Earth angels everywhere! The monthly edit has arrived. And I feel like her ethos is… living deliciously, deliberately (find me leading by example and eating strawberries at the river.)

Below, find a very hot, very cool mix of personal favorites, rituals, fresh inspo, and recs fit for a WGWGT.*

*Weird Girl With Great Taste, that is.

• Did you know MUBI has a print-only film magazine? I just picked up NOTEBOOK ISSUE 8—an issue dedicated entirely to food and its relationship to film!!

  

  ISSUE 8 digs into what we crave on screen and off: a potluck of favorite film dishes from the likes of Eileen Myles and Wesley Morris, an essay on feral eating in feminist cinema, rare archival photo spreads, and sooo much more. I’m obsessed. Multi-sensorial, incredibly detailed, and a very special addition to any magazine collection. Snag one at mubi.com/magazine aaand get 30 days free of MUBI at mubi.com/digitalfruits <3

  

• I just moved into a new house and am in full Paige Wassel mode. I’m still hunting for the perfect couch and vintage rug combo, but have been combing for inspiration. I’ve also noticed that I’ve developed some oddly specific decor pet peeves: area rugs that are smaller than the area, MOST gallery walls, the 2020 sqiggly mirrors… I digress. Here’s a couple homes I love.

  

  

  

• In the meantime, I’ve been stocking up on fresh linens. The Brooklinen Luxe Sateen sheets are OOOH so good. The only sheets I have in multiple colorways and love year-round.

• I’ve been slowly falling in love with Soft Tension by Andrea Maack. Earthy meets weird, white floral meets kitten-y musk. Super unique, and what I’d describe as warm-weather-cozy.

• AND. Speaking of warm-weather-cozy, my favorite body wash from CYKLAR—Crescent (a near tie with Sacred Santal for me)—finally comes in perfume oil form. This will be an all-summer-long scent for me.

• When it comes to personal beauty rituals, I’ve been in a back-to-basics phase; relying on good products and 3am hair trims. Though! I feel a neon fuschia lipstick calling my name soon. May rituals include but are not limited to: scrubbing my body with two exfoliating mitts (IT MUST BE TWO!!!), Bag Balm on my feet + socks before bed, Soft Services Theraplush on my hands (I use it on my chest and neck too), and cuticle care every week that I remember.

• Outside of myself, I’ve been researching fashion films (re: Fashion films that FUCK) and, by proxy, beauty films. I fell in love with this Kristen McMenamy x M.A.C short directed by McMenamy’s then-husband Miles Aldridge. The opposite of back-to-basics, for balance.

• NYC, you have to go to Lai Rai. A Vietnamese wine + ice cream bar in the heart of Chinatown—from co-owners Jerald Head and his wife Nhung Dao of Mắm, a few doors down.

  

  Expect an incredible wine selection (so many rice wines to fall in love with) to pair with ice cream flavors you’ll never forget—banana leaf, fish sauce caramel, and Laughing Cow cheese to name a few.

• I’m in a bit of a fashion metamorphosis right now, and have been collecting any whisper of inspiration that comes my way. In a similar vein as my beauty rituals, I found myself laying the groundwork and going back to basics. Currently, I’m focused on sourcing great denim and even greater jewelry—the two blind spots in my wardrobe. I think of Anita Pallenberg, who always seemed to know exactly how many bits and baubles to throw over an outfit.

  

  

  

• On another note: Vintage activewear. Of course, yes. Always and whenever. But! I raise you this—styling vintage with contemporary fabric technology. I’ve been absolutely in love with SYS for all kinds of movement: yoga, running, Pilates, weightlifting… the leggings in particular have yet to fail me.

• This month I’ve been feeling very Barefoot Wind Dreamy Nature Princess Animal. ML Buch’s Suntub is exactly that.

• Your next weird fact to drop when conversation stalls at a dinner party: Salvador Dalí wanted to finish a couture gown by glazing it in real mayonnaise. I guess he was in a Gaga Meat Dress state of mind. For her Summer 1937 collection, Schiaparelli had Dalí draw a lobster—the iconic motif he’d been working into his art since 1934, always as a barely-veiled erotic symbol—printed it onto a white silk gown (with a crimson waistband, no less) by textile designer Sache. The lobster sits low on the skirt, tail fanning up between the legs, claws pointing down. Dalí’s one ask was to top it all off with actual mayonnaise. Schiaparelli, mercifully, said no.

  

  I’d love to see an interpolation of this gown with a kind of… dried, translucent mayonnaise finish overtop. Not actual mayonnaise, of course. Some kind of gelatinous material turned into textile. Unless…

You can find DIGITAL FRUITS on Instagram at @digital.fruits.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

Hello, hot people. Today, we’re talking about two of my favorite things: fashion and film. Except together. Let’s cut to the question on everyone’s lips…

Just when I thought I had the answer, I realized how complex the question actually was. Turns out, it’s a question with a multitude of answers, depending on who you ask.

On one hand, you have academic film-theory circles that have identified fashion films staunchly as short, mostly digital, mostly mood-driven work that typically has a relationship to fashion marketing. The kind of editorial brand films that exploded online with the launch of platforms like Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio in 2000.

On the other, pop fashion media tends to categorize the fashion film as simply a fashionable film. But it doesn’t take long for approximately a thousand more questions to arise when sitting in this space (AND, it’s worth noting here—the academic crowd tends to deliberately write off the fashionable narrative film in the discussion of what a fashion film is. But back to those one thousand questions). Is a fashionable fashion film just a film with great costume design? Or is it a film about fashion? Or! Is it a film that had an impact ON fashion?

AHHH!!!

After spending just enough time at the library tearing my hair out over this (lovingly), I think I figured out the framework that captures—and explains—all of the above.

So! Here goes my thesis:

A fashion film is a film that prioritizes fashion. Where clothes (or garment-adjacent objects, like fragrance, or jewelry) are doing real load-bearing work the film is consciously organized around.

Okay, you’re probably thinking duh. But we’re laying the groundwork with a definition here!

NOW! How does a fashion film prioritize fashion? How is a fashion film composed—and what counts? Good questions, and you’re just in time. This is the meat and potatoes.

That definition—that a fashion film is a film that prioritizes fashion—holds across two forms and a variety of functions (I’ve identified what I consider to be the key four).

The first form is narrative—the most common example being cinematic films (often feature-length, but not always) where fashion does structural work inside a story. The second form is editorial—this is where those shorter, mood-driven, clothes-as-the-character visuals live.

Random thought while writing, but I feel like fashion-prioritized music videos are a good example of something that could dip into either form. Depending on the viiiiiiibe.

Within either form, fashion can perform different functions. The four key functions I notice the most across fashion films are: world (the clothes do real world-building work for the film’s universe), character (the clothes are how the film thinks about a person), spectacle (the clothes are meant to be looked at as beautiful costumes—AKA not blending into the story), and plot (the film itself is about fashion).

So, we ask: what is a fashion film? Long story short… it’s an endless medium and a thousand things. That’s what makes it so interesting.

Below is a list of 11 films I think exemplify this fabulously. For each one I’ll note which form it takes, how the fashion functions within it, and any cool citations—AKA the ways it’s traveled out into the fashion world beyond the film itself.

In chronological order, no less!!!

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1. Annabelle’s Serpentine Dance (1895, dir. William K.L. Dickson & William Heise)

Kicking off with a little HISTORY for the girls!!! Annabelle Moore performing the Loïe Fuller-choreographed Serpentine Dance (wands attached to swaths of silk extending from her skirt, fluttered into snake-like patterns) at Thomas Edison’s Black Maria Studio. 34 seconds. The dance itself was invented by Fuller in 1891 when she experimented with lengths of silk and colored lighting; she patented it but lost the subsequent lawsuits, since non-narrative dance wasn’t protected under copyright law until 1976.

Not to mention, it’s the first hand-tinted live-action film. Meaning each print was painstakingly colored frame by frame, yellows and oranges with flashes of crimson and a striking lavender in the middle, to recreate Fuller’s stage lighting effects on screen. Moore filmed four serpentine dances for Edison between 1894 and 1897; this is the third and the only one in color. Annabelle was a star and later became one of Ziegfeld’s original Gibson Girls!

• FORM: Editorial

• FUNCTION: Spectacle

• CITATIONS: The prototypical fashion film. Cited by virtually every academic history of the form (Uhlirova, Wille, Khan) as the moment cinema first organized itself around a garment in motion. The fluid-silk-and-light aesthetic Fuller pioneered has been recurring fashion-film vocabulary ever since.

Watch it here!

2. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972, dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Fassbinder shot it in 10 days, in one room, based on his own messy obsession with a younger lover (gender-reversed for the film). Margit Carstensen plays Petra, a Bremen fashion designer ritually changing outfits and wigs while spiraling over a young model named Karin.

Costume design by Maja Lemcke. The entire wall behind Petra’s bed is a blown-up reproduction of Nicolas Poussin’s Midas and Bacchus (c.1630)—featuring naked male figures, AKA the only male presence in this otherwise all-women film.

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: Character, Spectacle

• CITATIONS: Tom Ford pulled from it for his YSL Fall 2003 show. Marc Jacobs first saw it at John Currin’s house, played it non-stop in his office while designing his Fall 2004 collection (and presented it here with Sally Singer), then carried the influence into his Louis Vuitton Fall 2004 work. Miuccia Prada drew on it for Prada Fall 2014 ready-to-wear. Ming Wong’s 2007 video reinterpretation lives in the Louis Vuitton Foundation collection.

Watch it here!

3. Mahogany (1975, dir. Berry Gordy)

Diana Ross as Tracy Chambers, an aspiring designer from Chicago who becomes Mahogany, the model the industry can’t get enough of. Motown founder Berry Gordy took over directing after Tony Richardson was fired six weeks into the shoot.

Costume design by none other than the star herself: Diana Ross! With select pieces by Bob Mackie (her collaborator since 1969). TO DIE FOR NBD!!! Ross designed roughly 50 of the costumes herself—personally supervising fabric, color, and beading—and had to fight Berry Gordy for the costume designer credit (insane but that’s for another day). Princess Irene Galitzine (a real Roman couturier, playing herself in the film) loaned her actual Spring collection for the charity fashion show scene.

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: Spectacle, Character, Plot

• CITATIONS: Zendaya wore custom all-white Louis Vuitton as direct homage to Tracy Chambers at the 2025 Met Gala (theme: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”), and called Diana Ross “the reference” while watching her walk the carpet three steps ahead.

Watch it here!

4. Eyes of Laura Mars (1978, dir. Irvin Kershner)

Faye Dunaway is a fashion photographer whose work—staged murders, gorgeous women dead-eyed in furs—starts coming true. She sees the killings through the killer’s eyes in real time. Sounds like a totally relaxing and normal thing to have happen to you!!

Costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge; in-film fashion photography by Helmut Newton and Rebecca Blake. Barbra Streisand was originally going to star (her boyfriend Jon Peters produced) but dropped out because Peters called the script “too kinky”; she still sang the theme song “Prisoner.” Also, John Carpenter wrote the original draft! Double also, in niche photographer tea… Blake publicly disputed Newton’s “Gallery Photographs” credit in 1978, claiming only two of the gallery photos were his and the rest were hers. Hmmm…

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: World, Plot, Spectacle

• CITATIONS: In direct dialogue with Newton’s White Women (1976), Guy Bourdin’s Charles Jourdan ads, and Blake’s editorial work (oddly enough, this Facebook page has the best archive of her work). The violent late-70s fashion-photography conversation, made cinema.

Watch it here!

5. Liquid Sky (1982, dir. Slava Tsukerman)

An alien lands on a downtown New York rooftop and feeds on the heroin endorphins produced during sex, killing anyone Anne Carlisle’s androgynous model-character Margaret sleeps with. Truly cuckoo bananas and unforgettable.

Costume design by Marina Levikova on a $500 wardrobe budget. Tsukerman, his cinematographer Yuri Neyman, and Levikova were all Soviet émigrés; Levikova’s DIY skills came from growing up exiled with her family in a prison camp near the Arctic Circle. She made the costumes herself, sourcing fabric scraps downtown and deconstructing thrift pieces with gaffer tape, sometimes on the actor. This diva!!! A Goodwill thrift flip hates to see her coming. The film grossed $1.7 million on a $500,000 production budget and stayed on Variety’s top-grossing chart for over six months.

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: World, Character, Spectacle

• CITATIONS: Levikova’s work on the film led to production design and costume gigs for David Bowie and Nile Rodgers and illustration jobs for Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. Liquid Sky’s visual DNA runs through the electroclash club scene that emerged in Brooklyn, Berlin, Paris, and London in the early 2000s, and is widely cited as a touchstone for artists working in the avant-pop/glam-experimental register from Lady Gaga to Karen O.

Watch it here!

6. Party Girl (1995, dir. Daisy von Scherler Mayer)

Parker Posey as Mary, a downtown New York club kid who gets arrested at an illegal party, takes a job as a library clerk to pay back bail, and unexpectedly falls in love with the Dewey Decimal System. And yes, Mary is on my rob list.

Costume design by Michael Clancy, assisted by Vicki Farrell. Made for $150,000, shot in 19 days, and the first feature ever to premiere on the internet (a 1995 black-and-white CU-SeeMe transmission). The wardrobe was assembled the way Mary herself would have: borrowed Jean Paul Gaultier from friends, a red tweed Chanel jacket from Vogue editor Hamish Bowles, Todd Oldham rhinestone hot shorts on loan for exactly one day, pieces from Posey’s own closet. Clancy came up working at the nightclub Area before becoming a costume designer.

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: Character, World, Spectacle

• CITATIONS: The film's library setting and Mary's prim-meets-club aesthetic have inspired the broader "fashion librarian" moment. Sandy Liang, Coach, and Celine have all staged collections in libraries in recent years; brands like Miu Miu have been working the librarian-chic archetype onto the runway too. Not to mention, Party Girl cemented Parker Posey as a certified WGWGT,* and the Posey renaissance (thank you, White Lotus) has been fully underway, with Coveteur, Dazed, W, InStyle all running style retrospectives in 2025.

*Weird Girl With Great Taste, that is.

Watch it here!

7. The Fifth Element (1997, dir. Luc Besson)

A 23rd-century cab driver (Bruce Willis) accidentally rescues a bio-engineered supreme being (Milla Jovovich) and gets pulled into saving the universe.

Costume design by theeee Jean Paul Gaultier. The film is practically a JPG collection in itself. Besson started developing the film at 16 and recruited Gaultier (both at the height of their ambitions) to design every costume. Gaultier made over 1,000 of them, including every alien extra and the 23rd-century McDonald’s uniforms. The bandage costume Leeloo wears in her first scene was Milla Jovovich’s own suggestion, inspired by hospital gowns.

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: World, Character, Spectacle

• CITATIONS: Alexander McQueen Spring 1998 pulled directly from the bandage look. Jeremy Scott’s 2018 Moschino collection borrowed from nearly every facet of the film’s costuming; his 2014 McDonald’s collection (worn by Katy Perry to a press conference) was essentially a tribute to Gaultier’s 30-second uniform design.

Watch it here!

8. Belly (1998, dir. Hype Williams)

Hype Williams’s first and only feature: Nas and DMX as two friends pulling away from each other in the late-90s NYC drug trade. Critically panned for plot, universally revered for aesthetic.

Costume design by June Ambrose. Ambrose was already the most influential stylist in late-90s hip-hop when Belly happened. She’d done Missy Elliott’s inflatable patent leather suit in “The Rain,” Diddy and Mase’s shiny suits in “Mo Money Mo Problems,” and Busta Rhymes’s kaftan in “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.” She’s credited with bringing Evisu denim to the U.S.

• FORM: Narrative

• FUNCTION: World, Character, Spectacle

• CITATIONS: Off-White (and, by proxy, Yeezy 🙄) have both pulled heavily from Belly’s military-meets-luxury palette. The opening robbery sequence (ultraviolet-lit, slow-motion, set to an a cappella version of Soul II Soul’s “Back to Life”) was reciprocated fifteen years later by Harmony Korine in Spring Breakers (2013), whose climactic blacklit heist directly mirrors it. A back-and-forth set up by Belly itself, which includes a scene of Korine’s 1997 debut Gummo playing on a character’s TV.

Watch it here!

9. Reel Sexy (2012, dir. Miles Aldridge)

A short film for MAC Cosmetics starring Kristen McMenamy (easily in the WGWGT Hall of Fame) as a supermodel-cosmetics-muse riding an emotional rollercoaster through Technicolor hues of acid pink, green, and orange. McMenamy, known for her unconventional and always cutting-edge glamour, was also Aldridge’s wife at the time and his recurring muse. Unfortunately, he cheated and lost a baddie!!!

Aldridge’s aesthetic (technicolor dream-worlds, glamorous girlypops in states of dramatic contemplation, ultra-cinematic staging) explicitly draws from David Lynch and Federico Fellini. Of course, he couldn’t do it without the aforementioned glamorous girlypops. His commercial work spans MAC, Longchamp, Sergio Rossi, and Carolina Herrera; his editorial work has appeared in American and Italian Vogue, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.

• FORM: Editorial

• FUNCTION: Spectacle, Character

• CITATIONS: Aldridge’s work lives in the National Portrait Gallery, the V&A, and the International Center of Photography. The McMenamy/Aldridge artistic partnership produced some of the most-cited fashion images of the 2010s before their 2013 divorce.

Watch it here!

10. Stranger Than Paradise (2013, dir. Tim Walker)

Tim Walker’s surrealist fashion film for W Magazine‘s May 2013 issue, shot at Las Pozas (the surrealist sculpture garden built by British poet and art patron Edward James in the rainforest of Xilitla, Mexico) with Tilda Swinton at its center. The shoot referenced Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, Remedios Varo, and Leonora Carrington (who actually visited Las Pozas and painted a mural there).

The third in a long-running Walker/Swinton/Jacob K (stylist)/Jerry Stafford (art director) collaboration, following “Planet Tilda” (Iceland, August 2011). Featured pieces from Céline, Haider Ackermann, Ann Demeulemeester (mother), Rick Owens, Louis Vuitton, Mary Katrantzou, Rochas, and Balmain. According to the academic crowd, this joint represents the parametric mode of fashion film in its purest form.

• FORM: Editorial

• FUNCTION: Spectacle, World

• CITATIONS: Walker’s moving-image work was featured in the touring Vogue Like a Painting exhibition (2015–18) as the only photographer-filmmaker showing both still and moving images. He is widely considered the contemporary fashion-film auteur most-discussed in academic writing on the form alongside Nick Knight, the figure who represents fashion film as serious art in dialogue with cinema history.

Watch it here!

11. De Djess (2015, dir. Alice Rohrwacher)

A 10-minute short, the 9th film in the Miu Miu Women’s Tales series. Rohrwacher (fresh off the 2014 Cannes Grand Prix for The Wonders) was approached during Venice Film Festival 2014 while serving on the jury at the Hotel Excelsior. Miuccia Prada read the script that same evening and called Rohrwacher the next day to greenlight it. They shot at the Excelsior in January 2015, reopening the off-season hotel for the production.

The dress is the protagonist. Rohrwacher told Miu Miu: “I felt it was right to give the lead role to a dress, and put myself inside.” Fab. The film centers on Dress 328, a crystal-beaded piece from the Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2015 collection, which falls for a waitress (Yanet Mojica) at the expense of a celebrated actress (Alba Rohrwacher, the director’s sister). Cinematography by Hélène Louvart (Rohrwacher’s regular DP). The dialogue is in an entirely made-up language (okay, Simlish!).

• FORM: Editorial

• FUNCTION: Spectacle, Character, World

• CITATIONS: Rohrwacher designed her own dress for the film. Prada manufactured it and incorporated it into that Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2015 show the following year. A fashion film commission that loops back into the actual collection.

Watch it here!

Your homework is to pick a film from the list you haven’t seen before, and style an outfit straight from your closet afterwards with inspo from the film in mind. Which one are you digging into first?

You can find DIGITAL FRUITS on Instagram at @digital.fruits.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

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I generally don’t fuck with sweating. But! Sometimes it’s worth it.

You know why? Because the more time I spend online, the more I feel like the answer to a beautiful life is ruthless, sexy ambition. Not only working hard, but doing it every day. On repeat. And making it look pristine. Robotic. Am I crazy for feeling like every day is supposed to look identical now? Like the variation that makes us hot and human is a failure? I mean, we almost exclusively consume self-optimization content for dinner. Videos, essays, and moodboards that make us feel like if we don’t perfectly execute our goals—the steps, the meal prep, the romantic ambition—we won’t earn the right to live.

But your dream life doesn’t live on the other side of a perfectly executed goal. Mostly, you’ll just find more goals to perfectly execute. WHICH IS FINE BY THE WAY! Executing goals and having ambition can be an incredibly potent ingredient in building a delicious life. As long as you don’t let it swallow your humanness.

To care for a strawberry plant, to eat pasta, to meet new friends, to dance, to take your shoes off on the hot pavement, to take a basket-weaving class, to try gymnastics again, to get muddy. These don’t live on the other side of ambition. They live alongside it. Death to the concept of a finish line.

And if sweating means grass stains on my knees, rice candy on my tongue, and a whole afternoon of my own company (sans bed rotting and watching YouTube videos telling me for the 1000th time what it means to REALLY lock in), I’m in.

Here’s what I took with me to the bluffs on a day when I needed to feel human again.

xox

Book

I just started Delusions by . One of my monthly picks from BOTM. Apt timing given I am the same age she wrote this book of essays about and have the same candor about it. Soothing my spirals by reading about hers.

Chafing gel

The thing I’ve put my friends onto the most probably. Yes, it’s UNSEXY!!! WHO CARES!!! Can’t go a summer without it. Literally put it everywhere.

Earbuds

My wired ones so I can still hear the birds chirping (can’t with over-the-ear).

Electrolytes

Not an everyone thing, but definitely a me thing. If I’m out of packets, I make my own with some salt and lime.

Hand cream

WITH a glass nail file. Something about caring deeply for my hands calms my brain down. Not to mention, they may be one of the most storied parts of our bodies. Showing them reverence and paying attention to the little details is something I am trying to slow down enough to remember. Currently, squeezing this little tube.

Journal

To either spend hours writing in, or to performatively lay next to me on my blanket. Only time will tell.

Juggling balls

You’ve seen hacky sack at the park, but have you seen girl who’s trying to dementia-proof her brain by learning how to juggle?

Lipstick

For eyeshadow, blush, bronzer, and lip purposes. If I’d put it on for a date with my lover, I’d put it on for a date with me, myself, and the grass too.

Glitter gel pen

A reason to journal. Or doodle—with your eyes half-blinded by the sun (re: below).

Rainbow blanket

I thrifted her at a vintage shop in Portland during my 2010s psych revival phase.

Tiny pink bunny

I went to Jade Rabbit for oolong tea and bao recently and was loudly complaining about some nuts personal lore. The girl working chimed in and we ended up bonding about incredibly similar life experiences—laughing through the pain. Before I left, she snuck me a tiny little rabbit. I named her Lucky Neon Cogan.

Matchsticks

I don’t know why these are in my bag. I probably don’t need them at the park. But if someone asks for a light, I can whip out my matchsticks. I’ll probably light a candle with them later at home.

Perfume sample

Choux Choux by Liis makes me feel like an angel.

Rice candy

Yum. Eating the rice paper that looks like plastic scratches an itch every time.

Magazine

It’s very important that I not only maintain an insane magazine archive, but also flip through it religiously. Meditating on the way we thought about the world in this August 2010 edition of NYLON. PS: I <3 Drew.

Purple nail polish

Painting my nails outside. Is this a crime? It’s so much better than suffocating from polish fumes in my bathroom. My toes are currently plum.

Sunflower butter

Everyone was way too mean to sunflowers when we decided seed oils were unequivocally bad. But sunflower butter is good for you!!! It’s like if peanut butter was better than peanut butter. I eat it with dates and rice cakes and salad rolls.

Sunscreen

I don’t play. Actually, sometimes I do play. But I am trying to be better about it.

Oyster shell

For good luck.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

Hi guys! 🍌 I haven’t done one of these in a YEAR which is crazy. But the rumors that I just spread are true. The spring reader survey is here. Would mean the world to me if you filled it out.

Mostly, I am nosy about you and the things you like (tell me everything), but also, your feedback will massively help shape the year ahead for DF.

Most questions are silly-haha-fun and most are optional as well. So just fill out what you feel like!

Start Survey

Can’t wait to hear from you. LYSM.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

Subscribe now

It hit me while I was adding Built Puff Bars to my TikTok Shop cart (strawberry flavor, duh). How do I even know what my own voice sounds like anymore if I constantly have someone else’s in my ear? A wellness podcast about peptides here, a YouTube video about Girls Trying Each Other’s Girl Dinners there. God, when was the last time my form of entertainment was at LEAST an archeology documentary? I digress.

My point is! Reaching for someone else’s opinion when you’re feeling lost or in the messy middle isn’t always the answer. Actually, nine times out of ten, it’s not. Even when it feels like it. The good news?

Laura L. Rubin has something different in mind.

Take the DIGITAL FRUITS reader survey 👀

Laura is the founder of AllSwell Creative and the author of The Big Unlock, a book about journaling your way back to yourself and your innate creativity. Not journaling for aesthetic—and definitely not journaling as another thing to optimize your 5-9 after your 9-5—but rather journaling as a way to turn your own volume all the way back up. A channel for self-devotion.

So, whether you're an Artist's Way Girl™ or haven't cracked open a journal since the first COVID lockdown, this conversation is going to make you want to start.

Laura L. Rubin is the founder of AllSwell Creative and the author of The Big Unlock: Liberate Your Creativity Through Mindful Journaling (Simon & Schuster, March 31, 2026). Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue, and Forbes.

Where are you right now?

I’m on the Hampton Jitney, on my way from Sag Harbor (where I’m based) to NYC for my first in-person book launch event. Exciting stuff.

Your book opens with “the guru is you,” a sharp counterpoint to the optimization culture that treats us all like broken fixer-uppers. For the person reading this who feels crushed by that pressure, what does it actually look like to start listening inward instead?

We currently have access to so much health and wellness information, it can be pretty overwhelming. I’m an expert in the area and even I have expert fatigue! It’s advice overload. “The guru is you” is an invitation to interrupt that pattern.

One of the things I appreciate most about journaling versus many other wellness modalities is that the answers are sourced within. I lead people to the page, help them get the most out of the experience, but ultimately, the wisdom they meet there is their own.

In The Big Unlock, I talk about how we’ve been conditioned to believe that the answers are somewhere outside of us—whether another expert, system, or hack. Qualified instruction is great, but don’t underestimate the power of listening inward with a question for five minutes without asking ChatGPT about it.

And journaling means you aren’t optimizing your answer for any eternal viewer or reader. No judgments or likes, so you’re able to reclaim your own signal. Over time, that signal gets stronger. At first, it can feel quiet, even unfamiliar. That doesn’t mean it’s not there.

A lot of people have had their creativity trained out of them, or experienced what I’d call a creative heartbreak that made them stop believing it was ever theirs to begin with. What do you say to someone who’s given up on the idea that they’re a creative person at all?

I would say: that belief didn’t originate with you. At some point, something happened—a moment, a comment, a system—that made you decide it wasn’t yours to claim. That’s the creative heartbreak.

Every single one of us is inherently a creative person. (I’m not suggesting we’re all artists. I actually believe that’s a different animal.) In the book, I talk about creativity not as talent, but as a natural human function. It’s how we process, how we imagine, how we problem-solve. You don’t have to earn it back. You just have to connect with conditions where it feels safe to let it re-emerge.

And often, that starts privately. Without an audience. No performance. Just you and a page.

You describe something called “The Vacuum,” the disorienting no-man’s-land between leaving something behind and arriving somewhere new. As someone who’s built a career out of pivoting, what keeps you from retreating to your comfort zone?

The Vacuum is deeply uncomfortable because it lacks definition or shape. There’s no clear identity or outcome (yet). It can feel like you’re speaking to an empty auditorium or publishing into a void. It’s too easy to label this space as a failed mission, but that’s often premature. Our instinct is often to abandon ship, rush out of it back to safer, more familiar territory.

I’ve learned that if I prematurely grab onto something just to feel certain again, I often miss out on what was emerging. Journaling helps slow down, let things take the time they take, and park my personal discomfort. By spending time with The Vacuum on the page, it often becomes clear that it’s not a void at all, just part of the gestational process.

Your journaling practice started as something deeply personal and then became your life’s work. There’s a tension a lot of creatives know well: between the private practice that’s just yours, and the work that becomes public. How do you navigate that and protect what needs to stay yours?

There’s a strong current bias towards oversharing. And while I think that vulnerability in my work is important, doing it for the sake of “engagement” robs us all of something precious.

I’m very protective of my private practice. Not everything needs to become content or result in teachable output. Some parts of the work are just for me, and they need to stay that way in order to remain honest.

What gets you to the page on an imperfect day—short on time, not feeling it, resistant?

To be fair, I don’t see journaling as a task on my to-do list. It’s just part of my operating system at this point. I recognize that’s not typical for everyone, though. So, for someone really tight on time or a hesitant newbie, I suggest they try out my 4 x 4 x 4 “microdose” method. Lower the bar! Try to journal for four minutes at a time, not even five. Don’t aim to do it every day; shoot for only four days a week. And try to stick with it for four consecutive weeks. Now, it’s not Whole30. If you fall off the wagon, you don’t have to start over. Just bring your attention back to the practice and keep going.

If you’re completely uninspired, stymied, and don’t know what to write about, or you’re frustrated by the process, write about that. It can often be a rich vein to tap. But commit to the full four minutes, and it’s really interesting to see what starts to show up. Often, the very things that frustrated us about the process are actually blocks that, once named, dissolve. And more creative freedom is the reward.

You’ve been self-employed for over twenty years, pivoted more than once, and built something that didn’t exist before. What’s the one thing you know now about building an unconventional path that you couldn’t have known at the start?

Just because you’re early doesn’t mean you’re wrong. If you believe in something, and you just know in your bones that this thing has value, see it through.

Also, you can have a dream, achieve and enjoy that dream, and be ready for a new dream. Stasis isn’t our natural state. As you grow and change, so too can your goals.

For someone reading this right now who’s in the middle of a transition—not sure what’s next, processing the messy middle, maybe a little scared—what’s the one journal prompt, mantra, or takeaway from the book you’d hand them first?

Self-worth is the bedrock of all good decision-making. Rather than looking outside yourself for clues and value, come back to a simple practice that grounds you in dignity. Write down at least ten things you like about yourself. For bonus points, go to twenty. The harder this is, the more important it is for you to do regularly. If you’re really stymied, think about what someone who loves you might say about you.

We all have a mental bias toward emphasizing criticism, so we need to conscientiously stockpile that inner monologue with good stuff. A consistent self-worth practice means that, despite not currently knowing what the next steps might be, you will take them from a place of wholeness. ◆

Find Laura on Substack and Instagram at @lauralrubin. You can also keep up with her creative collective AllSwell on Instagram at @allswellcreative.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

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I’ve had an appetite for a recurring monthly edit of sorts on DIGITAL FRUITS. This is her.

I knew I wanted to have a home on DF to share what albums I’m spinning and perfumes I’m spraying, but I had ✨PAUSE✨ around what I wanted that home look like. If I was getting a little burnt out on recommendation culture, you probably have been too (but I mean…. not that I’ll ever truly give it up though. Quite frankly, I NEED to know What’s In Your Bag).

Ultimately, one thing stuck out: we’re all deeply uninspired. The curators are curating the same things, and we’re losing our research muscle. So I wanted to make an effort to share something beyond just product recs.

Enter: the monthly Brain Fruits edit. Weeee! Consider it your monthly Pinterest digest but curated by an Emma instead of an algorithm. Chock full of interesting discoveries and things that keep me feeling alive.

LET’S JUICE SOME BRAIN FRUITS!!!

1. Priscus by Serviette. Tart, plum wine. Been working my way through this discovery set and falling in love. Byronic Hero is another rosey oud fave, especially adored when paired with an incense-vanilla oil.

2. Daddy by Universal Flowering. Hot sauna wood. Quite possibly in my top five favorite fragrances of all time. I find a way to wear this every season. Easily my most-worn UF scent.

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1. Neon mania meets ‘90s London clubbing at Christopher Kane S/S 2007. Some of my favorite color palettes to date.

2. To never forget (and to look ahead to…): the Chloé Susanna boot. I’m partial to the Topshop knockoffs that came with me to every music festival I went to in the 2010s.

3. Alyssa Mosley’s sporty edgy girl OOTD inspo. Patiently awaiting her fashion-focused activewear line to drop this spring!

4. Rachel Ojuromi and stylist Debby Fasingha have incredible style and taste.

1. My best friend knows me too well: I’ve been nosedeep in the copy of Viscose Journal’s issue n°7 that she picked up for me—dissecting the intimate, cultural, and historical ties between fashion and fragrance. Hot.

2. Weird girls with great taste… I have good news for you: Book of the Month has a new club-within-the-club, just for us. Meet The Offset! A collection curated for those who are seeking something a little off-kilter, or even challenging, over mainstream in their litfic.

   1. I recently started digging into April’s The Offset pick: What Am I, A Deer? by Polly Barton—the debut novel from the British author and Japanese translator. So far, it’s incredibly cerebral and raw. A stream-of-consciousness style of writing from the POV of an unnamed woman who develops an all-consuming, limerance-riddled, identity-rattling crush. It’s equal parts painful, real, and refreshing. I am loving it.

Need an excuse to add more weird girl literary fiction to your shelf? Book of the Month is turning 100 this year, and new members can get their first book for just 100 cents! One month only. Snag the deal below.

Join Book of the Month

3. If you haven’t read this Harry Styles x Haruki Murakami conversation in Runner’s World, you absolutely have to. I think it’s one of the coolest pieces of authentic journalism I’ve read in a minute.

1. The 2008-does-1988 teal eyeliner epidemic. Rihanna and Seventeen Magazines everywhere had this look down pat. And I feel like we’re about to do it again: I predict more teal and also neon pastel mint in the waterline this year, if I have anything to do with it. Thank GOD.

   1. PS—Found this periwinkle eye look in my deep dive of the YouTube beauty guru archives. Love. Highly recommend watching late 2000s beauty tutorials while doing your morning yoga.

2. Studying makeup artist Way Bandy’s Designing Your Face: An Illustrated Guide To Using Cosmetics (1977). Painter of many a face across the 70s and 80s especially—Diana Ross, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Taylor, and more. Bandy is one of the first iconic makeup artists to release a beauty book! And, of course, king of highlighting with pure white.

