The Sunday Digest 021
You can save this week's edition for Monday — I won't blame you.
Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.
Sunday Read: Trends are dead.
by Terry Nguyen for Vox
If you’ve been listening to regular episodes of Retail Therapy as of late, you know that we’re suckers for a good aesthetic, trend, or micro-trend. But given how fast we’ve been churning through these trends and aesthetics, it begs the question: What actually is a trend?
Well, this week’s Sunday Read attempts to identify what is actually going on. Here’s a taste.
The tendency to register and categorize things, whether it be one’s identity, body type, or aesthetic preferences, is a natural part of online life. People have a penchant for naming elusive digital phenomena, but TikTok has only accelerated the use of cutesy aesthetic nomenclature. Anything that’s vaguely popular online must be defined or decoded — and ultimately, reduced to a bundle of marketable vibes with a kitschy label.
Last month, Harper’s Bazaar fashion news director Rachel Tashjian declared that “we’re living through a mass psychosis expressing itself through trend reporting.” There is, I would argue, as much reporting as there is trend manufacturing. No one is sure exactly what a trend is anymore or if it’s just an unfounded observation gone viral. The distinction doesn’t seem to matter, since TikTok — and the consumer market — demands novelty. It creates ripe conditions for a garbage-filled hellscape where everything and anything has the potential to be a trend.
Read in full here.
The Sunday Haiku: Oops
I’d like to say ‘sorry’
for missing last week’s Digest1
I was having fun.
Things I Saved This Week
New Episodes
Retail Therapy 011: Goop Cruises & Rage Cops
We achieved The Holy Trinity of Retail Therapy: Goop, Aime Leon Dore, and Ladcore. Gwyneth Paltrow's company Goop has announced their very-off-brand summer cruise experience, brands are making it more and more difficult to give them your money for expensive products you love, and the lads are officially taking over this summer's fashion scene. We also add some items to our wishlists/imminent cops, and more.
For this week’s Retail Therapy companion complete with links, articles and wishlists items, look no further.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts are found.
The Beauty and Intrigue of F1's Monaco Grand Prix with Jared Borislow
F1 expert Jared Borislow of Formula Bone joins the show to discuss all things F1, Monaco GP, and how he spends his Sundays. Through our conversation, we covered the history of the Monaco GP, why casual race fans should get invested, how to get into F1, and so much more.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts are found.
My “Wait, What?” Moment of the Week
Could I name an MGK song? No. Could I hear a song and say to everyone I’m with, “Oh, is this MGK?” Again, no. Truthfully, the only thing I know about MGK is that he is engaged (married?) to Megan Fox and his style/hair make me want to crawl into a hole.
That being said, I couldn’t help but #meme him this week when I saw a photo of him on a boat heading toward the Travis Barker/Kourtney Kardashian wedding in Italy.
And somehow, he saw it.
I like to imagine him seeing it on his phone in Italy only to turn to all the Kardashians surrounding him being like, “Hey, check out this meme.” And then Kim says, “Pete, why is MGK even here?” before Pete responds, “To make me look normal.” They then give the meme a courtesy laugh before pretending to drink martinis together for Instagram.
Donate: Texas Elementary School Shooting Relief
It was a heavy week for everyone. And if it wasn’t a heavy week for you, you should probably assess why.
Here’s a place to donate to help those affected.
On May 24, nineteen students and two adults were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The GoFundMe community is coming together to support all those affected. Our Trust & Safety team will continue to update this hub with more fundraisers as they are verified.
“How can I support this newsletter?”
Listen to The Sunday Scaries Podcast
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But seriously, sorry for missing last week — I had such a good time at the PGA Championship in Tulsa that for the first time ever I completely forgot to do The Sunday Digest. While I can’t guarantee this won’t happen again, I’ll try to be better moving forward.