Boy, Where Would I Be Without You

Army green jackets, 2000s runway show, Y2K tech, Pen Affleck 🪞

Mar 07, 2024

In this issue:
👗 *Those* Army green jackets, burgundy handbags, dELiA*s catalogue inspo lives on, early 2000s tech inspo on the fashion runway, my trip to the Fashionphile showroom
🎫 I mean, there really ain’t no party like an S Club Party
🪞 “This Is Me…Then” (2002) through a psychological lens and “This Is Me…Now” (2024) through a critical lens
📲 Tramp stamps, Von Dutch (the song), obsolete Y2K technology as decor, my new fav rainy day song (it’s AI lol)

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Huge thank you to Nicstalgia supporters who I will love forever: Janine, Marie, Liv, and Mitra!💐💐💐

👗 Nicole’s Fashion Corner

The people are shocked because Victoria Beckham is not usually an outfit repeater. Come to find out she is wearing nothing other than a….*gasps*….ARMY GREEN CARGO JACKET. In the Nostalgia Isn’t “Back”…It Never Left Nicstalgia episode, I talk about the incredible versatility of this jacket and how, despite its ability to look dated to the 2010s, it never seems to go out of style.

I recently came across a job listing at Sony Music Entertainment looking for a Senior Director of Retail Production to lead and oversee the sourcing and production of licensed apparel product. “This role will sell product to Hot Topic, Spencer’s, F21, Target, Urban Outfitters and similar.” I’m personally not on the production side of things, but I was soooooo excited to see this because they get to be the person who puts all the nowstalgic band t-shirts in stores!!!!!!!! (Also mentioned in Nicstalgia episode above!) What a resume booster. What a legacy.

There’s a lot of talk on the internet about style, aesthetic, and taste – how to curate it, how to know if you have it, and how to tap into it amidst an internet culture with too many fast-paced, always moving trends. I am in my own world when it comes to dressing (my Aquarius Venus is showing), however, Milan Has Spoken – [The Burgundy Bag] Trend Is Going to Dominate Our Spring Wardrobes. Call it Italian sensibility or call it clairsentience; I felt the overwhelming need to get a burgundy (actually deep claret) handbag for myself for Christmas. So I saw this coming. (My bag is featured in the article!) I also just organized my closet according to ~vibe~ rather than color, style, season, etc. and I’m loving the results. For anyone trying to figure out what feels like ~you~, my best advice is to learn what colors, fabrics, textures, hemlines, necklines, and patterns you naturally find intriguing, exciting, and interesting. I’m a firm believer that honing your sense of style is just practicing intuition at its finest.

I loved Sinead Gorey’s collection at London Fashion Week!!!!! The details like the pins and the iPods were awesome, and it felt delightfully tacky, trashy, and authentically early 2000s-reminiscent. Those sticky spiky things (I have no idea what to call them) that were on belts and earrings at Hot Topic (I had a pair!) unlocked a serious memory.

No one will be shocked to discover that I’m obsessed with Olivia Rodrigo’s merch store. It’s showcased in the style of a 90s dELiA*s catalogue! A lot of brands miss the mark with merchandising – I already told you what I’d do if I was Director of Britney Spears Marketing – but this is right on the money aesthetically and tonally. Also I once got a branding client from offering my services in this format. (This was almost a year before Nicstalgia, btw.)

Me (Left) and Olivia Rodrigo (Right) in our respective dELiA*s homages.

I recently visited the Fashionphile showroom in NYC, and it reminded me that I simply love being around beautiful things. Name brands aside, it’s really cool checking out the craftsmanship, construction, color variations, and material of luxury handbags – especially as someone who’s spent approximately 25% of their adult life as a [then-]luxury handbag salesperson. I had way too much fun at the authentication station and was proud of myself for guessing both correctly!

🎫 Ain’t No Party Like an S Club Party

This picture is courtesy of Backseat Mafia, from the S Club performance in Manchester, UK. This is not an accurate depiction of the setup at the NYC show.

The year was 1998. Geri had left the Spice Girls and I was devastated. I listened to the Goodbye CD on repeat and tried to, as the remaining four girls suggested lyrically, look for the rainbow in every storm. The previous year, Spice Girls had fired their manager, Salmon Fillet. (This is not his real name; I’m inspired by Merel’s episode of Nicstalgia where she called Mariah Carey’s ex-husband Tomato Mozzarella. I find replacing exploitative men’s names – i.e. Justin Timberflop, or Timberf*ck, depending on what mood I’m in – that extremely amusing.) Salmon Fillet needed to find newer, younger people who wouldn’t complain or put up a fight. Enter S Club 7. He was VERY much in control of basically everything they did.

