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Note: Amanda's audio is a little weird in this episode. Dustin did everything he could to fix it. 

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TW: this episode does discuss eating disorders and social media phenomena related to eating disorders.
 If you or someone you love is dealing with an eating disorder, please visit The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).  They provide free and low cost support for individuals with eating disorders.

TW: this episode does discuss eating disorders and social media phenomena related to eating disorders.
 If you or someone you love is dealing with an eating disorder, please visit The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).  They provide free and low cost support for individuals with eating disorders.

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1. Our first message today is from Janelle, who is here to remind us of some denim brands that I had forgotten about
2. Our next message is from Natalie and she’s going to tell us about pizza, hipsters, and being a hipster parent.
3. Our last message is from Rebecca….

Ironic Racism: 

Amanda: So let’s start with Stuff White People Like. It began as a blog, which you can still visit (although it hasn’t been updated since 2010)

According to Wikipedia:

The blog was created in January 2008 by a white Canadian, Christian Lander, a Los Angeles copywriter who grew up in Toronto.  Lander co-authored the site with his Filipino Canadian friend Myles Valentin after Valentin teased Lander for watching the HBO television series The Wire. Lander's blog became popular very quickly, registering over 300,000 daily hits and over 40 million total hits by the end of September 2008. Although the blog "has spurred an outpouring from those who view it as offensive and racist", it is not about the interests of all white people, but rather a stereotype of affluent, environmentally and socially conscious, anti-corporate white North Americans, who typically hold a degree in the liberal arts.

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The book, Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions, was published in 2008 and it was on the NYT bestsellers list for months, thanks in part to the gazillions of books sold at Urban Outfitters. 

The kinds of things white people like include sushi, yoga, Mos Def, shorts, coffee, farmer’s markets...things, that to be honest, seem as if they could be oh I don’t know, liked by people of all races? So basically we’re already so narcissistic that we’re like “hey, we are just going to totally co-opt everything for ourselves and gatekeep it from people of color.” I do not like this, obviouslI also just don’t think it’s funny.  It’s along the lines of “you know you’re a redneck when…”  I found a 2008 New Republic article called “Why White People Like 'Stuff White People Like' and it broke down why white people really responded to this blog/book so much. 

The writer Adam Sternbergh said, “with this brand of comedy, the goal is to comfort, rather than challenge or disturb, the audience”. He went on to break it all down”  In fact, all the site’s entries, while superficially chiding, can actually be divided into three very comforting categories:

• 1) Entries that don’t reflect your lifestyle choices like going nuts on St. Patrick’s Day, running marathons, and therefore make you feel superior.
• 2) Entries that do reflect your lifestyle choices (Apple products, recycling), and therefore make you feel like you’re in on the joke, and that you’re good-humored enough to laugh at yourself (you know--like Gene Simmons!), and therefore make you feel superior.
• 3) Entries that nod to commonly held comic stereotypes (white people like assists in basketball and standing still at concerts), and therefore, because you recognize them, make you feel superior.

He summarizes it by saying, “Because if there’s one thing white people really like, it’s pretending to poke fun at themselves while actually being allowed to feel superior.” Someone left a comment on the Stuff White People Like Blog in 2008 that also gets to the core of it:  “white people also enjoy being critical, but not necessarily in a constructive way.”

And I do think this really gets to the core of why the (primarily white) hipsters loved themselves some ironic racism that wasn’t actually ironic and was in fact, racist and damaging.  This goes back to all of the faux ironic racist, sexist, anti-semitic, homophobic stuff in Vice.    The hipsters felt that they were SUPERIOR to the mainstream culture (which maybe wasn’t hard to feel when you take a look at how messy the mainstream culture was at the time with Rock of Love, celebutantes, Perez Hilton, and so on)...and ironically participating in just about everything was a way that the hipsters could maintain that oh-so-rewarding feeling of superiority.

Today Kim and I are going to be talking about some of the “hipster signature stuff” and I would say irony belongs on the list.  But like, irony to a sad, disgusting fault.  Like, “ironically” enjoying various types of media (which is just sad because why would you waste your time on anything you don’t “actually” like), to “ironically” appropriating Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous cultures...really all the cultures that aren’t intrinsically white...but also “ironically” co-opting the cultures of poor white Americans too (throwing white trash parties, using the #trailertrash)...this was the disgusting end of the spectrum.

Now when we talk about of the hipsters’ love of “ironic” racism, it’s really based in this idea of feeling superior to “actual racists.”  I read a great 2012 Jezebel article by Lindy West called “A Complete Guide to Hipster Racism” . And she says, “It's the gentler, more clueless, and more insidious cousin of a hick in a hood; the domain of educated, middle-class white people (like me—to be clear, I am one of those) who believe that not wanting to be racist makes it okay for them to be totally racist. "But I went to college — I can't be racist!" Turns out, you can.” Later she says, “Sure, you can't say racist things anymore, but you can pretend to say them! Which, it turns out, is pretty much the exact same thing.”

West goes on to unpack some of the most common versions of hipster racism:

1. The first one she calls "Tee-Hee, Aren't I Adorable?"  She says, “This category includes things like wide-eyed acoustic covers of hip-hop songs, suburban white girls flashing gang signs, and this Tweet from Zooey Deschanel: "Haha. :) RT @Sarabareilles: Home from tour and first things first: New Girl episodes I missed. #thuglife." See, it's hilarious, because we aren't thugs—we are darling girls, and real thugs are black people who do crime!”  We saw a lot of this in Portland, girls covering Dr. Dre using a ukelele and TOTALLY including the n-word, lots of #thuglife hashtagging, even white people who we’re really talking about craft beer or collecting wine saying like “oh, we’re a gang” that kind of stuff
2. Next on West’s list is "Recreational Slumming: Wherein privileged people descend for a visit inside the strange, foreign spaces of othered groups. Like, I don't know, IHOP. Or that "scary" bar in the south end. Then they go home again. Catchphrase: "It's soooooo ghetto, but I actually totally like it!"”  Can we just cancel white people saying ghetto? Or “ghetto fabulous.” Or “baby mama/baby daddy?” And I’ll just add here that this is also a  VERY COMMON form of “Hipster Classism,” too.  Like #trailertrash, trucker hats, tubing in the river, drinking shitty beer, buying shotguns...I mean some people genuinely love these things but plenty of people were putting on super short denim cut-offs and hanging out in a kiddie pool in the yard and throwing out #trailerpark, #whitetrash
3. #3 on West’s List is “Ummm, I'm a writer and I'm Trying to Write in Here!" which includes the incredibly flawed argument “white kids whining that it's "unfair" that black people "get" to use "it".” And “It's all tied up wi...

The origins of the aughts hipster movement originated in part from the 90’s alternative and indie subculture that rejected corporations and consumerism. They were the Empire Records kids that shopped thrift and listened to Pavement. in an ethnography called Neo-Bohemia : Art and Commerce in the Postindustrial City of Wicker Park, Chicago in the nineties, the sociologist Richard Lloyd documented how what he called “neo-bohemia” unwittingly turned into something else: the seedbed for post-1999 hipsterism. Drawing from parallels to 1920s Paris and New York City’s Greenwich Village, Lloyd explores the numerous facets that coalesced into creating a new Bohemian enclave in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood during the 1990s - as a narrowed in look at the microcosms of other neighborhoods that were being cultivated in other places like Greenwich Village, SoHo, Capital Hill (Seattle) and Mississippi Ave (Portland) creating these emerging epicenters for new economies of culture and capitalism that were attractive to neo-bohemians - like coffee shop cullutre, music scenes, thrift and indie shopping destinations, etc which in turn caused trends that started to shape global cities. This created a subculture that would be the platform in which 2000s hipster counterculture took off as well as the reinventions of decaying districts by artists was built upon and mirrored in urban areas through the aughts.

In many cases this is how some of these key neighborhoods gained their relevance - the artists come in and gentrify and get priced out and displaced just like the original locals before them - only to pick up a new spot and the cycle continues. These neo-bohemians moved into more dilapidated and industrial areas because the artist lofts and rents were low  - then the 2000’s hit and the industrial aesthetic was considered “cool” and non-conformist - this was the case of Williamsburg where I lived in the early aughts until I moved to LA in 2016 -  and the hipsters after them embraced the dilapidated and gritty - Almost like cockroaches they can make anything habitable and not just habitable but desirable. Gentrification is obviously not something I condone by any means but it  was a huge part of the cycle.

Like most countercultures - Hipsters were heavily enmeshed with the music culture and scene - So from the 90’s music and art subcultures it is no surprise they were arguably birthed essentially from the Emo kids and evolved from there. White belts and floppy hair. There were quite a few stages and developments that happened during this period - Electro-clash in the earlier part of the century fostering 80’s and 90’s new wave disco -the mods- gritty NY rock and moto culture-  there was that blue collar working class authenticity I talked about lasts week and the Ye olde everything with handlebar moustaches and plaid shirts - just to name a very few. There were Trust funders, art school educated and middle to lower class kids. All in the same orbit.

The Culture
So why did it evolve? Well mainstream culture really was something to behold. We talked about the influence of celebrity style, Raunch Culture, Reality TV etc…. Hipsters couldn’t stomach the early aughts and were alienated by mainstream culture and their icons.  So, they created their own world with its own references. Hip, ironic, irreverent and kitschy oh and (most importantly) counter to all mainstream culture at the time. Micro economies flourished and then after some passing of time those non-conformist trends started to appeal to the masses - which i feel like sometimes gets forgotten - kale, coffee, urban farming, localism and niche everything - but at the time this sort of consumerism (shall I say pre-conscious consumerism) was very individual to these communities. It was a very proud and loud revolt against consumer habits and trends. Hipsters were the new urban bohemians who consumed and produced in alternative and often indie ways. Microcosms to cultivate trends in each local like adding a fixed gear shop or vintage store, artisan coffee shop and health food store -  that the neighborhood would then support themselves. The love of kitsch was a nod to nostalgia as well as curious look back into simpler times - subverting “low culture” that has been considered tacky or cheap or trashy - during a time period that in itself was tacky and cheap and trashy for other far more gross reasons like Raunch Culture and mass produced highly corporate garbagery and post industrial mass production conformity. Not that hipsters didn’t also embrace Raunch culture - which they did.

Hipsters are notorious consumers not producers. While previous subcultures developed consumerist habits for a rebellious end, what most distinguished hipster culture as pro-consumerist is that consumerism is the primary means of self-expression. Take for example Apple products - consuming Apple was originally a really hipster concept. Same with the time of music, coffee or green juice, etc. What you consumed often had a direct reflection during this time period of which tribe you belonged  to. There was a consumption or anti-consumption of DIY as well - teaching yourself how to play the banjo, thrifting and fixing clothing like Pretty in Pink, homemade art installations, etc. I remember there was this great DIY magazine called ReadyMade that i loved - all about the burgeoning DIY culture with a focus on interiors and fashion.

Hipsters didn't really generate new cultural forms, but instead retool old countercultural symbols and tropes. In the New York Times article “What Was the Hipster,” Mark Grief evaluates the hipster’s creative expression:

“One could say, exaggerating only slightly, that the hipster moment did not produce artists, but tattoo artists, who gained an entire generation’s arms, sternums, napes, ankles, and lower backs as their canvas. It did not produce photographers, but snapshot and party photographers: Last Night’s Party, Terry Richardson, the Cobra Snake. It did not produce painters, but graphic designers. It did not yield a great literature, but it made good use of fonts. And hipsterism did not make an avant-garde; it made communities of early adopters.”

They embraced being unique and nonconformist which led to a need to seek out obscure things, irreverent things or funnily ironic things. That in itself was sort of an art form - how to reinvent vintage clothing & furniture, low-class paraphernalia, ignored neighborhoods in disrepair, local economies, and slow food, indie makers and notably indie music or music unheard of for over a decade - anything that the mainstream hadn’t incorporated in the increasingly expanding marketing machine and had turned their backs on was ripe for the picking.

There is an article called “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization” from an Adbusters article in the late aughts by Douglass Haddow who writes:

Hipsterdom is the first “countercultu...

Blue Collar to Bling Culture

Christian Audigier was a legend. He is essentially the man behind two of the trendiest, tackiest brands of the Aughts - Von Dutch and Ed Hardy. He figured out early on how to play the game with celebrities and knew that the American consumer at this time liked it maximal and ironic. 

So Audigier was a french-born designer and mega marketer. His first hit was Von Dutch which  he was hired to join a few years into the brand….. I assume you all remember Von Dutch - it was adorned by all the glitterati back in the early aughts - it really ignited in 2003 and hit max velocity over 10 months and flamed out in 2004.  Which goes to show how quickly trends were moving  then - all through these gossip and celebrity magazines, reality tv and online blogs. 

