how a spontaneous movie day turned into my first vogue article
this week was one big energy reset.
The morning light this time of year is especially beautiful. It has a breathy, hyaline quality that’s more silver than it is golden.
I cleaned my desk last night and drew the blinds to let in the good feng shui. Bought some pink dahlias at the grocery store and arranged them nicely in a speckled vase. Swam outdoors because being in a body of water charges my powers. Water is the site of our deepest primordial origins, after all.
The animal in me registers the shifting seasons.
This week was all about energy shifts: clearing out the old, making space for the new.
Topics
why I loved The Substance, and other shows I’ve been watching
how it felt to write for Vogue!
four recent outfits, starring the bubblegum pink cashmere sweater I reach for every brisk morning and the best brand to shop secondhand trench coats
film & tv
There’s so much good stuff to watch right now.
The film I’ve been pushing all my friends and family to see is The Substance. Oh my god!!! I watched a pre-screening not really knowing what to expect, aside from the vague concept of body horror/themes of beauty standards. Nothing prepares you for it and even though I typically don’t like horror (hate hate hate jump scares) the way it was done in this film in combination with the story was just so sick in a satisfying way. Go see it this weekend if you can!
Because I am obsessed with color symbolism and costume design in film, I left the theater with my head SPINNING over the patterns and schema I noticed in the characters’ outfits. My creative juices were flowing so my notes become a pitch, and then the pitch became my first film analysis article for Vogue: “Why Does Demi Moore Wear So Many Primary Colors in The Substance?”
It contains (some) spoilers. My thesis is that costume designer Emmanuelle Youchnovski’s use of reds, yellows and blues in the film support the underlying message of self-fragmentation and destruction as a consequence of modern beauty standards:
“Set against the cultural ubiquity of Botox, Ozempic, and looksmaxxing advice that promise a younger, thinner, more beautiful version of yourself, the film’s sharp commentary feels particularly relevant. It’s never been easier to convince yourself that the answer to insecurity lies in a onetime cosmetic enhancement—everyone else is doing it. And it’s all noninvasive, isn’t it? Just a few units of filler here, a snip and tuck there. But the more time you spend living in your enhanced self, the harder it becomes to believe that your natural self has the right to exist. At a certain point, how voluntary are these procedures, really?”
Analysis aside, I just love costume design that transcends the film and creates its own internet moment. Safe to say that Demi Moore’s cunty yolk yellow coat has achieved icon status already.
Stay tuned for a newsletter on how to dress like you’re in the Substance.
RIP Elisabeth Sparkle you would have loved Gil Rodriguez bodysuits.
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Getting to write a film analysis story for Vogue was a pinch me moment—I refuse to act cooly nonchalant about things like this! The whole thing happened so fast: