In this episode, we kick off the summer by denominating a colorful attitude toward dress manifesting bicoastally. Epitomized by brands like Emily Dawn Long, Brooke Callahan, and Cleo Camp, Crayola Casual is the funky counterpart to freaky minimalism— accessory agnostic, anti-synthetic, built around hot saturated colors and the art of the easy-on easy-off. We review this aesthetic’s historical antecedents, from fluid disco formalwear of the 70s (Halston, Stephen Burrows) to globalist chic sportswear of the 80s (Esprit, United Colors of Benetton). We also discuss Downtown New York’s Maryam Nassir Zadeh as the missing link, classics of rainbow urbanism including Sesame Street and the Vignelli Subway Map, our predictions for an aerobics renaissance, and the creative exuberance of a season of parades, pop-ups, and pennants.

Links:

Image board

Cleo Camp

Brooke Callahan

Emily Dawn Long

Rummage Stretch

“Vintage Sportswear Will Crush Your Alo Yoga Sets” by Liana Satenstein for Neverworns

Allegra Samsen on Instagram

Ventriloquist Sophie Becker for Paloma Wool

“The Accidental Trendsetter” by Emilia Petrarca in The New York Times (Emily Dawn Long profile)

“The Sisterhood of the Unraveling Pants” by Sarah Shapiro in Puck (on the rise of the easy pant)

“The Sexy Sincerity of Maryam Nassir Zadeh” by Rachel Tashjian in Harper’s Bazaar

“How Does Maryam Nassir Zadeh Stay in Business?” by Madeline Leung Coleman in The Cut

“1970–1979” from FIT’s Fashion History Timeline

“A 1970s Fashion History Lesson: Disco, Designer Denim, and the Liberated Woman” by Lilah Ramzi in Vogue

“The Halstonettes” by The Museum at FIT from the 2015 exhibit Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s

“Stephen Burrows, the CFDA’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Winner, in the Words of 7 of His Closest Collaborators” by Laird Borrelli-Persson in Vogue

“The Radical History of Sesame Street” by Figgy Guyver in Frieze

“The Quintessential Urban Design of Sesame Street” by Anna Kodé in The New York Times

“Towards a Better Way: The “Vignelli” Map at 50” (Digital Exhibit) – New York Transit Museum

Supergraphic Ultramodern – Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute

“The rise and fall of Esprit, San Francisco’s coolest clothing brand” by Joshua Bote in SFGATE

“opening ceremony’s founders on how esprit changed fashion (and the world)” – i-D

“Esprit’s Brand Books” by Jill Singer in Sight Unseen (on Esprit: The Comprehensive Design Principle from 1989)

“From Plain Jane to Esprit: The Making of a California Icon” by Bertrand Pellegrin

“Benetton: Celebrating a Colorful History” by Amanda Kaiser in WWD

“History” – Gap, Inc.

“Khaki Swing” – 1998 Gap Commercial on YouTube

Something Wild (1986) dir. Jonathan Demme – Official Trailer

Excerpt from Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks

“Everything You Need to Know About the Battle of Versailles on the 50th Anniversary of the Event” by Laird Borrelli-Persson in Vogue

“Fashion” - The 1973 World Book Year Book

“Yanks Pull Off Paris Fashion Heist” by Eugenia Sheppard in The Los Angeles Times

Big Bad Wolf workout class on TikTok

Aerobics by Kenneth H. Cooper

エアロピクルス｜Aeropickles on YouTube

“1988 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship Opening” on YouTube

Audrey Hobert live performances: trenchcoat reveal, mini trampoline

Audrey Hobert x Fishwife Tinned Fish Bundle

“Forget Euro Summer. Brands Are Having a Wet, Hot American Summer” by Madeleine Schulz in Vogue (pop-up economy write-up)

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In this episode, Sam is joined by friend of the pod Anika Jade Levy, author of Flat Earth and founding editor of Forever Magazine, for a sprawling investigation into the paranoid spirit of the United States of America. Beginning with the America’s founding fantasy of paradise, Anika and Sam trace how the country’s utopian dream soured into a national aesthetic of suspicion: from Puritan invisible enemies and the feminized conspiracy of the Salem Witch Trials, to the pastoral terror of data centers humming in the American wilderness, to cyberpunk stealthwear, urban camouflage, hollow earths, Atlantis, visions of a lost world, and much, much more. Drawing from Leo Marx, Richard Hofstadter, Adam Curtis, Cotton Mather, Anette Kolodny, Silvia Federici, and Anika’s own novel, the girls move through history, politics, media, and fashion to uncover what conspiracy reveals about American self-invention.

Links:

Anika’s Instagram

Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy

Forever Magazine

Agens Denis’s A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfil

The Machine in the Garden by Leo Marx

The Paranoid Style in American Politics by Richard Hofstadter

The Lay of the Land by Annette Kolodny

Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici

The Significance of the Frontier in American History by Fredrick Jackson Turner

Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather

The Cultural Cold War by Frances Stonor Saunders

CV Dazzle

Balenciaga Panic of 2022

Lotta Volkova Conspiracy

Data Center Hum on TikTok

Mr. Bean/Princess Diana Reel

The Century of the Self by Adam Curtis

MAGA as Fan Fiction by Gideon Jacobs

Player One and Main Character by Gideon Jacobs

New Models: The Online Marketplace of Ideas with Joshua Citarella

The Gurdjieff Movements

The New Age Bible by Sheila Heiti

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In this episode, we’re joined by legendary TikTok creator, Slushy Noobz creative director, and certified #SWAG Dadaism pioneer Chase Rutherford to further interrogate the ideas introduced in our previous episode. We discuss the freedom of default aesthetics and the legacy of normcore, the provocative power of readymades over a century after Fountain, how Kanye anchored the preppy misfit years of Chase’s youth, and how Chase resisted the siren song of LA influencer culture in favor of creative autonomy. We also discuss the art historical impact of Beyoncé and Jay-Z at the Louvre, how Sombr’s personal brand might still be salvaged, and the importance of reframing transient microtrends—from clout goggles to Brazil baby tee—as the significant cultural artifacts of our time.

Links:

Chase Rutherford on Instagram

Chase Rutherford on TikTok

Slushy Noobz on Patreon

Slushy Noobz official merchandise

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In this edition of Study Break, we discuss the less-than-triumphant return of Euphoria and Sam Levinson’s pivot to everythingsplotation Western, Michael Jackson’s new hagiography and the grotesque legacy that transcends it, and recent fashioncore highlights from the literalism of the Met Gala to the nostalgia of The Devil Wears Prada 2. We also discuss the Substack truth nuke that rocked the indie music scene, Olivia Rodrigo’s coquette comeback, The Drama’s fresh take on the tribulations of female adolescence, and more.

Links:

Suga Free the Pimp on Instagram

Pimp: The Story of My Life by Iceberg Slim

“Why Is Everything So Ugly?” in Issue 44 of n+1

“Fashion Is Not Art (And That’s OK)” by Valerie Steele in Someone Else

“See Every Look from the Met Gala 2026 Red Carpet” in Vogue

Hudson Williams MUA Aika Flores Pinterest board leak

Hudson Williams heading home at 7am following the Met Gala after party

“Abnormals, Freaks, and Michael Jackson: Foucault, Baldwin, and the Truth of the Grotesque” by Brad Elliott Stone

“Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood (Here Be Dragons)” by James Baldwin, originally published in Playboy, January 1985

Rabelais and His World by Mikhail Bakhtin

Michael Jackson describes his first sexual encounter with Tatum O’Neal (2003)

Telephone Stories: The Trials of Michael Jackson on Spotify

On Michael Jackson by Margo Jefferson

“Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour on Power, Fashion, and Acting the Part” (April 2026 cover story) by Chloe Malle in Vogue

Synopsis: Innocence by Kaija Saariaho from the Metropolitan Opera

Olivia Rodrigo – drop dead (Official Music Video)

Olivia Rodrigo – begged (Live) on Saturday Night Live

“Fake Fans” by Eliza McLamb in words from eliza on Substack

Nancy Pelosi Endorses Jack Schlossberg For Congress

Acquired Style x Swan Beauty Viral Bachelorette Party

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In this episode, we coin a new term for one of the most interesting creative impulses of our generation: #SWAG Dadaism. Like the original Dadaists responding to the whiplash of industrialization and WWI, a certain subset of young creatives are responding to the vertigo of global instability and breathless technological futurism through fashion assemblage, IP maximalism, and a fearless embrace of all things chopped and random. We conduct a historical survey from Clement Greenberg’s theory of kitsch and the avant-garde to the early days of meme culture to explore page fashion parodists of the past decade. We also get into Justin Bieber and Timothée Chalamet’s parallel #SWAG rebrands, the collapse of the secondhand market and its unexpected creative upside, and how #SWAG exists as the antithesis of refinement culture.