3. PinkPantheress serving bare face and plaid lips (by Julian Stoller, of course). I’m reminded of lip tattoo stickers past…

4. My perfect angel friends opened up their hair salon Hedon and it is actually divalicious heaven.

1. WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA by Slayyyter, 2026

2. Erotica by Madonna, 1992

1. This live Air performance. I listen to this after dinner a lot.

2. In Waves (Deluxe) by Jamie xx, 2024

3. And of course, I made an April Fruit Girl playlist for you. New discoveries, old favorites, deep cuts, and diva hits.

1. Been addicted to making this gochujang tofu pasta. I adlib and put a ton of lime and cilantro in it. SO GOOD and surprisingly easy. Even if you hate tofu, I feel like you’d still dig this. You can’t even tell. I SWEAR!!!

2. Liza Sočan’s Stones. Is it stone? Is it cake? Well, yes!

3. Okay, this one is sooooo sexy…. Kirthanaa’s torched cloud ice cream. Definition of eye candy. Going to attempt making something like this for my housewarming party next month!

4. My neighbor has been teaching me about mid-century desserts in Southeast Asian cuisine and, specifically, THE 1950s pandan chiffon cake. You have to try it if you’re into the grassy, vanillic chewiness of pandan. Perfect for a picnic situation with friends as the weather warms up.

   1. Yes, this section is very dessert-centric. Sue me.

5. Oolong tea tastings at Jade Rabbit when I’m home in Portland. The Osmanthus tea is incredible too. So special. AND ORDER THE BUNNY BAO! It’s filled with this incredible fermented mushroom situation. I write here, think here, yearn here. Whatever’s clever.

1. In love with last year’s Blue Moon. Still! They don’t make movies like this anymore. Deserved way more buzz than it got for its Oscar nominations. In the words of Slayyyter, Richard we should Link Later.

2. Inferno, the unfinished 1960s film by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Forever on my lighting moodboards. This documentary answers questions around why production was halted and pieces together the footage we DO have.

1. Elaine Thi’s dusky self-portraits, taken on a Nintendo DS. Thinking about when I was growing up with early tech and an hour of screen time was considered too much. Yeah.

1. Dance Church classes. Something Charlotte would absolutely drag Carrie to.

2. Mornings are perfume oil and rosewater. Evenings are 10pm showers lit by pillar candles, scented by my favorite incense, and soundtracked by ambient music—lately, Hiroshi Yoshimura. If I don’t do this, I put on Calming Aquarium Videos for Probably Babies on YouTube until my nervous system calms the fuck down.

3. Been reading up on Lisa Lyon, the 80s bodybuilding icon and muse of Helmut Newton and Andy Warhol, among many. I really resonate with her philosophy around health, simplicity, art, and vitality. Been really trying to decenter the idea of thinness and RECENTER the idea of Madonna arms in my daily life.

Before I leave you, a mantra that’s been spiritually, physically, and mentally saving my ass lately: devote to yourself before you devote to discipline.

Where are you finding inspiration this fabulous early spring?

ILY TTYL!!!!

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

How are we doing, babes? Anyone else in the mood to light a pillar candle, buy 20 vintage Marc Jacobs bags on eBay, flush their phone down a toilet, and subsequently move to a different country? All of us? Right, that’s what I thought. Anyways, I’m here to report on something very important between you, me, and my scanner.

The first batch of seasonal mailers went out last month!!!

And if you didn’t already know what’s up, I wanted to tell you about FRUIT MAIL, what’s included, and how you can sign up for the sexy seasonal dispatch yourself.

Each season is a new edit with different goodies. Expect to see…

• Exclusive newsletters and zines

• Love letters from moi

• Quizzes, fill-in-the-blanks, bootleg astrologist horoscopes!

• DF collectibles

• …and more surprises! (trinkets, perfume samples, the works…)

You’ll also be the first to receive the print edition of DIGITAL FRUITS for free when it lands.

1. Become a paid subscriber! FRUIT MAIL is included in your paid subscription, plus you get other hot perks like access to the full publication archive, exclusive podcast episodes and newsletters, early access to merch (dropping soon…), and early RSVP to DF parties. Click the button below to subscribe and upgrade to a paid subscription!

Subscribe now

2. Click the link in your paid subscriber welcome email to opt in to FRUIT MAIL. You’ll see it! It should be a Google form!

3. If you are having trouble with the link or have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out—I can send it to you directly and/or troubleshoot! DM me on Substack or email me at emma@digitalfruits.net.

Sign up before May 15th if you’d like to receive spring’s FRUIT MAIL 🍌🌷

Seriously, ordering takeout and spending an entire day with my paper cutter, craft supplies, and printer writing love letters to you is the greatest gift. I look forward to it every season. And I can’t wait to send you the spring edit!!! She’s shaping up to be a cute one.

And thank you to for featuring me today! We love youuuu. Read the piece below:

Thought Enthusiast

On sexy like a long bath and a bowl of pasta, being perversely exclusive, and notes of popcorn, milk and peach.

Emma Lou Cogan is the founder of Substack bestseller DIGITAL FRUITS, a publication and creative studio for weird girls with great taste…

Read more

3 months ago · 7 likes · Thought Enthusiast

Leaving you with 3 reminders I’ve been thinking about myself.

1. Get out of your head and into your life. Your week will feel a lot lighter.

2. Fueling your ambition on proving people wrong can only work for so long.

3. Don’t lose touch with the 17-year-old you that just wanted to play and make art. She is FULL of wisdom.

ILY! Talk to you soon. And mail you soon too.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

It’s a Sunday and I’m feeling completely frozen. Which is embarrassing to admit. I keep making oolong tea thinking it’ll fix something. Mostly, it gets cold. Instead of doing something fabulous like basking in the early spring sun, I sit on my couch thinking about how instead of 10K steps, I got 7K. How instead of four newsletters last month, I wrote one. How I slept 9 hours but… woke up at 11am.

You’d think after a months-long chronic illness flare I’d have a little more compassion for myself. Like, JESUS. Instead, I’m beating myself up for what I didn’t do, instead of celebrating what I did do in spite of.

Effort is ritual, Addison Rae’s Instagram bio says. I’m feeling inspired. And also like this is a personal attack.

Can effort really be ritual if it’s fueled by the shame of not doing enough? I mean, maybe a humiliation ritual. But certainly not a ritual in service to our creativity, ambition, or juiciest dreams.

My shame showed up as fear. Which was confusing. And annoying! Because I feel deeply connected to my ambition. I am in a LOVING relationship with my creativity! But the fear—of not achieving my goals, of getting derailed by another chronic illness flare, of being out of control (OOP! The big one)—was paralyzing me from making any loving effort at all.

(Another different-but-same question came into my divalicious mind palace. Can discipline truly be reframed as devotion if the discipline is thinly veiled fear?)

Sometimes our fears get dressed up in ambition’s clothes.

That’s what my freeze was. I literally didn’t clock how the negative self-talk and shame were fueling the ambition. How the fear of what would happen if I didn’t achieve my goals—what it would say about me, or my future—was a driver behind my urgency to meet them. Frankly, the shame and fear LOOKED like discipline.

I didn’t realize that my effort wasn’t in reverence to myself and my vision, but rather, to my fears. Once I got uncomfortably real with myself about that, it was sobering. And maddening!!!

How could I feel so crystal clear on my creative projects and fitness goals and my career path and my future yet… be so far away from the sticky feelings holding me back just below the surface? So I got up, washed my hair, threw my phone across the room, ordered avocado rolls, force-fed myself the present moment, and got quiet enough to hear the lesson. Because the shame-fueled-effort-then-freeze cycle didn’t feel good anymore. And my peace liiiiterally depending on if I crossed off my whole to-do list, frankly, NEVER felt good.

HEAR ME WHEN I SAY!!! Effort is hot. Ambition is a beautiful thing. A vision you’re devoting yourself to. Very Diva. BUT you can’t devote yourself to a vision if you’re undevoted to yourself. And shaming yourself for not meeting the robotic standards you’ve set—as IF that is the only way to achieve your dreams—isn’t very I Respect And Honor Myself of you.

Anyways. This is what my post-avocado roll clarity told me: To get unstuck, I’d have to dump my all-or-nothing mindset. More specifically, trade it in for an all-or-something mindset.

I STG!!! If it wasn’t for constantly reminding myself of this lately, I’d disappear into oblivion, paralyzed by the pressure to be Everything for the rest of my LIFE.

Forward motion doesn’t have to be a straight line. It can mean doing one thing instead of nothing. Doing your one something means the effort you’re in ritual with is in reverence to YOU. In reverence to your health, your creativity, your dreams, and your ambition. And NOT your fears.

In practice, it’s a reframe. And really, just the first step.

From:

“I didn’t hit 10K steps.”

To:

“I hit 7K steps and made a little extra time to bask in the sunshine.”

One is self-abandonment. The other is self-devotion. Continously choosing this mindset is choosing your self AND your dreams (because OOPS! You can’t have one without the other).

Everyone wants to talk discipline as devotion… until the discipline as devotion looks like getting reeeeal real with yourself instead of running further away. Take the work further with questions that till the soil.

Grab a journal, make an oolong tea latte (it might not fix you, but it’ll help), and don’t forget to breathe.

1. Recognize what fears are dressed up in ambition’s clothes. Are you neglecting the self under the guise of productivity?

2. In what ways can you devote to yourself, so you can devote to your ambition? What would that feel like?

3. Do you feel like you have an all-or-nothing mindset? How does it feel when it gets in your way?

4. Are any of your health and wellness habits rooted in a desire to control yourself?

5. What would an all-or-something mindset look like today?

6. What does ambition look like when it’s fueled by self-honoring actions, not self-neglecting ones?

Whew. That felt like a hard workout. Now go sleep until 11am like the winner you are.

1. Listening to this album on repeat lately. Well, yes!

2. If this newsletter were a perfume… it would be Vyrao’s earthy, smoky godsent of a functional fragrance Magnetic 70. Ritual in a bottle. Magnetism by way of self-reverence. SEXY! I wear it when I’m angry. Or need to be.

3. Speaking of perfume (sorry, I can’t shut up)… if you’ve recently taken an interest in musks (cough CBK cough), I have been cracked out on CYKLAR’s Sex Musk. Like velvet-y kitten fur and clean, warm skin. An easy oil I loooove throwing in my bag, wearing to bed, or layering under pretty much any other fragrance.

4. Not to be dramatic, but these tights are VERY IMPORTANT to me. Expect to see me in spinoffs of this Chloë Sevingy look all spring. Thankful for the restock email I managed to actually see in time for this limited run. I see a M and L still available at the time of publishing this if you wanna match <3

5. Very excited about the guest features landing this spring on DF’s 5(S)SENSES column. Which I lovingly plan to rebrand as 5SENSEFILES. Or… something?Should we space it out like 5 SENSE FILES? 5SENSE FILES? IDK? An example of my overthinking in real time. For your pleasure.

6. One more note on stuckness—especially for my fellow writers. When your writer’s brain fails you, EVEN on that idea you love, put a pin in it and write about what’s painfully, embarrassingly real for you right now. That’s what this newsletter was for me. This newsletter was my all-or-something. It wasn’t a piece I was doing deep research or interviews. It wasn’t even on the docket! But it was something, and it was real, and it broke me out of the dreaded, aforementioned stuckness.

Okay, LOTS OF LOVE. Talk soon. I’m researching some freaky fab fashion stuff next.

Find me on Instagram and TikTok at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

Hello, hot people. I’m running on pure adrenaline, yoga, and rosewater. And I’m here to tell you why Valentine’s Day NEVER has to suck. In fact, February is the most divalicious month of the frigid winter season.

I know this because my Diva Aura increases when I’m cooped up during the late winter—spending time meditating on my closet and taking salt baths. Both of which lead to self-embodiment, glamour magic, and slow intentionality. The kind of things that are deeply important to my kind of February, and more importantly, my kind of Valentine’s Day. Lovers or not, you always have your own Diva Aura to cultivate and fall in love with.

So, in honor of making this Valentine’s the most divalicious of them all, I’ve curated a fun and fab collection of 25 gifts that I think would be perfect for you, your best friends, your lover, and even your chiropractor–organized by price point.

But first, my Divalicious Valentine’s Commandments…

Freshly squeezed from DIGITIAL FRUITS, the publication for weird girls with great taste your Valentine.

Consider becoming a paying subscriber for $6/month (less than your morning matcha) to get access to our seasonal snail mail deliveries, the creative job board, full archive of 60+ newsletters, and more.

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The hottest Diva Gifts in town. Most picks are from a small business, an independent artist, or are a secondhand find. With passion, fuck Amazon.

Expect sensorial experiences, glamour objects, fashion, homewares, scents, treats, and more.

1. Sex & The City “Single & Fabulous?” Fridge Magnet $6.50

2. Cardamom Rose Tea Concentrate $12

3. Glisten Cosmetics Spectra Lash Pink Mascara $13

4. MOB Beauty Frost Lipstick in Paradox $24

5. Kate Weiser Hand-Painted Chocolates $24

6. Brightland Pizza Oil $28

7. Fragonard X Confiture Pasrisienne Jam Gift Box $28.00

   

8. The Taste Curator Palate Palette: RED Cookbook $35

9. CYKLAR Sacred Santal Body Oil $38 (soooo good on everyone)

10. Nike Red/Pink Track Pants (L) $38.78

11. 1960s Fuchsia Rose Lucite Bangle $40

12. 1980s Red Suede Belt with Heart Buckle $46

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    Hi email readers! This newsletter is a chunky one, and she might get clipped. Here is a link to read the full piece on the web.

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13. Le Feu De L’eau Petale Candle $49.90

14. i-D Magazine (February 2008) $49.99

15. Fiorucci SS26 Cupid Heart Socks $50

    

16. Le Manso Jamón De York Ring $62

17. Lucilla Safdie Perfect Stockings $63

18. This Belongs To Cyanotype Bra $73

19. DKNY Pink Sequin Trim Mules (US 10) $78

20. Rose Atlantic by D.S. & Durga $80 (travel size!)

    

21. Merrma Hawthorne Leather Scrunchie $90

22. 2000s Sex & The City Shoe Phone $99.99 (I MEAN!!!)

23. Vintage Shag Zippo Flame-Rite Lighter $150

24. Daddy by Universal Flowering $165 (or $10 for a 2ml sample)

25. Ludeaux X Ludatrix by Vyrao $200 (a 2-for-1 on these sexy-cool-divalicious sister fragrances)

Find me on TikTok and Instagram at @emmaloucogan.

If you are an editor or brand who would like to work together, or have any other business-related inquiries, please shoot me an email at emma@digitalfruits.net

It’s 6:32am. I’m COLD but in a hot way. Feeling inspired by the first all-women ski expedition to the North Pole in 1988, wool socks, bikinis, thick face creams, frosted lipstick, hot tea, yoga, frozen grass, birds, fashion, and health.

And I’m thinking about the uncomfortably bright, spring-faking, life-giving Winter Sun.

Ever notice how much brighter, sparklier, and generally superior the Winter Sun is compared to summer’s? Maybe it’s my Pacific Northwest soul speaking, but with a hot tulsi tea in hand, there is nothing that can recharge me like a walk in the 90% cold, 10% warm, freezing sun aether. Choosing to find the glimmers in an otherwise drab season. This is living deliciously.

HEAR ME OUT. It’s the best of both worlds. A cozy merino wool layer paired with sunglasses that still smell like sunscreen. A chilled warmth on your face. This is the closest I can get to a winter hot springs trip when I’m in the city (which offers the same perfect winter juxtaposition: boiling myself in HOT mineral water from the Earth, paired with a just-right freezing wind chill right after).

And the best part doesn’t even lie exclusively in the sun-patch-filled walk of it all. It’s the pre-sun and post-chilled rituals that bring me an ungodly amount of contentment. A shimmering experience, start to finish. And today, I’m going to give you the playbook.

First of all, THE COLD ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. How does a walk, in winter weather no less, count as sunbathing? Mostly because I just decided. But also because I thrive when I live seasonally, I think we all do. And leaning into the sun’s seasonal offerings can bring us different flavors of wisdom and self-connection that we didn’t know we needed.

Basking in winter’s sunny glimmers—and doing it painfully, fabulously well—doesn’t look the same as a classic summer lounge. But IMO, can be just as scrumptious.

Summer Sun is lackadaisical, restful, indulgent, sexy, HONEYED. The younger sister. Social. River, sand, rosewater, iced americano, melted chocolate, cherries, chlorine, Maui Babe, Italy, electrolytes, Simone de Beauvoir, Samantha Jones, damp towels.

Winter Sun is reflective, hopeful, quiet, energizing, wise. Organized. The older sister. Definition of “breathe of fresh air.” Vintage activewear, soup, wool, thick creams, golden milk, hour-long phone calls, muddy Salomons, yoga, Amsterdam, rearranging your apartment, magnesium, loose-leaf tea, a podcast about PCOS.

Basically, it’s important to tap into your Winter Sun Energy to maximize your Summer Sun Slay.

My case for the Winter Sun Walk:

One, it keeps your blood moving in the cold. Maximizing warming efforts through circulation. Literally and spiritually working through any stagnation that has built up through the winter so far. Practical and reflective.

Two, it requires, or rather asks of you, to practice intentionality and stimulation of your 5 senses (though, I believe sunbathing of all seasons is a ritual of the senses when done right. Winter just wants more)—through a deliberate walking path, intentional, and of course, very cool cold weather layering, warming up the muscles with a stretch sequence, picking up a special hot beverage if you so desire, having soup when you get home… you get the idea.

And three, which was also kind of one but deserves its own moment, it offers a much-needed reprieve and energetic shift from those gunkier weather days, and encourages us to add more outdoor time to our winter nesting routines (that so easily can get clogged up with things like bedrotting and productive procrastination… just me?).

