Salon Gazette

Spooky season calls for darkness, a touch of mystery, nostalgic stories, and a little cinematic escapism to make autumn feel all the more enchanting.

In this episode, I’m sharing some of the films and television I’ve been revisiting this season, from the childhood stories that have stayed with me to the characters and fictional worlds that correlate with how I see myself and the stories of my life . Along the way, I reflect on the unexpected ways our favorite timeless stories shape our ideas of love, connection, individuality, and the lives we hope to live.

A celebration of childhood wonder, coming of age, and the stories that seem to evolve alongside us.

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For some, what draws them to the realm of fashion is a pursuit of individuality and self-expression; for others, it’s the allure of belonging to a world, a culture, or a fantasy larger than the clothes themselves. Then, a few thoughts on The Social Reckoning and its impressive balance of real-world events, cultural commentary, and genuinely gripping entertainment. A film that feels particularly relevant to the moment we’re living in.

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What does it look like when a society reaches a point where it has more power, creativity, and possibility than ever before? I’m thinking about that question through three very different lenses this week: technology, fashion, and women.

First, The Social Reckoning...the upcoming follow-up to The Social Network, has me fascinated by the timing of our current conversation around Meta, AI, corporate power, and regulation. From Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to the latest promises of tech leaders to “self-regulate,” we seem to be watching a new Gilded Age unfold in real time: brilliant, enormously powerful people building the industries of tomorrow while society figures out what, if anything, should keep them in check.

Then, as Fashion Month comes to a close, I find myself thinking about the sheer scale of human creativity, and the sheer scale of what we now produce. There have never been more brands, more collections, more clothes, or more opportunities to express ourselves through what we wear. But when our ability to create becomes virtually limitless, where does creativity end and excess begin? I’m thinking about fashion, consumerism, sustainability, and what a healthier relationship with clothing might look like.

And finally, after finishing Isabella: Warrior Queen, I’m returning to a conversation that has been circling in my mind for a while: what would it look like to define a new age of feminine power? Women today have more freedom and agency than most women who came before us ever could have imagined. But what do we do with that freedom? I’m thinking about the distinctly feminine traits that have so often been dismissed as weaknesses, empathy, emotional range, patience, perception, diplomacy, seduction, compromise, and what happens when we recognize them as forms of power instead. At the same time, watching women in Vikings: Valhalla step into traditionally masculine realms of strength, protection, bravery, and self-determination reminded me that becoming whole doesn’t mean choosing between the feminine and the masculine. Perhaps it means cultivating both.

Three conversations, one underlying question: now that we have more power than ever before, what kind of world are we going to build with it?

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The "book" worm is back. I’m diving into the lives of Elizabeth I and Isabella of Castile, reflecting on women who navigated power in a male-dominated world and knew how to turn qualities often seen as feminine weaknesses into sources of influence, diplomacy, conviction, and strength. Looking to the past to better understand the world we’re living in now, and on to reckoning with the AI zeitgeist, the good, the bad, the bandwagons, and our tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater, especially when it comes to creativity and what we consider art in an age of new tools. What happens when we stop reacting to change and actually reckon with the future?

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We follow the cultural calendar into autumn and the harvest season, from Vogue World Milan to the fashion capitals and the brands that prosper between them. A little guide to romanticizing the turn of the season through wardrobe, recipes, changing landscapes, community, movement, rest, and renewal, while taking stock, shedding what no longer serves us, and learning to embody the season’s slower, more introverted, rich, and yin rhythm.

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From New York to London, Milan, and Paris, the fashion industry is already six months ahead, while Telluride, the Venice Film Festival, the Emmys, and awards season ushers in another turn of the cultural calendar. A Leo & Virgo playlist bids farewell to summer as the Autumn Equinox approaches, and the zeitgeist seems to be speeding up. I’m doubling down on action even as the season begins to slow down, with some thoughts from your resident student of contemporary culture😊

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Down the rabbit hole of the music soundtracking my early summer season, and the eternal struggle of adulting, before wandering into Vogue’s September Issue, the Met Gala, and the questions surrounding fashion, artistry, and controversy. Somewhere between Disclosure Day, extraterrestrials, astronomy, the possibility of societal collapse, and cozy Pinterest nights, I find myself wondering whether we really still have the same 24 hours or perhaps simply too many things we want to experience in one lifetime.

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Fall is creeping in, Virgo season is here, and I’m still discovering America 16 years later...sometimes through Legally Blonde, sometimes through a police encounter, and sometimes through a pair of outrageously expensive leggings. Somewhere in all of that is a question about beauty, luxury, culture, and what the hell we decide is worth valuing.

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 The beginning of the end of summer is here, and the zeitgeist is feeling a little strange. In this raw, unedited episode, I get into the political noise and natural disasters of the moment, Leo/Virgo season playlists, the transition into fall, and the fashion that comes with it, all the while wandering through whatever else is on my mind. 

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Most people think of etiquette as manners, rules, or social niceties. But etiquette is also strategy,

how you show up in social spaces, how you speak, how you interact, and how aware you are of the people around you. These things shape how people respond to you, what doors open, and what opportunities subtly appear or disappear.

In this episode, I talk about etiquette as a form of soft power: the role of diplomacy in everyday life, how refinement can disarm people, and why understanding social dynamics can make navigating the world a lot smoother.

We also get into why etiquette isn’t about pretending or being rigid, but about awareness, emotional intelligence, and learning how to move through different spaces with intention.

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