Von Dutch’s Von Dominance

So a bit of back story on Von Dutch for some context - Kenneth Hughes is considered the father of the 1960’s Kustom Kar craze and set up his first pinstriping studio in 1951 -  he developed this technique called pinstriping which is the freehand painting of fine lines in symmetrical motifs. Hughes painted flames that became the signature of the uniquely Southern California car subculture. These “pinstripes” were a distinctive decorative feature of 1950s bodywork in the USA, and over time have become a traditional ingredient of Kustom Kulture. Tall, blond and headstrong, he gave himself the moniker “Von Dutch” in reference to the expression “stubborn as a Dutchman”.

He met with immediate success. Von Dutch became the go-to guy for customizing motorbikes and automobiles. Some clients even shipped vehicles from New York City to be Kustomised. It is to be noted that Hughes is a known racist and neo-nazi. He was apparently a real piece of work.

After his death in the 1990’s his daughters sold the "Von Dutch" name to two LA entrepreneurs hoping to open a business for hot rod enthusiasts.  Von Dutch embraced this Kustom Kulture rockabilly trend and in 1999 launched with greaser style jeans, tees and motorcycle jackets as well as the infamous “Trucker Hat” that was inspired by the car and auto shops. In 2000 they opened their first store on Melrose - but it wasn’t until 2002 when they hired designer Christian Audigier - who had a background working at Diesel and American Eagle -  did the brand take off. Audegier is quoted in 2008 saying "I met Britney Spears in the street, she wore the first (Von Dutch) baseball cap. Three days later, I met Justin Timberlake in a nightclub and gave him a cap to wear too," Audigier recalls.

"Three weeks later they split up and were featured on the cover of People magazine wearing those two hats." They were essentially walking billboards getting chased by paparazzi and the brand blew up quiet immediately after that.

In 2003 Justin Timberlake wore the Von Dutch Trucker to Grammy night parties. Fred Durst, Ashton Kutcher  and other Hollywood types followed suit, and pretty soon the trucker hat had become a kind of anti-status status symbol. Or, at prices that go from $42 to $125, maybe a faux anti-status symbol. By 2014 and after being paraded around on all the celebrities in paparazzi shots and on Paris in the Simple life the brand hit the mainstream. It took roughly 10 months for that to happen - with archaic cell phones, glossy mags and Friendster.

The LA Times reported back in 2004: Each design is limited to a run of 1,000, which helps fuel demand (the Beanie Baby factor). On EBay last year (aka 2003), more than 20 Von Dutch hats sold for $900-plus.

LA Times reported that - Although the truckers’ hats are the most visible of Von Dutch’s products, the company does more sales volume in jeans, which cost $145 to $320. The company’s sales have risen from $1 million in 2001 to roughly $33 million in 2003.

I think it essentially was derived from the 1990’s insane swing dance craze that evolved into a rockabilly and then the massive embracement of blue-collar iconography and essentially Class Appropriation like PBR (I am going to get into PBR in the next episode) -  The white tank top or “wife-beater”, Tattoos, and the Trucker Hat. 

Now the trucker hat was pulled from rural and mechanic shops - They were originally given away at truck stops or feed shops to farmers and mechanics to advertise their products - John Deer put a lot of marketing dollars towards these guys back in the day but other brands like Coca-cola and feed companies also used the hats as a marketing vehicle . They were picked up by the American youth subcultures around the 2000s - those details are rather vague really - but the cool hip-hop and skater crowd started sporting them as an ironic statement because of the blue collar association and generally older “dad” demographic. And  really irony is the key word here - because as we get into hipsters - the trend was all based on irony. Lo-fashion is hi-fashion - poor is rich - which is  something that was trendy to this day - the cult of ugly shoes and normcore are all subversions of this ironic style. Market Watch explains ironic consumption as “using a product while attempting to signal an identity, trait, or belief that is opposite from the perceived conventional meaning of the product.” So Paris Hilton, one of the richest women in the world wearing a trucker hat (albeit a designer one) is still a socialite wearing truckstop paraphernalia. 

Ed Hardy Hard On

Audegier went out on his own in 2004 and started his own California tattoo artist inspired line call Ed Hardy licencing the famous tattoo art- Learning from the Spears-Timberlake episode and embracing one of the first forms of influencer marketing he sent out clothes to all the stars and used the paparazzi, hotel and restaurant staff to spread the word. And it hit like wildfire.

Take a look at some looks at the height of the Ed Hardy Hard on: https://www.ranker.com/list/ed-hardy-pictures/samantha-dillinger

Interestingly 70% of the Ed Hardy line was made in Los Angeles - so he can guarantee quality for the price and lower production time if something sold out. T-shirts were running at $180  - which was basically designer price point at the time.

Ed Hardy was a student of Sailor Jerry  - the Honolulu based tattoo artist known for synthesizing classic American imagery with the larger scale, finer detail, and greater complexity of Japanese tattooing. He was one of the most important and influential tattoo artists at the time. Might I also add that in the early aughts we were going through a serious Tattoo renaissance. In the 1960’s there were 500 professional tattoo artists in the US by 1995 there were over 10,000 of them and growing.

The beginning of the 21st century saw lower back tattoos increase in popularity. The so-called “tramp stamp” became one of the most fashionable place...

What is interesting to note is that the trends of the early 2000s are coming back for the younger generations and Gen Z is embracing this millennium - as comfort watching of old 2000 shows has been trending the likes of the OC, Gossip Girl, and Hannah Montana and being watched more than ever. Because of that - the kids are crushing on the fashion trends in those shows - That’s right Juicy Couture, Uggs, low rise jeans and even trucker hats are seen trending again as nostalgia continues to influence.

Cult of Celebutantes

2000 saw a huge, I might say, obsession for the Celebutante. The celebutante is essentially a celebrity who is just "famous for being famous" or often a " trust fund baby. ": Young and in their twenties, fashionable, and notorious party girls who are members of "high-class" society due to family fortunes. These females fall into the realm of 'celebrity-for-the-sake-of-celebrity" or "socialite-heiress-turned-celebrity". They are America’s princesses - with massive fortune’s behind them. So we are talking about Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, the Kardashians….then there are some Celebutantes that had some talent and were actresses or pop stars like Lindsay Lohan and Britany most notoriously. And what is most interesting is the amount of power they had to define trends and the American consumer behavior as well as lifestyles because of the sheer amount of press that came out about them. Often not for great things- Paris rose to mass popularity in 2003 after the release of her sex tape. Lohan for her antics. People loved them and loved to hate them. They had lavish lifestyles and partied constantly - the drama, the excitement and then the reality tv shows all fueled the demand.

Rise and Rash of Reality

Now the idea of reality television did not *begin* in the 2000s...we can all remember The Real World and Road Rules from MTV in the 90s...as well as all kinds of other spin offs that were less successful.  The televised OJ Simpson trial (and all of the other media around it) could arguably be considered the first time “reality television” was being created for the masses….well not the FIRST.

In the 1970s, PBS sort of launched the idea of ‘Reality Television’ with a show called An American Family. 

• The show, or more specifically the twelve-hour documentary series, followed the lives of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California for the span of seven months.
• Over the span of this twelve part series “viewers watched dramatic life events unfold, including Pat asking for a separation from her husband Bill, and the bohemian New York lifestyle of their gay son, Lance” 
• The Loud family quickly captivated the hearts of America because it showed them a version of their own reality.

The Splash of Survivor

So by 2000, television producers saw that there was an appetite for reality shows. After all The Real World was still bringing in viewers, Cops and all the related “crime” shows were very popular, and game shows, when you think about it are also reality shows, and people loved those.  And thus Survivor was born. 

Survivor was wildly successful.  And it sort of legitimized this idea of reality television as  mainstream, major network programming.  Previously reality programming was reserved for cable (or PBS).  But networks saw that millions of people would watch these shows.  And they were so much cheaper to make than a regular scripted show!  For example, a single episode of Lost (a major hit of the aughts) cost $14 million to make.  Reality shows were significantly cheaper. 

From here entire cable networks grew based on reality TV:  The Learning Channel became TLC, it spun off lots of other channels.  VH1 and MTV shifted from you know, music videos, to reality shows all the time!

How Reality Launched Celebrity

Obviously we have to start with the queens of the celebutantes, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, who became household names and fashion icons with their MTV reality show The Simple Life, which ran for five years. 

• The BFFs holed up in small-town America, working a series of average-Joe jobs for five seasons.  The key “comedy” of the show was watching these two spoiled rich girls doing a variety of extremely un-socialite-like tasks, from milking cows to working drive-thrus—it also birthed their iconic catchphrases “that’s hot” and Loves it.”
• Paris Hilton came from an extreme amount of generational wealth (as did Nicole Ritchie) so it’s hard to say what her life would have been like without The Simple Life, but it did make her  a style icon of the aughts.  You say 2000s, you see Paris.  She found herself--a star of reality shows and a sex tape-- in Vogue and Vanity Fair.  Her book, Confessions of an Heiress, was a bestseller in 2004. She even got into music, releasing an album called Pairs, and she to this day has made billions off of endorsements and her own product lines:  Eighteen different perfumes have resulted in $2 billion in sales; she has 56 branded stores in the Middle East and Asia selling her line of handbags; and she’s got 16 licenses across the categories of clothing, accessories, beauty and watches.

The Osbournes: While ostensibly Ozzy was the star of the show, it really made his wife Sharon and their kids Jack and Kelly. It’s important to call out that there is a third Osbourne kid, Aimee, who did not participate in the show and it’s almost like she doesn’t exist!

Guy Fieri--you probably don’t think of him as a celebrity of the aughts, but he rose to fame in 2005 with his reality show, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

How about Nick Lachey (of 98 degrees) and Jessica Simpson (her line of clothing and shoes is still going strong)? They started on Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica on MTV from 2003 and 2005.  This show is most legendary for the scene where Jessica Simpson is confused about whether Chicken of the Sea is chicken or tuna. 

• Fun fact:  this show was originally conceived for Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Prestley
• The success of Newlyweds in terms of building Jessica’s career was so massive that it sort of set the precedent for using a reality show as a vehicle to fame...so it’s no surprise that Jessica’s sister Ashlee also had her own short-lived reality show  that followed her as she recorded her first album. 

Laguna Beach launched the careers of Lauren “LC” Conrad, Stephen Coletti and Kristin Cavillari and all their high school rich kid dramas. This cast later migrated to The Hills.

The Girls Next Door made celebrities out of Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. The show made Playboy and Hugh Hefner more culturally wholesome to middle america and destigmatized Playboy...as well as dating multiple women.

And while some shows would turn someone into a major celebrity overnight, others just sort of created I don’t know, E list reality guests?  For example, Megan Hauserman made the rounds in the aughts.  She began on Beauty and The Geek, then she was a popular villain on Rock of Love--which is my favorite reality show, and I’ll be t...

As previously mentioned in 2016 Pantone, for the first time ever, chose TWO Colors of the Year: Rose Quartz (aka millennial pink) and Serenity (a lavender blue). Last episode we mentioned that Pantone wasn’t the forerunner anymore on trend - as Millennial Pink had been pervasive for a few years now.

Pantone credits the blurring of gender for the choice - not mentioning the obvious obsession with the color: According to Pantone.”In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design."

Amanda points out that these colors weren’t necessarily groundbreaking. These colors were also used together frequently in the early age of the internet,  found in both the Prodigy guidebook and the America Online welcome page.

Rose Quartz (aka millennial pink) became the color of a generation, with Serenity as its sort of second runner up.

Millennial Pink, also known as “Tumblr Pink” and “Scandi Pink” is not the same as Barbie pink, which was the pink shade of the aughts.  This was a softer, less aggressive shade….some considered it a modern take on the color.

New York magazine did an exhaustive, almost too dry article>> on the history of millennial pink citing here in a lot of her research. The New York Mag fashion editor Amy Larocca said, “often when Pantone declares Marsala Red or Radiant Orchid to be the next color to watch, we shrug knowingly, fully expecting to see that shade on shelves but not expecting it to invade our consciousness.”

But millennial pink was different...it  really did invade every aspect of clothing, graphic design, interior design, product design….it became a signature of the “blanding” aesthetic (refer to our episode on Blanding for MORE!)

In November of 2014, the Color Marketing Group, a worldwide nonprofit color-forecasting group of which Pantone is a member, picked Shim, a deep pink-beige, as the 2016 emerging color (the group works two years in advance). It’s an early version of Millennial Pink. The Asia-Pacific members of the group are the first to notice the color and say that it represents a change in gender roles; the name Shim is a play on she and him. Mark Woodman, the former president of CMG, calls the color a “moment of quietude” and explains that “there’s so much stress that people think, What can I do in color and texture that I can take with me that gives me a moment to calm down?

That same year, #palepink is the top used pink-related hashtag on Tumblr...a place that virtually birthed the pastel aesthetic!  And I would say that the kids of Tumblr really lead the this paste revolution with all of the pastel aesthetic blogs, pastel goth.

Every brand--whether it’s clothing, kitchen goods, furniture, you name it...has gotten into the millennial pink game at some point. ...but strangely none of the big car companies have? WHAT A MISS. Probably why Millennials aren’t buying cars! (please refer to our episode on Millennials Killing things ;).

Traditionally considered a color of our youth -or femme girl icons like Paris Hilton, Leagally Blonde or House Bunny -  it became popular beyond age, gender or taste. Fuelled by nostalgia and trend the color took over in a massive way.

But millennial pink had a different, androgynous vibe.  It was considered the “genderless mascot” of a generation.  It’s also flattering and easy on the eyes, which doesn’t hurt!

A few years ago Amanda read an amazing interview with one of her favorite bands, a Japanese girl band called Chai, who uses pink very heavily in its imagery and outfits!  This quote from member Yuki really stuck with her: “In Japan, most girls like pink when they’re little. There is this cultural understanding that when you’re a young girl, you can wear pink, but as you grow older, pink is not the color for you. What we are trying to say is that pink is for everybody at every age. We wanted people to know it’s a cool color and it shows woman power. Our pink outfits show we’re not just cute: This is what cool women wear.”

People would ask...why pink? A traditionally polarizing color!

In 1918, the trade publication Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department published an article saying, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls.”
While this shade of pink is not new, it’s invasion of our consciousness and our surroundings began in earnest in 2013...so Amanda wanted to call out some iconic millennial pink moments:

1. Glossier! It’s packaging, it’s products, the jumpsuits that its employees wear in the flagship store.
2. The cover of Girlboss, Kim’s favorite book, and Sophia’s second book Nasty Galaxy
3. The upper half of the Grand Budapest Hotel, the setting of the film by Wes Anderson
4. Many subway cars in the Tokyo metro system are pink, sometimes to denote “women only” cars, but also just because science has proven that the color is so soothing to stressed out commuters.  They also created special soothing music for each station for the same reason!
5. The cover of Drake’s Hot Line Bling...which inspired so many graphic tee knockoffs!
6. The Wing used it as the primary color for its locations

What colors do we see trending with Gen Z? 

Gen Z Yellow was getting a lot of airplay in 2018 and a lot of people were hoping for another stand out color with the new generation that was swinging in with new market share and dollars at the ready. This year we see that the Pantone Color of the Year is in fact - Gen Z yellow. Will it eclipse Millennial Pink? Not likely!

Nostalgic colors: 90’s colors and Y2K is trending

• Billie Eilish makes a lot of moves with color choice and style  The New York Times, called Billie Eilish Gen Z’s fashion role model, suggesting it’s the “new generation’s rejection of the flirty babe aesthetic in favor of something more crazily improvised and less strenuously sexual.” She embraces Neons like UFO Green against statement blacks
• 2000’s - on tick tock girls are recreating the look complete with butterfly clips and frosted lips.
•     Seafoam / Aqua
•     90’s Pink  - bubblegum
•     Lavender

Kindercore

As we mentioned before whenever there is an existing mainstream trend,  there is often a counter trend that will resonate strongly as people get exhausted by the status quo. So this minimalism trend of clean design and neutral color has been popular for years. As an opposing trend and one that taps into the zeitgeist to alleviate the darkness of the times, many designers from interior to fashion are turning to a movement called Kindercore. It is essentially a happier aesthetic rooted in primary & bubblegum colors, geometric shapes as well a new movement into fun squiggly shapes reminiscent of being a kid or in your kindergarten classroom. In general COLOR itself is trending more as mentioned as a macro trend toward Maximalism is starting  to counterbalance out the years and years of minimalism. Maxamilism is trending like crazy right now with #maximalism having over 7.5 million views on TikTok.

Kindercore plays on the design aesthetics inspired ...

Essentially it symbolizes strength and hope -  The Pantone website>> describes their selection as:

“Ultimate Gray and Illuminating are two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another which best expresses the mood for Pantone Color of the Year 2021. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.”

We find that these ‘Color of the Year’s’ have been following the trend - not leading it lately - Yellow has been trending for at least 3 years. In 2018 industry people proclaimed this yellow Gen Z Yellow which was pegged to usurp Millennial Pink which rocked the color world last decade. But this wasn’t always the case.

First and foremost the color of the year is meant to be aspirational as well as draw some pr momentum. Pantone has been doing the color of the year since 1999 - picking the color of the year for the next year - and set the precedent for a bunch of other paint and trend companies that also release their own color of the year. Color of the year started as a marketing tool to liven up the color standards business - put a little hype and serious pr spectacle into the game. Starting in 2000 the first official color chosen was Cerulean, a light blue said to capture the angst about Y2K-  This color represents the millennium because of the calming zen state of mind it induces.

Since the founding Pantone has figured out how to capitalize on this more and more - they now enter into licensing agreements with various companies - from nail polish to hotel suites - so that the color is everywhere and these brands are on trend as well. So in essence it is a self fulfilling prophecy. Ultimately the color of the year and the colors they forecast for the season are really about selling merchandise and informing a similar palette brand’s use in unison to come together on a color trend. The more customers see a color the more they lean into it - essentially - so it is a catalyst for a color trend and makes them appear as a reliable resource.

Interestingly however - The colors are designed to create obsolescence - after a few months the color loses interest and is considered pase because it was last year’s color. Previous year’s Pantone-branded coffee mugs for example are often seen marked down. The annual update on iPhone colors for instance, is meant for consumers to covet a new phone every year.

Here is a great article: Why Does Pantone Choose a Color of the Year>>

Pantone Officially defines their choice and methodology as:  “A symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude. Trends across all categories and industries reflect the culture we live in. As marketers, our primary goal to be successful is to connect with people and to do that, it is important to be in touch with these trends.”

The Busines Insider came out with a compelling article this year after the 2021 colors were announced called ‘Pantone's Colors of the Year are intended to reflect 'resilience and hope' for 2021. But the annual decision also has a trickle-down effect on everything from high fashion to iPhones.’ by Avery Hartmans>>

Avery examines how Pantone's Color of the Year is meant to make a statement that they obviously serve another purpose: setting the tone for the consumer products industry and kick-starting a trickle-down effect that can last for years.
“Hartmans gives this reference - that Cerulean was the color of the year in 2000- then There's an iconic scene in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada" that helps explain the color phenomenon. In the film, Anne Hathaway's character, Andy, quietly scoffs at two similar-looking turquoise belts someone had just described as being "so different." Andy's reaction leads Meryl Streep's character, Miranda Priestly, to turn on her and unleash a seemingly calm yet undeniably eviscerating explanation of the power of the fashion industry and its trickle-down effect on consumer products. To drive home her point, Priestly uses Andy's blue sweater as an example: it's not just blue, it's cerulean, and four years prior, designers Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent had both used cerulean in their runway collections. The color then made its way through other designers' collections, into department stores, and finally into the average person's closet. "That blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs," Priestly says “ - the same cerulean that 2 years prior was the chosen color of the year from Pantone.

The Pantone Color of the year is determined by a top-secret group of industry experts, the annual selection is run by the consulting department known as the Pantone Institute. Months before the announcement, Pantone actually collaborates with various brands to unleash an avalanche of products in the exact hue they specify. No matter if that color is flattering or works in that product. Pantone is big business and here is why the 2015 Color Marketing Group survey found that 85% of customers say color affects their purchasing decisions.

Colorful Times We Live In ︎

After the Septembr 11th attacks Pantone chose True Red in dedication of the event.  It was a remembrance of the fallenn and courageous as chosen as a patriotic and powerful color. It was also a representation of love and something that Pantone believed was needed during this year.

Sand Dollar was chosen ...

History of Hair 101 

(well just for the 80s and 90s...)

Humongous Hair : 80’s Hair 

Kim takes a look at some of the epic hair trends of the 80’s - where the bigger the better. As the 80’s were a decade of excess the hair followed and the 80’s was a mutation of the big hair ideals of the 70’s. The 80’s got messier and curlier as perms reigned supreme. Crimping  followed suit as a home texture. We also got the mullet, asymmetric bob and Princess Di’s Sloan Ranger feather, french braid, big bow and scrunchie styles with Whale Spout and Palm Tree. The peak of the big hair trend hit in 1987 and deflated after then. 

Minimal Insanity: 90’s Hair 

Iconic celebrity hairstyles defined the generation and fashionable forward hair was extremely important -I would almost argue that young celebrities would get a cool edgy cut to stand out and get featured more in tabloids and news coverage 

“The Demi”
As we moved from 80’s excess into the 90’s - big hair was considered “tacky” and minimalism trended. 1990 - Ghost hit the theaters and the clean, cropped adrogenous style was a turning point. Inspired by Linda Evangelista’s dramatic cut in 1988 that subsequently got her banned from the runway but then became ultra fashionable in Paris and then the world. Short hair saw a major trend in all fashions from the most forward celebrities (see the Drew Effect) and daring followers. 

“The Rachel”
The Rachel could arguably be one of the most influential haircuts of all time. The haircut  by stylist stylist Chris McMillan debuted in 1995 on the Friends episode “The One With the Evil Orthodontist." There is a great article that explores the Rachel hair trend from Mental Floss written by Jay Seravino called The One where Jennifer Aniston's 'Rachel' Haircut on Friends Became a Phenomenon.With elaborate highlights and its roots in the shag “the Rachel '' took America by storm after being introduced and was big business for America’s hair salons. "That show has made us a bunch of money," Lisa Pressley, an Alabama hairstylist, said back in 1996. Pressley was giving around four "Rachels'' per week to women ages 13 to 30, and she was touching up even more than that. Another hairdresser estimated that, during that time, 40 percent of her business from female clients came from the "Rachel." The funny thing is that Rachel is a really hard style to maintain - it takes a stylist to perfectly blow it out and style it everyday

The Definitive Guide of Hair Torture Tools in the 80’s & 90’s

Wielding the power of tv and prime teen time hair care and tool commercials aired for teens and tweens during shows like Saved By the Bell and Beverly Hills 90210.  Additionally this was also the golden era of the teen magazine, Seventeen, YM, Teen, Sassy, etc to showcase such showstopping tools. 

Conair Crimping & Curling Empire

From wikipedia>>:

• Founded in 1959 in a garage in Queens, New York, Conair started out by selling hair rollers and then hair dryers. 
• It continued to expand, and became a public company in 1972, but then went private again after a leveraged buyout in 1985.  It was owned by the co-founder and chairman Leandro Rizzuto until his death in 2017. In 2002 Rizzuto pleaded guilty to tax evasion associated with his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Conair, and was sentenced to a prison term of 20 to 37 months.
• Conair is one of the largest producers of hair care appliances, ranging from hair dryers and styling irons to its innovative hair curlers, Curl Secret and Miracurl Stylers. The company also manufactures a wide range of home kitchen appliances under its brands Cuisinart and Waring.

As mentioned ...Cuisinart Resort

Geometricks

This styling kit came with not one but five attachments: a zigzag iron, a spiral iron, a triangle iron (??), a crimping iron, and a straightening iron.  Amanda and Kim and likely everyone in this age range had this. Clearly a lot of marketing dollars spent behind it. Geometricks also came with a free styling book...allegedly a $2.99 value! And while we pored over that book like it was going to clue us into the mysteries of life, It never successfully made our hair look remotely good!!!

Twist ‘N Curl Trio

While we are here talking about miracle 5 in 1 inventions, I think it’s important to give an honorable mention to the Conair 3-in-1 trio, which seemed to be for working with really tight curls...the sign that you had a really good and fresh perm!  It included a 3/8-inch rod, a 5/8-inch rod, and a round styling brush.

Conair Impressions 

...which was like a crimper, except it created shapes--using heat--in your hair. Stars, hearts, and a lightning bolt.  There was also a flat straightening plate, so I guess it was somewhat functional.  Conair was really into this multi use stuff!

Amanda also had this one and considered it super useless and essentially future garbage. She recalls making hearts in her hair for Valentines Day and her mom asking her, “what is going on with your hair? It’s weird and flat in places.” Wah wah.  The commercial--which was filled with magical sound effects and animation urged girls to “MAKE AN IMPRESSION NO ONE WILL FORGET.”