Links:

Image board

Dada Manifesto by Tristan Tzara (1918)

“Avant-Garde and Kitsch” by Clement Greenberg from The Partisan Review (1939)

“The First Meme of 2026 Is About Not Explaining Yourself. And Buttons.” by Madison Malone Kircher for The New York Times

Chase Rutherford on Instagram (referenced posts one, two, three)

Chase Rutherford interview for Perfectly Imperfect

@okniceok on Instagram

@kalebphobic on TikTok re: digicore sampling

Canal Street Research Association and Shanzhai Lyric on Instagram

“Bags, Bootlegs and Art: A Quirky Communion on Canal Street” by Siddhartha Mitter in The New York Times

Ava Nirui / @avanope interview in Office magazine (2017)

“Meet Ava Nirui, The Creative Force Behind Marc Jacobs’ Heaven Line” by Eni Subair in Vogue (2020)

“Go To The Thrift Store That’s Where The Heat Is” on Know Your Meme

@harmonytividad “filet minion” post on Instagram

Middle school boy bar crawl on TikTok

Tung Tung Tung Sahur boxers outfit on TikTok

@twylatoktok on TikTok (referenced posts one, two, three)

@turtlewithhat_ / Izzy and Emma pink leggings outfits

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In this week’s episode, we’re joined by critical mastermind Caroline Cai (aka Clairolime) to unpack what we’re calling Catalan Chicslop, the downtempo, sophisticated, quietly freaky aesthetic championed by brands like Paloma Wool and Gimaguas. We discuss how this look evolved from avant-basic dopamine dressing, its influences from ‘90s minimalism to early 20th century experimental couture, Barcelona’s history as a modernist aura farm, post-Phoebe Philo feminist-lite brand mythos, and strategies to transcend the tyranny of chicness. We also analyze the aesthetic’s appeal to women across successive life stages, from 13-year-old Penelope Dissick to microinfluencer gallerinas to mysterious pregnant brunettes. Links:

@clairolime on Instagram

Image board

Relevant brands: Paloma Wool, Gimaguas, Susmie’s Collection, Belle Anna, Deiji Studios, Buci, Geel, DémodéMODÉ

“How Spain’s Indie Fashion Scene Nailed Global Growth” in Business of Fashion

“These Brands are Putting Spanish Style on the Map” by Zoe Suen in W

“Paloma Wool: From Cool to Basic and Back Again” by Yola Mzizi in The New York Times

Paintings by Ramon Casas (Ex. 1, Ex. 2, Ex. 3, Ex. 4)

Paloma Wool’s “San Sebastián 2025” campaign featuring Carlotta Baan

“Studio Visit: Paloma Wool” in Sleek magazine (2023)

“Where Are All the Women Designers?” by Emma Childs in Marie Claire

Chicslop runoff examples from Miaou, Frankie’s Bikinis, Guizio, Jaded London, Revolve house brands Lioness and Lovers and Friends, With Jean, UNIFHAIM - Relationships (Official Music Video)

Crumbs from Penelope Dissick’s deleted TikTok photo dump

Emma Chamberlain’s “i got rid of (almost) everything” closet video

“T-boy swag: Claiming space where trans people feel we don’t inherently belong” by Reanna Cruz in NPR

Note from Alexi: I’m sorry I mispronounced Phoebe Philo omg put your chic pewter pitchforks down!!

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In this edition of Study Break, the girls review the latest cultural dispatches, including the newest wave of attention-seeking fashion week stunts (from Fakemink at Balenciaga to Bryan Johnson lurking at Matières Fécales), the Buffalo Bill realness of Robert Pattinson and Zendaya’s Interview Magazine cover, Tyra Banks’s wacky legacy, Hillary Clinton’s bleach-and-tone, the rise of Wuthering Heights womanslop, and more!

Links:

Fakemink for Dazed

Brian Johnson for Fecal Matter in Paris

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya for Interview Magazine

Jim Carrey Clone Allegations

Alexis Stone Jim Carrey Prank

Punch the Monkey

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In this week’s episode, we discuss Romantasy, the Franken-genre that has conquered the publishing world and defined the libidinal landscapes of a generation of women. We decode the genre’s DNA from dimestore bodice-rippers to high fantasy epics, examine the sociological profile of its authors and audiences, and explore how it’s mutated in the digital age via AI visualizers and high-budget audio erotica. We also talk about Renaissance faires, fujoshi discourse, the mirror image of male vs. female gooning in popular culture, Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights as the BookTok movie of the century, and more. Links: Image board

Sam’s Romantasy Spotify Playlist

“Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Author Steal Another Writer’s Story?” by Katy Waldman in The New Yorker

“She Fell in Love With ChatGPT. Then She Ghosted It.” (r/MyBoyfriendIsAI profile) by Kashmir Hill in The New York Times

“Gender difference in brain activation to audio-visual sexual stimulation” by Chung et. al. in PubMed

“Sexual Scripts: Permanence and Change” by William Simon and John H. Gagnon in Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 15, No. 2

“How the Renaissance Fair became America’s favorite fantasy” by Kelly Faircloth in National Geographic

r/AskAHistorian discussions about medievalism and high fantasy (one, two, three)

The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Medievalism ed. Joanne Parker and Corinna Wagner

Hard to Be a God (2013) dir. Aleksei German

Candlelight Ecstasy Romance Guidelines c. 1980

Love Story magazine ed. Daisy Bacon (1921–1947) (see covers here)

“The Uses of Reading Mass-Produced Romance Fiction” (Harlequin study) by Susan B. Neuman (1985)

History of the “sex and shopping” genre by Pascal Tréguer

“Girls Who Love Boys Who Love Boys” by E. Alex Jung in Vulture

Interview with Quinn founder and CEO Caroline Spiegel in Refinery29

“Aural Fixation: Celebrity Audio Erotica Is 2025’s Answer to the Centerfold” by Hannah Jackson in Vogue

“The Importance of Critical Thinking in a Zombiefied World” (Why romantasy is crucial to understanding Apple TV’s hit show Pluribus) by Maris Kreizman in The Atlantic

“Liking Books is Not a Personality” by Hannah McGregor in Electric Literature

@shauna_the_author on Instagram

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In this week’s episode, we’re joined by actress and generational internet phenomenon Ivy Wolk (Anora, The English Teacher) to discuss her sartorial origins from roller derby to riot grrl to rockabilly, the sorry state of the Theatre, the evolving identity of the character actor, the cult mystique of a volatile decade-long online presence, and why cultural curiosity may be the closest thing we have to world peace. Ivy also weighs in on the uncanny e-girl invasion of the latest Guess campaign and reflects on the spirit of authentic Angeleno style.

Links:

Ivy Wolk on Instagram

Theatre and Film on Tape Archive at NYPL for the Performing Arts

Mike Tyson’s “fat and nasty” MAHA Super Bowl ad

Peloton’s Kendall Toole in viral “get ‘em banned” clip

Guess girl Instagam campaign

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In this edition of Study Break, we survey the triumph and tragedy of the 2026 Grammys and deliver our official assessment of the Momania (The Moment + Melania) double feature. The declaration of war on Sombr is formally expanded to include newcomer Olivia Dean, and the strange theater of Latino representation in Hollywood comes under review. Elsewhere, several urgent notes are issued to the pop music PR puppeteers who seem to have lost motor control of talents like Jelly Roll and Billie Eilish. We also unpack the honky tonk heartbreak of Bella Hadid and Adan Banuelos, Gaga’s McQueen resurrection, Justin Bieber’s soulful Captain Underpants realness, the newest wave of Windrush Generation excellence, and more!

Links:

Sacheen Littlefeather accepting an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando

Adan Banuelos Arrested for Public Intoxication

Bella Hadid dancing in a Honky Tonk with Adan Banuelos

Theo Von on Jelly Roll Acceptance Speeches

Zillennial Cozy Funk Wedding

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