Nymphet Alumni

Ho ho ho!! We Three Queens arrive to you with our hearts full of cheer and our sleigh stocked with the greatest gift of all … knowledge!! In our very first Christmas special, we discuss the visual language of the holiday season, from the scourge of minimalist Christmas decor to the history of department store spectacles. Joined by ghosts of Christmas Past, including the original Coca-Cola-sanctioned Santa Claus, Thomas Kinkade, and Jack Skellington, we also make our predictions for theoretical Christmas aesthetics to come.Image boardKim Kardashian’s Minimalist Christmas DecorMinimalist Nativity SetsThomas Kinkade’s Christmas ArtJoan Didion on Thomas KinkadeA History of the Department Store – BBCHistory of Christmas CatalogsSanta’s New York Roots – NYPLChristmas Drawings for the Human Race (1890) – Thomas NastHaddon Sundblom and the Coca-Cola SantasWhy Hollywood films, Christmas music and jazz are so intertwined – Jazz FMBrenda Lee’s Comeback – New York TimesVogue’s Christmas Archive This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

This week, we snap into our intellectual spring-lock suits and analyze the phenomenon of creepycore internet media, discussing digital horrors that have us shaking in our boots. Tune in to hear how FNAF falls into the tradition of Victorian storytelling, what creepypastas tell us about the participation gap, how iceberg-style consumption has changed the media landscape, and more!Links:“The Troubles of the Automaton” by Clementine BlackThe Participation GapCreepypasta Wiki The Laws of Lorecore by Shumar BasarKid’s Stuff in Contemporary HorrorThe Uncanny Valley by Marisho MoriPerpetual Mismatch TheoryConfigural Processing TheoryUncanny Valley Makeup TrendSerbian Dancing Lady TrendOpposite Features Makeup TikTok This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

In this episode, we expand on the edgy, high-octane aesthetic of the Harley Davidson Harlot. From the checkerboard-and-flames motif of the 2010s to the 2020 revival of Diesel under Glenn Martens to Kylie Jenner's new clothing venture Khy, we chronicle fashion's obsession with all things moto-inspired ... and evaluate the dystopian implications of this petrochemical path. On this journey, we encounter Che Guevera and Julia Fox, uniform fetishism, the BP oil spill, Global South cyberpunk, and much more.Links:Image boardKhy by Kylie JennerBetsy Johnson's Khy callout postsMotorbike culture in the Global South: Vietnam, Brazil, KenyaThe Importance of the African Motorcycle in ArtKim Kardashian in Chrome HeartsHow Glenn Martens Saved Diesel from its Midlife CrisisDiesel's Daily African print campaign (2001)An Incomplete History of the Akira Bike SlideApple's Mother Nature report starring Octavia SpencerAzealia Banks' Yeezy Modular Survival KitPrix Workshop This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

In the second installment of this two-part episode special, we set about the path of high cotton heaven, tracing the waves of country influence upon the modern. We discuss Bella Hadid’s rough-handed cow-beau, Gram Parson’s trustafarian tragedy, the poetics of agricultural science, Lucchesse’s Sufjan Stephens moment, and more! Plus: we expand our red-dirt horizons with the help of two world-renowned country music experts, Kevin Fontenot and Caroline Gnangy, wrapping up the episode with a special dispatch from the Texas Overture HQ.Listen to our playlist here <3Extended interview with Kevin and Caroline is available on our Patreon <3Image BoardLinks:Texas OvertureCaroline Gnagy’s WebsiteGoin’ Hillbilly Nuts: Fashion Culture and Visual Style in Country Music by Caroline Gnagy (are.na link)Louisianna Women by Kevin FontenotAccordions, Fiddles, Two Step & Swing: A Cajun Music Reader by Kevin FontenotDon’t Get Above Your Raisin’ by Bill C. MaloneHow the West Was Worn by Holly George WarrenThe Mind of the South by WJ CashThe Battle for the Heart of the Great American Nudie Suit | GQFFA Tik TokPoor Little Rich Boy - Chicago ReaderJody Rosen on the Rise of Bro Country This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

In this week's episode, we ring in the upcoming Thanksgiving season and its assorted fashion implications, from the domestic humiliation of living room glam to the mercantile hysteria of Black Friday shopping. Does the donning of brown leather subliminally evoke the turkey and/or football? How does Thanksgiving day become a social minefield of gendered and generational tensions? We also reflect on the visual monoculture of Thanksgiving Americana— Charlie Brown, Norman Rockwell, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade— and the genealogy of the boot known as the "Pilgrim Stepper." Links:Image boardThe Pilgrim Stepper memeIconic Macy's Thansgiving Parade momentsMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade wiki Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamationEli Roth's Thanksgiving trailer (2023)Eli Roth's fake Thanksgiving trailer (2017) Pilgrim style on the runway – VogueFind exclusive episodes here <3 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

In this episode, we celebrate one of the great and glamorous muses of the early 21st century: the Shoe Diva! We discuss the importance of being 40, the ineffable poetry of Hallmark greeting cards, the death of suburban representation, and the boozy decadence of American motherhood. We conclude that you should never resist the urge to put cucumbers on your eyes, make the crosswalk your runway with ten shopping bags in arm, "ACK!" like Cathy, and have "a naughty little treat" etc.Image BoardLinks:Shoe Diva, Aesthetics Wiki“The Cheeky ‘Wine Mom’ Trope Isn’t Just Dumb. It’s Dangerous”, Washington Post Sass Gallery by Alece BirnbachCathy by Cathy GuisewiteShoe Diva Aesthetic Facebook PageJames Cerne’s Brilliant Ode to Shoe DivasEnter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman by Brooke HauserChick LitCari.Institute This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

In this very special episode, we meet the doyenne of fashion podcasting, the honorable Avery Trufelman, and discuss the rise of fashion history and analysis as content. We talk about brands as journalistic outlets, World's Fair modernism, the abundance mentality of the Internet, the slutty librarian look, and more!Articles of Interest by Avery TruflemanTerry Nguyen on "thought-fluencing" for VoxThe Meaning of Ryanair – Dublin Review of BooksGem.AppVictorian Hair JewelryLouis Armstrong House Virtual ExhibitOn Photography by Susan SontagThe Fashion System by Rolan BarthesEvery Company is a Media Company by Tom ForemskiSpecial thanks to Max @windy.500 for producing this episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

This week, we discuss the great mascot of modernism and one of our personal favorite archetypes: the dandy. We reflect on dandy theory from Baudelaire to Baudrillard and investigate the roots of dandyism as a reaction to “the great masculine renunciation” of the Age of Revolutions. We mourn tragic dandies past and honor their self-sacrifices at the altar of decadence, and we speculate on 21st century dandyism and its expressions online— and Sam shares her michelada recipe!Links:The Dandy, from The Painter of Modern Life by Charles BaudelaireIn Praise of Cosmetics, from The Painter of Modern Life by Charles BaudelaireSimulacra and Simulations by Jean BaudrillardThe Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt by Albert CamusBeau Brummel and English Dandymania – National GeographicGreat Moments in Dandyism – The CutParis Fashion: A Cultural History by Valerie SteeleDandyism and women’s fashion in the 1980s – The GuardianEdward Preble on Tik TokEthan Wong on InstagramMexican street corn devilled eggs Instagram recipe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

This week, we’re bopping our heads through the last weeks of summer— to the tune of Eurodance! We reflect on the high BPM European dance music that soundtracked the ‘90s and 2000s, from hits like “Barbie Girl” and “I’m Blue” to CGI-characters-turned-chart-toppers like Gummibär and Crazy Frog. We discuss the controversy around Sweden’s supremacy in music production, Eurodance aesthetics as a blueprint for Mass Bushwick, the Euro-exoticism of Albanian pop stars, and more.Links:Image board'Why Don't We All Go Bonkers?' – The Rise and Fall of Happy HardcoreSNAP! – Rhythm is a Dancer Albanian pop star conspiracy Twitter threadGreen Day’s Anti-Sweden billboardFlat Pack Pop: Sweden’s Music Miracle – BBC Why Backstreet Boys 'I Want It That Way' Lyrics Are so ConfusingThe Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument – Smithsonian MagazinePlanet of the Bass Official Music VideoThe Eurodance EncyclopediaFreestyle Disco Dancing Championship This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe

Following the passing of icon of effortlessness and honorary Frenchwoman Jane Birkin, we examine the mythology of the French girl — from the culture of chic aphorisms that surround her (Don’t be afraid of aging! Wear a black bra under your white blouse!), her philosophy as a form of IDGAF-ism, and how the most beloved representatives of French style aren't even French at all. Plús, we discuss Franco-American relations, the French girl digital media microeconomy, the subtle art of the basket bag and... le goûter!!Links:Image boardHow to be Parisian Wherever You Are (full book!)Alexa Chung's farewell to Jane BirkinSixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France But Not the FrenchBringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting (NYT review)Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization by Richard KuiselThe French Way: How France Embraced and Rejected American Values and Power by Richard KuiselJane Birkin Vogue France interview (2018) Language policy in France"Fashion Foreplay" by Holly Brubach (NYT on French dating profiles in 1995) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe