You’re The Mary Kate to My Ashley

with Kate Steinberg 🌸

Sep 15, 2022

Kate Steinberg is featured on this week's episode of Nicstalgia. She’s the Mary Kate to my Ashley, and it feels like we’ve known each other since 2007. We really paint the picture of the Middle School Dance™️, how yes, Abercrombie lace camis are vintage, and how we used to wear multiple camis and polos at once.

We dig deep into nostalgic fashion: the peril of wearing a strapless bra, the status symbol of having multiple bra straps showing, and the unlocked memory of clear Victoria’s Secret bra straps. We may not have been in the “popular” cliques, but we DID invent leggings as pants at our respective schools!!! We break down brave 2000s looks, including leggings and denim skirts with flip flops all year round, yoga pants under cheer uniforms, and Soffe shorts rolled 4 times.

We walk through the FULL Limited Too shopping experience, Kate gives her incredible picks for nostalgic back to school outfits, and we share which local restaurants we went to with friends in high school.

Watch/listen: YouTube • Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Website

🛼 Haven’t You Heard?!

My fav things from the internet rn:
I was recently featured in Nasdaq, reflecting on my nonlinear career path and entrepreneurial journey! I always knew there was something ‘more’ in my career and life, and since, it’s been a WIP finding it. Definitely no shortage of twists, turns, trials, and tribbies. TLDR: “Nicole defines herself as not being able to fit into a box.”

Okay I am obsessed with Word Art, specifically European restaurants that use Word Art as headings on menus. But I digress!! My favorite website atm is a Word Art generator, which brings me so much nostalgic joy.

On the podcast this week, Kate said that TikTok is divided over “yoga pants” vs. “flared leggings”. If we’re talking about the 2000s, it’s yoga pants, because flared leggings did not exist. Putting on my Fashion Girl™️ hat, flares are by nature tight at the knee and (obviously) flare out at the bottom. Yoga pants, in contrast, are a straight line down and don’t have the taper. ANYWAY!! Refinery29 explained how the yoga pants trend of the 00s morphed into the flared leggings trend of the 20s.

I’m not usually a Refinery girlie, but I guess now I’m getting targeted ads?? So here was a piece I really liked about how no one has personal style anymore. (Don’t get me started on this lolol it’s a whole rabbit hole!!)

Netflix is releasing a Blockbuster show and idk what to think about it?? ICYMI, me and Tasafila from R3WIND (who is literally neighbors with the last IRL Blockbuster store) talked on Nicstalgia about the ILL (impact life and legacy) of the now almost-defunct video store. Personally, I’d rather see a Schitt’s Creek spinoff set in the 80s-90s about Rose Video but that’s just me!!! (Dan Levy do something!!)

🧥 Strike a Pose

This week on the podcast, we play a game where I give Kate iconic 00s clothing and accessories and she styles a back to school outfit around it. The beautiful results:

Look #1: North Face jacket (colorful, not black or grey), Hollister lace tank, mini skirt, tall Uggs (rolled over once, even if it is summer), and an Abercrombie tote bag

Look #2: Hollister zip up, super low-rise jeans, brown belt, flip flops, Jansport backpack, puka shell necklace

Look #3: Tiffany’s necklace, Pink Razr flip phone, Coach monogram wristlet, and a Juicy Couture sweatsuit

Look #4: Vera Bradley bag, Livestrong bracelet, digital camera, a white t-shirt with a tank top over it, jeans, and flip flops

PS. I made these collages on Shuffles, the new collage app by Pinterest. As you know, I’ve been collaging for a while now lol so this app is super fun. Connect with me if you’re on it too!

💿 Hey Mr. DJ, put a [playlist] on

Playlist of the week:
Girl Power!!!! ✌🏼✌🏼✌🏼 Keeping consistent with this week’s podcast episode, this playlist has all of the songs you would hear in a Limited Too dressing room or on a Disney Girlies soundtrack. Play? Dream? Hoku? Samantha Mumba? M2M? B*Witched? We’ve got you covered.

🏆 Nicstalgia Trivia

On this week’s podcast, Kate and I talked about going to chain restaurants with your friends as a universal high school experience.

Until this week, I had no idea that Fribble® milkshakes, Cone Head™ sundaes, and my favorite, the Monster Mash Sundae®, were exclusive to the East Coast!! (She’s from Chicago and I’m from New England.)

What’s the name of this diner/ice cream parlor-inspired American chain restaurant?

Find the answer in this week’s episode of Nicstalgia!

Last Week’s Answer
My favorite non-painting piece of artwork is Lobster Telephone (aka. Aphrodisiac Telephone). I was so captivated by this as a teenager that I designed one of my old Myspace layouts around it. Dedication. Was super psyched to see this IRL at Museu Coleção Berardo in Lisbon, Portugal.

Which artist created this Surrealist object?

Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory (aka. melting clocks painting) blew. my. mind. when I first saw it in elementary school. Actually, it still does.

Watch last week’s episode, A Mall in New Jersey is The Best Place in The World with Tom McLeod, on YouTube!

Nicstalgia