Vintage Skechers and Gen Z Stoners

Your daily digest of youth culture - plus some news!

Jul 19

First, some news. Starting this Friday, I’ll be ending each week with a deep dive of sorts — into a trend, or a movement, or a headline — as well as recapping everything that was covered Monday through Thursday. There’ll be more insights, more graphics, more fun.

Friday editions will be for paid subscribers only. You can upgrade right over ✨here✨.

Monday through Thursday emails will remain free forever.

I’m also adding a “founding member” paid tier that comes with a quarterly 30-minute call or Zoom to discuss Gen Z, youth culture, the word “cheugy,” or literally anything else your heart desires.

(I’ve laid all of this out here, too.)

Thank you so, so much for supporting me, whether with your money or with your time. Now, onto the links…!

TikTok’s latest questionable skincare trend is saltwater, Comme des Garçons’ new fragrance is Sunscreen (watch your back, Vacation), Gen Z queens Emma Chamberlain and Charli D'Amelio unite for LV’s latest campaign, Instagram Close Friends = 2021’s Paperless Post, and…

GEN Z DOESN’T KNOW A WORLD WITHOUT FAST FASHION

Oh, to be a Depop girl in a Shein world. A choice quote: “What intrigued us was how the consumers said they cared about sustainability, but that care did not translate into their actual purchasing behavior…There was a major gap there. It’s become trendy to label yourself as a sustainable consumer, but it’s another thing to see it reflected in your behavior.” vox

THE 101 OF Y2K 2.0: HOW FASHION GOT THE MILLENNIUM BUG ALL OVER AGAIN

It started, of course, with teens — and, to a lesser extent, with Depop, “where it doesn’t take much trawling to find Miss Sixty jeans (a brand now fronted by Bella Hadid), a Blink-182 T-shirt or a pair of Skechers fetching hundreds of pounds. If this doesn’t make you feel old already, the fact that many of them are labelled as ‘vintage’ might.” vogue.co.uk

BATH & BODY WORKS SEES FUTURE IN SKINCARE AFTER L BRANDS SPLIT

No doubt influenced by the fact that skincare is the “number-one priority” among Gen Z. Juniper Breeze eye cream, anyone? bloomberg

SNAPCHAT PROFILES GET 3D TREATMENT WITH NEW BITMOJI AVATARS

The new avatars include over 1,200 different combinations of facial expressions, poses, backgrounds, and gestures — which is sure to please the 70% of the platform's 280 million daily active users who have a Bitmoji linked to their accounts. thr // Related: Off-White brings its new fall and winter 2021 collection to Snapchatters’ Bitmojis. adweek

THE FUTURE OF CANNABIS IS FEMALE: GEN Z WOMEN ARE FASTEST-GROWING CONSUMERS OF LEGAL WEED

Year-over-year sales for Gen Z women grew the fastest in 2020 compared to any other cohort, at 151%; reasons include things like stylish branding, standardized dosage, and…well, a pandemic. nbcnews The numbers are interesting, though this piece admittedly lacks nuance. I can’t believe this quote made it in:

"No more do I have to meet a creepy guy in a back alley to get a gram of no-name, gross weed," said Meagan Tyler Shreve, 35, who owns a catering business in Virginia. "Now I get to walk into a retail store and purchase top-shelf, designer weed."

Come on, Meagan.

One last thought: