Why Do Clothes Suck Now?

For the maiden voyage of the Culture Study podcast, we’re taking a hard look at a problem that plagues us all: terrible clothes. Why are shirts falling apart or pilling after just a few wears? Why does Gucci charge $3200 for a polyester sweater? What happened to ironing and will we ever dry clean en masse again? Amanda Mull, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins me for a deep dive into the past twenty years of fashion production (and consumption) trends. If you like the ep, it helps a fledging pod SO MUCH if you can help us get the word out. Share it with your friends, post it to social media, “follow” it in your podcast app, or write us a review on iTunes. You’re the best and we literally could not make this pod without your help. If you want to support the show financially, and get some cool perks, check out our Substack. Got a question or idea for a future episode? Let us know here. Show notes:* The tweet I describe in the beginning of the podcast* Read Amanda Mull’s piece in The Atlantic: “Your Sweaters Are Garbage”* Read Sarah Zhang’s piece in The Atlantic: “How I Got Bamboo-zled by Baby Clothes”* Amanda mentioned: Sofi Thanhauser’s Worn: A People’s History of Clothing* Some other Amanda pieces I love: Millennials Have Lost Their Grip on Fashion, The Free-Returns Party Is Over, How Shoppers Got Tricked By Vegan Leather* You can see Amanda’s Jeffrey Dahmer glasses in the bio of her Instagram (which is private, so don’t friend request unless you actually know her)* Paul Mescal’s rat tail situation (perhaps more appropriately called a mullet) This week, we’re looking for your questions for future episodes about:* Resurgent interest in early 2000s music (with Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan)* The Mean Girls Trailer* A deep analysis of Taylor and Travis Kelce discourse* Kevin Bacon’s Hott Instagram and Gen-X/Elder Millennial Instagram in general* “Little treat” culture* You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here.

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