L.A. Core and Vintage Bebe
i interviewed emma chamberlain!
Welcome back to After School Weekend Edition, a not-so-brief trends debrief.
Today’s letter is in partnership with Warby Parker 🫶
They say don’t meet your heroes, which is why when the Warby Parker team said they had secured some time for me to interview Emma Chamberlain, I initially panicked. (I had no reason to — she is, unsurprisingly, a delight.)
It’s hard to overstate the impact Emma has had on a large swatch of teenage girls (and by “large swath,” I mean 15 million on Instagram and 12 million on YouTube). She posted her first video to YouTube seven years ago, when she was 16. Now 23, she’s transcended the influencer title and is an entrepreneur, as the founder and CEO of Chamberlain Coffee, and a formidable creative director and designer, having just created — from scratch — a collection with Warby Parker.
What makes Emma unique, I think, is that she does not wield her very significant influence lightly. She’s thoughtful and principled but also funny and a little wacky. She has a real personality (rarer than you’d think in Hollywood!) and she has an extremely strong point of view. As she said in a recent New York Times profile, “I tried sort of being the canvas…I did not like it. It just doesn’t work for me.”
So when the Warby team invited me out to L.A. to see Emma’s new collection in person and attend the pop-up located at the Kiosk-o-thèque, a newsstand founded by “Are We on Air?” podcaster Arman Naféei that the Hollywood Reporter described earlier this summer as the “Sunset Strip’s hotspot of the moment,” I could not have said yes faster.
Though the newsstand is open to the public, the pop-up made its debut Thursday evening with a private party. The Kiosk-o-thèque just so happens to be located directly across the Chateau Marmont, where the GQ Men of the Year Awards were happening at the very same time. At one point, black cars were at a standstill on Sunset; I imagined Chris Black and Jason Stewart, GQ’s red carpet hosts, peering out from behind the tinted windows to see why young influencers dressed in platforms and shearling coats were flocking to a newsstand on the side of the road.
Cool-girl DJ Harmony Tividad played dreamy pop, while Ashli from Star Magic read tarot cards in a blue 1971 Chevy parked right on the street. There were books curated by Emma in partnership with Idea (“Instagram's favorite bookseller,” according to the Times), and flower bouquets wrapped in newsprint, bodega-style (it wasn’t just any newsprint, but a limited-run newspaper featuring an interview with Emma written by Laura Pitcher).
Pigtails, knee socks, and Erewhon smoothies
The next morning, I woke up early, my body still on East Coast time, so I went for a run through West Hollywood and ended up at Erewhon, the status grocery store that has had a grip on my TikTok FYP for years. I briefly considered Hailey Bieber's Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie, a $24 blend of almond milk and organic strawberries enhanced with collagen and sea moss, and Alo’s limited-edition Berries & Cream Smoothie, a mix of berries, coconut, and something called “Turkey Tail” that I didn’t bother to Google, but settled on the much simpler Strawberry Probiotic Smoothie (plus a spoonful of peanut butter that cost as much as a jar of Jif), a recommendation by Kristin from Warby who did not lead me astray. It was, indeed, delicious. I sipped it while meandering through The Grove and window-shopping at Brandy Melville, as god intended.
I had plans to go back to the Warby pop-up Friday evening when it opened to the general public — I couldn’t pass up a chance to do some Emma Chamberlain fandom trendspotting — but first, I met up with one of my best friends for drinks and snacks (vegan nachos; when in L.A).
As I approached the restaurant, I saw a line around the block of 100 or so young women, many of whom were wearing pigtails and knee socks. It was, I learned, a Sabrina Carpenter cafe pop-up: The L.A. Short N’ Sweet Cafe, presented by Cash App, located at Melrose’s Verve Coffee Roasters. (Sabrina’s Short N’ Sweet tour took her to L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena later that evening; Emma, a longtime fan, attended.)
The line was so long I figured Sabrina herself must have been there, but that turned out not to be the case — the limited edition merch, Sabrina-inspired menu ("Dumb & Poetic Latte," “Common Sense Chai,” etc.), and photo ops were enough of a draw to battle Friday evening traffic in L.A., though most of them looked too young to drive.
Trendspotting at the Emma Chamberlain x Warby Parker pop-up
I bid the Sabrina fans adieu and headed to Emma’s pop-up…only to see some of the same girls there, too.
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A crowd of young fans braved the cold to try on quirky sunglasses named after Emma’s grandparents, pose for selfies in the yellow glow of the newsstand, sip colorful cans of Chamberlain Coffee (“Cinnamon Bun Latte” seemed to be the crowd favorite), swoon over the Isabella Cotier-designed Emma stickers, and dance along to the DJ.
Some girls brought their boyfriends to capture content, while others brought their sketchbooks to document the scene the old-fashioned way.
Everyone eagerly waited in line to get their tarot cards read; one girl, who apparently received some good news from the powers that be, squealed as she ran up to her friend. “I have so much to tell you,” she said.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, fans — some of whom had been there the night before; the dedication! — began lining up for the last day of the pop-up. They lingered for hours, nibbling on chocolate croissants while debating which frames to buy and meeting like-minded Emma enthusiasts.
Some trend notes I scribbled down while hanging out at the pop-up:
A lot of flare jeans, and not a single pair of denim that didn’t drag the floor (except mine)
Too many Adidas sneakers to count (mostly Gazelles but a few Sambas)
Isabel Marant wedge sneakers
So many chunky loafers
A few chore jackets, though fewer than you might think
Leather bomber jackets
So much faux fur (it was really chilly!)
One pair of vintage Bebe slides that the girl had thrifted in New Mexico
One camo baseball hat
One beret
One set of braces
Several amiable but bored dads
My interview (!) with Emma Chamberlain
I had exactly 20 minutes to ask Emma all of my pressing questions, and I got to only half of them because Emma — in Gen Z parlance — is quite the yapper (which I say with admiration!). It was the best 20 minutes.
Q: You’ve worked with Warby Parker before. What made you want to revisit things and do a second collaboration?
Emma: We love each other so much. I’m an authentic, organic buyer of Warby Parker, and I have been for so many years. This is such an obvious collaboration, we might as well invest in each other and this relationship long-term. We had a two-year plan to do two collections. For the first collection, the idea was to take styles that already exist, do your own colorways, change the color of the lenses…take what already exists, and make it you, right?
And for the second, this collection is almost completely from scratch. It was super fun. I love designing things.
Q: The campaign for this collection feels very "you." How involved were you in shaping its creative direction, and what was your initial creative vision?
Emma: Something I’ve learned through Chamberlain Coffee and working with brands over the years is that it’s one thing to have an idea, but it’s another thing to execute. Execution is something that is rarely discussed, and the Warby Parker team is incredible at execution. They think outside the box in every single way.
For the first collaboration, we had shorter timelines, whereas, for this collection, we had the time to execute — we could make our dreams come true, which is something that you realistically cannot do a lot of time when producing a product.
My relationship with my glasses is very much that I’m wearing them all the time, in weird places, and in every part of my life. My dad and I are both this way — we’ll have reading glasses on our heads, another pair of reading glasses hanging off the collar of our shirt, and three pairs in the bed. We’re wearing them in the shower. Glasses are an extension of ourselves. That was what I wanted to capture with this campaign — the way that glasses are not only attached to me in every moment of my life but also every phase or aesthetic; they're always there.
Q: Your style has evolved a lot over the years. How would you describe your current, shall we say, aesthetic?
Emma: My style right now is very…honestly, kind of minimalist. I like simple designs and more muted colors. I’m wearing a lot of blacks, whites, grays, dark greens, and maroons, occasionally with a little pop. A darker, neutral palette.
The little black circular glasses are what I’ve been wearing every single day, all day. And my favorite sunglasses right now are the brown ones with the olive lenses. Those have been a staple. Those two represent my style right now — a bit more muted, a bit more neutral.