You’ve just picked a juuuuuicy apple from DIGITIAL FRUITS—the publication for weird girls with great taste.

Consider becoming a paying subscriber for $6/month (less than your morning matcha) to get access to the full archive, snail mail club, creative job board, and more.

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As much as I love the coziness of a cold, icky day, I’ve come to really appreciate the in-betweens of each season. NOT in the global warming way, because we hate that, just in the regular-amount-of-slightly-unexpected-weather way.

The muggy rain on an off-kilter summer day. A little winter sun BEAMING sparkles onto the dewy grass and frosty windshields. It’s practically YELLING at us to be hopeful, move our bodies, and bask in the tiny ounce of sunlight it offers us.

I love this shit. Nature’s novelty offering.

So, how do we fully immerse ourselves in the Winter Sun, you ask? I thought you’d never ask.

I give you the Winter Sunbathing girl bible. Grab your towels ear muffs…

01. WINTER MOVEMENT FUEL

Eat a delicious and beautiful snack or meal before your trek. VERY ethereal and sexy. And whatever it is, make sure it has CARBS! Plus protein, healthy fats, fiber… okay, I’m listing everything now. Just make it balanced for your body’s needs.

Currently enjoying 4 eggs soft-scrambled style, fresh dill, garlic, goat cheese, roasted napa cabbage, and bell peppers for breakfast every morning + my latest addiction—and this is sooo important—no-bake date cinnamon rolls.

These fuck tremendously hard. I might just beat Erewhon in a fight. I made my last batch during my luteal phase while on hold with my gyno clinic in 20 minutes time. Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free unless you want them nut-full. I like to top it with tahini and hot honey! Peep my recipe here.

I kind of want to add black sesame or matcha to the dough next?! Is that insane?

02. HOT TEAS + SUPPLEMENTS

On further fueling: I am both a Supplement Defender and Naysayer. I don’t think you need supplements, unless you do. Always get bloodwork done as a first step, and only take what you need.

Some simple supplements and teas/infusions that I love and enhance my Winter Sunning experience with:

• Cistus tea (aka rock rose or cistus incanus, SO underrated!!! Biofilm-breaking and even antiviral properties, polyphenols enhance immune response, protection from oxidative stress, a great mosquito repellent and tick repellent when dosed at 2 cups a day for at least a week ahead of exposure)

• Vitamin D (muscle & heart function, regulation of psychophysiological stress)

• Green tea (neuroprotective, particularly in regards to memory wellness, l-theanine reduces anxiety, + like cistus: polyphenols enhance immune response, protection from oxidative stress)

• Tulsi tea (sacred herb, enhances NK cell function, caffeine-free adaptogenic)

• Liposomal vitamin C (1.77x more bioavailable than non-liposomal vitamin C, can reduce the chance of developing a cold by about half if taken regularly for 2-3 weeks prior to activity)

• Jujube-ginger tea (considered a qi and blood tonic in TCM, helping combat winter fatigue and supporting vitality, digestive support, generates internal heat and circulation)

03. STRETCHING FOR WINTER GIRL WISDOM

I’ve been studying and practicing yoga since I fell in love with it around age 8 (random lore drop). I know we have BOUNDLESS access to yoga flows via the internet, but something about a YouTube video just doesn’t feel the same to me as a quieter, more intentional flow. I YEARN for the classic yoga guide books I’d steal from my mom in the 2000s. Shoutout to the Y2K joint that introduced the practice to me and changed my life as a baby yoga diva, ’s fabulous Um, Like... OM: A Girl Goddess’s Guide to Yoga.

So! To combat my digital fatigue and cultivate a more personal practice, I’ve been returning to yogic study and sequencing my own flows. Here are a few poses I like to include in my pre-walk routine that keep me feeling calm, energized, and grounded.

• It doesn’t matter the occasion, I will be sitting in Pigeon. Did this on NYE in my Norma Kamali silver dress and Thom Browne F/W 2025 inspired beat.

• Looove contorting myself into Mermaid. Also love the Pilates Mermaid move, which I’ll do in tandem with this one on my foam roller.

• Highly recommend doing Goddess with Cactus arms too, or adding it in with a breath sequence. Perfect before a Winter Sun walk, a date, a breakup, et cetera.

I’ll be sending out my full Winter Girl Wisdom yoga routine that incorporates the poses above in this month’s snail mail dispatch.

PS—this week is the last week to sign up in time for January’s snail mail dispatch (deadline extended to January 20th). Check out the about page for the deets on what you can expect and how to join our snail mail club!

04. ACHIEVING HOT WINTER SUN SKIN

There is nothing more godly than being absolutely slathered in thousands of occlusive creams and oils. THAT is Hot Winter Sun Skin. Ritualize this process. Go slow during Product Application Time. By candlelight if you want to get really glamorous.

The essentials you absolutely need:

• Exfoliation in 1-2 ways during the week (I go for scrub mitt + lactic/mandelic body scrub on the body, and mandelic acid serum on the face daily. I’m a Mandelic Whore, what can I say)

  • CYKLAR Lactic Acid Foaming Body Polish, Sasawashi Body Mitt, Sofie Pavitt Mandelic Clearing Serum

• A base moisturizing layer (something consistent, delicious, easy)

  • Prequel Barrier Therapy Rich Skin Protectant Cream (works for face and body!), CYKLAR Crescent Nutrient-Rich Body Cream (my fave CYKLAR scent next to Sacred Santal), Corpus Amalgam 5 Hand Cream

• A protective moisturizing layer (something occlusive that you smear on before you hit the outdoors, when you’re at home drying up in the heater air, or at LEAST 2x a week post shower + moisture base to restore your barrier)

  • Weleda Skin Food, ANFISA ÂN-BALM Radiant Hydra-Balm, Face Reality Hydracalm Mask, Triple Paste (looks crazy but trust me)

• Lip care (which should have sunscreen power + occlusive power)

  • Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 (go-to for a DECADE and yes I have tried All of the lip balms), iS Clinical LIProtect SPF 35

• And SUNSCREEN!!!

  • Freaks of Nature Sun Stick SPF 50 (loooove a sunscreen stick forever), Jan Marini Antioxidant Daily Face Protectant SPF 33, DUNE Sporto Spray SPF 50

05. THE WINTER SUN OUTFIT FORMULA

Finding your winter bikini equivalent is of utmost importance. Everyone’s different, but the formula I always return to is:

Merino wool base layer + vest (down) + light outer layer + breathable pants + head coverage + hand coverage + sunglasses + trail shoes

For me, this looks like my vintage Adidas snap windbreakers, Keen hypowser wrap shoes (this is the colorway I have, they are my EVERYTHING shoe. Though prob should upgrade to something else for ice and snow), fitted long sleeve, purple and teal houndstooth scarf from 2011 or puffer vest, vintage grey men’s collared trench, oval sunnies, and a wool headband. As needed I’ll add leather gloves or mittens, a fuzzy balaclava, a wool sweater, and thermal base layers depending on the temp.

I view fashion as its own modality of wellness. Engaging your senses with the colors, textures, and practicality of your signature cold weather pieces will layer on top of the energy you’re already creating by seeking out the Winter Sun.

Some extra winter wear tips:

• Dress for 10 degrees warmer than the actual temperature. Your body generates oodles of heat when walking, so if it’s 40°F, dress like it’s 50°F. You’ll warm up in 5-10 minutes.

• Prioritize merino wool as your MVP natural material. When wet, wool fibers still trap air while synthetics completely lose their insulating power, plus merino is naturally odor-resistant and regulates temperature so you won’t overheat.

Highly recommend Health Gossip’s piece Is it time to retire your HEATTECH? if you want to learn more about natural fibers for winter.

• The vest is your secret weapon for modular layering and keeping your core warm.

• Layer strategically and be ready to remove, not add. Removing your hat is the fastest way to cool down since most body heat escapes through your head, which is why starting with a headband or ear muffs gives you more control.

• Mittens beat gloves by science! They keep your fingers together so they share heat, making a difference of 10-15 degrees in perceived temperature with 25% less surface area exposed to cold air.

06. FROZEN BEAUTY RITUALS: HMU + PERFUME

On top of taking care of my Winter Sun Skin, I find a lot of calm and glamour in paying special attention to the care of my hair, sensorial choices, and even tapping into creative inspiration with icy makeup choices. My rituals and inspiration below.

• Hair: braid with your favorite oil or deep moisturizing product. Also, and this might be insane, but my best haircare trick is putting vaseline on my ends ahead of a protective hairstyle or hair mask day. I SWEAR it works so well. Found this out by accident/desperation a few years ago.

• Scent: I know there’s buzz in the wellness space about perfumes and hormone disruption (re: certain fragrance chemicals show endocrine effects in animal studies, though real-world human impacts at normal exposure levels aren’t established yet) but… perfume is my cigarette. Actually, no. Perfume is my ancient hot springs. It brings me so much transportative, unadulterated joy that it circles back to wellness no matter what for me. And yes, of course, you could simply be with nature and smell the Earth around you. But if you’re feeling frisky, dab one—or even two—on, and let it animorph your emotions. Step into the version of yourself or your world that you want to exist in.

• Makeup: When I’m feeling like I need to inject a little extra glitter into my life, I’l pair practical cold weather garmentry with less-than-practical but very fabulous makeup. Lately I’m drawn to winter makeup circa 2004. Think white and silver icy shadows. Frosted lips. Makeup can be part of your wellness routine if you let her be.

07. A PLAYLIST FROM ME TO YOU

For when the sound of birds and twigs isn’t enough. A playlist of the songs and artists I’ve been listening to lately on my winter sun walks. Curated for an hour and 20 minutes start-to-finish listen, but hop around as needed. A selection taking you through the several energies that I like to tap into during a sun sesh: calm, nostalgic, cunt, effervescent, hopeful, coming-of-age movie, and bitch.

Listen here. Play around with what energy you want to tap into.

08. CONSIDER SILENCE OR A (PSYCHO) SELF-CONVERSATION

I like my sunbathing walks in a few different flavors. Me + the sounds of nature, me + calling my mom to bitch about grocery prices, me + my playlist, or me + my voice memo app. Loooove pretending like I am on the phone but it’s a conversation with myself. Voice memo journaling has been really helpful for me! Especially when I jot down some relevant questions and journal prompts that I want to ponder while on my walk. Sometimes it’s a mixed bag, other times it’s a theme: creativity, a specific project, my anxieties, decision-making, dream-planning. You get it.

A word of warning though, if you overintellectualize your feelings (like ME!), I maybe wouldn’t do the voice memo thing EVERY walk you take. Food for thought.

Hi email readers! This newsletter is a chunky one, and she might get clipped. Here is a link to read the full piece on the web.

09. I AM A SOUP PERSON NOW

I have, at long last, become a soup girl. I never identified as one prior to this year. Except for the carrot soup recipe in my 2015 copy of How to Be A Parisian Wherever You Are. It’s not that I hated soups, it’s just why would I make a soup when I could not?

BUT THAT WAS THE OLD ME! New me is VERY pro-soup. A few favorites:

• Egg flower soup

• Lentil-carrot-potato hodge podge soup (basically any veggies I can blend with beans and potato)

• White bean miso stew

Serve the last two with deliciously crusty bread (GF, of course; celiacs unite), a good olive oil, and oodles of flaky salt. With egg flower, I usually just load it up with tofu and bok choy when I want to make it a meal! Or have it on the side with something cozy and filling, like homemade pad thai.

10. PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION

A Forever Student of getting my nervous system to calm the FUCK down. Credentials: neuralgia, dysautonomia/POTS, medical PTSD. Some other juicy things that give me character. My recommendations below.

• Herbal foot soak or mineral bath (+ foot mask and fresh wool socks)

• Pillar candles everywhere (thrift a 1000!)

• Electrolytes (if that makes sense for your body)

• Oil massage, annointing, intention setting (I like using a “May I…” affirmation instead of starting with “I am…”)

• Guided or unguided meditation (I <3 the Open app) WHILE in legs up the wall

11. ‘IT WAS REVEALED TO ME ON MY WALK’ HOLY JOURNAL SESH

Write down any musings you had while on your Winter Sunbathing Walk. No thoughts? Free-write what comes up now. You’ll be in a deliciously regulated state, warmed up in your nest. A perfect opportunity for your next genius idea or messy plan to arise.

Or maybe just jot down what puffer you’ll wear, ex you think you’ll run into, or frosted lipstick you’ll cop for your next Winter Sun Sesh.

❆⋆.ೃ࿔ Brrrrrr… You feel that digital cold breeze? That’s my cue. Time to slap on some Weleda, burn my tongue on some fresh tea, and find my fuckass sunglasses so I can go on my Winter Sun Walk and find myself next. I hope you enjoy your Winter Sunning too.

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‘Tis the season for a trip to the thrift store (or your closet from 10 years ago). Whether you have 20 dinner party invites to hit, or you’re protecting your peace and having a beautiful dinner with yourself, the ritual of getting ready for the event is the best part.

It’s alchemic, it’s play, it’s PAINTERLY!

And I hope this list of 30 perfect and hot fashion, hair, and makeup ideas will stoke those creative, girl ritual flames. Remember: you don’t have to be the most esoteric girl at the company holiday party, you already are the most esoteric girl at the company holiday party.

While sometimes I organize by category, this list is in no particular order. In hopes that the chaos itself will bring upon the rogue inspiration you need to mix and match as your heart desires.

Let’s start with feathers.

1. Feather skirts (MINI PLEASE!!!)

There really aren’t enough feathers in my wardrobe anymore… I HAVE to change that. Look for faux ostrich.

2. Neon fuchsia lipstick, circa 2008-2011

HOT FUCHSIAS!!!! BRIGHT PINKS!!!! It’s time we stray from 90s mauve, and at this point, I’m forcing the colors of joy into every muted outfit I wear. Even if just a lip. I’m painfully out of the since-discontinued lip of the time, NARS Schiap, but my go-to this season is a pretty close match.

3. Flapper headpieces and beyond

Gemstones, beadwork, drippy, drapey parts, DOILIES… MORE FEATHERS! Fuck, there are so many options. You could even do a little bonnet. All fabulous.

4. Holographic-mood-ring-oil-spill nails

You deserve to look like a Tumblr oil spill reblog this holiday season. ILNP is the mecca of holographic nail polish, IMO. They have literally hundreds. Personally a fan of the chunkier holos.

5. Bitchy T-shirts

A girl and her T-shirt can command a room in a split second. Pair with aforementioned feathery skirt for bonus points. Ultimately, I think the best ones are the ones you make from home with iron-on letters and rhinestones. But a good thrift trip never hurt anyone.

6. Pops of neon (or everything of neon)

If you’ve been here for awhile, you already know how I feel. I will recommend neon in 9/10 situations.

Even if you’re a neutrals girl, I think nothing is cooler than a pop of highlighter green or pink. Example: An earthy, beige-y cream outfit paired with neon green nail polish and oxblood lips. Or the greys and blues paired with a loud green below!

7. Biblically accurate sock buns and Tumblr buns

Sometimes, you need a fuckass bun.

And with the slickback epidemic, I think we owe ourselves some new third-day hair bun options. The sock bun can be tight, tall, messy… as long as it is huge.

8. Drummer boy jackets

For maximum diva points, wear with a glittery dress. Juxtapose your moody F/W staples with holiday camp.

9. Feather eyelashes

À la Thom Browne F/W 2025 x Isamaya Ffrench. OOOOHHHH so good.

Cunt.

10. Layered socks

You’ve seen layered belts. You’ve even seen layered bangles. Consider socks. With heels, loafers, and even boots. It’s an art form.

Socks, stockings, and tights—oh, my! (Spoiler: I will probably talk about layering again in a few seconds…)

11. Silver & taupe eyes

Dead leaves by a frosty window. The perfect post-autumn winter eye.

As someone with a neutral-ish skintone that can’t decide if it’s cool or warm, this eyeshadow look is my go-to for the same reason I mix metals in all of my jewelry.

12. Pillbox hats

If you’re seeing this… it’s your sign to become a fun hat girl.

Who cares if you have flat hair that can’t hold volume? Lie. Wear a pillbox hat.

14. Jewels and beads galore

A little bejeweled number never hurt anyone. Except when it’s kind of heavy. Think: headpieces, shawls (worn as intended or around the waist), that kind of thing.

15. Victorian glam rock blouses

Corset style or billowy, either works. Vampire meets Roxy Music. Wears best with heavy, messy makeup and maybe some leather.

16. Purple eyeshadow

Because minimalism is sexless.

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17. Chunky platforms & clogs

I love a kitten heel, it’s my go-to. But I fear we’ve lost sight of the truest diva of shoeland.

Worn best with tights and knee-highs. VERY Teen Vogue circa 2009 coded.

18. The Row-ified hair comb twists & accessory-piled hair

Elevated and a little cooky—perfect for the French twist girls. Also great if you’re genuinely so bad at hair styling like me, it’s objectively undone while looking (possibly) very done.

19. The LPD (little pink dress)

As proven in my recent piece on pink, the LPD is 99% as versatile as the LBD. We all could use a little bubblegum when it’s freezing cold outside.

20. Not-like-the-other-tights tights

Worn with clogs and lace-up booties, no less. Think tiger stripes, tartans, metallics, and weird colors (when was the last time you wore tiger orange or taxi yellow?). Personally dying for Swedish Stockings to bring back the Roxana Tiger Tights in Orange from the collection.

21. THE statement necklace

All hail Tom Binns, king of the late 2000s-early 2010s era statement necklaces—my favorite are the neon ones (or this one you can buy on Poshmark). The chunkier, the baublier, and bibbier, the better. Great with a plain white T, great with a shift dress.