Conair Hot Sticks 

...were a little bit more sophisticated.  They were long, hot sticks that you had to wrap your hair around and then lock into a loop at the end.  On one hand, they actually worked--unlike everything else we’ve talked about so far--and they looked really good!!! But, on the other hand, you had to experience the hanging of burning your hands while you rolled up your hair. There was no “cool” part of the rod to hold onto.  Also, they definitely burned/irritated your scalp. They can be incredible in the hands of a professional however so there may be use for them still once you get the tricks.

Clairol Benders
Which Amanda also owned at some point.  Similar to Hot Sticks, but rather than sticking the end through a loop, you just sort of bent them around themselves.  These were super heavy, super hot, and always smelled like burning plastic. 

We can argue that the commercial for Benders was WAY better than Hot Sticks, showing a woman on the subway with her hair in Benders . It was a rap-adjacent type song, that said things like “you’re gonna curl your hair/you’re gonna make them stare.”

Clairol Lock N Roll

...which were these weird like basket shaped curlers called Spoolies.  Of course Amanda owned these, and well, they don’t work with thick or long hair...so they were sort of a lost cause for her. They were nearly impossible to figure out!! Yet another product that was good i...

Amanda takes us down to nostalgia town - looking for some of the history behind the staple 80’s & 90’s tween and teen right of passage.

First check out Mattel's 1985 very controversial and ill-advised “Slumber Party Barbie,” who came with a scale that was frozen at 110 pounds and a book called “How to Lose Weight” that gave only one piece of advice: Don’t eat.  

Trope trends galore were supported by every pop culture tv show and movie including current The Department fave series PEN15 (on Hulu now) featuring truth or dare, frenemies, pranking the early sleeper, prank calls, fights and leaving early. 

But the history starts with marketing genius’ back in the 1950’s and 60’s who discovered a new cash cow: the teenager. By the 1980’s the tween was discovered to have an allowance and a desire to spend. Brands targeted to girls slumber party gear  nightgowns, cute sleeping bags that weren’t warm but you know, cute, stuffed animals that turned into pillows, overnight bags, and of course, games.

Slumber parties have fallen out of trend with parental concerns and kids being more hooked onto technology. So the slumber party appears to be tucked away in the past for now. 

The Enduring Legacy of the Trapper Keeper

Kim pulls up some the backstory behind the Trapper Keeper - the defining element of 80’s and 90’s school supplies to find that it wasn’t something that just popped up but something that took years to develop - including Harvard research - and many prototypes but a guy named E Bryant Crutchfield.

For more info make sure to check out Erin McCarthy’s article with Mental Floss in 2017

"[The Trapper Keeper] was no accident. It was the most scientific and pragmatically planned product ever in that industry." The Trapper Keeper itself was developed with a mastery of innovation, design, purpose, end-use, and the customer in mind. Brightly colored, thoughtfully developed, trend-forward and particularly functional the Trapper Keeper took the school supply industry by storm -  unlike anything anyone had ever seen before in that category. From the start, they were an enormous success: For several years after their nationwide release, Mead sold over $100 million of the folders and notebooks a year. To date, more than 75 million Trapper Keepers have flown off store shelves. The product also became a cultural phenomenon and has been referenced on many TV shows including South Park, Family Guy, Dawson’s Creek, Stranger Things, and Full House.

The designer series launched in 1988 - releasing more fashionable illustrations and partnering with Lisa Frank, Garfield and even  Lamborghini. 

The trapper keeper trended down in the 90’s after schools and teachers banned them from classrooms because they were ultimately too big, bulk and cause more disorganization. 

Frankly Speaking - this sounds messed up. 

Kim takes us on a tour of the Lisa Frank cult which has seen a rise in popularity starting in 2016 with the unicorn hair trend (also called #lisafrankhair) that evolved into other Unicorn Trend products like the rainbow frappuccino as millennials are looking for a bit of nostalgic escapism and who better to lean on than the crutch of childhood obsessions.

Lisa made her name in the world of pre-teen girls during the sticker trend of the 80’s - and when that trend started to fade she pivoted into school supplies. At the height of Lisa Frank's popularity her line of products—folders, pencil cases, erasers, Trapper Keepers, and notebooks— made $60 million a year in sales by the 90’s.

But not all of it was rainbows and unicorns - as her employees can attest - Jezebel published and article in 2013 by Tracie Egan Morrissey called Inside the Rainbow Gulag: The Technicolor Rise and Fall of Lisa Frank - with the subtext “the ugly business of being cute” - calling out the toxic culture and insanity behind this infamous brand. 

Surprising Sticker Subculture

Kim does take a side journey into the history of the 80’s sticker trend. In 1984 People magazine declared in an article about Stickermania  “America Is Getting Stuck Up,” with estimated industry-wide sales of a “billion stick-ons priced at five cents to $5” totaling “as much as $500 million”.

The sticker industry was booming for kids under 12 with new technology and innovative design driving the demand - hypercolor, mylar, scratch ‘n’ sniff Barbies (which reportedly smell “virginal”), puffies, mylar, googlies and our favorite the infamous “liquid crystals” caused quite a schoolyard stir.

The popularity of stickers by the yard started in California with Andrea  Grossman who still has a sticker factory called Mrs.Grossman’s Sticker Factory.

Learn more with this article called Last True Sticker factory in America

Party Games for Perfect Party Girls

Weird World of Ouija

Amanda takes us on a spiritual journey to the Ouija board trend - developed by spiritualists in the late 19th century. In 1966 Parker Brother’s bought the Ouija board during the New Age movement that brought back the trends of the occult and spiritualism again into the mainstream. So much so that one year later (in 1967) the Ouija outsold Monopoly which had been the bestseller for years. The board trended on and off and by the 1980’s the Oujia became a teens favorite slumber party activity as commercials geared toward teenagers hit the TVs.

One early '90s commercial shows a group of boys asking the board questions like "Will I ever be tall enough to slam dunk?" and "Will my parents let me go to the concert?" while zany music plays in the background.

Mitch Horowitz, writer of the book Occult America, says "It really is the one and only object from the age of Spiritualism that's still part of American life.

Amanda uncovers some scientific explanations for the trickery: The Ideomotor Effect. The ideomotor effect is basically a way for your body to talk to itself.

The ideomotor effect is an example of unconscious, involuntary physical movement — that is, we move when we’re not trying to move. Kind of like when you jerk yourself awake as you’re falling asleep: your brain is signaling your body to move without your conscious awareness. The obvious difference is that the ideomotor effect happens when you’re awake, so the reflexive movements you make are much smaller. In the case of a Ouija board, your brain may unconsciously create images and memories when you ask the board questions. Your body responds to these images, words, ideas even as you are unaware that it is happening research has determined that the ideomotor effect is closely tied to subconscious awareness….so the less you are aware of moving the planchette, the more it moves.  The less control you think you h...

Millennials have been blamed for killing tons of passe things - from cars, to napkins to golf. Many we welcome with open arms that were based on outdated fads like Light Yogurt or a misguided attempt by corporations to lure in a “younger” mindset resistant as well as not financially secure enough to be able to support.

Around 2012/2013 bad press started coming out about Millennials - mostly written by Boomers - about the generations laziness and entitlement. Kate Dries reported for The New York Times in 2013, trend pieces portrayed millennials as materialistic but cheap. One of the most famous was a Time Magazine article titled “The me me me generation - Millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents. Why they’ll save us all.” Yikes. 

More sensationalized sentiments blossomed - particularly articles with Millennials Killing things in them. One headline in The Christian Science Monitor in 2012: "Millennial generation could kill the NFL." Forbes, the same year: "Is Gen Y's Live-At-Home Lifestyle Killing The Housing Market?" By 2014, things had really heated up, with "promiscuous" millennials killing McDonald's because they apparently lacked fast-food loyalty.  By 2016 Millennials were getting fed up and were lashing back. The most famous was a tweet by The Economist asking why Millenials were not buying as many diamonds.

The reality of the matter is that the Millennial generation "are less well off than members of earlier generations when they were young, with lower earnings, fewer assets, and less wealth." which was reported in a statement by the Federal Reserve. They also said the discrepancy could be explained primarily by the fact that millennials came of age during the Great Recession, kneecapping their financial well-being in their early adulthood.

The Casual Decline of the Casual Corporate Chain

Heavy hitting restaurants in the 80’s and 90’s were often themed chain establishments with a taste for the fattier things in life. Well guess what. Millennials have Murdered them. Say goodbye to your favorites like Ruby Tuesday, Applebees, TGIFridays, Chili’s and Old Country Buffet. The slump of sales is attributed to Millennials not doing their bit and frequenting these Great American Pastimes.

Funny thing is that 40% of the American food budget is spent eating out - but looks like Millennials are going elsewhere….

We break it down: 

1. Authenticity
2. Conscious Consumerism (eating local, farm to table, etc)
3. More options and Indie restaurants.
4. A move away from the mall
5. Food quality and menu
6. Budget
7. Cooking at Home 
8. Yelp
9. Fast Casual 
10. Delivery Apps
11. Instagram and the rise of food picture culture

Make sure to check out the movie Waiting… if you haven’t done so already.

Breastaurants - not as bouncy as they used to be. 

Hooters is showing cracks with 7% closure rate and counting - with the pandemic wiping out more locations. It mostly comes down to crappy food and out of date uniforms - cuz Twin Peaks down the street (Hooters for Foodies with a lumberjack theme) is doing better than fine. 

Gen Z is gobbling up Fast Food Merch

There is a huge trend in Fast Food Chains - trending with the Gen Z kids - particularly with their merch. Lots of homebody and apparel stuff coming from McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, KFC and even Pizza Hut. 

The Erasure of the Ethnic Aisle

The “ethnic aisle” is seeing a rehabilitation as the definition of “mainstream” American food gets rewritten.
Make sure to check out Omson - a fantastic starter meal kit company you don’t have to go to the grocery aisle to get!

The co-founder Vanessa Pham contends: "The grocery-store layout should be mapped to how the rest of the country looks. Noodles should be next to pasta. Asian condiments should be next to Western condiments,"

Millennials, Like, Murdered Malls

Well, no - cultural and wealth distribution as well as technological advances killed the mall.

As of 2019, mall vacancies were at a seven-year high - with pre-pandemic reports claiming between 20% to 25% of malls will close by 2022. We can only imagine post pandemic these numbers will be worse.

With lack of sales “anchor” stores have quickly left underperforming malls - causing more casualties of other stores and soon barren wastelands.

Check out the beauty of these abandoned malls - We recommend checking out the work of Seph Lawless, a photographer who specializes in abandoned places.

So, like, what’s up?

• Rise of ecommerce, savvy shoppers & convenience culture
• Out of date
• Mass Market retailers also out of touch
  • They were too late to have an online presence
  • They were tone deaf about social justice movements like #metoo (Victoria’s Secret)
  • They couldn’t adjust to the world of fast fashion
  • They didn’t sign on to any social responsibility and sustainability
  • They didn’t do a good job at social media
  • The stores looked dated...they don’t look good on social media
  • Their clothes just weren’t on trend, or the brand image didn’t really mean anything...just bad branding all around
• Demand for better
• Millennials are poor!
  • They make up the largest share of the U.S. workforce, but control just 4.6 percent of the country's total wealth. 
  • The average Baby Boomer working in 1989 during their early 30s had 4X the wealth that today’s millennials have (when adjusted for inflation).  They also had 26% of the wealth at that time, compared with the 4.6 percent that millennials have.  So just a major shift in wealth for this generation.
  • In total, Boomers have twice the wealth of Generation Xers (who aren’t doing that great either), and 10 times the wealth of millennials
  • And then there is the debt! The average millennial has nearly $30,000 in personal debt, with about $19,000 of that being student loans. 
  • And because of all of this debt, and about a 20% decrease in average salary from the boomers, millennials have very little savings and they have an average net worth of less than $8000

The Experience Myth

So yes, millennials say they prioritize experiences:  A survey from Eventbrite, a "marketplace for live event experiences," found that 78% of millennials re...

A listener reached out to ask why “we” as in “us women” derive pleasure in seeing the collapse of girl bosses.

Amanda unpacks the concept of Schadenfreude and why we find so much pleasure at the downfall of these girlbosses and how envy as well as justice impacts our thought patterns. 