In other areas of my job, I get to play dress-up, which I’m so fortunate for. But in my personal life, I don’t really enjoy experimenting as much anymore. I prefer experimenting in ways that are not filling my closet with junk that I'm going to be sick of tomorrow, a net negative for absolutely everybody involved.
Q: I have to ask about your new hair. A few months ago, you published a video about hair theory (“the way we choose to style our hair heavily impacts the way others see us, and the way we see ourselves”). What inspired the blonde crop and how does it make you see yourself?
Emma: Honestly, I’ve never felt more myself. I didn’t know how to style my long brown hair, and it never looked quite right. It didn't have any life to it. It didn't feel like an accessory to me. I think of everything as an accessory, and this was not an accessory. It was so bland. I was just so bored of it. Some people were like, “You’re going to regret it,” but honestly, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I love waking up and touseling it around, spraying a little spray in, and being done. I’ve never felt more free. It’s f*cking awesome.
I’m now telling everyone, “We should all consider short hair.” It also seems unthinkable for some women, but for me, personally, long hair was horrific. I hated everything about it. I mean, “horrific” is dramatic, but it genuinely made me unhappy. It sounds stupid, but it's something you wake up and deal with every single day, and the only reason why I kept it was out of fear of, like, being weird. And ultimately, I did it and I've never been happier. I don’t know if I’ll ever have long hair again.
Q: I need to talk to you about Topsiders. Last year, you made a prediction that they would be the shoe of the year, and then I watched, rapt, as that prediction came true. Do you have any trend predictions for 2025?
Emma: It’s funny how that prediction came about. My dad and I were walking through New York, and we were talking about trend theory, what kinds of things can come back, what kinds of things will come back, and he brought up boat shoes. And when Topsiders came up, I was like, “Wait a minute…those are coming back.” It just made sense. It’s reaching the peak preppy that we’ve been climbing for the last five or six years, and it happened.
When I think about trends for 2025, listen: The maximalism thing — doing the most, following every single trend, wearing a different outfit in every single Instagram photo — I honestly see a universe where those girls get tired. We're going to see a draw towards very minimal and classic.
I think a lot of these girls are going to find themselves leaning toward the capsule wardrobe and leaning toward more simple designs. It’s about having the best white T-shirt, the best jeans, the best flat shoes. I guess it’s an extension of “quiet luxury,” which I have my own feelings about, but I think it's actually more than anything a return to comfort, a return to people just being able to actually express themselves.
You can still express yourself in a way that's more sustainable — and not just environmentally but emotionally. Constantly f*cking keeping up with the trends is exhausting.
Q: Speaking of trends, denim seems to be all over the place right now: long-rise, high-rise, baggy, flared, skinny. What jeans are you currently wearing?
Emma: I've been wearing fewer jeans than ever — I'm really in a pant phase — but to me, the 501 is forever. It's really hard to find a more timeless jean. I also think raw denim is really beautiful. I have a dark wash, almost raw denim, but not quite raw, because they're a little bit uncomfortable when they’re fully raw. I've been loving those because I find that they're the most timeless for me.
I'm just really trying to create a timeless wardrobe. I think that my consumption in the past has been a little bit too much, and I think I reached a point where I had an awakening, and now I'm like, “This is not good. This is not the move.” I hope I can inspire other people to do it, too. I know it sounds annoying coming from an influencer, but I think we've grown accustomed to buying too much. I’ve woken up. I'm not going to be posting hauls online anymore, because I don't believe in that.
WEEKLY TREND HIGHLIGHTS
Methodology: Throughout the week, I keep a log of trends mentioned across publications and social media that I categorize by style, beauty, and culture. Not everything makes it in; I ask myself, “Is this something I’ll want to remember next year?” and if the answer is yes, it’s included. This section is long, so please click “view in a browser”!
Style
Logos are back — well, “sort of,” WSJ qualifies — among young shoppers, who are investing in “quiet branding” that “slyly” telegraphs how much they spent. Since late July, when fall collections first hit stores, Net-a-Porter has seen searches containing the word “logo” surge by 444%; Mr Porter, meanwhile, saw a 103% jump during the same period.
WSJ mentions a 2010 Journal of Marketing study on the concept of “quiet luxury,” wherein the authors argued that subtle brand cues act as “horizontal signals” (i.e., communicating from one wealthy person to another), rather than “vertical signals” (from the wealthy to non-wealthy). But one of the professors who co-wrote the study told WSJ that because of social media, “Nothing is secret anymore in the digital age. Hardly anyone might have recognized a Loro Piana Extra Pocket bag a few years ago, but consumers now see these niche products all over social media.”
I really liked this insight on young people and luxury c/o “Crazy Rich Asians” author Kevin Kwan, whose latest book “documents the eccentricities of the contemporary Angeleno leisure class.”
On a phone call, here’s how he summed up the current logo mood among younger generations: “In L.A., all the rich kids used to love Balenciaga allover logo sweaters, but now they only wear Alo Yoga,” said Kwan, referencing the L.A. athleisure brand. “They line up for their ‘einspänner lattes’ at [West Hollywood hot spot] Community Goods wearing matching sets with the discreet logo hidden on the waistband,” he added.
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”It” pants are the new “it” bag. Certain bottoms — the Basic pant from Pleats Please ($375); the Tie pant by Brooke Callahan ($155); and, perhaps the most it pant-y of them all, the Kick pants ($860) by High Sport — have emerged as a “signifier of understanding a fashion moment, like a handbag,” explained Maddie Bailis, 33. Alyssa Neilson, 31, said these pants communicate membership to an “international club of online girl taste,” and Zoe Cohen, 32, said that using pants instead of bags as a social signifier “fits into the greater conversation of people wanting to dress less flashy.”
Luxury adjacent: Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal looked at how Hoka, On, and Birkenstock — all of which are currently very popular among Gen Z — “are taking a page out of luxury’s playbook” by limiting supply. Birkenstock, for example, typically ships retailers about 75% of what they would like to order. Birkenstock Americas President David Kahan said the scarcity model drives consumers’ “urgency to buy.” “Nobody is buying the product and price comparing—[asking], can I get it cheaper someplace else?” he said.
A few days earlier, WSJ published another piece titled, “Has luxury lost its shine?” This particular story indicates yes — the reporter points to Gucci, which saw sales plunge 25% in the quarter — but I think the definition of luxury has just changed. Two passages from this piece stood out to me:
“Psychologists who study consumer behavior point out that people buy designer goods for emotional reasons. The main one is to separate themselves from the crowd and signal where they sit in the social pecking order…”
But social media is making it harder for luxury brands to maintain exclusivity. “Social media makes it easier to see what others are wearing, but when part of what you are selling is scarcity, that can be challenging,” says Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. “Things can feel less scarce, and smart companies are trying to think about how to manage this.”
Back to On for a second: The brand’s Co-CEO Marc Maurer said this week that Zendaya and the Olympics powered record Q3 results. He also said On is pleased with the results of its recent collaborations with Loewe and Post Archive Faction, a technical label from South Korea, that is “gaining a lot of traction.” I’m already seeing On mentioned in Christmas wishlist TikToks.
Lululemon’s $150 yoga pants have become a surprise hit in China. It’s the leader among niche athleisure labels — including Arc’teryx, Hoka, and ski wear label Descente — whose stores on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s dominant platform Tmall posted roughly 15 percent to 40 percent growth in the 12 months through September.
While we’re talking about Lulu, I have to tell you that I walked by the store in The Grove and was surprised to see a Disney collab just a year after Outdoor Voices’ Disney collab that was widely panned. The social content is not for me, but I’m not the target audience (“Disney Adults”).
Limited Too, the classic tween brand that Kohl’s brought back earlier this year, got quite a bit of press this week around the launch of their adult-sizes collection, which came about because angry millennials flooded their social media comments more or less demanding it. As you know, I’ve been following this pretty closely, and I’ve been very eager to see what kind of reception (if any!) the women’s collection will have. In her fantastic piece on the Y2K brand’s comeback, the Washington Post’s Ashley Fetters Maloy reported that the line would debut on November 11, but six days later, it’s still notably absent from Kohl’s and social media. Kind of suspicious!
Shane O’Neill — author of the Washington Post’s excellent Style Memo newsletter — shared some concise takeaways from his colleague Fetters Maloy’s story:
Millennial women have enough buying power to turn their desires into market demand.
The “girl power” ethos — once sold to youth in the form of ruffly, colorful mall fashions — still resonates now that those girls have grown up.
Y2K nostalgia is still enjoying a “long tail” in the market, though some fashion-forward girlies have already moved on to the late 2000s as a source of inspiration.
That viral American flag sweater that dominated feeds all spring is at least part of the reason Ralph Lauren bucked category declines in luxury, reporting second-quarter revenue rising 6% to $1.7 billion. The company raised its revenue forecast for the year, now expecting an increase of 3% to 4%, up from a previous forecast of 2% to 3%. Unfortunately, no one wants to wear those viral American flag sweaters now for obvious reasons.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserBecause I am never not on the Coach beat: Tapestry, their parent co., reported flat net sales of $1.5 billion for Q1 of its 2025 fiscal year. The results beat Tapestry’s expectations, and the company attributed the success to Coach, its largest brand, which grew 1% year over year; Kate Spade fell 7%. Tapestry, call me! I can help.
Lands' End is trying to capitalize on the boat tote “trend” (and I use that word loosely) with a pop-up at 54 Crosby Street, open now through November 24. The boat tote craze peaked in the summer of 2022, but customization is still very much having a moment, so I suspect they’ll have a good turnout, especially because they’ve partnered with influencers to entice young shoppers. "We have embroidery, charms, DIY charms you can make, vintage patches, pins, ribbons — and the customization is a flat fee of $15. You can do [customize] however you want," said Kym Maas, chief creative officer at Lands' End.
Speaking of boat totes, Lauren Sherman mentioned seeing a gaggle of teen girls carrying those Trader Joe’s mini totes on her latest podcast episode with Emily Sundberg. The Trader Joe’s mini tote first sold out in March after going viral on TikTok — and then every time it was restocked, it would go viral again. The scarcity model strikes again.
The return of the jean jacket? Millennials on TikTok are defending the item after one woman tried to suggest that her fellow millennial women should stop wearing blue jean jackets, begging them to “please hang them up.”
Stylish women in L.A. and Paris are all wearing black leather blazers, according to Who What Wear. There were quite a few leather blazers at Emma’s pop-up, too.
“I lost count of how many L.A. women own sunglasses in this specific color,” reported fashion writer Erin Fitzpatrick this week. Said “specific color” is burgundy, a color that has inspired many, many trend headlines this fall.
The latest in leopard print? Wild shoes, which, Vogue writes, have emerged as a post “quiet luxury” trend, with popular versions at Alaïa, Toteme, and Le Monde Beryl.
Leopard sneakers are “going to be the biggest sneaker trend of 2025,” reports Who What Wear UK. The leopard print Sambas were huge earlier this year, and now these Steve Madden dupes are all over my feed.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserEven skaters love Adidas’ hottest sneakers: The Country OG has found itself popping up on trend reports and landing several notable collaborations, reports HighSnobiety.
Suede sneakers are “set to define” 2025 trends, which tracks because we’ve hit peak suede.
Hotel-style slippers are “one of fall's most sumptuous shoe trends.” Brands like Miu Miu and Saint Laurent have joined longtime makers like Charvet and Patricia Green in designing luxury variations. The Row makes a $990 pair that looks so much like the drugstore slippers my grandma used to wear it’s actually uncanny.
”Hear us out… are boat shoes back?” This question was posed by Hypebae earlier this week, noting that “resident Copenhagen fashion girl Laura Schulte told us that she's rocking the shoe style this fall because ‘it feels like a hybrid of a boot and sneakers.’” They should have talked to Emma.
Feels notable that Taylor Swift wore a Victoria’s Secret corset that’s currently on sale for $40.