Men will dissapoint you, the statement necklace will not.

22. Pool blue everything

My favorite color to wear this past year—from shirts (hi, Neverworns x Cleo Camp Tee) to nail polish, to Aquamarine hair streaks, to my favorite tin of mints (lol).

I’m determined to prove an aqua-teal situation works for winter. Despite its summer-pool-ocean code.

23. Deep glossy oxblood lips

Best worn with no foundation, IMO. Zits welcomed, it adds character!

Try this lipstick on its own (lasts FOREVER) or add a little extra gloss on top.

24. Bustle skirts

Vivenne Westwood bustle skirt forever—seen on Miss Lily and Miss Carrie.

I think this would be a fun DIY too, since these kinds of skirts are painfully hard to track down.

25. Frosty, icy Y2K faces

Y2K digi-space makeup is back (according to me). Very into icy blues over holiday reds this year.

Especially a frosty, duochrome-y lipstick or highlight.

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26. Sheer layers

Personally into sheer details with plaid or sequin or some other kind of weird adornment—ESPECIALLY SHEER MAXI SKIRTS!!!

Take your pick: stripes, polka dots, shiny, textured, the works.

27. Heavy layering

Sorry, talking about layering again. Textures, seasons, fabric weights… there’s nothing you can’t layer. does it best in her piece Your Guide to Layering T-Shirts.

28. Crimped hair

Be a winter mermaid. Get a hair crimper.

And I know it’s not The Curls or The Evil Bob, but this Hairrie Bradshaw moment is one of my favorites:

29. Fingerless or fingerless-adjacent gloves

Maybe this is a me thing. But IMO, when wearing a glitzy sequined dress, what better way to play with juxtaposition and texture than a glove that looks (and is) incredibly utiliaran and possibly rough on the untrained eye?

Or maybe try a weirder one.

30. Glitter explosion

Of COURSE glitter is on the list.

When I say I’m coming to NYE wearing glitter, I mean it. Hair glitter, eye glitter, outfit glitter, statement necklace glitter.

Or perhaps toe glitter, anyone? The toe ring of the holidays. Perfect for a peep toe OR the morning after the dinner party bender.

Weird girls with great taste: what fashion, makeup, or hair trends are you into right now? And which of these holiday ideas will you be incorporating this party season?

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The first look I’ll be pulling 1000% includes an oxblood lip and fuckass bun.

Anyways, ILY! Make a marshmallow hojicha, rejoice in the Zohran Mamdani of it all, breathe in the windy, fresh air slowly, thrift the shoes, and let yourself feel this cold weather season.

And before I go… it’s true, I know, I can’t stop talking about the intersection of fashion and wellness (exhibit A). And I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Your Fashion Wellness Tip of the newsletter finds you below:

If you liked this piece, I think you’d like these too.

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The coolest girls I know are curious about the world around them. Also, they are probably offline. AT LEAST SOMETIMES!!!

@emmaloucogancool is a feelingggg. cool is contentment in yourself and in your world. a video about what the cool girls are doing and wearing can’t teach you the art of curiosity. curiosity leads to genuine interest in your world and yourself. aka feeling cool to u

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Watch enough Things I Find Chic TikToks and you’ll feel like you need freshly microneedled skin, a Chloé Paddington, and a hyperfixation on bangles (guilty) to be and feel cool. But the thing is, and apologies for the amount of times I say cool in this piece, performed cool isn’t authentic cool. And I mean, okay, duh. But I think we’ve lost sight of what makes up coolness, and what we’re really pursuing in the first place.

Read: you could own 1000 pairs of Tabis and never feel like yourself, because you were looking for her in other people’s digital worlds.

What do we imprint onto images of people, places, and things we perceive as cool? Probably a mixture of mystery, intrigue, a sense of self. An embodied sense of contentment. Individuality that feels holy. The cool as fuck kind of magnetism that comes from living life, curious enough to become storied. And I think we crave all of that for ourselves. So, we mimic! We put on the cool costume for the validating consumption of others. A costume that includes anything from outfit signals, taste in music, and even hobbies. All in the hopes of being accepted into some kind of secret club we made up in our heads that says WE LOVE YOU!!! WE VALUE YOU!!!

Or maybe you just want to fit in at the esoteric-art-show-meets-concept-dinner-party (two things can be true).

We have been trained to pursue appearing storied, instead of living life that makes us storied. And somewhere along that pursuit, we lost sight of what’s important to our livelihoods, and the very essence that creates cool.

Here’s the thing about cool–stay with me: Meet Person A. Person A desperately YEARNS to feel self-connected. At HOME in their taste and entirely unconcerned with external validation. Whether conscious or not, they want to FEEL cool. Or rather, feel the self-contentment that leads to that accidental cool presence.

We have been trained to pursue appearing storied, instead of living life that makes us storied.

Person B is here too. Person B wants to APPEAR cool to others (which, in contrast to Person A, accidentally leads to not looking cool—the research agrees!). Maybe it’s to be seen by a community you want to feel accepted in. Or maybe it’s simply knowing your outfit fucks and wanting others to agree. Sometimes you DO have to be the most esoteric girl at the function.

But whether you’re a Person A or Person B, all roads to coolness are the same. And (surprise) curiosity is the delicious, magic ingredient that gets you there.

SO! If you’re tired of automatically buying the same greige lip liners and aesthetically pleasing Italian toothpastes as everyone else, it’s time to tap your curiosity and spark for Life Living again. The mess and lack of curation of being a human existing–being curious, asking questions, EXPERIENCING–is what ultimately creates the energy of authentic cool, and that accidentally cool taste that comes with it. It’s fresh, interesting, and unique because you lived it (this is also a pillar of how I view “good” personal style, if you’re curious).

We mistake well-curated individuality for self-connection. We’ve GOT TO STOP!!! If not in the name of our lust for life, in the name of our inner it girl.

The performance of unique taste, of markers of individuality for others to consume, only goes so far. But the practice of living a Curious Girl Life is forever. Because when you’re genuinely curious—about an artist, a neighborhood, a philosophy, a stranger’s story, a recipe—you stop performing and start experiencing. You ask questions instead of curating answers. The antidote to the performed life because it pulls you OUT of your head, OUT of your phone, and INTO the world around you.

It’s funny how that works: the more out of yourself you are, the more YOU you find in yourself.

That presence that we call cool, self-embodiment rooted in curiosity and inner trust, the inner state that creates that external IT factor, reveals itself in the rabbit holes followed, the errands run, the waffles eaten, the neighbors met, the shoes borrowed, the bad relationships had, the pottery classes taken, the designers researched, the tea brewed.

It’s what happens when you’re interested in life and fully in possession of yourself instead of being possessed by the algorithm, other people’s opinions, et cetera.

So, okay. How do we find ourselves in curiosity again? How do we trust our aesthetic and energetic instincts in an endless sea of scrolling that ultimately leads us all to buying the same greige lip liner and suddenly taking an interest in aesthetically pleasing Italian toothpaste?

No fear, I have the answers. Here’s a healthy bunch of Curious Girl practices, recommendations, and habits that keep me feeling curious, and obviously, soooooo cool.

How To Be A Curious Girl!

Here are 12 pillars, habits, and rituals of curiosity that I live by. Whenever I feel a little lost in the algorithm, I return to this very list. Chock-full of recs and odd ideas to get you curious about being curious.

01. CURIOSITY REQUIRES SAFETY

You can’t explore when you’re in threat mode. Embodiment creates the felt sense of safety that allows curiosity to emerge. This is nervous system stuff! When you feel grounded and safe in your body, your brain can afford to be curious, autonomous, and ofc HEDONISTIC instead of hypervigilant.

• Ponder prompt: when do you feel safe enough to be curious? What creates that feeling?

• Build your safety practices (breathing, movement, grounding) so curiosity has space to emerge. Really, these are ultimately embodiment practices—things that get you back in your body, or help you to feel safe enough in it. Tbh, this is a JOURNEY! And sooo different for everyone. You may also find that different practices serve you best depending on the season of life (or actual season) that you’re in. Pay attention and build your toolbox. Practices working for me right now are:

  • Meditating. I actually can’t believe I’m saying this because my ADHD ass can hardly sit still. But there are so many different ways to interact with meditation and breathwork! For me, I LOVE yoga nidra and body scans. And for getting into the practice, guided is so helpful. The more guided meditations I do (Open app ROCKS my socks off), the more I’m able to move through unguided sessions.

  • Floor time. So serious. Usually after meditating, but not always, I’ll roll out my extra cushy yoga mat, throw on my headphones (currently spinning this set a lot), make some cistus tea, and dig into my stack of journals, sketchbooks, et cetera. Sitting quietly with my tea, doodling out my thoughts, and allowing time for myself to actually BE in that yummy middle where we’re not being productive, but we’re not scrolling on our phones and forgetting what we even just watched either. Real active rest.

  • NATURE WALKS FOREVER

  • Self-embodied movement like dance, yoga, and any other kind of movement I feel called to. Loving Dance Church rn

• Create environments and rituals where your body feels safe to explore (familiar coffee shops, trusted friends, solo time rituals). From here, you can keep building your net outwards!

02. PROTECT YOUR BOREDOM

Boredom is the precursor to creativity and curiosity. Most of the time. When your mind has space to wander, it naturally moves toward what it actually wants to explore. The constant stimulation of modern life shortcuts this entire process. Protect your boredom WITH YOUR LIFE!

• Ahh, the crux of it all. Getting off our phones. Hard but necessary. Create phone-free zones: mornings, meals, walks, your bedroom

• Morning pages (more like afternoon and evening pages for me lol) or journaling without a prompt

• Walks without podcasts or music (at least sometimes)

• Sitting in a park and just... existing

• Embrace the “wait and see what I’m actually drawn to” approach vs. filling every moment with content

• Get out your art supplies. No plan, you can even just sit there for a bit. Get up, make a matcha, return to the art supplies. See where it takes you. And NO it does not have to be a monetizable creation to sell on Etsy. You don’t even have to share it. We MUST protect our art and our hobbies, especially if we have a creative career!

Basically, we NEED planless, phoneless, free time for our wellbeing and creative health.

03. FEED YOUR BRAIN

Curiosity needs input—but not just any input!!! This is where I try to foster a pre-brainrot-scroll lifestyle. It’s not that you can’t get curious about algorithmically-curated content, but it feels like a flat experience for our brains if it’s all we’re doing. Plenty of brain food ideas below.

• Read FICTION! Recovering chronic self-help book purchasers, this one is for you and me. It’s time to get out of our heads and the stories we tell ourselves, and into someone else’s. Plus, for my literary fiction aficionados, research found that reading literary fiction improves Theory of Mind and empathy in ways that genre fiction and nonfiction don’t. You’re literally training your brain to understand other perspectives, to sit with ambiguity, to be curious about how other people think and feel.

While we’re here, SERIOUSLY when did self-help books (and content) replace a good fiction novel as the go-to post-work winddown of choice? Let’s change that. Anyways! Let’s talk books and what I’m reading this winter.

Two of my winter picks came from Book of the Month <3 And as someone with a weird aversion to audiobooks (a me problem) and a stubborn devotion to physical media, getting to pick out my next great read from a selection of hardbacks is a DREAM. Each book I read is like a little good luck charm that I’ll haul around town to every coffee shop, park, waiting room, and airport. Controversially dog-eared to my heart’s content. A sign of an offline life, and of other worlds. It’s a much-needed reminder, especially during the colder, chronically online months.

• Here’s what I’ve been reading when I’m not being loud on the internet:

  • Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (thriller) When one woman’s obsession with finding her dream home goes too far, she’ll take “house hunting” to a whole new level. Thank you BOTM for introducing me to her! As a 2am Zillow scroller, I appreciate the visibility.

  • Faithful Place by Tana French (crime/mystery) A detective returns to the Dublin neighborhood he fled to solve his first love’s decades-old disappearance—and confront the family he left behind. I’ve had this on my shelf for WAY too long, and I’m so glad I finally cracked it open. Very The Girl on the Train if you’re into that!!

  • Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester (horror) Three centuries of women and one twisted lineage. How many generations of witches does it take to stop a family curse? Another BOTM pick! Ofc I picked the horror novel. I wouldn’t be a Halloween Scorpio if I didn’t. This witchy read proves that horror reads are perfect year-round.

  • All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky (surreal dark comedy) Two sisters spiral through LA’s seedy underbelly in a darkly funny, fever-dream exploration of addiction, codependency, and the strange people who save us. Have literally not read anything like this. A niche sense of humor that, I for one, get.

If you’ve been wanting to read more fiction but struggle with decision fatigue (same), BOTM does the curation for you! They pick 5-7 new releases each month, and you choose what sounds good. And if nothing catches your eye? You can skip that month with no charge.

🌀 Right now, new members can get their first book for just $5 plus a super cute free hat with code HOLLY at bookofthemonth.com.

• Listen to podcasts that make you think… about not yourself. Again, I may or may be guilty 100 times over for diving a little too hard into self-help psychoanalysis. I’m SORRY! My therapist gave me the gold badge of self-aware, and I’ve worn it ever since. But it’s good to get out of your head, out of your maladaptive daydreaming (only sometimes), and dig into something new. Rn I’m listening to:

  • (soooo good. Very DF coded)

  • Culture Study

  • (ty for the rec)

• Find slow websites and digital spaces that LET you discover. A current fave in my digital rotation is Are.na (fabulous Pinterest alternative, as you know, I have Pinterest FATIGUE).

I also encourage you to go on a classic Google research rabbit hole. For extra curious points, might I suggest keeping a Notes app log every time you come across a topic you want to explore more of. This really comes in handy when someone teaches me about the coolest thing since sliced bread and my ADHD forgets about 3 minutes later. LOG YOUR CURIOSITIES RELIGIOUSLY!

04. STUDY ONE PERSON’S ENTIRE BODY OF WORK

This is kind of random, but I think it’s SO fun. Fabulous way to cultivate the classic Internet Rabbit Hole. Not their “best” stuff—EVERYTHING. The failures, the weird phases, the evolution. You learn more from watching someone evolve than from consuming their greatest hits!

• Watch every movie by one director chronologically

• Read every book by one author in order

• Listen to every album by a musician, even the bad ones

• Follow one designer’s entire career arc

05. EMBRACE SLOWNESS & FRICTION

Speaking of slow websites… let’s get slow in general. Rather, let’s seek friction. In the name of connection and curiosity! Might I remind you of Kurt Vonnegut’s envelope story? If you need a reason to reject convenience culture when you can, to know the world is to know yourself. So go be in the world. RECOVER that natural rhythm and bounce that a day of IRL errands has. Or maybe you just need to go pick up envelopes on the other side of town, and you let the day take you wherever it may. Play around.

• Make things manually instead of pressing a button (coffee, bread, whatever)

• Order your takeout for pickup, and eat it at a park on the way home

• Walk places instead of Ubering

• Breathe. Let things take time—the waiting is part of the experience. The aforementioned meditation practices help me sit with this a lot better

• Write letters by hand (snail mail hive rise up)

• Embrace seasonality and delay (strawberries in June, not January). Hit up that farmer’s market!

• Spend a month researching and writing a Substack essay on your recent hyperfixation topic

06. LIVE DEEPLY IN YOUR CITY!

Don’t just exist, live. Walk every street in your neighborhood, TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS!

@emmaloucogan🥚🫂🌎 maybe we can bake each other cakes

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• Find the weird hidden spots (gardens, stoops, building details).

• Go to neighborhood events (community boards, local shows, readings), dare I say, arrange one with your neighbors! Bagel party in the park, perhaps?

• Learn the history of where you live, down to the building. This is a whole day’s worth of library time, perfect for a free space day.

• Spend time in places you’re NOT the target demo. Be the outsider and learn. This is where we get out of our comfort zone and build on that foundation of safety! The discomfort of not being centered in a space teaches you what it’s like to be curious instead of catered to.

• Get adventurous through food. It can teach us SO much. Try new restaurants and food carts alike, ask questions, eat slowly, share a meal, share recipes, et cetera.

07. THE RITUAL OF NOSTALGIA

My favorite :)

Revisit old media with fresh eyes. I feel my most inspired when I listen to the playlist I made when I was 17. Nostalgia can launch you into new directions, almost like your past self was holding onto pieces of wisdom and little hints just for present You. Tap into the wisdom of indie sleaze You. Amongst other versions.

• Read old issues of magazines and blogs you used to love—Rookie. NYLON. Interview Magazine. Get into an interview from the past! Notice what curiosity-driven media used to feel like before everything became content fodder.

• Might I suggest a DIY project from yesteryear? Personally loving this Teen Vogue flower crown video and this DIY Tom Binns coded neon necklace tutorial from 2012.

• Movie night with your friends and it’s just a marathon of movies that were special to you when you were coming-of-age. For me: Legally Blonde, Help!, Moonrise Kingdom, Submarine, Wetlands, Pierrot le Fou.

• And of course, dig up that old playlist or remake it with 99% accuracy.

• Dinner party—with yourself or with others—where it’s everyone’s favorite meal from when they were six.

08. THINK BEFORE YOU GOOGLE

The information gap—knowing enough to be intrigued but not enough to be satisfied—is where curiosity lives (George Loewenstein’s information gap theory, 1994). When you immediately Google everything, you skip the curiosity part entirely!

• Let your brain wonder, make predictions, get curious about what the answer might be. Sit with questions for a beat before reaching for your phone.

• 2021 “thinking-before-googling” study: people who thought about questions first had significantly better recall and deeper curiosity. When you immediately seek out an answer to a question, you’re setting yourself up to forget it the same day.