Among their heyday activities included two probably terrible but I love them anyway made-for-TV specials, Back to the ‘50s and Boyfriends & Birthdays, as well as a very meta TV show (not dissimilar from Spice Girls with their very meta Spiceworld movie) about them getting ripped off by their manager and having to be employees, rather than full-time entertainers, at a Miami hotel. What Hurts The Most though is when the guys got busted for pot at the airport. Fifth grade Me, in the height of my D.A.R.E. education, was so disappointed. (FYI Jo covered “What Hurts The Most” before Rascal Flatts!!!! This fact shook me to my core.)

Now, fast forward to the present. The year is 2024. I went to the S Club concert in New York City. The 7 was dropped as there is no Paul, who unfortunately passed away last year, and Hannah, my favorite member, who resigned from the tour because of Paul’s passing. The remaining five members – Jo, Rachel, Tina, Bradley, and Jon – are wonderful and talented performers. I like to keep things positive, so I hesitated in sharing my concert experience. However, after reading an article in NYLON this week about concert etiquette, (or lack thereof; it basically just says get used to people having their phones out the entire time. Sigh!) I knew I needed to speak my truth…

The aesthetics
The aesthetic labor of aged pop stars is wild to me. The members of the group looked INCREDIBLE. Faces and bodies absolutely snatched. 10s across the board. But like, we don’t have to dress them and expect them to still look like they’re still 20 years old. The very body conscious costumes would be better suited for Cirque du Soleil performers. I would’ve loved to see them in outfits that showed off more of their personal style.

The choreography for the choruses of the songs is still exactly as I remember it. I thought that was kinda cool as a nostalgic callback. They were borderline milking the whole nostalgia thing, but I’m okay with it because the audience was a bunch of aged millennials seeing a nostalgia act. Otherwise, the choreo and transitions, along with the costumes, were overly wholesome and kinda cheesy tbh.

The singing was good, although the backing track was distracting. It would have been cool to update the song arrangements or like, make it a rave or something. I would’ve even preferred if they lowered the key so they could maintain vocal stamina. When Jo really did go for a high note in “Have You Ever” (you can always count on S Club for an epic key change), the crowd – essentially all women and gay men – went wild! Jon changed the pronouns of his lover in “Sunshine” from the original lyrics (“Boy, where would I be without you”), which I thought was really nice and made a lot of people in the audience feel seen. Seeing people singing that line, smiling while hugging their lovers and friends, made me tear up a little.

The vibes
Agh, the venue. Terminal 5 needs to be utilized for DJ sets only. This place has a reputation for being the worst concert venue in NYC (confirmed) with a terrible sound system (confirmed) and low visibility (confirmed).

I could already not see 40% of the stage as it was, but I could not see 99% of the stage whenever the girl next to me decided to film a song. (Which was almost all of them.) I saw her texting her friend that the performance was nowhere near Kpop standards (lmao) and that the costumes were tacky (not wrong). I would’ve been more annoyed with her, but Min Yoongi (aka. Suga from BTS) was her phone background, so I let it go and just watched the performance through the screen of her gigantic, perfectly clear, Samsung phone.

Unfortunately, there was a girl several feet behind me talk-screaming on the top of her lungs at a decibel I did not even think the human body was capable of. The girl next to me was looking over in disapproval, but I spoke up to her friend who was in an earshot. (PSA: You are a bad friend and citizen if your friend is misbehaving in public and you do nothing about it!!!!!!!!!!!!) Moral of the story is, in the iconique words of Kim Kardashian, “Don’t be f*cking rude!” Or like, should I just not go to concerts anymore??? I try to be really considerate as an audience member, and I have zero tolerance for people like this. (Meanwhile, I’m going to a concert this weekend LOL. Crowd should be interesting – younger – but probably better!)

🪞 This is Me…Making it All About Me

My favorite example of something that absolutely does not need to spark deep thought or psychological analysis, yet somehow does, is the name of Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 album, “This Is Me…Then”. I love this album title!!! To me, it represents the integration of past, present, and future versions of ourselves and the mutable nature of self identification. The singles “Jenny from The Block”, “All I Have”, “I’m Glad”, and “Baby I Love U!” serve as a perfect time capsule for where she’s from, how she feels, who she loves, and how she sees herself in the moment. Although twenty plus years later she’s back with fellow New England native and the honorary CEO of Dunkin’, this album title perfectly shows the awareness that regardless of where she goes from here, she’s grateful for this moment.

This Is Me…Now (2024) on the other hand, seems to be a grossly egomaniacal, over gratuitous, self-indulgent, self-serving manifestation of when people have too much money. Harsh but true. I refuse to see this movie unless someone bribes me with $200+. However, I did see the Entertainment Tonight clip and there were several scenes I thought were actually kinda funny, of both the hahah and hmmm varieties:

SCENE: Ben and Jennifer, two Leos, are sitting on the couch on their Macbook and iPad, respectively. Ben is teasing her for playing a 28 year old in her movie when she is in her 50s.
BEN: I love that you want to play younger even in the autobiographical.
JENNIFER: This is not my autobiographical. This is meta. This is me using some of my story.
BEN: I see. Semi-autobiographical. It’s your story, but younger.
Ben laughs manically, but in jest. He burrows his forehead into Jennifer’s shoulder.
JENNIFER: You’re an idiot.