Not necessarily related — though not not — Google reported that searches for “studio 54 fashion” spiked +400% in the U.S, over the past week
Beauty
My brilliant friend Megan, a founder of the marketing platform Plot, analyzed over 3.000 organic videos to figure out which brands and products were actually worth buying during the Sephora sale, separating real reviews from sponsored content. Their AI analyzes transcripts, comments, captions, and overall sentiment, and the findings are fascinating:
Huge week for Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray and Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder.
Starface launched a Depop marketplace called StarMarket featuring one-of-a-kind pieces made by fans. So brilliant.
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The “Olsen dip” — grown-out, worn-in root that graduated from mid brown to bright blonde — is trending. Good news for lazy girls. (I’m lazy girl.)
Cherry girl summer is so last season; for winter, cherry mocha girl is trending. Defined by burgundy colors — both opaque and sheer — that are much darker and sultrier by comparison, and also, of course, a bit less MAGA.
The "clean" beauty movement has led to the rise of apps that rank products based on the toxicity of their ingredients. Yuka, Think Dirty, and INCI Beauty are all trending on TikTok. This all feels very RFK Jr.-coded to me.
Culture
Grocery content — which is exactly what it sounds like — is going viral among young influencers, according to Cosmopolitan. “For a lot of us, the act of buying the exact foods we like, of nourishing ourselves on our own terms, now feels like an increasingly rarefied one,” writes Krista Diamond. A recent survey found that Gen Z now devotes over three hours a day, more than any other generation, to browsing fantasy purchases online.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserThere’s been a global trend toward marathon participation in recent decades, and Vox reports this week that twenty-somethings are a big reason for the jump: 15 percent of NYC Marathon finishers in 2019 were in their 20s, and just four years later, in 2023, they made up 19 percent. At the Los Angeles Marathon those same years, the proportion of 20-something runners grew from 21 percent to 28 percent. I blame run clubs! (Just kidding.)
Labubu is the new Sqishmallow. The $85 toy with an unsettling grin and serrated teeth has become all the rage among millennials and Gen Zers. "Essentially, it's appealing because it's trendy, and trendy because it seems like something 'everybody' ─ at least in the target market's circle of influence ─ wants," said Joey Khong, a trends manager at market research firm Mintel.
TikTok can’t get enough of “friendship theories,” which, Vogue writes, “abound even more than relationship theories do.” There’s the “7 friends theory,” the idea that we should have at least seven friends; “Dunbar’s number,” the idea that we can maintain 15 good friends, 50 friends, and 150 meaningful contacts; and, more recently, “snail theory,” the idea that we ought to build friends slowly, gradually, and with purpose if we want to forge meaningful connections.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserWant to blow up on TikTok? Just talk about your dating life. This is a correct take — and it’s also actionable for brands, if you’re creative enough!
Dating app love stories are notably absent from pop culture. Researchers estimate that in 2024, a colossal 61% of all couples met via online dating, but dating apps’ dominance isn’t reflected in movies, TV, books, or music.
Why art thou obsessed with Shakespeare? 2024 has seen a surge in Romeo & Juliet productions, with over 11 major productions across the US and Canada. The play's themes of war, power, prejudice, politics, and division are particularly relevant in today's societal climate…but also people think Kit Conner’s hot.
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AND EVERYTHING I’VE BEEN READING, BUYING, AND LISTENING TO…
Reading: “Eva, Everlasting,” Marie Claire; “Taxonomy of the Trump Bro,” The Atlantic; “Into the Phones of Teens,” New Yorker; “My Monster Tenant,” Curbed
Buying: I took my expandable suitcase to L.A. thinking I’d do some shopping, but I unfortunately came home empty-handed. I was especially looking forward to going to Brandy Melville at The Grove, but the baby tees were just a little too baby for me.
Listening:
let's gooo! amazing interview :)
i went to a live show this year for an extremely millennial podcast, which took place on a college campus. i found the venue by following the steady stream of denim jackets. truly like 90% of the audience was wearing a denim jacket, it was for some reason so embarrassing (and I wasn't even wearing one).
great piece as always!!