Envy:

Envy is the most common basic personality trait shaping human behavior -- and is found among almost one-third of the human population The study on human behavior found that 90 per cent of the human population can be divided into four main basic personality traits -- optimistic, pessimistic, trusting and envious….and envious was the biggest group among the studied participants...at 30% 

Justice:

2017 article from Buzzfeed called Feminist Hypocrisy Is The New Trend In Startup Narratives
As one employee told Jezebel in June 2015: "I want the young women who are applying to Nasty Gal thinking it will be their dream job to know the truth behind the company’s external image of glitz and glamour. I saw too many incredibly hard working, ambitious, and eager people lose so much self confidence, self worth and motivation, including myself. And I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

Bitterness

Expectations toward women can be higher when in reality these female founders were just out for themselves.

“In the end, it's worth asking why we're so ready to lionize anyone — man, woman, or otherwise — just because they say all the right things. Certainly the stories about the hypocrisies of women like Amoruso, Agrawal, and Huffington feel even more deliciously ironic because of their founders' messaging. But the basic reason they treat employees badly, and the excuse they use when they're called out, is that they, like most business owners, want to be successful — that is, make money.”

Let 2020 Be The Year We Get Rid Of Girlboss Culture For Good - Refinery 29 article from Vicky Spratt Jan 2020  “'Girlboss' is a sexist Trojan horse” - and arguably a Trojan horse of toxic hustle culture & commodified feminism.

Kim explores the trend of the Future is Female slogan and how that evolved as a feminist mantra - bringing in a wave of feminist fashion statement tees. While Fourth-wave Feminism was really the first of its kind to leverage social media - it can be argued that the accessibility to easy supply chain developments made this type of feminism easily commodifiable and became a superficial fashion trend with the fashion industry grabbing on and using the trend to boost sales.

n an attempt to reclaim Babe and Bitch and give the air an edge - “Badass” women's stuff gained popularity in 2014 coinciding to the 2013 release of You are a badass self-help books.

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

This also opened the doors for other extreme left products like mugs with “men’s tears” printed on them.

Have any pressing queries for feminists? May we recommend asking the group over at the subreddit: r/AskFeminists?

The micro trend of mental health and self care was sort of a subgenera of girlboss - with companies and founders like Ban.do being founded or finding ground with their customer base around these issues - sometimes to a tone deaf degree.

The irony is not lost on any of the employees of these established retailers whose mental health suffered at the hands of the founders as well.

Amanda recommends everyone read this book Self Care: A Novel.

A b-side of this Girlboss merch comes in the form of Hustle crap. TGIM (thank goodness it’s Monday), Hustle Harder, Rise and Grind, Tired and Proud….mantras to keep pushing the millennial to work them to the bone.

Another microtrend was the trend of commercializing Icons like RGB, Golden Girls, Dolly, Hillary and Bey. With the offshoot of commodifying the female body itself - uteruses, boobs, vaginas, butts in every product imaginable.

The irony of feminist tees being made by underpaid women in sweatshops or disposable plastic tchotchkes that are ultimately terrible for the environment is not lost on us.

Feminists tees powered a lot of engines - some small brands to fuel growth and some fast fashion and fashion houses to follow the trend of the feminist slogan tees. “it’s a good reminder that a progressive slogan doesn’t necessarily make something progressive by osmosis."

• How do we avoid history repeating itself? Especially in other categories of industry like politics? 
• Age of accountability: On June 22, in an article on Medium.com, writer Leigh Stein proclaimed “The End of Girlboss Is Here.” -  “The girlboss didn’t change the system; she thrived within it. Now that system is cracking, and so is this icon of millennial hustle.” - systematic changes are the only solution which was the turning point this summer with the Black Lives protests and ability for the individual to keep companies and people accountable. 
• New Wave of Female founders have the opportunity to make a difference . In this first episode we talked about how investors looked for a specific type of founder - one with a huge following and alpha personality. We can only hope that these investors change the way they invest: Don’t Give Money to Assholes and that they practice their own version of conscious consumerism or investor-ism. Don’t Invest in Assholes more like it. 
• Role Models - the need for good role models is more important than ever!

2020 culminated the end of Girlboss with the collapse of so many pivotal female start-up reigns as well as massive news coverage with the same copy.   

So too ended the other horrible spawns of the era SHE-E-O, Boss Babe, Mompreneur and Boss Bitch. Goooood riddance.

“Why” the end you may ask? Well, only the stepping down of 8 prominent alpha female founders over racial discrimitation and toxic workplace culture. 

Amanda put together this great timeline

Feb 21:  Ty Haney, founder of Outdoor Voices steps down.

For a while there Outdoor Voices was like the “it brand” for cool girls to workout in, but I think that title has been taken over by Girlfriend Collective

June 8: Refinery 29 editor-in-chief and co-founder Christine Barberich resigns

Christene Barberich's Refinery29 played to the cool girl's ambitions and political savviness and btw Refinery 29 is basically just one big commercial at this point

June 10: Man Repeller founder Leandra Medine steps back to an intern role 

The idea was that women should dress for themselves and not for men. The "I don't care what other people think of me" attitude struck a chord with cool girls

June 10: Ban.Do Chief Creative Officer and cofounder Jen Gotch resigns after leave of absence

She built the brand on an upbeat mission that fused self-care with female empowerment, a combination she has personal experience with due to a history of anxiety and bipolar 2 disorder.

June 11: The Wing CEO and co-founder Audrey Gelman resigns

Gelman was the ultimate cool girl, her wedding was featured in Vogue and she was in an episode of Girls

June 12: Reformation CEO and founder Yael Aflalo steps down

The secret to Reformation founder Yael Aflalo's success, wrote Emilia Petrarca for W Magazine, is that she "has taken her personal Los Angeles cool-girl style ... and translated it for the masses."

June 22: Sophia Amoroso steps down from Girlboss media--a business that I still don’t understand

Honorable mention: 

Steph Korey of Away (who must be a monster person based on the exposes I read on The Verge). In addition to requiring 16-hour days from the customer experience team members and holding holiday vacation days hostage, employees were not allowed to email each other, which “created a culture of intimidation and constant surveillance.”

Miki Agrawal of Thinx (who among many other things, liked to touch and talk about the breasts of her employees) btw, she called herself She-E-O

Shoddy Lynn of Doll’s Kill for her tone deaf reaction to LA protests over the killing of George Floyd and siding with police - causing a large boycott of the brand. 

Simply,  2020 put all of the foolishness and shortcomings of the girlboss era in full focus:
From an Atlantic aptly titled “The Girlboss Has Left the Building,” “When a country is grappling with mass death, racist state violence, and the unemployment and potential homelessness of millions of people, it becomes inescapably clear that when women center their worldview around their own office hustle, it just re-creates the power structures built by men, but with women conveniently on top.

For profit feminism continued to become transparent. Did the Fourth Wave of feminism end with a souvenir tee? 
Mean Girl Culture setting the stage for toxic workplaces - and the tinder for Callout reactionism.

Lack of actual diversity on the team, and TBH were actually just plain racist.

Obliviousness to privilege (both white privilege and economic privilege), which seems so tired and dated in 2020.

Girboss didn’t really change anything. If anything it just infantilized the role of a female boss and set back the work of many feminist leaders. Killing the term girlboss doesn’t stop women from being leaders, it just creates a new world in which leaders can shine without being identified by gender. 

In 2017, a group of activists organized the International Women's Strike, a labor strike that took place on the same day as International Women's Day (and has for every year since). Drawing on the feminist strike movements abroad, the organizers used the event as a launchpad for "repoliticizing" a feminism that had been co-opted by brands to sell products and services. They called it a "feminism for the 99%." This is in sharp  contrast to the economic privilege of the “girlbosses”.

"We have no interest in breaking the glass ceiling while leaving the vast majority [of women] to clean up the shards," the activists wrote in their manifesto. "Far from celebrating women CEOs who occupy corner offices, we want to get rid of CEOs and corner offices."

This feminism isn't about marketing something; it centers not solely on so-called "women's issues," but it also involves workers rights, immigrants rights, antiracism and the environment. 

Spawned from the proliferation of “girlboss” came Bossbabe, SHE-EO, Mompreneur, and Boss Bitch appealing to a (mostly white) pseudo-feminist with a nack for business with the intention of lifting up the women around. By 2020 the cracks started to show and these concepts became shunned while businesses crumbled around it. 

How did this start? 

2010

Millennials were at a pivotal age (14-29) - coming out as an aspirational force in the workplace and 2010 - for the first time ever in American history - women outnumber men. Besides that the job market was changing drastically - new jobs, VC funding, silicon valley, et al. In 2010 Hanna Rosin released an article with The Atlantic titled “The End of Men”-  theorizing that due to a culture shift, women have essentially won the gender war.

“Earlier this year, for the first time in American history, the balance of the workforce tipped toward women, who now hold a majority of the nation’s jobs. The working class, which has long defined our notions of masculinity, is slowly turning into a matriarchy, with men increasingly absent from the home and women making all the decisions. Women dominate today’s colleges and professional schools—for every two men who will receive a B.A. this year, three women will do the same. Of the 15 job categories projected to grow the most in the next decade in the U.S., all but two are occupied primarily by women. Indeed, the U.S. economy is in some ways becoming a kind of traveling sisterhood: upper-class women leave home and enter the workforce, creating domestic jobs for other women to fill.”

Not So Fast

The Glass Ceiling continued to hold women back from the executive level - McKinsey Reported back in 2011:

“As has been well documented, Corporate America has a “leaky” talent pipeline: At each transition up the management ranks, more women are left behind... women represent 53% of new hires... At the very first step in career advancement (which they will later call in other reports the “broken wrung” which is an ever present foe to women even today)—when individual contributors are promoted to managers—the number drops to 37%. Climbing higher, only 26% of vice presidents and senior executives are female and only 14% of the executive committee, on average, are women. At this point women are doubly handicapped because, as our research of the largest US corporations shows, 62% are in staff jobs that rarely lead to a CEO role; (in contrast, 65% of men on executive committees hold line jobs.) This helps explain why the number of women CEOs in Fortune 500 companies appears stuck at 2-3%.”

Role Models

So with such a low number of women advancing left few role models for women - particularly Millennials. Millennials resonate with Millenials. And there weren’t a whole lot of people to look up to at that time especially in business.

Enter Facebook COO superstar Sheryl Sandberg (also a Harvard Business grad) - who isn’t an millennial but inspired many of these milliennial Alpha Business Women that rose to fame during the Aughties. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TED talk called   "Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders,"   in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers - viewed over 6 million times and considered a pivot point in corporate feminism at this time.

In 2013 Sandberg releases Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead to high acclaim. in an effort to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg provides practical advice on how to achieve the dream of the corner office - with tips on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She essentially pushes the idea that feminism is an independent execution that a woman can bear for herself and move herself forward through personal professional advocacy. Some criticism about the book obviously comes from her academic background and the opportunities themselves achievable.

The New B Word

The word Bossy in regards to women leaders was getting a bit of heat - Tina Fey came out with Bossypants and Sandberg was leading a movement to “Ban Bossy”.

Interestingly - a year or two later #Girlboss was released as an Alternative to Lean In - targeting the Millennial set and subverting the concepts Sandberg was trying to dismantle.

The book appealed to its target audience and made corporate achievement and fame see, well, achievable to the “everywomen” - sans pedigree. A rags to riches bent with an angle toward female empowerment. But she did essentially distill the ethos of Lean In and spew back out packaged perfectly for the hungry millennial audience as a "girlboss." It celebrates a certain kind of businesswoman -- entrepreneurial, disruptive and most always white -- whose ambitious nature and success professionally was thought to be a subversive, radical, feminist act.

The Feminist Aesthetic

With a massive customer database, social media following and intellectual property this book seved to drive personal brand building for Amoruso and also work to acquire new customers for Nasty Gal and fuel a new level of consumerism and product for the followers. 

Faulty Feminism

Millenial women wanted a piece of that magic sauce and related to her - seeing their aspirations to be a self...

Kim gets into the backstory of Blands causing quite a stir in the industry particularly in 2020’s Bloomberg article by Ben Schott Welcome to Your Bland New World - “Why do disruptive startups slavishly follow an identikit formula of business model, look and feel, and tone of voice? Because it works, sort of.”

Following the success of Warby Parker - it seems that VC kids demanded more, more, more (of the same, same, same) causing the blandification of the market and brands therein. 