My reaction to them misusing the words ‘autobiographical’ and ‘meta’.

While the documentary could be considered meta as it relates to the album, the movie would be an autobiographical generalization. Ben went on to utilize the word ‘meta’ correctly, which sounded like a troll, but he’s not wrong:

BEN: I do really find the beauty and the poetry and the irony in the fact that it’s the ‘Greatest Love Story Never Told’, and if you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it.

Ben was cleverly nicknamed ‘Pen Affleck’ for his writing ability, as evidenced in the album he’d compiled for Jennifer for their first Christmas back together. It included all of their love letters and private correspondence from when they were together 20 years prior. He found it awkward that she showed it to everyone in the studio. The more I find out about this relationship, the more I’m rooting for him. I’m a fan of him more so as a meme – smoking a cigarette, drinking coffee, carrying more Dunkin than he can carry, pondering the meaning of life – rather than an actor, director, etc.

Maybe I sound like a hater, but I’ve done too much research and am resentful of her constantly, blatantly stealing from and stepping on the backs of Black women in the music industry. Where is Christina Milian’s or Ashanti’s – or actually even Cris Judd’s – movie is the real question???!!! Now that I would like to see. I am fascinated by this movie/documentary/album from an aesthetic labor standpoint as well:

SCENE: Jennifer is being interviewed, confessional style, in full glam. She’s talking to Ben, who’s behind the camera. Ben and Jennifer are saying the below lines in overlapping sequence, interrupting and talking over one another throughout.
JENNIFER: Because you’re used to seeing me around the house kinda schleppy and kind of, you know, in sweatpants, and my striped socks and thinking –
BEN: No, that’s not what I’m talking about. No, no, stop that. We’re not going there, ‘I’m not pretty’ and all this bullshit –
JENNIFER: I’m not saying I’m not pretty, I’m saying you’re used to seeing me kinda like the little old lady at home –
BEN: – like this [in glam]. You’re gorgeous and that’s what I’m used to. What I’m saying is –
JENNIFER: – and then when I get up and start dancing, you’re like ‘Oh right, I forgot she can [pause] dance'.’

Even when you do fit into society’s box of what is considered beautiful, aging is always at odds with that. Women especially are never allowed to age. In society’s eyes, every day is one step toward menopausal obsolescence. Whether or not you had kids, your biological duty is done and you are replaced with a “younger model”. (*Shudders* I hate that expression.) When you are validated for your youthful appearance and body, even more so than for your singing or dancing, what happens when you get into your 50s? Clearly Jennifer very much struggles with this if she feels the need to play a 28 year old. She’s not 28 years old anymore and that is totally fine!!!!!! At least to me.

Tabloids always write “[Insert celebrity woman in her 50s here]: HAS SHE HAD WORK DONE?” I’m sorry, but you have z-e-r-o media literacy if you think any woman in Hollywood hasn’t had work done by the time she gets to 50. Maybe 40. Maybe 35. Maybe even 30. And what happens to your self worth and perception of your appearance when you DON’T have $20 million to blow on a movie about yourself or extraordinary wealth to pay for private chefs, personal trainers, cosmetic procedures, etc.? Btw, I think glamorizing sex & love addiction is a dangerous, slippery slope. It’s different when the term “sex addict” is coming from a powerful, beautiful A-list celebrity vs. a washed up, tragic 2000s VH1 reality show star. I fear that SLA is going to be the next big therapy-speak trend; like how now saying “trauma”, “triggered”, etc. are in the mainstream lexicon due to regurgitation of non-facts from TikTok therapists.

There is one line from that ET video that sums it all up:

SCENE: Jennifer and Ben are editing the movie script together on the couch.
BEN: *Starts changing a line in the script*
JENNIFER: Papi, this isn’t about me and you!

That’s for sure. The only thing the album, the documentary, the movie, and Jennifer is about – is Jennifer.

📲 I’m Just a Simple Girl in a High-Tech Digital World

My fav things from the internet rn:
Tramp stamps are back. Thought this was a very cool piece. I don’t have any tattoos myself, but it’s really funny that you can very much tell someone’s age by the stylistic qualities of their tattoos.

Charli XCX is coming out with a new album this summer. It’s called Brat, which is the exact mood we’re mentally prepping for Aries season. The first single is called Von Dutch, which I think is amazing for apparent reasons. There is even a Brat font generator, where you can type your own word in the Brat font. How fun!

The People Obsessed With Using Obsolete, Y2K Technology—as Decor. Well, this is my entire personality. I’ve been on the hunt specifically for a tangerine iMac G3 for less than $150 all inclusive, and I will not rest until I get it!

The weather has been atrocious, and my new favorite rainy day song to listen and stare out the window longingly to is an AI cover of Lana Del Rey singing Cher’s “Believe”. I truly love the original, and I also love Rick Astley’s AI cover of it as well.

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