage at the top), a lot of them do draw inspiration from Carrie.

Personally, I think the ONE common denominator among all good Carrie outfits is

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My siblings and I watched a few seasons when we were kids, all huddled around the family computer in the living room. I remember thinking it was so cool and chic when the would girls wear their buffs tube top style. (I just really wanted to become a teenager and wear tube tops).

My partner got me into Survivor again during the pandemic: it became our vicarious escape from the boredom of home quarantine. We would order a big lettuce-y, herby platter from our favorite Laotian restaurant and binge watch old seasons.

I’ve been keeping up with the latest season and was immediately curious about contestant Jess Chong because of the Bay Area connection and our shared identity as Asian-American women. Jess spoke about how seeing the rise in Anti-Asian sentiment during the covid pandemic motivated her to go on Survivor to humanize Asian people and show how we can be “messy and crazy and funny and sad and all those things.” She openly voiced her struggles with sleep deprivation and ADHD onscreen, and I was rooting for her! I felt that her tribe members were unnecessarily harsh in the way they iced her of the majority, leading to her going home.

When I looked up Jess’s Instagram and realized she was a sewist, I knew I had to reach out! Survivor and fashion may be a niche overlap but I’ve always wondered what it’s like to wear basically one outfit for weeks on a deserted island.

Jess chats with me about her Survivor suitcase, her packing thought process—and how we could have had cheongsam representation on the jury.

Today’s post is free. If you enjoy it, consider sharing or becoming a paid subscriber for full access to more fashion & culture stories like this one. An annual sub comes out to $5/month!

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You had to pack for the possibility of 26 days on the island. What were you allowed to bring?

I was allowed to pack two outfits: One for the challenges, and one for camp life (I guess you can call them my “civvies”). 

How did you decide what to pack? What was your thought process?

Finding everything for my outfit was like a crazy scavenger hunt. I had about a week to find everything, and one of those days was a federal holiday so if I bought anything online, I was REALLY taking chances with the shipping time. 

When selecting my outfit, I used the following criteria:

1. Am I allowed to pack it? 

2. Does it look like what I’d wear in real life? In real life, I dress super practically and androgynously. I commute by bike, and you never know what the weather will be in San Francisco.

3. Would I be OK with my family seeing me in this outfit? I optimized for not showing parts of my body that I didn’t want everyone to see. This was MUCH harder than one would assume!! I had a really hard time finding shorts that made me feel comfortable enough to move around in for challenges/hauling stuff around the beach. Every pair of women’s shorts I found were either too short, or too slim in the thigh, or too wide in the thigh, or made of fabric that we weren’t allowed to have on the island. In the end, I had to resort to buying men’s shorts for my challenge outfit.

   

What exactly did you end up packing for each outfit?

My challenge outfit was: 

1. Cotton men’s board shorts from Cotton On 

2. A linen shell tank from Old Navy 

3. Amphibious  shoes from Xero

My “civvies” outfit was:

4.  A seersucker shirt from Macy’s

5. A mockneck tank top from Athleta

6. Seersucker pants from Uniqlo.

7. Linen shorts from Amazon

8. A big nylon turtleneck sweater from Aritzia. This was the WORST item I packed - it developed holes within the first 2 hours and barely kept me warm! 

9. Briefs from ThirdLove.

10. A swirly purple bra from ThirdLove.

11. My Blundstones! They are my favorite clothing item/accessory ever. I’ve been wearing Blunnies since 2011 and I will never go back!! 

Upon arriving, did you wish you packed something different? Why or why not? 

Yes!! I wish I packed a wool sweater instead of my crappy hole-prone nylon turtleneck sweater! It barely kept me cold at night and kept snagging on the bamboo shelter. 

How did you wash your clothes on the island?

We washed them in the ocean, and hung them over bamboo on a sunny spot on the island! For the duration of my time out there, we didn’t have fire, so my clothes never properly thoroughly dried. We smelled real bad! 

In the pre-season interviews and cast photo, you wore a blue and black zebra print set that you sewed yourself. Tell me more about that outfit!

I actually brought a couple of different options with me (all sewn by me!), but opted for the blue tiger print set because I wanted something fun, but also easy for me to move around with. I was born in the Year of the Tiger and have always loved the color blue. I also wanted to honor the people and small businesses who have given me the most wonderful creative outlet! 

I bought the fabric at Fabric Outlet SF, which is equidistant between my house and my office (very dangerous!!!) and saw the vision for the faux jumpsuit as I unfurled it from the bolt. 

The top is a mashup of the Bathurst Top and the Atlas Top from Stitch Witch Patterns, and the bottoms are Pomona Pants by Anna Allen Clothing—I modified them to add pockets to them! 

One of my favorite things about Survivor is seeing contestants glammed up when they voted off and show up in the jury. What outfits did you pack for the possibility of joining the jury? 

I packed a bunch of crazy jumpsuits as well as a cute, colorful little cheongsam dress from GOD in Hong Kong as a kind of nod to my heritage. 

Were there any ways your sewing/crafting skills lent itself to camp life?

Had I lasted longer, I would have woven palm frond hats for everyone! 

Truth be told, I received quite a walloping in my time in Fiji. But I think you will be delighted to know that I went to a sewing camp called Camp Workroom Social  shortly after I came back, and it was the PERFECT palate cleanser to my difficult experience as a castaway. It was the balm to heal all wounds!! It was lovely to come together with a group of interesting, supportive, kind, and lovely women—we learned how to sew bras. It restored my faith in humanity! 

Thank you for chatting, Jess!

*All images courtesy of CBS/Paramount Pictures.

eSims for Gaza

I finished a rewatch of the entire Mad Men series last night—all 73 hours.

The first time I watched it, I was in college and didn’t remember much except that it made me want to shop on Modcloth for a Sterling Cooper secretary miniskirt. But it hits differently now as an adult woman who is no longer a stranger to the realities of workplace politics and twin demons Social Media and Consumerism.

Mad Men is incredibly well-written. And it feels more relevant than ever as we struggle through a world where everyone is a brand and everything is corrupted by dopamine culture. The story focuses on the architects of postwar consumerism and how they created America’s new religion: buying stuff. I felt myself nodding along, mesmerized by scenes where Don and Peggy sell us the fantasy of fast food and nylon stockings. A commercial for Heinz Beans feel seductive and romantic compared to the yappy ads I see nowadays for the “viral TikTok serum you NEED.” The show tracks how the countercultural movement emerged in rejection to mass consumerism, but was ultimately weaponized by the ad machine to sell more things. Cue the final scene where hippies are singing for world peace with Coke bottles in hand.

The other mesmerizing thing about Mad Men? The fashion.

I am truly amazed at how they were able to source so many looks, while chronicling the evolution of styles from the late 50s to early 70s. The show is famous for its excellent costume design. Megan, Don’s second wife/Manhattan secretary-turned-Laurel Canyon actress, is often portrayed as the most stylish character. She represents the modern 60s woman and consistently flaunted the trendiest styles during the show.

But I actually think Trudy Campbell, Pete’s charismatic and ambitious wife, deserves the title of Mad Men’s reigning fashion cool girl. I have a soft spot for her character, who was much smarter than her husband or others gave her credit for. While Megan’s outfits would be considered super trendy for her time, Trudy’s style has more timeless appeal—it’s easier to interpret beyond the 60s. Her outfits feel very reminiscent of contemporary brands and styles I would wear myself.

Let’s analyze how Trudy’s style reflects her character’s growth, and how I think she would dress in 2024.

“Lady” Clothes and Ridiculous Hats

At first I thought Trudy’s bag was a trompe l’oeil where the gloves were the clasp (like a flap sewn on), but now I realize it’s just how she draped her gloves on the bag. Even in her “lady” clothes, she enjoys the theatrics of style with the bon bon-esque hat and earrings that match the brassy buttons on her jacket. Trudy always understood how her presentation as a wife was instrumental to Pete’s professional success.

In 2024, I see Trudy dressing in MNZ plaid skirts, Chelsea Mak taffeta blouses, Puppets and Puppets cookie purse (she would make Pete pick it up from Sak’s during lunch), Hannah Glenn hand bag for errands in Cos Cob, funky wool hats from Bagtazo.

Polka Dots

This is one of my favorite looks of the whole series. I love the dainty polka dots and

she’s looking very Breakfast at Tiffany’s here. And we see another hat from Trudy’s collection, which looks like a Wayne Thiebaud cake. It’s slightly bridal, marking the ceremoniousness of securing their apartment which would further cement her social status after getting married. Trudy is extremely ambitious and it’s reflected in her attention-grabbing outfit for this particular moment. She is very involved in financial decisions, often pushing her husband to make them—unlike how the other wives are portrayed.

The 2024 version of this outfit would definitely be the sheer Miu Miu polka dot set. Trudy would fit right into the frazzled librarian aesthetic. Between the bow front detail and the Pantone peach fuzz blouse, this outfit ticks a lot of contemporary style boxes.

Ugly-Chic Green

This rotten avocado plaid set is so 1996 Prada Ugly Chic, which celebrated these “ugly” colors in a period when runway fashion’s version of sexy of revealing lots of skin. This color and style has endured since the 60s, which makes it pretty thriftable online. You can find vintage mod dresses or contemporary Ganni plaid pieces. A Miu Miu 1999 ponyhair bag utilizes this ugly green shade too. Modern Trudy would accessorize with a frivolous hat from Clyde or Bagtazo and some martini olive earrings off Etsy.

Sailor Silhouettes

Nautical fashion is having a moment (see Vaquera) and I loved Trudy’s casual resortwear looks. On the left she wears a baby blue boatneck top, crisp and simple in its elegance with loose white pants. Very Jackie O. The tiny straw bag and bold printed headscarf give it some of Trudy’s sassy personality. It looks comfortable and modern, you could see a woman of any age in 2024 wearing this. I also loved the soft pink sailor collar dress with the red lip.

I think the best modern interpretations of nautical fashion are the pinstripe blouses and sailor caps from Local Woman Co. and everything from Ciao Lucia’s summer collection.

Fabulous Sleepwear

If there’s one thing Trudy loves, it’s a ruffled babydoll pajama dress. Her sleepwear collection comes in candy colors and sugary sweet designs. I think Trudy’s fanciful babydolls speak to the way she views herself as a princess. She is 100% a daddy’s girl, and while she is being mistreated and lied to by Pete in their marraige she sort of maintains this strong identity where deep down—she knows she deserves better. And when we see Trudy’s final straw, she takes Pete apart with steely incisiveness.

Trudy would be a Molly Goddard mom in present day and wear them over baggy jeans.

Who is your favorite Mad Men style icon and why?