Kim makes some very valid points however about this concept:  

1. This isn’t a new concept. The chatter started 2018 with a Fast Company article: “The hottest branding trend of the year is also the worst - Is your made-up name rendered in a sans-serif type, with thiiiiiiiis much white space? Congratulations! You are a bland.”
2. Minimalism has been trending hardcore for well over 10 years - and when these original VC disruptor trends started Minimalism was actually fresh and new to the Millennials these brands were geared toward. Coined here as the Millennial Minimalism Movement.
3. Branding Agencies develop the most of the branding for these Blands - and its usually the same agency - actually 3 VC backed agencies: Gin Lane, Red Antler and Parters & Spade that specifically cater to that precious Millennial look and have built billion-dollar businesses over and over again. As Gen Z continues to grow to have more spending power we will start seeing a shift in aesthetics to cater to this much different demographic (think the rise of unique and maximal brands). 

What makes a Bland a Bland?
Well, first things first - gotta go with the NAMING! Blands names are notoriously carbon copy namers and rely on similar naming tropes (as described from the Bloomberg article): 

• Quirky or Naive names: Judy, Floyd, Billie, Henry, Maude) or “studiously cool” like the Jack Kerouac based Warby Parker. 
• Portmanteaus: Hungryroot, Baublebar, Tracksmith, Trubrain, Classpass, Platejoy
• Color+Noun: Blue Apron, Black Milk, Purple Carrot, Green Chef
• Monoliths: Public Goods, Ministry of Supply, Primary Goods, Modern Citizen
• Vowelessness: RMDY, MVMT, DSTLD, HVMN, TRNK, MNDFL
• Ampersands: Tuft & Needle, Frank & Oak, Hook & Albert, Loom & Leaf
• Quirk: Lemonade insurance, Kangaroo home security

But for anyone who hasn’t named a brand - Naming is super tricky and kinda a science. Beyond just liking a name there are logistical reasons behind some of the naming decisions behind brands.

• First - registering for a trademark is really hard - so usually the name has to be very original and why you see so many made-up names. 
• Second - SEO - your name has to stand out - and you don’t want to compete in search ranking.  Like you start a Sneaker company and want to call it Runner’s Club - try googling that! The same goes for registering for a website! Hence the trend behind other domain names than .com becoming normalized (i.e. thedepartment.world)- it’s really hard to get a website unless you have a very original name. 
• Listen in for a very special discussion about the White Claw name as well! 

Once the name is settled - ditch the logo - Fonts and Typefaces are all you need (san-serif if you please) .

Bland logos are confident but cute, utilizing an array of tweaks and twists to provoke the all-important “smile in the mind.”

Then move onto visuals - which is described as rather neutral, simple and looooooots of white space. They are generic for the sake of inclusivity.

Which is understandable why - these VC backed companies don’t want to alienate anyone and remain neutral for the sake of acquiring the largest market share. It is a commercial approach and It is a safe approach. But it makes them particularly generic  - because there isn’t much of a point of view. 

How do brands avoid become Bland Casualties? 

• Easiest one? Minimal Branding OUT - Maximal branding in!  
• Risk it to stand out
• Cultivate a true Point of view
• Engage with an outside the box or newer branding agency 
• Niche but make it nice

Amanda takes us back to simpler times and discusses the evolution of the generic 1970’s supermarket brand that has evolved over the years. In particular, No Frills grocery store founded in 1978 that took a page from the French generic brand Carrefour who saw extreme popularity in their minimal branding approach to discount and value groceries. At No Frills nothing was branded (although it could be argued that No Frills and their No Name was essentially a brand) with plain canary yellow packaging and simple san serif font spelling out the contents of the packaging. No Frills took a stand:  forget the brand, focus on what’s inside, and save lots of money. Their quest for minimal packaging came from the concept that it conveyed a sense of thriftiness and value...that a savvy shopper might not have a lot of money but knew that it was what was inside the package that counted. 

Listen and learn

99% Invisible ︎︎︎
No Frills Podcast Episode

Ian Sevenious wrote a great essay a few years ago taking on Apple as part of this idea of minimalism being an aesthetic owned by the wealthy.  The basic premise was: poor people can’t afford to be minimalist because they need stuff to survive.

Power to the Pack Rats

Social media trends regarding domestic obsessions and #adulting have been growing like crazy - Cooking and particularly Le Creusetis trending on Ticktock The new obsession with the aesthetically pleasing colorful pots is likely also stemming from the popularity of #Cottagecore content, which is providing a combination of escapist fantasy and self-care, and many #LeCreuset posts also have a #cottagecore tag - cottagecore resonates in so many spaces and is like the central aesthetic of 2020.

Out of this grew the concept of JOMO - the Joy of Missing Out and the opposite of FOMO. JOMO is finding joy in disconnecting. Leading to trends in 2018 for the “girls who stay in bed” and marketers targeting this new demographic and leading to the continued rise in the realm of Bed in a box, candles, facemasks, Cooking brands  and more. - which are seeing grow exponentially during the pandemic.

@Girlsnightin gets referenced often during this movement that was founded back in 2017 - on a mission to help you unwind, take care and connect.

In 2018 and 2019 sayings like “Namasty’ay in Bed” popularized etsy as this girl exploded and wanted everyone to know it. As the pandemic hit and we are required to stay at home that novelty wore off quick - but the importance of the bed became central to lots with bed and bedding sales booming.

They share their choices for mattresses to elevate your slumber experience - Highest Grade Ikea and Tuft and Needle (Amanda and Kim respectively) as well as some other Bedding Recommendations like Matteo, Brooklinen & Parachute.

Amanda crushes on the Facebook Marketplace which has been trending during 2020 with furniture listings increasing nearly 100% since April - with a similar story happening over at NextDoor - with their furniture sales up 28% in Aug vs last year. 

She explores the facts behind this craze: 
1. Value for money shopping during these uncertain times
2. Consumption habits and sustainability is at top of mind
3. The pandemic is causing a massive amount of people moving.... 

Where are people moving?

Well some are moving back home! In a September poll from the Pew Research Center, 52 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds reported living with their parents because of Covid-19. Before that, “The highest measured value was in the 1940 census at the end of the Great Depression, when 48% of young adults lived with their parents,” according to the center

And many are fleeing the city - During the second quarter of 2020, 51 percent of properties seen in America’s most populated metro areas were in the suburbs, according to Realtor.com. An economist at the real estate company Zillow said in July that 64 percent of homebuyers were looking at the suburbs — a stark contrast from the 2010 US census, which found that eight in 10 Americans lived in cities. 80%

Home repair was trending at the start of the quarantine - Amanda reports that Industry analysts say that the first wave of quarantine was used on home projects, so places like Home Depot and Lowe’s saw huge sales lifts. We’re talking  20-30% growth year over year Everyone was doing repairs, setting up home offices, and generally just improving the utility of their home.  Lots of bookcases, organization furniture, and desks. 

As we move into fall this is changing to aesthetic and comfort - couches, chairs, rugs, oh my! 

She recommends scoping out: 

• Facebook Marketplace
  • Also facebook has a lot of buy/trade, buy nothing, and yard sale groups.  
• Craigslist:  depending on where you live
• Next Door
• LetGo:  this is an app.
• IRL:  thrift stores, vintage stores...Amanda highly recommends the Habitat for Humanity Restore

The Department’s Guide for Surviving Winter Quarantine

1. Make mini sanctuary spaces

• Semi Spa Shower, Enviable Bed, Reading nook, Exercise Corner.
• Make affordable upgrades
• Invest in an aromatherapy diffuser
• Fill your home with plants
• Create different spaces in your home optimized for hanging out and being productive.

2. Optimize your Outdoors

• Blankets and Cozy Drinks
• Heat Lamps
• Space Heater or Electric Blankets
• Solar Powered string lights
• Dress appropriately! (Amanda swears by Sorels)

3. Lighten Up - literally

• Avoid overhead lighting
• Get Dimmers for Mood Lamping
• Get happy with SAD solutions (Amanda recommends Circadian Optics Luxy Light Therapy Lamp a Shark Tank product!)
• Put a ring on your Zoom calls (Amanda has found this Ring Light very complimentary to any video meeting!)

4. DIY Discovery

• Pick up a new DIY project - from learning a new language, life skill, instrument or new art!
• Kim recommends looking into Fiber Art referencing Mrcreatives monthly pattern club.
• @threadhoney that does these gorgeous pieces with hands and moons.
• Or @DMC_embroidery to find creators are doing some incredible things. Lots of makers are supplying kits and patterns
•  Amanda says to check out Tiny pricks project.

5. Cookbook Cookdown

buy a cookbook or two you have been eyeing and actually cook from it.

• Amanda recommends learning out to cook your favorite cuisine you go to restaurants for like Asian (her suggestions? Lucky Peach)
• Kim found enjoyment in Burma Superstar

6. Try a fitness Challenge

• One week or 90 days - just get moving
• Find a Buddy
• Check our our Self Care Episode recently about Kim’s trials! 

7. Download a Mindfulness or Meditation App.

• Kim recommends Paradym a new self awareness application
• Dive into our Self Care Episode for other recommended apps!!

Kim kicks off with the trend of Witchcraft especially in the realm of political activism. Spurred by the uncertainties and turmoils in politics men and women are taking up broomstick arms and embracing Magical Resistance as a way to personally combat Civil Justice, Civil Rights and Environmental issues.

Taking a bite into the main topic at hand - Candy Trends!

Amanda dissects the reason behind American Chocolate’s “weird taste” with Hershey’s leading the charge.

Kim diverges into the trend of Gross Candy - falling into a k-hole about Jelly Belly and the origins of the gross candy craze starting with their collab with Bernie Bott’s every flavor beans collaboration they did with the Harry Potter franchise. So going from delicacy bean to candy in all imaginable flavors edible and non opened a lot of doors for Jelly Belly….as they expanded their offerings of prank product into a series of “games” like BeanBoozled (featuring look-alike good tasting candy and identical gross Canned Dog Food, Dead fish, Booger and Barf) and BeanBoozled Fiery Five (Sriracha, Habanero and Carolina Reaper).

Skittles brought back the Zombie skittles for the second year in a row - with secret rotting corpse flavor mixed into regular skittles.

The Trend of gross candy continues into Candy Canes that feature “meal” and “condiment” flavors like Gravy, Fried Chicken, Kale, Mac & Cheese and Pho. Many can be sourced from Archie McPhees if you are so inclined.

Brachs released their Turkey Dinner Candy corn this year - likely as a publicity stunt featuring the tantalizing flavors of green beans, roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, ginger glazed carrots, sweet potato pie, stuffing.

Want something sweeter? How about some candy Boogers - tangy gummy boogers that look and feel real at least don’t taste like they were picked from your nose.

Dick at your Door - arguably not Gross - just shocking is an online company that anonymously sends some really life-like Chocolate and Candy Penis’s to friends and family and interestingly ENEMIES.

Amanda dishes on the market trend in favor of adult candy - in particular Boozy Candy. Her particular favorites? Anything from Trader Joe’s it seems! She recommends the Brandy Beans, Cherry Cordials and Chocolate Covered Figs Soaked in Brandy.

Other brands on her hot, drunken list - Mc Crea’s Candies, Sugarfina and Smith and Sinclair with their appealing mix of cocktail-themed cocktail gummies and cocktail glitter dust. 

Amanda has a sweet tooth for Marshmallows and not the commercial kind. The artisanal kind like Malvi Marshmallows with enticing flavors like Fluffy Nutter, Berry Tropical and Raspberry Hibiscus.

She takes a look at the trending Adult Gummy category including the popular Behave (w/ only 6 net carbs) and a first ever taste test on air of Smart Sweets>> that boasts 80-90% less sugar. 

Candy we actually eat? 

HU - Paleo, Keto & Vegan clean, natural chocolate.

Milla - LA-based award-winning chocolate company.

Tony’s Chocolonely- raising awareness about slavery in the cocoa industry one delicious candy bar at a time.

Jacobsen Salt Company Candies - Highly recommended Salty Sweets 

Another trend in the beauty bubble comes via Korean beauty--famous for it’s super intense routines--has gotten in on the act with “skipcare”  a skincare method that allows you to identify the essential ingredients for your skin and avoid the use of unnecessary products for a simpler, yet proper, skincare routine. Amanda highlights a few fantastic and effective paired down brands that embrace a minimal beauty aesthetic: Noto Botanics(especially their Deep Serum as one of the best moisturizers out there), Topicals One Kind and Tower28 (to replace glossier and Amanda claims BeachPlease Luminous Tinted Balm “is literally the best blush I have ever used”.

Ty chimes in with some of his own beauty tips - agreeing with Amanda’s inclusion of Noto, he finds esthetician recommended brand Osea as well as Seattle based shop Spruce Apothecary for fantastic natural brand assortment. Ty also sneaks us a tip for a comment inducing glow as well - listen to the podcast for exactly what ;)

Ty puts out an open call to a very eclectic mix of people to find out what they are doing to practice some self care during the pandemic. He personally swears by some meditation & mindfulness apps that have helped him focus and align and are trending hard during the pandemic. In particular he recommends Waking Up with Sam Harris and Headspace.