• Notice when you’re anxiously Googling (deprivation-type curiosity) vs. whimsically wondering (interest-type curiosity)… cultivate the second kind!

09. STEAL FROM THE PAST DELIBERATELY

For my vintage girls. Not only is exploring pre-digital aesthetics informative and fun, routines and habits of the past can be a great teacher.

• Set your hair in pin curls at night (tactile, meditative, signals day’s end)—I want to do this but also it sounds like a sensory nightmare.

• Mend your clothes instead of replacing them (a GREAT skill to have. In fact, think about what tactile + creative skills you could learn in your free time)

• Keep a physical appointment book

• That damn snail mail I keep talking about

• Sunday as genuine rest day—no errands, no optimization

10. NOTICE THINGS ON PURPOSE

The coolest thing about curiosity? It’s a muscle. And like any muscle, you build it through deliberate practice. Research shows that active noticing (or, mindfulness per Ellen Langer) literally changes how your brain processes the world around you. So let’s activate that muscle of attention!

I came across this research when I was getting into this embodiment exercise I do sometimes on my walks that helps me get grounded and present enough to be curious where it’s essentially paying EXTRA CLOSE attention to the details in your environment and slowing waaaaaay down while you do it. Try it next time you see an interesting texture out in the world. You could also…

• Find 5 new things in your familiar route to the bodega every day (UC Santa Barbara research: transform everyday situations into moments of beauty/wonder/intrigue)

• Practice “beginner’s mind” (shoshin): look at familiar things as if for the first time

• Ask “why?” about ordinary things (Csikszentmihalyi’s attention research: “Nothing is interesting to us unless we focus our attention on it”)

• Remember that Notes app list idea? That! Keep an “I don’t know” or an “I want to know” list throughout your day—trains your brain to notice those information gaps instead of pretending you know everything

• Notice what YOU find interesting vs. waiting for the algorithm to tell you what’s interesting. A good way to do this practically is when you’re scrolling, try and get yourself to develop an opinion on each video/piece of content for that scroll sesh. Or, when you pin a photo on Pinterest, ask yourself to get as detailed as possible about what it is that you like about it.

11. SEEK NOVELTY. ALONE!

Novelty-seeking is a core component of curiosity. Get to know yourself through time curiosity dates!!!!

• Visit a neighborhood you’ve never explored

• Different workspaces, new coffee shops, unfamiliar walking routes

• Go to a museum alone

• Order something new at the restaurant you order the same thing at all the time

• Take a weekend trip somewhere you’ve never been

• Call instead of text (I know)

• New movement practices that break up your routine: dance, yoga, walking… anything that gets you present and in your body, which creates the embodied presence that allows for curiosity

Novelty doesn’t have to be expensive or dramatic—just different enough to wake your brain up.

12. EXPLORE THROUGH YOUR SENSES

I couldn’t complete this list without it. Iykyk, one of my favorite ways to explore the world is through our 5 senses.

Some curious ideas, by sense, below.

• TASTE: new recipe, new restaurant, dinner party, sharing a meal with loved ones or a stranger, trying every coffee shop in your neighborhood to find YOUR spot, natural wine tasting (or new mocktail bar) with friends, farmers market haul turned into whatever you feel like making, the ritual of making your perfect morning coffee

• SMELL: sampling transportive perfumes, making a candle, mundane products with incredible smells (laundry detergent, surface cleaner), curating the best smelling bubble + salt bath of your life, that specific vintage store fabric smell, fresh flowers, the roasty toasty atmosphere of your favorite coffee shop, old books at the library, the smell of rain on pavement, hot green tea steaming in your face

• SOUND: a new album, an OLD album (especially one from high school that you haven’t listened to in years, I recently rediscovered the great Lo-Fi-Fnk this way), the sound of wind and birds on a phoneless walk, singing, a live show, exploring a country’s sonic textures and music history you don’t know as much about, the crackle of vinyl, your friend’s niche podcast recommendation, ambient cityscapes

• TOUCH: body oil, dry brushing, massage, a hug, a warm mug, vintage fabric textures at thrift stores (silk slip dresses, worn-in cashmere, linen), different paper stocks at a stationery store, the weight of a really good book in your hands, a perfect shower

• SIGHT: an art book, a new town, an antique shop with plenty of oddball objects to admire, vintage magazine archives, people-watching at a cafe with no agenda, window shopping with zero intention to buy, interesting exhibits at museums, architecture walks through unfamiliar neighborhoods, the way light hits buildings at golden hour, watching how people style themselves on the subway (we love a good people watch), getting the mood lighting in your apartment JUST right

Pluuuus, read about how friends of DF are exploring their 5 senses in this series.

If you liked this piece, I think you’d like these too!

There are so many ways to interact with your primal curiosity. I say primal because it’s an instinct that’s already there, it’s just about discovering the ways it shows up for you.

I invite you to grab a cup of tea (a new one, perhaps?), dab on a funky perfume, and journal about what practices, habits, and schools of thought you’re feeling the most drawn to in this piece. Then let me know because I’m nosy.

Talk soon, genius girls. Get curious, stay cool, and wear something that makes you feel like a Bratz Rock Angel today.

Find me on TikTok and Instagram at @emmaloucogan.

Plus, DIGITAL FRUITS just joined Instagram! Follow DF at @digital.fruits to be the first to hear about newsletters, events, merch, special projects, and more.

For partnership inquiries or to say hi, email emma@digitalfruits.net.

Subscribe now

For partnership inquiries or to say hi, email emma@digitalfruits.net.

All hail the gift guide. Best case scenario: you find the perfect gift for every person you love (or have complicated feelings about) in your life. Worst case scenario: you find the perfect gift for you that you not-so-subtly send your not-so-good-at-gifts boyfriend.

Since capitalism is taking over every second of our lives, most of these gifts are from a small business, independent artists, or are a sweet secondhand find. Let us embrace the joy of gift-giving without embracing Amazon or something.

I’ve organized this penultimate list of 45 items by price point: low to high, for your perusing pleasure. Expect beauty, homewares, scents, oddball objects, fashion, sensorial experiences, things to collect, and more.

1. Vintage Blue Couch Salt & Pepper Shakers $10

2. Art Nouveau Floral Compact Mirror $11.69

3. Ka-fuh Hinoki Incense $11.70 — If it can smell this good in my yoga studio’s bathroom, imagine how good it will smell in your apartment. It’s become a staple in mine!

4. Nii Hai Argyle Pastel Knee Socks $15

5. High Heel Refillable Lighter $15

6. Pistakio Creamy Pistachio Spread $15

7. Small Cat Candle $16

8. ONSEN SARU Hot Spring Bath Soak Salts $16.00

9. Alan Stuart New York Toothbrushes $16.95/ea — Sooo many good Alan Stuart toothbrushes on eBay. These are one of my faves.

10. Les Editions De L’Epure Roses Ten Ways to Prepare Cookbook $20.00

11. Nailberry Acai Nail Elixir 5 in 1 Nail Treatment $22.00

12. 1980s Candy Stripe Vase $22.99

13. Mariage Frères Lapsang Souchong Tea $23.24 — Dita Von Teese’s Tea(se) of choice.

14. The New Yorker Feb 1961 Cover Skating in the Park 750 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle $24

15. Homecourt Cece Surface Cleaner $26 — This is why my house smells so good. Yes, it’s possible. In a studio. With a cat. For the clean freak or cat owner in your life.

16. Room Shop Award Ribbon Pin $30

17. Dec/Jan 2004 NYLON Magazine $31.99 — Archive magazine copies in GENERAL are some of my favorite gifts to give. Think about what your friend, lover, mom, ex, etc. is into, or any seasons/years/topics that are significant to them. Search for a copy that hits all the marks.

18. Olauto Fragrances Air Freshener $33 — If I had a car, this would be dangling in it. In fact, maybe it’s an incentive to not be so afraid of cars…

19. Charles Wahba Wide Headband, 1½ inches in Tokyo $40 — CBK’s signature, still sold at Zitomer!

20. Fluff Refillable Lip Oil $42 — Personally loving #6 Minnie Blackberry.

21. Naomi Tarazi Blooming Socks in Red $42

22. The New Savant Just Bitten Candle $42 — can do no wrong!

23. Olo Fragrances Lightening Paw Perfume Oil $45 — My favorite slice of Portland perfumery to take with me wherever I go. Also adore their Siela collab with Frances May, Overnight.

24. ANFISA ÂN-GLOSS Ceramide Lip Tint in Spice Cake $45 — My facialist said this is the best, so I say this is the best.

25. 1950s White & Green Polka Dot Pillbox Hat $45

26. Vyrao Witchy Woo Travel Spray $45

27. Lazy Skinscience Double Duty Serum/Moisturizer Duo $48 — Innovative! I’m loving for winter.

28. Vintage Pastel Resin Bangle $57.84

29. LuckyScent “Fragrance Fitting” Custom Sample Pack $60 — Or go rogue and pick out a few samples for your giftee yourself!

30. Gohar World Personalized Host Gloves $62+

31. St. Meto Mother Clay Hair Mask $68

32. Gohar World Laila Gohar for The Luxury Collection Cake Candle $68

33. 2000s Sony Boombox CD Radio $69 — For your Cher CDs.

34. CYKLAR Rituals Set in Sacred Santal $70 — IYKYK, my favorite bodycare line EVER. No misses from a fragrance or a formulation standpoint. This set has all my favorites in my favorite scent.

35. Blondita Anne Top in Black $75.00

36. Semaine x Paris Starn The Glacé Apron $129 — We love around these parts. I’m considering getting into the art of pudding pie because of her.

37. ISUKE Japanese Lacquer Tea Caddy $145.00

38. Marland Backus Bouncy Ball Necklace $187.00 — UGH! Imagine for a NYE party. Fabulous.

39. Book of the Month Subscription $59-$199 — Several options for how many credits you want to gift! Either way, your giftee will get to pick between 5-7 new hardcovers or audiobooks each month.

40. Prada Sport Vintage Blue Light Jacket $215

41. Upper Left Roasters Coffee Subscription $22/mo+ ($264/yr) — Yes, I’m normally a tea girl, but I have good coffee opinions too. This is my favorite.

42. Abstract Reconstructed Top by Tracy Levenstein $345 — NBD, but this is the top Carrie wears when she tells Samantha she slept with Big in Season 3, Episode 10 of SATC.

43. Nora Lozza Sueco Zora Shoes in Blanco $392

44. AnnK Transformable Black Boots $500

45. AUTO NYC Model S Bag in Asphalt $595

Find me on TikTok and Instagram at @emmaloucogan.

Plus, DIGITAL FRUITS just joined Instagram! Follow DF at @digital.fruits to be the first to hear about newsletters, events, merch, special projects, and more.

Subscribe now

For partnership inquiries or to say hi, email emma@digitalfruits.net.

You don’t have to tell me, I already know. You’re in an avoidant relationship with your closet.

(Which is a shame because your past self holds so much wisdom, inspiration, and frankly, she might even know how to put the personal back in personal style—but we’ll get to that.)

But you’re not avoiding the clothes. You’re avoiding every version of yourself they represent. At least probably or a little bit. The maximalist who bought everything loud and shiny, desperately trying to be seen. The minimalist who pared down to nothing, searching for discipline. The sixteen-year-old who wore Arctic Monkeys tees and oxfords like armor. The one who bought too much vintage Miu Miu during a 3am breakup binge on eBay, hoping a new aesthetic would fill the void that you thought was boyfriend-shaped.

Every version of you is still hanging in there, on a cruddy little wire hanger that’s bent out of shape but getting the job done.

Last April, I asked: what if our closets were altars to our past selves? What if instead of treating them like storage problems or sources of frustration, we treated them as sacred spaces? As portals to connect with ourselves—places where we could revisit old iterations of us through old seasons of Courrèges, where we could wear a necklace from ten years ago to honor the version of us that bought it—to show her how far we’ve come.

The crux: what if instead of treating our closet like a dungeon of failed attempts to “develop” our personal style, we viewed it as a personal archive of a life lived? And here’s the best part: the moment you face your closet instead of shopping for a new one is the moment personal style starts feeling personal. Lived in. When you stop treating it like a problem and start treating it like your biography (because that’s what it is!). That’s when it becomes “good.” When it’s actually, finally, you.

What if instead of treating our closet like a dungeon of failed attempts to “develop” our personal style, we viewed it as a personal archive of a life lived?

And yes, you’re witnessing me overthink the concept of having a closet in real time. But style really IS that deep. And I’m desperate to save us from the onslaught of “personal style development content” we’ve been subjected to that, frankly, has nothing to do with what personal style is and everything to do with buying Tabis or something (DON’T mistake personal style for what is popular within your fashion niche. Your City bag can’t save you. It’s cute though).

Speaking of content, I’d be remiss to not mention the impact TikTok “self-development” culture has on us and our closets—treating us like permanent fixer-upper projects. There’s always a new version of you to become: wake up at 5am, perfect your twenty-step skincare routine, keep up with niche micro-trends that shift faster than you can even process whether or not you like them. And FUCK! Of course, you BETTER pick your ONE aesthetic, otherwise death will be wished upon you. We live in the age of surveillance and performance.

It feels like someone is always watching, because they are. Scrolling has made up half our days, and it’s become incredibly hard to hear our own voice. We’re constantly refining, upgrading, pivoting, chasing some “future self final form” (that… you’ll never reach if you don’t start connecting with your present self). And when you’re viewing your personal style, yourself, through the surveilled lens of how others perceive you—through interests and outfits and aesthetics performed for an audience—the “personal” part disappears ENTIRELY.

So how do we get it back? By understanding that personal style is biographical, not aspirational.

Fashion itself is, in ’s words, a living historical record. Each cowl-neck top, every slingback shoe, is a time capsule of the culture around its creation, the inspiration, the happenings, the designer’s lived experience being poured into one piece, or informing a whole collection. And when that slingback arrives in your life, its record expands to biography. The memories, scuffs, patches, situationships, and endless trips to your cobbler get layered on, transforming it from fashion archive into personal archive.

Personal style is biographical, not aspirational.

Loving your wardrobe, and tending to a personal archive that feels more like you every day, is about getting curious. Not curious about what 20 items you need to buy at a cursed sample sale, but curious about living. About yourself. And your closet can be your loyal companion, your field journal, your beloved archive of selves, in this curious, fabulous journey of yours—if you let it be.

Through living, we develop long-term relationships with our items—re: the shirt that feels like skin now. We age and understand ourselves and our taste better. We start to better decode when we’re getting dressed for ourselves, and when we’re viewing ourselves through the eyes of others.

Tending to a personal archive that feels more like you every day is about getting curious.

Jane Birkin understood this (it always comes back to Jane Birkin). Enter: the wicker basket. You know the one. A utilitarian, woven market basket, handles worn soft and darkened from decades of use—stuffed with sheet music, her daughters’ toys, makeup, keys, magazines, cigarettes, and sometimes just crumpled up receipts and old quarters. Picked up in the ‘70s at Soho’s Berwick Street Market, you could find her wicker basket anywhere: film sets, premieres, at the airport, buying milk, and even a run-in with the CEO of Hermès. A basket used for groceries at the market vegetable stalls was living quite the life. But it was nothing precious. It probably cost a pound. And then, brilliance happened: she just never stopped carrying it. It became an extra appendage—the birth of a signature item, well lived-in.

She didn’t carry it because it was a symbol of status or niche community marker. She carried it because it had become part of her living personal archive. Replacing it the second the shiny, new car smell wore off would have meant losing all of those years layered into the wicker. It accumulated STORY! It became hers through the relationship she built with it. Her style felt personal because it WAS personal. When building an outfit, she was referencing herself, not a mood board.

Also, she just liked it. She was tuned into her own voice.

And that’s the thing about personal style that gets lost when we’re constantly consuming, scrolling, imitating—it’s a collection of life experience, biography, and turning up the volume on your own voice. Of aging and accumulating. Learning yourself through trial and error. The sweater your grandma gave you. The bag you lost in the back of your closet and found again three years later when you moved. The necklace from the market you went to with your ex. And yes, even the wicker basket you bought because Jane Birkin had one and you thought her personal style would feel like yours (oops). As you accumulate life experience—and yes, stuff—your taste evolves. The deeper you know yourself, the better your style becomes. Not because you finally cracked the code or found the right Pinterest board, but because you let your biography inform your closet instead of trying to meticulously curate your way out of it.

Your closet isn’t a project to fix. It’s an altar honoring every version of yourself that’s ever existed—the good, the bad, the embarrassing. And it’s begging you to make peace with it. Even better, to be inspired by it. Inspired to remix your old versions into your new, inspired to spend more time with your items and develop relationships with them. A new signature item born, or maybe an old one dusted off. You’re not meant to be a style-optimization robot, constantly upgrading and refining. You’re the priest to this altar of past selves. And a priest doesn’t perfect the altar. She tends to it. She listens to what it’s trying to tell her about who she’s been, who she is, who she’s becoming.

When you treat your closet like an archive worth tending to, instead of a problem to solve, that’s when personal style stops being something you chase and starts being something you live. Because personal style isn’t built by curating the perfect wardrobe. It’s built by actually living your life, accumulating experience, and letting your closet reflect that. The archive grows as you grow. The altar changes as you change. And suddenly, getting dressed feels personal because it’s referencing your actual life, not someone else’s aesthetic.

When you treat your closet like an archive worth tending to, instead of a problem to solve, that’s when personal style stops being something you chase and starts being something you live.

