We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter. Check them out below <3

Ione Gamble - Editor in Chief

Vinted

Someone buy this please it’s genuinely steal of the century - pieces with this print go for £££££££££ usually plus it’s so cute!!!

This is not the best condition but I feel like it could scrub up beautifully.

Obsessed with good luck pocket trolls. I want one!!

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Activity: Cutting three inches off your hair

I recently visited Studio Studios in Shoreditch and had their Take Care service which did Olaplex treatments and other posh stuff like scalp steaming and it felt amazing!!! And off the back of it I took the plunge that nobody wants to do - cutting three inches off my hair. I thought I'd be more emotional about it but you know what girls, it feels freeing! I'm alive! Anything is possible!!!

Film: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Been on a Catherine Deneuve hype since Donkey Skin and this was so pretty and so heartbreaking!! She’s so gorgeous in it!! I also recently watched Belle Du Jour with her that also fucking slapped. I guess my recommendation is more Catherine Deneuve movies at this point.

Jenn Lehwald - Entertainment Editor

Beauty: CHANEL Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint

Guys I’m sorry but it’s worth it. I just repurchased my second bottle of this and it applies so nicely and leaves your skin looking sooooooooo good.

I am very much a low effort / no makeup look / apply my makeup with my hands and the whole look is done in 6 minutes type gal and this just works so well for me. It’s not full coverage so maybe not for you if that’s your vibe, but if you’re looking for something to even out your complexion and leave your skin with a flawless finish you unfortunately do have to buy this.

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Film: Drop Dead Gorgeous

Had such a great time at the Polyester screening of Making Marie Antoinette that I instantly wanted more Kirsten Dunst in my life so dug out this classic camp mockumentary about bloodthirsty teen beauty queens in rural Minnesota. Dunst is beyond charming, slipping effortlessly between comedy and real pathos, and she leads one of the best comedy casts in cinema, with Allison Janney as horny Loretta, Kirsty Alley as the steely Gladys Leeman and Denise Richards as her psychopathic daughter Rebecca. Some jokes are a little bad taste, but most of it holds up and is endlessly enjoyable. Beauty Pageant comedies are my favourite sub genre, with classics like Miss Congenialty and Dumplin’. Here’s hoping the next generation of comedy writers can come up with another gem for the collection. 

Album: Rufus Wainwright - Folkocracy

I always forget how much I love Rufus Wainwright but when those videos of him dressed as little orphan Annie hit instagram it reminded to check out his recent releases, and baby, I found a treat. Featuring a host of guest star duets, Folkocracy is a reimagining of classic global folk songs with people like David Byrne, Brandi Carlile and Anohni. The crowning jewel of the album is Rufus and Chaka Khan singing Cotton Eyed Joe in a way you’ve never heard before, taking the song back to its slow slave song roots, markedly different from the Swedish Eurodance Rednex version you’ve heard at every wedding and school disco since its 1994 release. Other favourite album guests are Martha Wainwrught and Anohni, it’s just delight after delight. Top marks. 

Film: The Devils

Went to see the new restoration of Ken Russell’s 1971 masterpiece The Devils to top off a rammed Halloween weekend, and it was INCREDIBLE. Oliver Reed gives a towering performance, matched only by a deliriously scheming Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne of the Angels. The gore, the nudity, the fever dream religious sequences, the bacchanalian dances, the sumptuous sets designed by Derek Jarman, it all comes together to create one of the most compelling cinema experiences I’ve ever had. It has everything you could imagine being in a banned film about religious corruption and then some. Five stars, a hundred stars, a galaxy of stars. They don’t make them like this anymore.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Album: untitled (halo) - self titled album

Genuinely got sent this album about three months ago and it’s finally coming out this week so I can finally talk about it with people. The best way to describe it is as ethereal moody pop, sort of like ethically sourced next gen Grimes but with more guitar and indie boys. Plus, the album art is by Kyler Garrison so I am extra hyped. 

Jesse Glazzard: 'The Sound of Dirt and Beauty'

Ended up at the launch party for Jesse Glazzard’s photo book The Sound of Dirt and Beauty, really enjoyed all his black and white queer documentary portraiture work exhibited in the basement. Go check it out if you’re in the Northern Quarter at any point. 

Drowsy Silk Eyemask

I mentioned these eye masks in one of my last recommendations but have since destroyed mine in the washing machine by accident, which is convenient because these newer models have indents where your eyes go. Sort of like a cupholder to protect your eyelash. Point is, I can sleep soundly again so thank you Flipside PR. 

Sakura Lindt

Lindt master chocolatier put his whole sakussy into this fr.

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

Series: Ellie and Natasia

I just watched Season 2 of the funniest sketch show on TV by about ten million miles on BBC iplayer. I love these two insane women so much, they are so funny and unhinged. So much sketch comedy is cringe! This is amazing! Tim Robinson levels of weirdo and great, only done by two heavily pregnant women.

