Nostalgic Mundanity and "Old Money Aesthetic"
RIP file systems.
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Hello! I’ve missed you very much. A whole lot has happened in the last week, so let’s get to it. Glossier teases its new eyeshadow palette with a 24-page Sunday Styles ad, Madewell and ThredUp team up on a circular store in Williamsburg, Instagram pauses its kid’s version after swift backlash, the “nostalgically mundane glory” of Britishcore, Gen Z loves ‘90s country, hates capitalism, and doesn’t understand file systems.
THE 40-YEAR-OLD MILLENNIAL AND THE 24-YEAR-OLD GEN ZER ARE IN CHARGE OF AMERICA RIGHT NOW
The oldest millennial, who turns 40 this year, has the most spending power; the oldest Gen Zer, who turns 24 this year, has more sway in consumer behavior. insider
Y2K, MOM JEANS AND BUCKET HATS AMONG GEN Z’S TOP TRENDING FASHION SEARCHES
According to Google data, among the top-trending “Gen Z aesthetics” searches, “pink aesthetic” ranked in the top spot. Okay, sure! Also popular: “Grunge aesthetic,” “Y2K aesthetic,” “soft girl aesthetic,” and “old money aesthetic” (more proof the return of prep is imminent.) wwd
COULD THE TEEN MAGAZINE RISE AGAIN?
Hey mom, I’m in The New Yorker!!!! This is kind of a shameless inclusion, but because it is youth culture-adjacent (and because this is my newsletter and I make the rules!), I’m including it. I had the honor of speaking (read: yammering on and on and on) to journalist Kate Dwyer about my very first love: teen magazines. newyorker
Though teen publications and social-media content both compete for eyeballs in the attention economy, a magazine will likely never reach the circulation of a single viral TikTok.
↳ Vogue China launches Gen-Z friendly supplement. “The bi-monthly print edition, called Vogue+, is designed to cater to a younger audience and effectively replaces Vogue Me, the sister publication to Vogue China that former editor Angelica Cheung launched in 2016 to cater to millennials.” bof
↳ “Sustainable is the new black.” Top UK editors are launching new-wave fashion titles to appeal to a younger consumer. guardian
TIKTOK SAYS IT HAS PASSED 1 BILLION USERS
IG hit 1 billion monthly active users in 2018; Snapchat is around 500 million. cnbc
↳ The power of TikTok can be very funny: Thousands of scientific studies disrupted by TikTok teen. futurism
↳ It can also be not funny: Why social media's obsession with fashion hauls and outfit transitions goes against everything Gen Z so proudly stands for. glamour
SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE: GOP FIGHTS TO MAKE INROADS AMONG MILLENNIAL AND GEN Z VOTERS
Some Republicans are hopeful that their standing with millennial and Gen Z voters will improve over time, based on the common assumption that voters get more conservative as they age. I am hopeful they are wrong. 🙃 lat
One last thought: