The Weekly Spill #10
put on your power suit for Parton, Priscilla, and the return of Paper
Happy Friday! I hope everyone is preparing to slay their Halloweekend. Do people still say that or am I lame? Forget it. Doesn’t matter. I can’t wait to make myself a drink, get comfy, put on a Halloweeny movie as background noise, and brutally judge everyone’s costumes. But before I can do that, I’ve got to spill this week’s beans right into your chic plastic pumpkin bucket. Enjoy!
Saint Laurent FW23: I love this collection so much. I loved it when it came down the runway, and I love it each time I see it styled in a magazine or on the red carpet.
Something about the 80s power dressing just works for me. It’s powerful and sexy and manages to walk that line between feeling like a perfect pastiche and something modern at the same time. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I have been drawn to similar silhouettes (that have been popping up in more affordable places) while shopping recently. I think this is just the tipping point of a massive ‘80s & early ‘90s revival.
Dolly Parton’s Fashion Book:
Dolly Parton’s new book chronicling her life through fashion was released last week. “Behind the Seams: My Life In Rhinestones” is a sartorial extravaganza that takes the reader through Dolly’s closet starting with a recreation of the now-famous coat of many colors that her grandmother made for her. Alongside the photos, Dolly shares stories about the pieces in her archive as well as her overall style ethos.
There will be an accompanying exhibition of her clothes, curated by Parton's archivist Rebecca Seaver, at Lipscomb University. Any of you Nashville readers should absolutely try to go and see the exhibit. Just be aware that I will be incredibly jealous of you if you go.
Brown Noise + Rain Sounds: I was intrigued by this after listening to Benito rave about brown noise on the Ride podcast, but the real inspiration to try it came from the nighttime construction crew that recently arrived near my apartment. It almost irritates me how good it works. I’ve been sleeping like a little baby.
Movie Theater Etiquette: y’all have to figure out how to act in public. This is embarrassing and it is getting out of hand. Shockingly, I am not referring to the behavior displayed at the unnamed pop star’s movie theater concert spectacular. These are just regular assholes seeing regular movies. If you ever find yourself looking for me on a Tuesday, check the local AMC because, for $5, I’ll see pretty much any movie I have even a mild interest in. I love seeing a movie in the theater but the behavior of my fellow patrons has been driving me insane. As we barrel headfirst into Oscar bait season, I hope to see everyone making a better effort. On the off chance the general public is simply uneducated or has forgotten how to act, I present my (very easy) rules for visiting the cinema. It’s not that hard people!
If you miss Maria Menounos, you are late.
Put the phone away.
Shut Up.
Killers of the Flower Moon: Speaking of cinema…. Marty has done it again.
I recommend that everyone go and see Killers of the Flower Moon. It needs to be seen in a theatre (hopefully filled with rule-following readers of this newsletter) on a massive screen with no distractions. The performances are incredible, Lily Gladstone will be taking home that Best Actress statue next spring. Much has been said about the very long runtime (3 hours, 25 minutes), but the pacing is so good that it managed to keep this attention-deficit diva fully engaged the entire time. It is a beautiful film and an important story, so go see it.
The first edition that I got for a steal: To preface this story, let me tell you that Eve Babitz is my favorite writer. I am obsessed with her, and so I decided that I would like to collect the first editions of her work. The problem is that they happen to be very expensive and hard to find. Cut to 2 weeks ago. I was on Etsy when I happened upon a listing for a hardcover copy of Black Swans for the low, low price of $28. The listing didn’t say anything about the edition but I thought it might be a first since it was a hardcover. I decided for that price, I would just order it and see because the average price for a first edition of that book is about $300. So you can imagine how thrilled I am to announce that I am the proud new owner of a first-edition copy of Black Swans.
If you can’t brag on your own substack, where can you? Fran Lebowitz’s press blitz: Fran had a speaking engagement in Brooklyn last weekend, meaning she did a ton of interviews to promote it. Once I read a couple of them, I couldn’t stop. She is everything to me, and I would listen to her complain about anything. As a gift, I have painstakingly pulled some of the most inspirational quotes from these interviews to share with you here. You’re welcome.
Cher on the cover of Paper: What better way to make a comeback than with the comeback queen? Our nation’s best minds are at work over at Paper. This is genius. I will be discussing the new Christmas album next week once Halloween is over and I can dedicate more time to the Christmas spirit. It is out though, so you should all go add it to your festive playlists.
Nightmare casting: This is a little game I can’t stop playing in my head. It is similar to dream casting, but the opposite. So you think of the worst possible celebrity to play a role. I like to do it with potential celebrity stunt casting for musicals because there are frequently very wacky casting choices made there. Example: Taylor Swift as Miss Hannigan. Terrible. It’s a fun game! Play with your friends! Use it if you get stuck talking to someone weird at a Halloween party!
Tip: The easiest way is to pick something old and then recast it. A great one to use this weekend is Rocky Horror. The options for bad casting with that are endless!
Business or Pleasure: Romance books are so hit-or-miss for me, and a lot of them are misses. I can find the tropey quality of them to be repetitive or boring, and the characters can often be badly written. I don’t pick them up as much as I used to, but sometimes I just want a fun and quick read.
I am happy to report that I really enjoyed Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon. The characters felt like real people with real chemistry, and I had a fun time reading it. If you are into the Emily Henry-style romances, I would suggest this one.
Priscilla x Half Magic: The A24 merchandising team does it again. This is genius.
Priscilla’s makeup is instantly recognizable, and it plays a big part in the story the film is telling of her relationship with Elvis. Half Magic is the makeup brand created by Euphoria’s makeup artist, so this is a real A24 family collaboration. If I was better at makeup, I would try to recreate her look because I think it is so glamorous. I’m curious to see if Priscilla being in the zeitgeist adds to the slowly growing pushback on the clean-girl makeup trend.
Side note: if you are looking for a unique gift for someone, the A24 shop has very cool stuff.
Maggie Smith for Loewe: Almost every fashion-adjacent person that I follow has reposted this. I don’t have much to say other than it’s iconic and I love it.
A Halloween message: #freeliza
That’s it for this week! Please comment some fantastically terrible casting choices below. I suspect that you divas can come up with some great ones, and I would love to hear them. I know all of you will serve in your Halloween looks, because if you are cool enough to read this then you obviously have the taste and references required for a slay. Tune back in next week for more beans! Okay bye, diva!!