Suspect Challenge and Sexy Incredibles

after school weekend edition

Welcome back to After School Weekend Edition, a not-so-brief trends debrief for paid subscribers. Your support keeps this newsletter going! 💫

Today we’re talking about:

• Coach conspiracy theory, continued

• Just how “chronically online” is Halloween for Gen Z?

• The “no revenge” costume trend

• Gen Z is bringing back your grandmother’s house coat

• Revolve launched a “fashion game”

• Selena Gomez’s new denim line

• So, how’s that Sydney Sweeney x HeyDude partnership going

• The jazz shoe is the next “It” shoe

• 2025's biggest engagement ring trend

• Why everyone’s saying “dafuq”

• A Trump remix is TikTok’s “hottest new sound”

• Young Thug!

Plus everything else that happened in trends and what I’m buying, reading, and listening to. First, my favorite TikTok of the week:

@gabzilla_123456early voting in DC is open until Sunday, Nov 3 from 8:30 AM-7 PM!!! iwillvote.com for additional resources🗳️✍🏽 #kamalaharris2024🇺🇸💙 #votehimout #earlyvoting #blacktiktok

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Coach conspiracy theory, continued

In the two weeks since I wrote about my theory that Coach’s comeback is nothing more than a coordinated sponsored content effort, three more sponcon features have popped up, indicating either 1) I am being trolled or 2) Coach’s comeback is nothing more than a coordinated sponsored content effort!

First, Nylon wrote about “Coach Outlet’s celeb-approved Teri shoulder bag,” calling it “the key to mastering your peak Y2K aesthetic.” (This is the first time I’ve seen Coach Outlet sponcon.)

Then Bustle published a piece about Coach’s luxe quilted Tabby bag, describing it as an “It-Girl essential” and “the last going out bag you’ll ever need.”

Then two days later, Bustle published another piece about the Tabby, written by “a member of Gen Z” who says she is ”chronically ahead of the trends” and that “Coach is the brand that’s taking over my feed for fall.”

And Hypebae published a piece promoting both the Tabby and the Brooklyn bags, featuring Elle Fanning, Lee Youngji, and Charles Melton, who star in the brand’s fall campaign.

The copy includes ChatGPT-written masterpieces like:

From angst to apprehension and everything in between, you’ll feel all the feels before meeting a new bae. However, to overcome the overwhelming wave of emotions, all it takes is attention-grabbing attire courtesy of Coach.

But investing in ChatGPT-written sponsored content does not necessarily mean your business is a failure, though I would not personally recommend it to any brand.

As my investigation into what the heck is happening with Coach continued to unfold, one of my friends Devin, a particularly stylish Gen Zer, generously sent me some reporting from the field, and by “field,” I mean Joyface in Alphabet City: