For all of the complaining about January, I hear little about February, which is decidedly the worst month. Not because of Valentine’s Day (which might actually be the highlight?) but because it’s so cold. Everyone’s SAD is popping. People are over the new year. Especially with the new administration, it’s felt bleak.
However, it’s been abundant with good pop culture to keep us entertained while we’re stuck inside: award shows, fashion month, good books. There was even a break in the cold last weekend. I ate lunch outside! How lucky.
What happened
Grammys
Kendrick Lamar taking home five awards for being a hater will never not be funny. Sabrina Carpenter in JW Anderson was my best dressed. Doechii had the best performance. I was glad Beyoncé finally won Album of the Year, even if Cowboy Carter isn’t her best album. On that note, if you have an extra tour ticket, PLEASE HIT MY LINE.
The Super Bowl
I’m Canadian, which really lends an extra layer of I do not understand this game to my participation in the whole event. What I do understand is that the Celine jeans Kendrick Lamar wore during his half-time performance are flares. (I may or may not have unfollowed you if you called them bootcuts.)
Critics Choice
Sorry, I didn’t watch it.
SAGs
Selena Gomez looked great in custom Celine! She’s working with Erin Walsh now, who has transformed her red carpet presence and god, am I grateful. Anna Sawai was also stunning. She wore Armani Privé styled by the impeccable Karla Welch. (For more on Karla’s work, this episode of The Cutting Room Floor was excellent.) I’m an earnest person, so Timothee Chalamet’s Best Actor acceptance speech was perfect to me. I’ve watched it back three times.
BAFTAs
Saoirse Ronan is working with Danielle Goldberg, bless. I didn’t watch the show itself, but my sources tell me Take That’s performance was lackluster: “ROBBIE SHOULD HAVE PERFORMED. Would have been legion.”
Fashion month
I’ll keep it brief: Colleen Allen and Diotima have my full attention. Christopher John Rogers was exceptional as always. Maria McManus is still perfect (she collaborated with Don’t Let Disco on the accessories). Dying over Daria Werbowy in the latest Alaïa campaign. The Albus Lumen lookbook also caught my eye.
What I read
The Motherload, Sarah Hoover
Even though I’ve probably only followed her for a few years, I’ve loved Sarah Hoover for what feels like forever. I knew her first as a figure in the art world (she was a longtime art liaison, dealer, and director at Gagosian); I’m sure I discovered her through fashion magazines. She has *this thing* I admire so much in a woman — the ability to hold seemingly conflicting identities with confidence and humility in equal measure. This book, about the “identity rupture” she experienced in becoming a mother, is so generous in its honesty. If you’re looking for a more digestible version than the book, she spoke at length about how motherhood radicalized her on High Low with Em Rata. In the chapter “Balthazar,” she also tells the tale of how she and her husband, Tom Sachs, fell in love. It’s the sweetest love story I’ve read in a long time, made better by the fact that it’s true.
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
I saw Nickel Boys (2024) in December. It’s absolutely gutting. It also deserves Best Picture. I couldn’t stop thinking about the film, so I ended up downloading the book on my Kindle. What struck me most about it is that it’s astonishingly readable. I love when a writer can deal with such heavy, complex subject matter without forgoing plain language.
“Jia Tolentino on Joan Didion’s ‘everywoman.com’,” The New Yorker
My love for Jia Tolentino knows no bounds, so naturally her writing on Joan Didion on Martha Stewart, more delightfully complicated women, is a dream to me.
What I watched
Almost nothing! I’m just getting into Severance (TV is my cultural blind spot — very time consuming) so maybe we can discuss that next month. I did see these two movies though:
A Complete Unknown (2024)
My initial takeaway was Wow, those fingernails are feral! Timothée Chalamet really got into character on this one. Whatever they did to puff out his cheeks was also pretty incredible (I know he gained 20 lbs for the role, but I feel like they did something extra there). I liked this movie a lot. Chalamet was expectedly good and Monica Barbaro, who plays Joan Baez, was shockingly good. Sublime. A star! The most distinctly Bob Dylan thing about this film is that I left knowing little more about his life than I went in with. An enigma, indeed.
The Brood (1979)
I saw this at Metrograph, where Haley Mlotek curated a film series, The Divorced Women’s Film Festival, to celebrate the launch of her new book, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce. I laughed a lot during this, which was surely not the desired effect, given that it’s a body horror. I think the friend I went with put it right: Thanks to the speedy evolution of special effects, it’s a challenge for old horror movies to scare us. But horror’s not my thing anyway, so the fact it didn’t actively repel me was preferable.
What’s in my cart
Asics x Juliana Salazar Gel-Keyano Sneakers
Okay, I bought these. They were nearly impossible to get my hands on (asics.com, we have beef) but I scored what was likely the last men’s 6 available on CNCPTS. There’s not much to say other than Juliana Salazar has immaculate taste. The suede and silver details do a lot for me! I’ll be wearing them with a white tank and trench coat all spring long, I can feel it.
Miami-based brand Éliou has been doing the beaded jewelry thing very well for years, but I’m not the person who can pull off accessories that look like they’re made of candy. I’m into this gemstone necklace as a sort of intermediary between that and my usual gold chain. It’s colorful, but muted. The beads are significant, but not too big. I need to wear it on a hot New York City day with a tube top and the Deiji Studios Pocket Pants, if I decide to pull the trigger on those.
Flore Flore has had me in a chokehold for well over a year, specifically this tank. I’ve been resisting the buy until I can see the cut and fabric in person. (In the t-shirt department, the Sunday Best Little Ribbed T-Shirt is a great dupe for the Flore Flore Car Baby Tee.)
What I listened to
André 3000 Interview & Surprise Newsroom Performance!, “Popcast”
Real ones know, my favorite podcast is “Popcast” by The New York Times (sometimes called “Popcast Deluxe,” but that’s confusing for the uninitiated). It’s co-hosted by Jon Caramanica (legend) and Joe Coscarelli (read his book, Rap Capital), who are both so brilliant, thoughtful, and rigorous — I hope listening to them means those qualities will rub off. Before the Grammys, I kept going back to this episode they did with André 3000. Among other things, I like what he has to say about age as it relates to art-making.
What I wrote
“Anora is Dressing for the Job She Wants”
I saw Anora at the end of 2024 and couldn’t stop talking about it. Whenever that happens, I know I have to write it out. I tried to connect my thoughts, mostly on what Ani’s clothes say about her desires, here.