The blind devotion to CBK and claiming she’s timeless yet not being cognizant of her adherence to trends is so tired. Or claiming that the minimalism of the Olsens is again, not trendy — because they are “above trends”. (Oh, and the Olsens aren’t minimalist, they wear texture and opulence and proper vintage.)
A lot of what you said about clickbait applies to general media literacy and the ability to have critical thinking — both ofwhich is diminishing nowadays.
Agreed, the Olsens are not minimalists (but they are trendsetters and they've pretty much done their own thing since the beginning). Their line, The Row, is an upscale, minimal version of their street style. And while I do love CBK, I'd also love to see people reference coloured woman more often as style icons. What of Sade? Or Lisa Bonet's character Denise on The Cosby show back in the day? Great article Rachel! xo
As someone who is both judgy and hypocritical, I know what you mean. I do hate those "must have for spring/what the cool girls are wearing/etc" posts, and also do not get the CBK/Olsens adoration. I sometimes feel very weary about the whole "timeless" thing, because if you've been interested in clothes for most of your 60+ years, you've seen an awful lot of "timeless" come and go. I think CBK looked great, and I love that she was often photographed in the same clothes, not necessarily because she was making some great statement, but because before fast fashion, people owned less clothes, and wore them more! She seems very iconic now, but her resurgence is fairly recent - between her death and the past few years, it was crickets - and is probably due to the whole quiet luxury/minimalism trend. I can't understand the Olsen's appeal (I get why people are attracted to The Row) - but that may be a generational thing: I always want to pull their trousers up and tell them to brush their hair...
Thank you for this spot-on newsletter. I really admire your style (of course!) but I also admire your ability to write with clarity and good intent. I'm a doctor (who is sadly in scrubs most of the time) and constantly under bombardment in the hospital. I came to Substack basically to flee the muck of IG/FB and try to find thoughtful writing on the issues of the day and medical stuff. Imagine my joy when I found Substacks like yours that spoke to my happy place of style, fashion, and design. It was such a welcome breath of fresh air! But I will say I find myself getting sucked into the same patterns of following women here who are IG adjacent and tend to write in the platitudes you mention without humility or frankly any real experience other than being young, beautiful (in whatever they choose to wear), and living in NYC/LA/SF. God bless them for being young and vibrant - enjoy it! Savor young motherhood and all the challenges and joys it entails! Wear the wispy, barely-there outfits that showcase your smooth skin! But I'm past wanting to read about that and looking for something different. You and a few other Substackers deliver more of what resonates with me at this stage of my life: middle aged woman with adult children; wife; professional who is passionate about my work; deeply concerned about the current state of affairs AND invested in looking great as I age. So again, thank you! We need more Substackers like you in the mix 💗
I cannot thank you enough for this note. You articulated far better than I something I’m deeply feeling about Substack — and who I want to be here. Thank you for writing and thank you for doing what you do, which is something I deeply admire and count on now more than ever ❤️
Interesting to read this and I enjoyed the Tibi article you linked to. I appreciate the reminder to stay authentic and speak from my own experience.
I’ve never been that caught up in CBK’s aesthetic as she always looked like one of the “other” people: the tall, willowy blondes with classic features that were so far from my Jewish/russian looks.
Listen. I don’t want to be the asshat that’s like “yeah yeah yeah” can we talk about how cute you look in the photo? and then has the audacity to ask you to confirm that that is the Lake kimono set — but nobody else said it, so here I am. It’s too good and it’s distracting me from the point of the article which I will focus on AFTER I purchase what I presume to be the kimono set in navy, ya?
Very interesting! I guess I pretty much avoid the style-related click bait as I only read a select few on Substack. I do FEAR the AI-driven trend as an educator trying to get my college-age students to write and think for themselves. It doesn’t help when your college president sends out a Martin Luther King all-camp email that when checked by zerogpt.com came back as 100% AI! And, I have never understood why women are horrible to other women. Isn’t life rough enough on us already?!?!
SPOT ON as always!!! I always try to bring humility and humor to anything I write - but it’s such a good reminder to gut check and also be on the lookout for the clickbait!
