Retail Therapy 029: 13 Vibe Shifts for 2023
Even The New York Times feels it.
Listen to today’s Retail Therapy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
Back in the saddle again. Good to have you here. Pour up some coffee (or a martini) and settle in because we covered a lot of ground this week.
The Clean Girl to Vanilla Girl Pipeline
Okay, you should have two very targeted questions right now. Let’s confront them both.
What’s a Clean Girl?
Per Byrdie, “From head to toe, the clean girl aesthetic requires you to be at your best, without looking like you spent time getting there. Here are some of its calling cards, which make for an overall look that is known as fresh, effortless, and natural—but, in reality, is none of those things.”
And then our next question.
What’s a Vanilla Girl?
Glamour UK describes it as follows: “The aesthetic leans into luxe, cosy minimalism. It's heavy on easy-going outfits in cosy, tactile textures and airy, neutral colours like white, beige, cream and, well, vanilla. Linen shirts are slung over soft bed shorts, cashmere cardigans are draped over pointelle vest tops and lacy bralettes peek out from beneath cosy knits.”
And how do these two intersect? Well, that’s exactly what Barrett and I tried to figure out. We may still have some work to do on that front.
The New York Times: 13 Predictions for Life in 2023
For the bulk of this week’s episode, we discussed a timely article from The New York Times that could be alternatively titled “13 Vibe Shifts That Will Eventually Get Discussed on Retail Therapy.” Maybe next time.
If you’re not a New York Times subscriber, fear not — here are each of the topics covered.
No more ‘vibes’ — “…but at a certain point, mere ‘vibes’ crystallize into hard facts, and we’re forced to look around and evaluate the circumstances of our lives.”
Comfort in the soft — “Soft boys and soft girls may have been gaining momentum for a while, but this is the year we all go soft.”
Supersize lies — “In 2023, it’s going to take nothing less than baldfaced lies on an international scale to get our collective blood pumping.”
Pet rats — “If these hard-line attempts fail, could a softer approach — getting rats off the streets by encouraging people to take them in as pets — come next?”
The end of shoelaces — “Maybe we’ve become more willing to wear lightly disguised slippers outside since spending so much time cooped up during the pandemic.”
Butter crocks — “Butter’s appeal is eternal, but even butter has trends. So this will be the year of the butter crock, a vessel that sits outside of the refrigerator, designed to keep butter soft and fresh.”
Revenge of the normie — “Americans are going to gravitate toward media, experiences and political figures that are just regular degular and rather wholesome.”
Craft skills — “Amid a collective nostalgia for the early aughts, it’s as good a time as any to embrace uneven hems and unfinished edges.”
Fake fashion items — “But fashion’s cyclical nature suggests that in 2023, we’re due to see more meta-fakes: merchandise created by troublemakers poking fun at logomania and the obsession with luxury that proliferates on social media.”
Hair care > skin care — “Leave your 12-step facial routine in the past, and trade caring for the cells on your face for the ones growing out of your head.”
Justice for hoodie-and-shorts guys — “This is more than just athleisure: It is a movement.”
Talking to strangers — “More strangers in public settings will start conversing with one another on matters small and large. It will make us feel like we’re all living in this world together rather than going about it ourselves, and new ideas will be spread and debated like we’re in one never-ending French salon.”
A crusade against caffeine — “Wellness influencers will post pastel infographics that rail against caffeine-induced jitters; before-and-after videos will clog your TikTok feed, showing people a day, a week, a month without coffee.”
I know I’m partial, but I think our In/Out Episode covered more ground than this Times article did.
Stop Reading If You’re Still Doing Dry January
Drink trends, we can’t escape them. Even in January where seemingly everyone is sober, I receive questions on Instagram about what the “drink of the summer” will be. Left and right, trends are popping up forcing us to confront those drinks we’re supposed to be ignoring until February 1st. Here are the ones we broke down today:
The New York Happy Meal — AKA Martinis and Fries.
Vermouth & Soda — The WSJ claims “Once unfashionable, vermouth is winning fans with its European appeal and low alcohol by volume.”
Coca-Cola & Champagne — Or, as Tom Hanks refers to it, Cocaigne.
Prooooobably sticking with The New York Happy Meal for now.
If The Perfect T-Shirt Exists But You Haven’t Bought It Yet, Does It Really Exist?
And finally, I used the closing moments of this week’s episode to discuss staple t-shirts with Barrett. In the time since we’ve recorded and now, I can confirm that my once-lost favorite t-shirt has been found — it was in Michigan in my parents’ laundry room all along.
What makes a t-shirt perfect? Where have we tried t-shirts from? What changes your opinion about a shirt? We discuss those answers in more in my quest to find the perfect t-shirt that I can go out and buy six of.
As always, we closed things out with our wishlists and imminent cops.
To begin 2023, we are going to hit the reset button on our wishlists and make them a bit more digestible for the year ahead. To access the complete version of our 2022 wishlists, look no further than our final Listener Digest of 2022.
Will’s Wishlist (2023)
Barrett’s Wishlist (2023)