He sheds some light on a really innovative technique called EFT Tapping that has helped with some debilitating claustrophobia issues during airline travel but can help a person heal themselves from PTSD, Depression, Stress, Anxiety, Chronic Pain and even Weight Loss issues. In Los Angeles he recommends Melinda  but there are practitioners all over that can help you understand and utilize the technique.

Kim takes us into the world of home fitness apps to help her on her over 20 lb weight loss journey during quarantine. Starting with some rather dated 30 Jillian Michaels Shred fitness video challenges - Kim finally went on a quest to find an app that would give her an elevated experience that fitness videos just can afford. 

After testing and researching many including BBG on the Sweat App, Beach Body App, Don Saladino, 8 Fit and Open Fit Xtend Barre she ended up settling back with Jillian Michaels on her app. Tune in for her other tips to drop the weight while stuck at home. 

But first they talk about trends happening in their own homes. 
 
Amanda has caught the homesteading bug as she moves to a farmhouse into the Pennsylvania farmland.  She has a great podcast recommendation here: 
The Daily - New York Times Podcast

The Sunday Read: 'How Climate Migration Will Reshape America'

Listen on Apple HERE.

Kim is jumping deep into the Mushroom trend that has permeated fashion, Interiors, consumer goods + food and beverage trying out Four Sigmatic Mushroom instant coffees and lattes to add focus but lessen the caffeine load.

They also discuss the trend of upgrading your home interiors and difficulty of finding home goods in stock. Kim’s white whale is a lamp. She is sniffing around some Noguchi sculpture lamps to bring some light and serenity into her home space as she moves into fall.

Getting into the meat and potatoes....

As a quick reminder that of the 50% of plastics that even make it in the right bin - only 9% of any plastic recycled actually gets recycled. So we have this insane amount of plastic just ending up at landfills and in oceans even if you do your part and recycle.

Amanda gives some great facts on glass and aluminum (not to mention paper) as an alternative that has their recycling game figured out.

Kim gets down and dirty with a few newish green cleaning kit brands that tackle the issue of reducing   single use plastics as well as moving away from toxic chemicals exploring Cleancult this (most universally appealing and a good Mrs. Meyers replacement), Blueland (great for value but not a sensory experience) and Supernatural>> (Goop customer and more of a premium priced aromatherapy model)  for all your home care needs - weighing the pros and cons of each.

She also advises to check out Grove Collective a multi brand webshop offering a selection of non-toxic, effective, sustainable, and cruelty-free with an angle for monthly shipments and carbon neutral approaches.

Kim takes a bite out of the conscious consumer trends in the Grocery and Food Supply industries. She starts with a look at the food wasted epidemic estimated at 30-40% of our food supply - and new business models formed to approach this like Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market - both offering online shopping experiences and that killer subscription model we talked about earlier. Amanda SWEARS by Imperfect Foods - so you know it’s gotta be good!

She also shares the app Olio which connects neighbors with each other and volunteers with local businesses, so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. If you love food, hate waste, care about the environment or want to connect with your community, OLIO is for you.

Spinning away into actual food production - Patagonia Provisions is working to disrupt the current problematic agriculture & fishing industries.

Barn2Door>> is connecting Farms straight to customers - it is based on locality and offers pickup, delivery and shipping of farm made goods, produces, meats, grains and CSA’s.

The seafood industry is also getting revamped - she explores both Sea2table and Wild Alaskan Company - both taking on Big Fish and offering a more sustainable way to obtain local seafood. For an extra treat she even slips in a little trend in fish skin snacks - particularly from the brand Good Fish.

Finally - Kim takes a deep look into the problematic and harmful animal meat industry - but offers some great new alternatives on the market beyond Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger who have admittedly really put in the work to pioneer the current mainstream natural of the meat-alternative market even fighting against toxic masculinity to achieve social acceptance. She presents some cool fungi and fermenation based startups like Prime Roots, Meati and Natures Fynd, plus Perfect Day heating up the ice cream market partnering with Brave Robot and Smitten for some truly unique vegan alternatives.

She finishes with trends in cultivated or cell-based meat companies that grow food from animal cells including Memphis Meats>> & BlueNalu>> for fish.

So essentially: Where do you put your dollar and how can we keep putting it in the right place and adjusting your lifestyle to consume in a way that is more positive to the environment as well as society.

Kim explores the trending concept of reducing single use plastic. Kim details out some of the worst offenders and highlights some easy replacements. Bee’s Wrap - can stand in for her guilty pleasure Saran Wrap while Stasher takes the place of those plastic zip bags.  Plastic Bottles are such another big culprit. A report by the Guardian found that 1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. Additionally, less than half of the bottles purchased in 2016 were recycled — with just 7-9% of those collected are actually recycled, and the rest ending up in landfill sites or the ocean.  Thankfully reusable bottles like Hydroflasks are trending - which is not just a functional replacement but a statement for environmentalism for all to see.
She also reports that Evian has partnered with Virgil Abloh to repair some damage they have done for essentially starting the disposible water bottle trend including their “Activate Movement” competition. The project encouragers young designers to enter their sustainability-focused design and innovation projects, with a €50,000 EUR (approximately $54,000 USD) grant available to the winners.AN OPEN CALL FOR INITIATIVES THAT CREATE A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE - under the umbrellas of either Waste Reduction, energy reduction and recycling/upselling. More details HERE.

Straws we also find are a scourge upon the earth. Americans use 1.6 Straws Per Person Per Day: enough straws to wrap around the Earth 2.5 times everyday. They are not recyclable and don’t decompose - so just BRING YOUR OWN. She recommends FinalStraw.

Single Use Plastic Bags also suck total balls and are a complete plague upon the earth. The average plastic market bag is used for 12 mins and takes 1,000 years to decompose. GROSS! Kim plugs a product she worked on with Graf Lantz - the Ami Market Tote.

Lastly - Kim touches on refill shops that are popping up in cities nearest you. With the pandemic it has been hard to use this sort of service but a few have made it easy online including the Refill Shoppe out of Ventura that offers online - zero waste - refills and the ability to pick your own ALL NATURAL scents!

Amanda issues a wakeup call on the booming personal care industry and presents us with some unique solutions to our waste-free lifestyle.

Amanda Recs

Listen to her say Lush over and over again as she offers some reviews on Shampoo & Conditioner (plastic free!!) bar soap options. Amanda recs The Earthling Co, as well as well as Meow Meow Tweet for their bars in addition to Dustin's deodorant of choice which comes in a cardboard tube!  By Humankind wows us with their modern branding and zero waste packaging with cool products like refillable deodorant, hand sanitizer, shower kits and cotton swabs.  Bite is HOT HOT HOT - trending with the kids who want to reduce their plastic footprint. With awesome branding and product to boot.  Package Free Shop sells some really innovative products for your oral care regime as well as other great game changers in the personal care realm.

Amanda brings us into the ladies room with some plastic free feminine care options recommending applicator free options like Natracare as well as the super trendy period underwear Thinx and Sustain.

But her pièce de résistance is the menstrual cup. Learn more about her choices like the Diva Cup, June Cup, and Saalt.

Find more details at our website and on

Amanda really dives in here to a rather contentious subject matter - Normalizing Women’s bodies. She starts with a thought piece on some of the most obvious culprits toward a negative movement and also extreme positivity - Influencers!

With the growth of accessible apps, photoshop and other tech - Influencers are deluding their followers and retouching themselves to laughably unreachable sizes (i.e. a 6/8 to a 0/2) in every single photo they post. Some apps that stretch the body give the appearance of heroine chic but the consequence are misshapen coneheads and massive feet.

BUT there is a growing trend in body positive influencers as well as brands that are actually fashionable.

Case in point the Kardashians support of a body positive fashion accessibility like Good American>> that is sexy and trendy if not a slight lean into fast fashion.  But a better offering that most plus size brands. Also check up on Skims>>- a Kim Kardashian vehicle for intimates, basics and loungewear. Skims>> is known for not only size inclusivity (up to size 4X) but also nudes in a wide variety of skin tones.

Universal Standard>> is a real groundbreaker because the make everything in their line from a size 00-40.

GIrlfriend Collective>> is an activewear brand doing their part to normalize women’s size inclusivity. It’s hard to find cute activewear for larger sizes...basically the activewear industry has been ignoring anyone over a size XL. Girlfriend offers everything up to size 6XL and they use recycled plastic for a lot of the garments (so extra brownie points).

CUUP>> is a great intimate brand (Kim wears them and highly recommends! ︎︎︎︎︎ ) - offering a generous size range and includes models of all shapes and sizes in their campaigns.

Kim tackles the trending normalization of various men’s taboo issues that can be  considered negatively “emasculating” like certain health issues as well as elements of “grooming”.

Teen boy perms are HOT HOT HOT>> - check out your local Tick Tock looks for more Timothee Chalamet impersonators (or this Cut Article>>).

As the notions of gender fluidity and disregard of gender norms is starting to take root and spread the tastemakers and early adopters have found nailpoish and other traditionally female grooming tricks normalized as a new wave of men’s masculinity --->incoming brand The Faculty>> is sliding in to elevate the experience and build a lifestyle around it featuring Drop culture in men’s products like a pine colored nail polish.

There has been a growing interest in the long tabooed conversion around men’s makeup. And both luxury brands (i.e. Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford) as well as indie brands have been seeing success with their men’s makeup collections as the trend to normalize this market has been increasing.  Tho subtlety is key - especially among many hetrosexual men where maintaining masculinity is of societal importance. Mmuk>> (a british men’s makeup brand) has beard products for men who experience beard thinning - like mascara and fillers, even a shadow palette - for that fuller look, “guyliners” and “manscaras”and man lipstick. Fluide, Mac & Milk also stand out as gender blurers.

Finally -  With the shifting telehealth laws and an increasing number of brand-name medications going off-patent a few DTC brands have been able to offer self care and prescription product at a fraction of the cost from previous methods and right from the privacy of your home. Hims>> in particular is working to normalize masculine self care and offer comfortable, affordable support and solutions for typically “emasculating” medical and cosmetic issues that are hard to talk about can create self esteem issues - hair loss, erectile dysfunction, mental health and adult acne.

Diving headfirst into the theme Kim acquaints

y’all with the concept of Normalization>> as a subjective and objective construct formed by cultural, societal, situational and moral perceptions that used to take decades to accomplish a majority shift in social acceptances even with large agencies behind the moments (like normalizing people with learning disabilities and developing socio-acceptance) . With the rise of social media the people have more power than ever to effect change by uniting to work toward normalizing outdated, stigmatized or biased norms amongst undervalued, oppressed, repressed, counterculture and minority populations. Not even that - it has in fact become mainstream.  Everything from social justice campaigns, to environmentalism and political upheavals, mental health, wellness, body and sexuality.

Reading List from our discussion:

“The powerful way that 'normalization' shapes our world” -

BBC (Link to article HERE>>)

>>>

“Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture” -

Ariel Levy (Link to Book HERE>>>)

Part of the allure of normalization is how easy it can be reposted and build support. With direct actions for “normalization” we are seeing not just memes but PSA graphic designed social statements trending and garnering quick momentum and collective bonding and agreements.

Getting into the guts here amanda and I broke out just a few of MANY of the areas that are getting rewritten.  Often times with the status of being a disruptor in an industry - that comes with also being a new normalizer as well. But just remember - Along with great power comes great responsibility...

The first area Kim covers is De-stigmatizing and Normalizing Puberty for Teens. Refinery29 reports 85% of 12-24-year-olds experience Acne and more than 50% of women in their 20s experiencing breakouts >>.

You would think society would be a little gentler as this effects the majority of the population! She explores some really amazing indie brands who have a unique approach to tiptoeing closer to normalizing the teen skin and that right of passage. They have even started building trends that make it not just acceptable but rejoiced using stylized spot patches over acne to act as a form of self-expression instead of shame. Two key players are optimistic brand Starface >> and softcore inspired Squish >>

Kim drops the bomb that only 9 states mandate medically accurate sex ed in school….and introduces us to teen brand Blume>> a wellness company that mixes both natural products, actual education and a supportive community to offer a “Puberty Do-Over” Campaign In hopes to address self-esteem Issues - removing the taboos associated with “becoming a woman”.  They have an assortment of natural products like skin, deodorant and period products. In addition, they also have created a program called the State of Sex Ed>> with a full curriculum for teachers (!!) of medically accurate materials about sex ed - everything from physical to emotional, safe sex practices, contraception and healthy relationships.

One of the best parts? None of these brands re-touch and use real people in their campaigns. 

Amanda teases out some details and history behind women’s body hair and body hair removal industry (valued at a whopping $1.2 billion in 2017 and is set to reach $3.4 billion by 2025) and wake up call of all the ladies who have been quarantining for half a year. She also explores some new disruptors in the female body hair game including Billie>> who is peeling back some marketing senselessness and embracing real bodies with real HAIR in their razor campaigns. They launched Project Body Hair>> aims to normalize seeing women with (god forbid!) body hair. Amanda also fluffs out the details on body hair beauty brand Fur>> with oils and lotions designed to nurture and soften all your body hairs and prevent ingrown hairs.

Make sure to also check out a small but growing social media movement called #everydaylookism, calling for the end of body shaming, and that includes body hair shaming.

Required Reading:

“Body Hair Is Natural. Society ...

Their is a stopover to the land of Viviene Westwood as they try to decode the prophecies and hieroglyphics amongst her well intentioned Save the World Climate Revolution concept she elaborated details out on instagram. @viviennewestwood>>

Amanda then leads us right to the Great Outdoors with her hard hitting and impassioned plea against the term ‘glamping’ (aka glampcore) ︎- in preference of the more analog ‘camping’ (aka campcore) ︎. Referencing various “camping reports” and metrics done by the industry, Amanda breaks down some staggering numbers and trends of the outdoor vacation lifestyle: camping, RV and road trip essentials. Amanda reports on Cruise America >> and Outdoorsy >> for all your RV rental needs as well as some more luxurious accommodations like Getaway >>, Collective Retreats>> and Washington specific rec Souwester>>.

Looking for some of the coolest gear? Amanda’s got you covered. Japanese based Snowpeak>> is her all time fave but also gives brownie points to Portland’s Poler>> and Canadian iconic brand Wood’s>>.

Not ready to commit? Well guess what! You can rent!  Arrive Outdoors >> can’t be more innovative and has it all.

Kim unpacks the trends in retro camp & sporty trends starting with the formidable bucket hat that has had more time in the sun than you can shake a stick at. She even defines a new aesthetic - Clubcore - sure to be the hottest trend this side of Ibiza. She goes on to give a run down of some indie brands representing including Lykee Wullf>> (Laid Back Hiking Club), Camp Collection >> (post-American Apparel Campcore excellence) and Big Bud Press>> with their 70’s style play clothes).

Next Kim jet’s us off to the slopes for the Apres Ski trend that tiptoed into the premium performance ski apparel market like Perfect Moment>>, Erin Snow>> and Cordova >> and bound to make an appearance this fall in more contemporary collections. Special shout out to Back Beat Rags>> for hit early with Apres Surf organic cotton wave sweaters!

Amanda digs up the gardening trends starting from straight from the seed - or the lack of seeds as everyone and their mother dug deep into mother earth and planted their very own victory gardens - for reliable food, beauty and a heady sense of purpose.

Amanda’s got the gardening bug with her eye on the unfortunately named Veg Trug (check out in the link here>>)but super cool looking raised bed and the perfectly functional Picnic Time Gardening set seat. (check out link here>>)

Plant demand is up and thankfully the marketplace is a goldmine of great online options to fill your home with some greenery. Amanda gives her perspective on The Sill>>, Bloomscape>> and her favorite Horti>> with pet safe options, subscriptions and a give back component called Plant Kindness. Don’t forget about the local shops - avoid the big box shops and shop small where they need it the most. Amanda shouts out to some of her favorite spots like Chloris + Prase (Philly), Walter Pine Floral Studio (Philly), Flower Bomb (Portland) and “sucsforyou” for all your succulent needs.

Kim unpacks just a few of the trending outdoor brand that are particularly fantastic starting with Patagonia>>, a brand and company truly committed to the environment, conscious consumerism and sustainable production practices. With a motto: “don’t buy what you don’t need” is a refreshing and honest look at consumer culture. Fjallraven a Swedish Heritage brand has been trending with the GenZers rose to popularity over the last 10 years from their kindergarten, back straightening roots to be an iconic style backpack and outdoors brand that inspires adventurecore. She wraps up the episode with a look at the luxury cooler brand Yeti, the “range rover” of coolers and gives some perspective to the price point.

Amanda takes a twirl down memory lane with the Rollerskating trend that has enraptured the kids and blown back into popularity,  spearheaded by rollerskating queen Ana “don’t hate, rollerskate” Coto. But this trend was never lost or forgotten by many as proven by the Documentary United Skates that explores and demonstrates the connection between black communities in LA - comes highly recommended. Amanda throws out two more video recs as well since we could all use a little project: L.A. Roll & Roller Dreams.

They discuss the re-releases, new generation audiences and continued passions around classic cult tv shows like The Office, Moesha, Community and the reboots of Sabrina, Babysitters Club and Fresh Prince.

Amanda peaked our collective interest in the world of YA fiction - past and present masters of the craft of female led young adult storytelling. A comforting and distracting hobby for those that enjoy teenage fantasy. And let’s face it we are not alone -  you no longer need to secretly crush on Judy Blume! Podcasts galore explore your favorite authors >> Check out The Blume Saloon to join a podcast community of  your own where the co hosts drink scotch and dish on their favorite Blume tomes.
Amanda laments the increased and extreme popularity in video games during the stay at home order especially with more adults picking up where their inner teen have left off - and shares her jealousy of friends who got their hands on the Nintendo Switch and are able to play the cottagecore hit of the year - ANIMAL CROSSING.

Kim pieces together the nostalgic trend of puzzling as analog pastimes have gained massive popularity even eclipsing the adult coloring book trend of 2015. She also explores the new guard of puzzles that have recently entered the market from brands like Pieceworks Puzzles, Jiggy Puzzles and Areaware - and thank gawd. Not all of us want to spend hours puzzling together a cottagecore fantasy dreamscape. Oh - and infor a bit more mystery? Murder Mystery puzzles>> combine two things people love - murder mysteries and puzzles. You get clues but you don’t know what the puzzle will look like making it harder to put together! More details below! ︎︎︎

Amanda makes a strong case for the return of the Mod fashion aesthetic - explores why she thinks it is coming back and what to look forward to!

Kim takes a deeper look at the Happy Hippie trend that has been emerging in our zeitgeist for a few years now - particularly bubbling up through the low key love of the Grateful Dead, Tie-Dye, Smiley & Ying Yang accepts.  Tie Dye particularly became a force to behold through brands like Online Ceramics and R13 and now available on any influencer near you in the form of tie-dye loungewear. The Smiley Face is also have a moment with brands like Loewe, Cactus Plant Flea Market and optimistic lifestyle label MADHAPPY, Ganni, Baggu, Kapital, Drew House (Justin Beiber's new Mysterious line) and Chinatown Market.

Kim finally discusses the Heritage sportswear brands that have been highkey trending everywhere including Champion, Vans, Converse and Fila and why Zoomers and Millenials can’t get enough!

Oh and don’t miss out on a couple of nostalgic teen photo books that have been recently published!

Have your own nostalgic trends you want to discuss?  Send us an email at info@thedepartment.world.  Or find us on instagram @_the_department

Amanda kicks us off with “What _ are you name” memes - like @whatdrunkbarbieareyou.

Here are a few more favorites:

@what_martha_are_you
@whatmariahareyou
@what.cake.areyou
@what_spongebobmeme_are_you
@what_90s_thing_you_are
….you get the picture

Listen up... this next section not only has a your next profile pic but a smashing business idea as well!...

Kim explores those wildfire ticktock aesthetic induced subculture trends of Cottage Core and Dark Academia - based on a romanticized nostalgia and self-soothing escapism the kids are into these days. Also see:  sub-sub cultures within Cottage core like grandmacore, farmcore and more fantastically, goblincore, crowcore (collections of weird shiny trinkets), meadowcore (pretty pictures of meadows) and , fairycore (meadowcore but with mushrooms and magic). The trickle factor will mean we will likely see this in the fashion mix for some time now so buckle up!

Amanda picks up on some new trends in the art of FANTASY floral arrangements. A sexy sister to Freakibana this ultra feminine form of the the trend marries the unusual elements of freakibana with the girly girl era of instagram rose walls and peony bouquets. Not following? Just take a look at Brrch>> - but prepare to be amazed.

Amanda dips her toe into the normalizing trend - with a scathing expose on single use fashion amongst the kids these days and her movement to action repeat wear and cherishing the clothing you own.

Did you know….

1. 41% of all 18-25-year-olds feel the pressure to wear a different outfit every time they go out? Ew
2. Another 33%t of women – regardless of age – consider an outfit to be “old” after wearing it fewer than three times? Double Ew.
3. 72% of women say they usually only wear a dress ONE TIME! A million Ew’s! Ladies really??
4. 1 in 6 people said they can’t wear an outfit again if it’s been photographed on social media. Disgusting.

Jump aboard this sustainability train and help us popularize #oopsiworeitagain or #worn50times. Help us show the importance of having a versatile outfit, versus an overstuffed closet of one off pieces.

We close our show taking a look at a social and community supported brand Fluide Cosmetics>> a genius queer cosmetics brand dedicated to shredding gender norms in the makeup industry. Stripping those stereotypes and filling a void in an underserved demographic, Fludie brought their cruelty-free and super fun products to the market specifically aimed at genderqueer and gender-expansive people who haven’t had the opportunity to buy makeup without shame. ALSO they donate a portion of their proceeds to LGTBQ initiatives. Bravo!

Kim has a wake-up call in the form of a new coffee disruptor Jot that has changed up her coffee game completely.  And both parties share their distaste for Nespresso. (spoiler: they all taste the same and the same is not delicious)

Amanda opens up a can of wisdom on Boozy Seltzer that has literally flooded the market -  and all we gotta say is “it’s about damn time”….wait for the big reveal on her favorite!

Trends are the name of the game over here - so jump on into the top trending cocktails by state during quarantine acording to Google. Grasshopper anyone?

Bonus content: Amanda shares her secret cocktail recipe for the Bachelorette Trainwreck.

Kim moves onto her research paper re: the history around the vaguely named “natural wine” movement that is shaking up the wine industry - or actually has been since the 1960’s. And Amanda and her agree - Orange really is the new Rosé.

Kim toasts the new luxury social beverage disruptors Haus and Kin - both elevating the game while reducing (or eliminating) the alcohol content for a different type of socialization.

Finally - Amanda dives into the newest bounty of bevvies that are offering more health benefits than the vitamin aisle. She also gives her stamp of approval on CBD & Wellness Drinks like Vybes and Olipop.

Find out all the deets on our website.

We are also on instagram @_the_department

Kim starts off talking about the restaurant industry and how chefs are getting innovative with their craft - from Underground Detroit Pizza and Bread Businesses popping up across LA to Chef’s turning their love of cooking into online cooking classes. She talks about a class she is taking with Michelin chef and creator of Dark Horse Organic and the amazing condiments they are making. Prefer to order takeout? We got you - there are also cocktail making classes like Sangria and Secrets hosted virtually by a house of phenomenal drag queens. All part of Airbnb’s innovative counter approach to the epidemic.

There is also Kim’s not to be missed review of the Always Pan from Our Place that is an insta-celebrity in its own right. Want $10 Off your first purchase? Use this link HERE>>.

Amanda spirals into the Cake cutting meme that took over social media - its humble start from the basic cupcake to extreme cakes to full cakes that look exactly like toilet paper or croc. The resonating surreality of life as we know it and resulting memes that follow. Amanda discusses the “Grooms Cake” and how this may have influenced the popularity of the hyper-realistic cake trend that is reaching pitch. Amanda gets psychological so don’t miss out.

Can’t get enough cake? Checkout the childhood splendor of Benny Cake>> and Juu Juu cake>>

Kim dishes on the most searched recipes on Pinterest. No one is surprised it is all comfort food.

Amanda goes on down to flavor town with her hard-hitting expose on extreme food recipes and social accounts. Savor the trend in “food hacks” and bodacious comfort foods.

Want a deeper food coma? Check out Twisted>>

Amanda wraps up our second episode diving into Artistic Jellies or Gelatin Art. Much in the same way that fantasy focaccia trended all over the cooking social channels Gelatin Art has been gaining in notoriety way before that beautiful flowers, fruits, and other foods suspended in gelatin (cottage core at its best) reminiscent of 70’s gelatin fascinations - popularized by Sharona Franklin who partnered with Opening Ceremony and was even knocked off by Gucci.

Find more deets on our website. And find us on instagram @_the_department