So timely! I just unsubscribed to a whole bunch of Substacks yesterday… because it was tiring and more so. And I found myself thinking- why am I wasting my time? I always look forward to yours!
Thank you for calling this out. After reading this it clicked for me why I’ve been getting the ick reading Notes, which I tend to scroll if I have no new newsletters. It’s been starting to feel like X, so I think I need to break the habit to scroll.
This was reassuring to read. I have been feeling a bit disillusioned after spending too much time on notes (reminding myself to spend the time reading newsletters I love rather than getting into the muddy waters of hot takes!!). More and more I’m coming across the discourse that real women of substance and style don’t follow trends or spend their time focusing on their clothes, or do xyz.. And when I read this, I can’t help but feel a sting of shame. Your piece is a reminder that it’s only opinion, and to critically evaluate, always!!
HELL YES, and this comment is *exactly* why I wrote it. No shame; this is fun. And to participate in trends can be a joyful, wonderful way to opt into the world. Thank you for this note!
.......and this is why I read your substack !!!! There are a few others but I have been disappointed in finding so many poseurs. I would so enjoy outing these people but I have promised myself that it is just wrong and not who I am. ........and please for goodness sake let CBK rest in peace!!!!.......xxxs
I loved this!
This is so spot-on.
The blind devotion to CBK and claiming she’s timeless yet not being cognizant of her adherence to trends is so tired. Or claiming that the minimalism of the Olsens is again, not trendy — because they are “above trends”. (Oh, and the Olsens aren’t minimalist, they wear texture and opulence and proper vintage.)
A lot of what you said about clickbait applies to general media literacy and the ability to have critical thinking — both ofwhich is diminishing nowadays.
Agreed, the Olsens are not minimalists (but they are trendsetters and they've pretty much done their own thing since the beginning). Their line, The Row, is an upscale, minimal version of their street style. And while I do love CBK, I'd also love to see people reference coloured woman more often as style icons. What of Sade? Or Lisa Bonet's character Denise on The Cosby show back in the day? Great article Rachel! xo
YEAH Neelam! And thank you. XX
OMG every word about the Olsens! Thank you for this, Zara. 😘
I’m here because RI (Rachel Intelligence) beats AI. ❤️
Awww! Screenshot it for Mom.
As someone who is both judgy and hypocritical, I know what you mean. I do hate those "must have for spring/what the cool girls are wearing/etc" posts, and also do not get the CBK/Olsens adoration. I sometimes feel very weary about the whole "timeless" thing, because if you've been interested in clothes for most of your 60+ years, you've seen an awful lot of "timeless" come and go. I think CBK looked great, and I love that she was often photographed in the same clothes, not necessarily because she was making some great statement, but because before fast fashion, people owned less clothes, and wore them more! She seems very iconic now, but her resurgence is fairly recent - between her death and the past few years, it was crickets - and is probably due to the whole quiet luxury/minimalism trend. I can't understand the Olsen's appeal (I get why people are attracted to The Row) - but that may be a generational thing: I always want to pull their trousers up and tell them to brush their hair...
I don’t think you’re either but I love the humility and so agree about the coming and going “timelessness” ❤️
Thank you for this spot-on newsletter. I really admire your style (of course!) but I also admire your ability to write with clarity and good intent. I'm a doctor (who is sadly in scrubs most of the time) and constantly under bombardment in the hospital. I came to Substack basically to flee the muck of IG/FB and try to find thoughtful writing on the issues of the day and medical stuff. Imagine my joy when I found Substacks like yours that spoke to my happy place of style, fashion, and design. It was such a welcome breath of fresh air! But I will say I find myself getting sucked into the same patterns of following women here who are IG adjacent and tend to write in the platitudes you mention without humility or frankly any real experience other than being young, beautiful (in whatever they choose to wear), and living in NYC/LA/SF. God bless them for being young and vibrant - enjoy it! Savor young motherhood and all the challenges and joys it entails! Wear the wispy, barely-there outfits that showcase your smooth skin! But I'm past wanting to read about that and looking for something different. You and a few other Substackers deliver more of what resonates with me at this stage of my life: middle aged woman with adult children; wife; professional who is passionate about my work; deeply concerned about the current state of affairs AND invested in looking great as I age. So again, thank you! We need more Substackers like you in the mix 💗
I cannot thank you enough for this note. You articulated far better than I something I’m deeply feeling about Substack — and who I want to be here. Thank you for writing and thank you for doing what you do, which is something I deeply admire and count on now more than ever ❤️
Interesting to read this and I enjoyed the Tibi article you linked to. I appreciate the reminder to stay authentic and speak from my own experience.