You can’t skip the living part and expect your style to feel like you. It’s time to make up with your closet and reconnect with your fucked up wedge sneakers from a decade ago. Reference yourself, remember why living is cool, and let your personal style unfold, sans onslaught of this-Rick-Owens-jacket-will-save-you content.

Below the fold, I’ll walk you through the practices I use to honor my closet as an altar to connect with, and even reference, myself, instead of avoiding it—and how to let your actual life inform your personal style in the age of Pinterestifed shopping habits.

Read more

It’s been a while since we’ve spent some ADHD-topic-hopping fruit salad time together—and I reckon we’re due. Today, we’re talking Vogue World Hollywood and why I care about it, what to do about Pinterest not being Pinteresting enough, and a bygone matcha latte recipe from 2006 that I had to confirm actually existed before writing this.

My birthday is coming up on Halloween, and I haven’t even begun to psychoanalyze the past year through my brain, body, and spirit lens yet. But I have thought about a few perfumes and color combos that I’ve continually worn throughout this past year of existing, and that’s half the battle. A quick review:

1. Cream + royal purple — purple deserves a proper comeback, I vote we start with eyeshadow

2. Naked Dance by Oddity — feels like home (wet hair, fresh pot of rice on the stove, clay, a jazz record, a vintage peach slip)

3. Teal + black — From shirts to nail polish, I’ve been looking like a tin of my favorite mints

4. Jest by Andrea Maack — boozy, dark berry vanilla for hot weird girls

5. Brown + neon greens and pinks — nothing beats neon paired with neutrals IMO

6. Hypnotizing Fire by The Harmonist — Jest’s earthier sister, perfect for every occasion and season

Anyways, got your melon matcha in tow? Good. You’ll need that for later.

Pinterest Fatigue

I am no longer Pinterested.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Sometimes it feels like we’re all living a make believe life. And that it always needs to be more optimized, more curated. Always something that needs to be tweaked. In reality? I think we’re in an avoidant relationship with life. And because of that, we’re maladaptive daydreaming our way to dementia and memories of scrolling on our phone. At best, we’re uninspired and all becoming the same. Not that having the same interests or styles is a bad thing, but it is when it isn’t true to us. When it doesn’t light our souls up with neon pink flames.

How to light your soul up with neon pink flames off Pinterest:

1. If you’re feeling digital, try Are.na or a classic Google research rabbit hole.

2. Ask a friend to spend a phone-free day out with you. Or spend one by yourself: grab a tea, walk to a park, people watch, sketch, do something creative that has nothing to do with monetization or your career, write in a journal for no one but you, meet your neighbors, et cetera.

3. Source some archive magazines. We say print media is forever, but are we engaging with that sentiment IRL? Throw on a favorite record and start flipping, starring, circling, and sticky-noting. I find this to be incredibly meditative.

4. Listen to the playlist you made when you were 17. Sometimes, she has more wisdom than you. Maybe she saved some inspiration for you to discover at this exact moment?

And if you must scroll on Pinterest (I get it), here’s my advice: pin with Pintention. Ask yourself why you like something before you save it. Say its an outfit—do you like the texture? The color palette? Or is it rather the outfit, model, or photo represents a lifestyle you want to live? If so, why is it important to you to live that lifestyle? Continually ask yourself what matters to you. Not what should matter to you, but what actually does.

Why Vogue World Hollywood Matters (TO ME!!!)

Sorry, I love Vogue World. I know there are plenty of takes out there writing it off as some kind of cheap excuse for Vogue to claim a Met Gala-esque event of their own (and maybe it is), but if anything the traveling, themed show concept is fun and—unlike the Met Gala—it actually takes special care to stick to its given theme.

Yes, I didn’t know WTF Vogue World (AKA Vogue’s annual traveling runway show, each one in a different city with its own theme, for those equally confused) was either when it debuted three years ago. Does it feel random? Forced, even? Maybe. But this year’s Hollywood edition won me over. The show was divided into seven acts, each pairing an iconic costume designer with a fashion house to celebrate the relationship between film and fashion (IT’S ABOUT TIME but I’ll get to that in a second). On the runway: actual legendary costumes from films like Black Panther, Moulin Rouge!, and Edward Scissorhands, alongside new, special collections inspired by those costumes created by houses like Balmain, Valentino, and McQueen.

So why does this matter to me (aside from just being fun and fabulous)? Because costume designers have been historically underrecognized by both the fashion and film industries, despite their undeniable influence and cultural impact across both. While the film industry added a Best Costume Design category to the Oscars in 1949—twenty years after the ceremony began 🙄—the fashion world has largely overlooked costume designers in favor of high-end houses, even when those costume designers created looks that have shaped the fashion industry itself for decades! Runway collections routinely draw inspiration from iconic films without acknowledging the costume designers behind them.

Blade Runner explicitly inspired Raf Simons’s Spring 2018 collection, but Michael Kaplan and Charles Knode—who won a BAFTA for those costumes—went unmentioned. Alexander McQueen’s Givenchy Fall 1998 collection referenced the same film, and his Spring 1996 collection drew from The Hunger—yet Milena Canonero, a FOUR-time Oscar winner with nine nominations who designed those vampire looks for Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, rarely gets the credit for her contributions.

(And, I mean, I know that when fashion houses take inspiration from a film or genre, it’s not explicitly from the costume design alone, typically—there’s production design, score, HMU, and so many other creative departments involved in the overall visual tone of a film. But (1) those departments deserve way more credit too in any case, (2) it would be silly to assume a fashion designer took inspiration from everything but the costumes, and (3) costumes objectively take up about 70% of the screen in any given movie still and are key players in leading the visual narrative 9 times out of 10!)

Even within the (kooky crazy) film industry, costume designers face systemic undervaluation. These designers, who are roughly 85-87% women, are paid 30-65% less per week than production designers, who are predominantly men. They’re often the first on set and the last to leave, working 18-hour days while managing teams of 25+ people, overseeing budgets, and navigating the demands of directors, producers, and actors—yet producers often don’t understand the immense amount of work involved in sourcing, designing, and executing costumes under tight turnarounds. It took decades of advocacy, including the “Pay Equity Now” movement, for costume designers to finally achieve a 40% wage increase in 2024, bringing their pay a little closer to their peers.

Vogue World Hollywood doesn’t solve these systemic issues, that’s for sure. BUT it’s one of the first major fashion events to at least give costume designers their much-deserved flowers from an industry that has been ripping them for decades. The October 26th show at Paramount Studios showcased the work of legends like Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther), Sandy Powell (Shakespeare in Love), Colleen Atwood (Edward Scissorhands), Catherine Martin (Moulin Rouge!), and Arianne Phillips (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) (which I did not think had great costumes but that’s okay)—naming each designer prominently in the program and online alongside their fashion house collaborators like Balmain, Valentino, and McQueen. These are just a handful of the costume designers responsible for the ICONIC looks that we know, love, and feel as familiar as the back of our hands—yet their names rarely get the spotlight from fashion circles. I appreciate the change-up at Vogue World Hollywood.

Also! Not to mention, the late October timing feels particularly apt given just how many costume designers have their work on display by the thousands via knockoff Halloween costumes. Most people dressing up as Freddy Krueger this Friday, with his silly little hat and instantly recognizable red-and-olive-striped sweater, don’t know they’re wearing Dana Lyman’s design (can you tell I used to have a podcast about horror and costume design in a past life).

Anyways, whether Vogue intended it or not, putting these designers front and center does something the fashion industry rarely does, and frankly, has avoided. It is much appreciated. And we should do it more.

The Forgotten 2006 Melon Matcha

My mom has a penchant for copycat recipes. If you tell her you like Crunchwrap Supremes, she will do her very best copycat Crunchwrap Supreme. She travels down copycat recipe rabbit holes in the same feverish way Anthony Bourdain travels to countries to connect through food.

Sometime around 2010, I developed an equally passionate penchant for matcha—with my first experience being the Starbucks Green Tea Latte (which they now call their Matcha Latte), originally released in 2006. I haven’t had it in years, maybe because I want to preserve that particular 2000s flavor memory. But I loved it so much that, naturally, copycat mom jumped into action, scouring forums and food blogs to recreate the exact Starbucks recipe at home.

The first time she made it for me, it didn’t taste much like the Starbucks version. But! I did love it. (Her DIY matcha experiments became the catalyst for me to start exploring non-Starbucks matcha and powdered teas—something I’m still doing today.)

Anyways, I was CRAVING my mom’s Starbucks copycat matcha BAD the other week. I hadn’t had it in years. I asked her for the recipe because I swore she put melon syrup in it. But that also seemed kind of crazy and incredibly random.

Lo and behold, she DID.

At this point, I’m thinking the melon syrup was surely why it never tasted like the Starbucks version (but also maybe why I liked hers so much. It had this very specific flavor I couldn’t place). Which led me to wonder: why tf would my mom add melon syrup when Starbucks definitely didn’t use it?

Well, and you probably guessed this by now, they DID.

WAIT! There’s a catch, though. When Starbucks first launched the Green Tea Latte in 2006, the original recipe included that melon syrup. But, they quietly switched to classic simple syrup just a few years later—right around the time I started ordering it. So technically, I never had the melon matcha from Starbucks. But I did have a melon matcha that was a copycat of the melon matcha from Starbucks, which means I accidentally and technically experienced a piece of oddly specific matcha latte history. And, I don’t know. I just feel like it’s time to revisit it. To experience simpler times via my tastebuds, if you will. Matchastolgia. Recipe below.

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🎃 Quick reminder: My birthday sale ends Halloween! Get 60% off paid subscriptions (AKA just $2.40/month forever) + whoever becomes my 100th paid subscriber gets a special package from me with unreleased DF merch and a personalized fragrance sample set. Claim your discounted subscription below!

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The Portland leaves are looking PERFECT, I’m wearing JEANS, and drinking HOT rock rose tea. Thank GOD (Cher).

And, okay, yes. Have things been crazy and terrible in the world? And also in my personal life? Yes. Do perfumes and October both bring me unadulterated joy amidst the persisting horrors? Yes. And that is why I’ve gathered you all here today.

I’d like to think I have nothing short of fabulous taste in fragrance, and my approach is usually a mix of wanting to smell great but also wanting to be transported—to have feelings, memories, and stories evoked through scent. Fragrance is just as alchemic as it is sensorial and delicious, IMO.

So! Below, find 6 of my best October, Halloween-pilled perfume picks—whether you just want to smell INCREDIBLE and/or be transported to specific moods and moments I deem October-peak-fall-Halloween club classics. You’ll see. Onto the digital sniffing!

Cacao by Hilde Soliani

Raiding the Halloween candy bowl after trick-or-treaters leave. Hot cocoa steaming on the counter. Smooth milk chocolate with crispy rice. The waxy sweetness of childhood erasers. Halloween when you were 12. Edible, fabulous, silly, cool.

Need a gourmand? Hilde has it all.

Notes: Single note composition of milk chocolate with crunchy textural elements

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Today is day 22 of 31 days of weird chic horror movies, marking the beginning of week 4.5 (adding the .5 since it’s a week and a few days bringing us to the 31st)—the finale of our weird chic horror movie-athon. I’m kind of freaking out over this lineup. Very girl-pilled.

If you’re new here… the rumors that I started are true. I am a horror film expert. But not just any horror films—fabulously esoteric or oddly specific horror films with incredible costume design, set pieces, visual excess, and the right sprinkle of queer allegory that I can psychoanalyze (re: 1970s Horror Films & Fashion History) for a week after.

My scary and fashionable credentials:

✔️ Born on Halloween (legally have to mention that all October in everything I write)

✔️ Made fashion-horror films and worked in the horror genre space for the first half of my 20s

✔️ Had a horror-centric costume design podcast and femme-led genre film collective

✔️ Studied fashion history and film before going into the fashion and film industries

✔️ Worked for the top horror film coverage YouTube channel (yes, that one) doing research on the films we covered

✔️ Marking my return to the genre with another fashion-horror film now (spilling the deets before you know it)

So while it’s not my ENTIRE personality anymore… horror films, fabulous-visual-eye-candy films in general, and fashion do in fact make up at least half of my personality pie.

And I will pull out the expertise card when necessary. Today, it’s necessary.

31 Days of Weird Chic Horror Films: Days 22-31

Want to binge and catch up? Check out week one, two, and three here!

Day 22: Single White Female (1992, dir. Barbet Schroeder)

Anyone ever had a best friend who wanted to be you but also simultaneously hated your guts? Same! A software developer gets a new roommate who slowly becomes obsessed with her, copying her haircut, her style, and eventually trying to steal her entire life. A girl needs a hobby, right? Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh deliver a tense psychosexual thriller about female friendship, identity, and what happens when boundaries dissolve. New York apartment living has never looked more claustrophobic… or Calvin-Klein-chic.

Subgenre: Psychological thriller, erotic thriller Country: US Highlights: Jennifer Jason Leigh’s transformation and increasingly unhinged performance, the iconic haircut scene, that stiletto heel moment, the Upper West Side apartment aesthetic, the escalating obsession, Bridget Fonda’s effortless early 90s style BTS: Based on John Lutz’s novel SWF Seeks Same. The film became a cultural touchstone for 90s anxieties about urban living and female friendship. The apartment set was designed to feel increasingly claustrophobic as tension builds. Costume designer Rudy Dillon created distinct looks for each character that blur as the obsession deepens (I love costume design that tells a narrative on its own). Perfect for: Girls who love attachment style discourse and have a vintage Prada Sport collection Pairs well with: Your own apartment (finally), a fresh bob, going cowgirl copper, and extremely vetted references

Day 23: Black Christmas (1974, dir. Bob Clark)

The original slasher film, a horror trailblazer if you will, that predates the Halloween franchise by four years. A Canadian Giallo, IMO! During Christmas break, sorority sisters start receiving disturbing phone calls and then begin disappearing one by one. The killer is in the house. BUT WHERE! Bob Clark’s proto-slasher is atmospheric, genuinely creepy, and way ahead of its time—establishing tropes that would define the genre for decades.

Subgenre: Slasher, proto-slasher Country: Canada Highlights: Those horrifying phone calls (the “calls are coming from inside the house” trope originated here), Margot Kidder (who plays Barb, my favorite bisexual horror queen) and Olivia Hussey’s performances, the POV killer shots, the suffocating sorority house atmosphere, the ambiguous ending, 70s Christmas decor BTS: Directed by Bob Clark (yes, the same director who later made A Christmas Story. A perfect film). The obscene phone calls were partially improvised by voice actor Nick Mancuso (more like SICK Mancuso). The film directly influenced John Carpenter’s Halloween and established foundational slasher conventions. Shot in Toronto during winter. The open ending was considered too dark by the studio but Clark insisted on keeping it. Perfect for: The divas who bought the Trader Joe’s Halloween gingerbread house kit and are ready for December already Pairs well with: Vintage ornaments from eBay, rotary phones as decor, and seasonal depression

Day 24: Jennifer’s Body (2009, dir. Karyn Kusama)

It would be illegal to not include this. A demon-possessed cheerleader starts eating boys in a small town, and her best friend has to stop her. Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama, this was unfairly maligned on release but has since been reclaimed as a feminist horror-comedy about female friendship, sexuality, and the way society consumes young women. Megan Fox’s best performance, full stop.

Subgenre: Horror comedy, demon possession Country: US Highlights: Megan Fox’s committed performance, Amanda Seyfried as the final girl bestie, “I’m not even a back-up dancer!”, the perfectly 2000s indie rock soundtrack, the deliberate camp and gore, the sapphic subtext that’s barely subtext, Diablo Cody’s quotable dialogue BTS: Mismarketed as a sex comedy for men rather than a film about female friendship and the female gaze. Fox actively lobbied for the role after Juno’s success. The film has been critically re-evaluated as a cult feminist classic. GOOD. Kusama deliberately played with genre conventions and male gaze. Shot in 2008 at the peak of indie sleaze aesthetics. Perfect for: Anyone who’s read Compulsory Heterosexuality and recognizes their high school best friendship in it Pairs well with: American Apparel nostalgia, complicated sapphic yearning, and Low Shoulder on vinyl

Day 25: Eyes of Laura Mars (1978, dir. Irvin Kershner)

Fashion girls, I need you to lock in. If you pick any film to watch from this week’s lineup, pick this. One of the coolest movies to ever exist. In my top five. A fashion photographer in New York starts having psychic visions of murders through the killer’s eyes. Faye Dunaway stars in this stylish thriller set in the world of haute couture and avant-garde fashion photography. The film is as much about 70s New York fashion as it is about murder—costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge, photography inspired by Helmut Newton. I feel like if you liked the aesthetics of Deep Red, you’ll dig this.

Subgenre: Fashion thriller, psychic horror Country: US Highlights: Faye Dunaway’s impeccable wardrobe throughout, the fashion photography sequences (staged violence that mirrors real violence), the killer’s POV shots, 70s New York glamour, the twist ending, that Barbra Streisand theme song BTS: Screenplay co-written by John Carpenter (hello?! Papa??!). Costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge (who won an Oscar for The Great Gatsby). The controversial fashion photography was inspired by Helmut Newton and Deborah Turbeville’s work. Real fashion photographers and models appear in the film. Barbra Streisand sings Prisoner (Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars). The film captures the intersection of fashion and violence in 70s visual culture. Perfect for: Queens whose camera rolls are 60% OOTDs and 40% esoteric zoomed-in photos of random objects because you’re an artist with an eye (obviously) Pairs well with: Vintage Halston, a good eye, and the persistent feeling you’re being watched (social media, anyone)

Day 26: Lair of the White Worm (1988, dir. Ken Russell)

Lol at this still. A giant snake goddess cult, phallic symbolism everywhere, Amanda Donohoe in full domme regalia, and Hugh Grant being very British about the whole situation. And Peter Capaldi for my real freaks. Ken Russell’s (yes, of The Devils) campy horror comedy is based (veeeerrry loosely) on Bram Stoker’s final novel and is pure unhinged excess. Part Hammer Horror homage, part psychosexual camp, all chaos. The visuals make it for me.

