We Burnt Out On Fashion Substacks, But You Don’t Have To
How to avoid the fatigue of it all, and still love what you’re reading (and wearing).
TRIGGER WARNING: We’re about to say something that’s potentially controversial to some, consoling to others—we see you!—but sincerely rooted in honesty. Yes, we have some complaints, but as we recently learned from Fran Lebowitz, complaining is just telling the truth (and a lot of us may already be thinking this same truth). We’ve also got some possible solutions for course-correction (because a complainer who doesn’t do anything about their grievances is actually a whiner—which we are not).
As the title of this declares, we’re feeling pretty exhausted by the abundant, same-feeling fashion Substacks occupying our inbox these days, not to mention how overwhelmingly Substack (in general) has taken a swing towards the commercial. Substack was always a money-making platform, given the pay-to subscribe model, but now we have brands and fashion designers getting on board, not necessarily to sell subscriptions, but to peddle clothes.
Then there’s the easy money (silly loot!) payouts to content creators from affiliate links. It’s hardly a new thing, but the notion of bankrolling someone’s shopping habits by buying items off their personally-curated shopping round-up (if there are links, someone’s getting paid) is starting to feel, well, icky, maybe because there’s such little subtlety around it these days. How many fashion Substacks do we need to tell us what to buy, and how to wear it, especially when the wearying cycle of churning out content for the sake of content makes so much of it unoriginal, repetitive, and antithetical to Substack’s seminal premise, which was rooted in something more authentic and sincere: it was about the person (and their personality) behind the Substack, as much as what they had to say. The platform doesn’t feel like the wellspring of original thinking it once was.
Right now, all the linking and re-hashing of what others have already posted or written on fashion and style means that anyone could be mistaken for everyone else. Let’s call it our “Ditto Era,” or even our “Dupe Era.” There will always be originals: Erin and Jonah of Blackbird Spyplane, for example. Their off-the-wall style and vernacular is practically dupe-proof. Leandra Medine, whether you aspire to her kooky, adventurous and unabashedly unfazed aesthetic or not, is another one. At the end of the day, she’s been doing her own thing for too long to care about mass appeal. At the same time, the few original thinkers are the widely-known exceptions proving the rule that we operate in, and we’re very much perpetuating the existence of, a monoculture right now, especially when everyone’s cognizant of those same few outliers.
Substack expanded the fashion bubble by building a stage for more voices and opinions to flourish beyond traditional media, but it’s not going to be THE THING to disrupt it to the point of breaking and rebuilding, or to even crack it wide open. If anything, the fashion bubble is now a fashion dome: still constrained by an alarming number of individuals in here who all look identical on a census form.
It’s like that moment at a party when you glance around and notice that everyone dresses the same, sounds the same, wears the same non-fragrance fragrance, and you say to yourself, “Ugggggh, I need to expand my friend group.” That time is now, and this one’s on us. We’re actually not blaming Substack or even those with Substacks (We’re the ones who clicked ‘Subscribe,’ after all.). Nor do we want to be the ever-complaining party-poopers! We just needed to find a way to manage this space better in order to keep loving it. Alas, maybe you’ll find some of the ideas below useful before drowning in a sea of fashion Substacks.
Most of all, thanks for reading. Just the act of writing this has reminded us to continue turning out essays, interviews, and other pieces about fashion and personal style that feel relevant, original, and hopefully CONNECT in some way. If reading any of this makes you want to start up a conversation with a friend (or with us!), see a film with a great lineup of costumes, rifle through your closet and try on a bunch of clothes, or ogle what other people are wearing on the street, then something’s right.
1. Whittle down your Substack stack
First of all, paying for even just a few Substack subscriptions is NOT cheap. And how many newsletters do you actually need coercing you into buying the same Loewe clutch?Look at which ones you’re paying for, and then do a hard edit from there: consider the author, the frequency of delivery, whether or not you find yourself reading the newsletter in full—ultimately does it feel worth it? Especially compared to whatever else you’re also paying for? If you have two that feel too similar, consider pausing one. Or diversify your lineup altogether.
2. Scale back your shopping
Commit to not buying anything new for an extended period of time. You may be pleasantly stunned to notice how less interested you are in reading something without the intention to purchase.
3. Play dress-up
Going along with the above, shop your own closet. Maybe try on a bunch of outfits in a single day, taking pics as personal documentation when something especially works. Or snap selfies of your outfits for a week/month, and see what patterns emerge as your own personal trends. Maybe enlist the input of a closet confidante. In other words, bring something more personal back to your personal style: by wearing clothes that ultimately make you feel good, not because you saw them on a list.
4. Get off your device.
We’re all for digital media, but it has its limits. There are infinite other ways to glean fashion inspiration beyond Instagram, TikTok, Substack…even Vogue Runway. If you live in a city like New York, go out and people-watch! Buy a magazine, see a movie, a live show, a museum exhibition. Case in point: seeing the contrast of someone’s black and white Adidas sambas against her bubbly midi-skirt during a random afternoon walk made us think of saddle shoes, which impelled our latest deep-dive image search for moodboard swatches. You might read about it all in a future newsletter. ;)
Q: What are some favorite, fully WORTH IT fashion Substacks?
Yes to every word! Thank you!!!!