I’ve never been that caught up in CBK’s aesthetic as she always looked like one of the “other” people: the tall, willowy blondes with classic features that were so far from my Jewish/russian looks.
Oh I feel that so hard. The worship doesn’t seem unrelated 🤔
I totally get what you mean.
Listen. I don’t want to be the asshat that’s like “yeah yeah yeah” can we talk about how cute you look in the photo? and then has the audacity to ask you to confirm that that is the Lake kimono set — but nobody else said it, so here I am. It’s too good and it’s distracting me from the point of the article which I will focus on AFTER I purchase what I presume to be the kimono set in navy, ya?
LOL dying and yes. Continuing to explore new PJ options and I will report back after a few washes, but yes. LOL.
Pajamas can be clickbait, too Rachel. 😜
Srsly! That might be my favorite photo ever on this ‘stack and that saying a lot! Was too ashamed to ask, so glad you did:-)
Very interesting! I guess I pretty much avoid the style-related click bait as I only read a select few on Substack. I do FEAR the AI-driven trend as an educator trying to get my college-age students to write and think for themselves. It doesn’t help when your college president sends out a Martin Luther King all-camp email that when checked by zerogpt.com came back as 100% AI! And, I have never understood why women are horrible to other women. Isn’t life rough enough on us already?!?!
Exactly. 😘
SPOT ON as always!!! I always try to bring humility and humor to anything I write - but it’s such a good reminder to gut check and also be on the lookout for the clickbait!
You really do, Sogole ❤️
So timely! I just unsubscribed to a whole bunch of Substacks yesterday… because it was tiring and more so. And I found myself thinking- why am I wasting my time? I always look forward to yours!
That means SO much to me. And yes cull the ones that bring no joy. I do that too.
Thank you for calling this out. After reading this it clicked for me why I’ve been getting the ick reading Notes, which I tend to scroll if I have no new newsletters. It’s been starting to feel like X, so I think I need to break the habit to scroll.
I have so much that I’ve actually subscribed to and I’m excited to read. I want to get out of Notes too. 😘
The line between musing and critiquing is thin and paved with self-righteousness!
So well put. YES.
This was reassuring to read. I have been feeling a bit disillusioned after spending too much time on notes (reminding myself to spend the time reading newsletters I love rather than getting into the muddy waters of hot takes!!). More and more I’m coming across the discourse that real women of substance and style don’t follow trends or spend their time focusing on their clothes, or do xyz.. And when I read this, I can’t help but feel a sting of shame. Your piece is a reminder that it’s only opinion, and to critically evaluate, always!!
HELL YES, and this comment is *exactly* why I wrote it. No shame; this is fun. And to participate in trends can be a joyful, wonderful way to opt into the world. Thank you for this note!
I love this post because I can’t do mean girls.
It’s plain mean, tiring and such an old boring behavior of someone with dented self-esteem.
Also those kind of mean sprited posts are one of the reasons why we are losing creativity and personal styles. I blame them.
Oh hell yes. XO
I’m so not reading other substacks, I don’t know what notes is!!!!🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ Not being ‘triggered’ because I’m not even in the loop!😂
😂 that’s the way to be #goals
Vogue editor approved!
The next ( insert whatever) you should by…
Really?
Sighhhhhh.
Especially when many of said editors are in their 20s🙃
FACEPALM
.......and this is why I read your substack !!!! There are a few others but I have been disappointed in finding so many poseurs. I would so enjoy outing these people but I have promised myself that it is just wrong and not who I am. ........and please for goodness sake let CBK rest in peace!!!!.......xxxs