Subgenre: Camp horror comedy, folk horror Country: UK Highlights: Amanda Donohoe’s iconic snake goddess performance, the strap-on fang dildo (love), Hugh Grant before Four Weddings, hallucinogenic dream sequences, a blue forked tongue, Peter Capaldi pre-Doctor Who, absolutely bonkers practical effects BTS: Ken Russell’s most overtly comedic horror film. Amanda Donohoe fully committed to the camp and has said it was one of her favorite roles (I get it). Made on a modest budget but Russell embraced the B-movie aesthetic. The film is both a parody of and homage to British folk horror and Hammer films. Perfect for: Anyone who has a crush on Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi then and also now (me) Pairs well with: Architectural Digest issues, having a pet snake, tweed, and latex

Day 27: The Brood (1979, dir. David Cronenberg)

Of coooourse we’re talking about her again. A woman undergoing experimental psychotherapy begins manifesting her rage as murderous mutant children who act out her violent impulses. Cronenberg’s most personal film—made during his own custody battle—is visceral body horror mixed with domestic psychological terror. It’s deeply unsettling in the best Cronenberg way. Underrated, IMO!

Subgenre: Body horror, psychological horror Country: Canada Highlights: The brood creatures (rage children in primary color snowsuits), Samantha Eggar’s cuckoo bananas final scene, Oliver Reed as the manipulative therapist Dr. Raglan, the cold Canadian atmosphere, memorable practical effects BTS: Cronenberg’s most autobiographical film, made during his divorce and custody battle. He’s called it his version of Kramer vs. Kramer but as a horror film. The “psychoplasmics” therapy satirizes 70s primal scream therapy and EST movements. Samantha Eggar’s final scene was intensely physical—she performed it in one take. The creature design was meant to evoke externalized childhood trauma (it does!). Perfect for: Girls in therapy who know their anger is valid Pairs well with: A good therapist, winter puffer coats, and productive ways to externalize rage

Day 28: Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987, dir. Bruce Pittman)

A prom queen who died in 1957 possesses a high school girl in the 80s and starts killing people. This has almost nothing to do with the original Prom Night—it’s a supernatural slasher with Carrie vibes, Nightmare on Elm Street energy, and surprisingly inventive kills. I don’t know how to express how perfectly odd this film is. And lesbian. How lesbian this film is. You have to see it for yourself. It’s very IYKYK, and it easily is one of my favorite ‘80s campy slashers. Pure 80s excess with great practical effects and a killer (literally) prom queen.

Subgenre: Supernatural slasher Country: Canada Highlights: The possessed prom dress, Lisa Schrage as the vengeful Mary Lou (motherquake), creative death sequences (that locker scene, the chalkboard scene), 80s does 50s aesthetics, the weird rocking horse with the tongue (you’ll get it) BTS: Despite being titled Prom Night II, it’s essentially a standalone film with no narrative connection to the first. Originally titled The Haunting of Hamilton High. Shot in Canada with a modest budget but impressive practical effects by Carl Fullerton. The 1957 opening sequence establishing Mary Lou’s death was shot to evoke period teen films before subverting them. Perfect for: Anyone who collects vintage prom dresses and believes in justified supernatural revenge Pairs well with: Pink tulle, a perfect pin curl brushout, grudges, and high school being a memory from literal hell

Day 29: Hellraiser (1987, dir. Clive Barker)

These divas. A man’s affair with his brother’s wife unleashes the Cenobites—interdimensional beings who exist at the nexus of pain and pleasure—led by the iconic Pinhead. Clive Barker’s directorial debut is a landmark in body horror and erotic terror, exploring desire, transgression, and suffering as transformation. Weird and fashionable. The Cenobites are instantly iconic with genuinely disturbing designs.

Subgenre: Body horror, supernatural horror Country: UK Highlights: Pinhead and the Cenobite designs, the Lament Configuration puzzle box, Frank’s resurrection through the floorboards, Clare Higgins’ ice-cold performance as Julia, the sadomasochistic imagery, those hook chains BTS: Based on Clive Barker’s novella “The Hellbound Heart.” Barker directed his own adaptation to protect his vision. Doug Bradley’s Pinhead required hours of makeup daily—pins were carefully placed to avoid his eyes. The Cenobite costumes were designed to suggest medical/BDSM fusion. Shot on a low budget with remarkable practical effects. The film spawned a massive franchise but the original remains unmatched. Perfect for: Girls who understand that desire and fear are sisters, and own at least one leather piece Pairs well with: Bondage inspiration, puzzle boxes as coffee table books, and clearly negotiated boundaries

Day 30: Revenge (2017, dir. Coralie Fargeat)

Mad Max for baddies who wear neon earrings. Directed by Coralie Fargeat, years before her biggest film to date: a little something you may know called The Substance. A woman left for dead in the desert after a brutal assault returns for revenge. Coralie Fargeat’s debut is a neon-soaked, visceral feminist rape-revenge thriller that subverts the genre’s exploitation roots. Stunning cinematography, intense gore, and a protagonist who transforms from male gaze object to avenging phoenix. It’s brutal, beautiful, and completely uncompromising.

Subgenre: Rape-revenge thriller Country: France Highlights: The desert landscape as both hostile and transcendent, Matilda Lutz’s physical transformation, the neon color palette (that red and orange), the graphic but purposeful violence, phoenix and rebirth imagery, the peyote hallucination sequence BTS: Fargeat’s feature debut, made with explicit intent to subvert and reclaim the rape-revenge genre through female perspective. Shot in Morocco in extreme desert heat—the cast and crew endured genuinely harsh conditions. The violence is deliberately uncomfortable rather than exploitative. Fargeat cited Mad Max: Fury Road as inspiration for the desert aesthetic. I know I already told you she directed The Substance, but have to mention that it won Best Screenplay at Cannes. Yay Coralie!! Perfect for: Anyone who’s ever considered the politics of a bikini and what it means to reclaim it Pairs well with: Desert landscapes, neon everything, and the refusal to be diminished

Day 31: Scream (1996, dir. Wes Craven)

HAD to end with one of my favorite classics. A masked killer is murdering teenagers in a small town, and the victims realize they’re living inside horror movie rules. Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s meta-slasher revitalized the genre by being both loving homage and sharp deconstruction. Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott is an iconic final girl, and Ghostface became instantly legendary. Smart, scary, and endlessly quotable. I have such a soft spot for this one, and especially, a soft spot for Tatum’s (Rose McGowan) entire wardrobe in this.

Subgenre: Meta-slasher Country: US Highlights: The opening Drew Barrymore sequence (one of cinema’s best cold opens), Ghostface’s voice and design, “What’s your favorite scary movie?”, the house party massacre, Sidney as final girl, Randy’s horror rules speech, that ghost mask BTS: Kevin Williamson wrote the script inspired by the Gainesville Ripper case and the Scream mask he saw while scouting locations. Drew Barrymore was originally cast as Sidney but requested the opening cameo to subvert audience expectations. The Ghostface mask was a modified “The Scream” Halloween mask found by production designer Bruce Miller. Wes Craven was initially reluctant to return to slashers but the meta-commentary convinced him. Roger Jackson (Ghostface’s voice) was kept separate from actors to maintain genuine fear in their performances. Perfect for: Girls who’ve been explaining horror tropes since they were twelve and have the Letterboxd to prove it Pairs well with: A stack of Criterion horror, your most cinematically literate friends who like to talk and Google actors while the movie is playing, and actually locking the door (please, lock your door)

I can’t believe this is our final week! Dying to know what films have been your favorite. We’ll definitely do more movie chats and recs soon.

Plus, keep your eyes peeled for more Halloween in your inbox this week. It would be just unethical of me to stop Halloween-theming everything now. We’re just getting started.

Talk to you soon. ILY.

<3, Emma

Find me on TikTok and Instagram at @emmaloucogan.

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One thing about being born on Halloween? I will reliably overthink my costume every year starting in July, realize I’ve been overthinking for months by mid-October, and need to come up with something—expiditiously—that doesn’t require a million dollars or two weeks of shipping time for random items.

So, with my last minute costume overthinking expertise in tow, I bring you an offering of 11 oddly specific, fabulous costume ideas that follow these equally oddly specific, fabulous guidelines:

1. Can be easily replicated with a trip to the thrift store and/or with a good lipstick or two (or three)

2. Must be either (A) weird (B) chic (C) a little niche (D) all of the above

3. Have an element of spooky-scary OR nostalgia

I’ll include some eBay and internet finds for each costume too in case you want to shop this post or the thrift store isn’t calling!

I’ve got my esoteric hot people covered.

11 Last Minute Costume Ideas For Esoteric Hot People

Complete with Polyvore-coded outfit moodboards and vintage finds to bring your costume of choice to life.

1. Anna from Possession (1981, dir. Andrzej Żuławski)

You’ll need: ✔️ A blue dress ✔️ A neck bandage (optional) ✔️ Fabulous 70s sunglasses (optional) ✔️ Fake blood ✔️ Makeup that makes you look a little grey ✔️ A jug of milk (optional, but encouraged) ✔️ Low bun with middle part (or) messy, brushed out vintage curls

2. Marina Abramović during her The Artist is Present exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, 2010

You’ll need: ✔️ Bright red floor-length dress with long sleeves (mockneck optional, but ideal) ✔️ No makeup (if anything, dewy skin and a pinky-greige nude lipstick) ✔️ Side braid

3. Asami from Audition (1999, dir. Takashi Miike)

You’ll need: ✔️ White top ✔️ White cardigan ✔️ White skirt (ideally top + cardigan + skirt is a ‘90s matching set, but I’ll allow mixing and matching white pieces—as long as we are monochrome!) ✔️ Straight hair, middle part ✔️ Something like Clinique Black Honey on the lips

OR if you want to do Asami’s look from later on in the film… you’ll need: ✔️ White collared short sleeve dress (think nurse dress silhouette) ✔️ A black leather apron (bonus points if there are brown leather accents) ✔️ Leather gloves that go over the elbows ✔️ black leather knee-high boots ✔️ A syringe ✔️ Mysterious black leather briefcase

4. The I’m Sorry I Can’t Don’t Hate Me— Post-It Note from Sex & the City (Season 6, Episode 7)

You’ll need: ✔️ Butter yellow dress/top or a big piece of yellow cardstock you can glue or hang in front of your outfit* ✔️ Black fabric paint to write “I’m Sorry I Can’t Don’t Hate Me—”

*My suggestion? If you go for the oversized cardstock Post-it note option, do your best Carrie Bradshaw look underneath… you’ll need: ✔️ A cigarette or martini ✔️ A Y2K heel ✔️ Messy curls ✔️ Sparkly grey eyeshadow ✔️ A chiffon dress or grey boatneck mini (you get the drill)

5. Margaret from Liquid Sky (1982, dir. Slava Tsukerman)

Finally, a look that is mostly makeup.

You’ll need: ✔️ Colorful eyeshadows, face paint, anything that can be packed well on top of white face makeup ✔️ Speaking of, white face makeup (cream, powder, both, et cetera) ✔️ Gel-ified, fluffed bleach blonde 80s crop wig (optional, but fabulous) ✔️ Any kind of 80s-coded top in cobalt blue, black, or stripes

6. The Power Lesbians from Sex & the City (Season 2, Episode 6)

If it were up to me (okay, it is technically up to me, but still), this list would be all random, chic side characters from Sex & the City. But these Prada-loafer-loving ladies are my favorite. Group costume idea, anyone?

You’ll need: ✔️ Slick-back bun ✔️ Little Miu Miu oval glasses (can be knockoffs, can be blue light glasses) ✔️ Black or grey tailored pantsuit or a monochrome black or grey turtleneck/boatneck + pants combo ✔️ A mauve lip ✔️ Subtle accessories (a silver necklace, tiny hoops, a small pendant, a little watch) ✔️ A glass of champagne and/or a fabulous, lesbian painting to carry around ✔️ And most importantly, ‘90s Prada-coded black loafers

(Do we need more oddly specific SATC-themed last minute costumes? Don’t threaten me with my hyperfixation show and a good time…)

7. Poison Ivy Rorschach

The baddest to ever exist, in the coolest band of all time, and the reason I dyed my hair red for the first half of my 20s.

You’ll need: ✔️ Big curly hair (ideally, bright ginger red, wigs allowed) ✔️ A tiara ✔️ Heavy black eyeliner ✔️ Red lipstick ✔️ Chandelier earrings (vintage clip-ons work great for this) ✔️ Black fishnets ✔️ Black, red, or metallic boots ✔️ A leather dress or a catsuit (cheetah or tiger print encouraged) or a fringe-y, metallic-y showgirl bra and hotpant situation ✔️ Guitar (optional, but cool)

8. Miriam from The Hunger (1983, dir. Tony Scott)

You’ll need: ✔️ A black side cap (pillbox or garrison style) ✔️ A slick-back or french twist ✔️ Silver cat eye sunglasses ✔️ A black long sleeve dress with a deep V plunge ✔️ A gold ankh pendant ✔️ Black leather gloves with studded cuffs ✔️ A statement wide black leather belt (the ‘80s ones with the O-ring) ✔️ Red lipstick

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A ‘90s neutral, Calvin Klein-coded outfit looks way cooler if you’re blowing pink bubblegum. And on that note, head-to-toe chocolate brown looks way cooler with fuchsia nails. A little black dress pairs perfectly with a pink cosmo. Even an autumn oxblood sweater looks extra cozy and sweet with a petal pink slip skirt.

At least, that’s my opinion. And if it’s not yours yet… I’m hoping I can change it—welcome to my case for cold-weather pink.

Something about pink in the fall time feels subversive. Kind of like Sabrina Carpenter doing spring yellow for October. IMO, juxtaposition is the key to a great outfit, and what better shade than pink to break up the blacks, browns, and burgundies that our cold little autumnal wardrobes love so dearly? So I did what I do best: went full ADHD hyperfocus mode, digging through 90s-00s fall runway archives to find evidence of pink working fabulously for cold-weather fashion.

And evidence I found.

I have lovingly broken down this pink-y autumn edit into 8 categories:

1. Pink-on-black Y2K chic

2. Monochrome and multi-tonal

3. Serving bubblegum coat-is-the-outfit

4. Pinked-up stockings

5. A statement shoe—metallic pink et al

6. Pink for pink haters

7. Pinks + patterns = Patricia Field core

8. The LPD (little pink dress)

Heavily featuring some of my favorite tinged-pink fall collections to ever exist, like Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2000 RTW and Balmain Fall 2000 RTW—and, in total, there are 31 looks for you to peruse, meditate on, recreate out of scrap fabric, et cetera. A little overzealous on my part? No such thing. I hope that through this edit, you’ll find not only color play inspiration (are you into all-pink monochrome or a subtle sprinkling via shoes or tights?), but textural and structural styling inspiration.

And I know this isn’t a personal style thinkpiece, but since I’m always screaming about it, and we’re here, here’s my ONE LITTLE NOTE: It’s easy to feel inspired when we see a look on Pinterest or TikTok, save it, forgot we saved it, and still feel totally detached from our personal taste. One of the best ways I’ve found is to consume a bit slower and remember to ask myself questions about why I like or don’t like something. THIS is how you uncover your personal taste—or at least a big part of it.

So, while you browse this edit, ask yourself: Why do you like (or not like) an outfit? Is it the color, the styling, the silhouette? Is this an outfit you appreciate aesthetically but couldn’t see in your own closet (or, hell, even the opposite)?

Get to know yourself through the art you consume. And today’s art is fabulous pink runway looks. Let’s get into it.

1. Pink-on-black Y2K chic

If anything, we can all agree that a pop of color has stood the test of time. Frankly, we’ve seen it nearly every year with a form of red in at least one trend cycle. But anyways! If pink feels too juvenile to you, consider pairing it with black and/or garments that are more structural and tailored.

Michael Kors Fall 1994 RTW

Comme Des Garçons Fall 1992

Alaïa Fall 1992 RTW

Versace Fall 2002 RTW

2. Monochrome and multi-tonal

Pair your hot pink with bubblegum pink. Or your petal pink with coral. Also, I could stare at these crinkly, silky Margiela textures forever.

Maison Margiela Fall 1995 RTW

Alexandre Matthieu Fall 2002 RTW

Saint Laurent Fall 2004 RTW

3. Serving bubblegum coat-is-the-outfit

This Chanel look is convincing me that I need a pair of rainboots to pair with a tailored little suit jacket.

Chanel Fall 1994 RTW

Comme Des Garçons Fall 1995 RTW

Versace Fall 2002 RTW

4. Pinked-up stockings

Sparkly, sheer, opaque, or even in sock form. Featuring Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2000 RTW and Balmain Fall 2000 RTW, two of my favorite Fall collections to exist—which you will see again in another section… I can’t help myself. Chocolate brown + pink in the Balmain look and this entire JPG look are fueling me (and fueling my furious eBay browsing addiction).

Julien Macdonald Fall 2000 RTW

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2000 RTW

Balmain Fall 2000 RTW

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2010 RTW

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And we’re back! Today is day 15 of 31 days of weird chic horror movies, and truly, we’re just getting started. This week will be one for the books.

One thing I’m actually an exper…

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