Shannon Oxley - Junior Social Editor

Store: Retro Hub Stoke Newington 

I’ve just moved flats and have been on the hunt for furniture. I went to Retro Hub and when I tell you they have the most beautiful pieces of vintage furniture and art all for a reasonable price. They’re only open Thursday to Sunday but John who works there (legend) offers next day delivery. Highly recommend if you’re on the hunt for art deco style furniture. 

Music: Marie Antoinette Soundtrack  

After watching the Making of Marie Antoinette documentary this week at our event I have had the soundtrack on repeat this week!! Every song is so thoughtfully picked and Sofia just did an amazing job at capturing the playful, glamorous abundance of Marie’s world. 

Bar: 392 Kingsland Road

I stumbled upon this bar/ restaurant this weekend and cannot stop thinking about it!! It’s exactly the type of bar the girls in Sex and The City would have gone to and had a massive gossip over crisp cocktails. The Steak Frites was incredible and reasonably priced I have to say. They also have live Jazz evenings on a Wednesday, so I will be coming back.

Zahra Onsori - Content Assistant

Book: A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

If you like stories with complex characters, folklore, generational pain, or simply identify with having a deadbeat father, this book is for you. It follows Qianze, whose father turns up on her porch after 11 years of being absent, only he turns up confused, struggling with dementia, and alcoholism. 

Film: Resident Evil

I’m not a gamer or a loyalist to the Resident Evil franchise so I went in this with mid expectations of it being just another dystopian zombie film, but was pleasantly surprised. Austin Abram’s performance was incredible. In my opinion it was one of the most realistic depictions of what a person would be like in the scenario which was truly refreshing. I laughed, I grimaced, I yelled - it hit all the feels.

Beauty: Rare Beauty Eyebrow Gel

As a thick brow gal it can be hard to find an eyebrow gel that can tame these slugs without leaving a crispy gel cast or a weird white residue. If this is you, I have 5 words. Rare beauty clear brow gel. It’s slightly spenny but worth it!

Album: Good Charlotte - The Young and The Hopeless (2002)

Something about this time of year makes me so nostalgic for my teen years and I recently relistened to an album that raised me, Good Charlotte’s The Young and The Hopeless. Man I miss that era of pop punk so much 

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

 You Can[‘t] See Everything: Fictionalising Non-Fiction

We’re looking at Nathan Fielder & Lance Oppenheim’s new documentary ‘You Can See Everything’.

Warning, this piece contains spoilers!

have a look!

 America’s Next Top Model Was a Fucked Up Show. So We Satirised It For a Feminist Lingerie Party.

The two events did have a few things in common: hot women looking very cunty, a lot of sexy knickers, and trans inclusivity. But Life On Venus is better because it has no ties to Jeffrey Epstein, fashion collections with racist undertones, or harassment claims. And I know that because it was founded by me and my woke friends.

check it out!

Diary of a Shopgirl: Surrender Dorothy Turns One! 

From the inception of Surrender Dorothy, owner Ruby McCollister felt a desperate documentary urge to capture what was happening at the store and a premature nostalgia for what would inevitably be lost and forgotten. She started filming a Tik Tok series called “Diary of a Shopgirl”.

Have a look!

 Leave Szilveszter Makó Alone! Why Everyone Is Coming For The Photographer Du Jour

You've seen his work. I've seen his work. We've all seen his work. A celebrity sits in a box on a magazine cover - probably Vogue - with some kind of cardboard prop near them. They're wearing a structural garment and the colours are washed with a muted green or blue. That's right, it's another Szilveszter Makó photo shoot!

This week on the podcast, hosts Ione and Gina talk about publishing's photographer du jour. Has the Hungarian artist sold out? Should editors know better? And why is everyone criticising this new creative for being successful?

Listen in!

 Behind the Scenes of our Making Marie Antoinette Screening and After Party

We teamed up with Mubi to host a screening of Making Marie Antoinette - Polyester style!

Click through to see the full gallery, and to grab a month free of Mubi!

MORE MORE MORE!

 Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz’s Guide to Doing Your Own Stunts

Despite the adrenaline and spectacle associated with the job, Ramos-Ortiz is quick to point out that most stunt work comes down to preparation and knowing your limits. From learning how to fall before attempting anything flashy to understanding when to call a hold on set, becoming a stunt performer requires much more than willingness to throw yourself through a window. Here, Ramos-Ortiz shares her guide to doing your own stunts.

Full guide!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

 Kiko Mizuhara on Loving Creativity, Karaoke, And Intimacy Co-Ordinators

Kiko Mizuhara is our November cover star! Click below to read the full interview and see the full editorial!

have a look!

 “Goddamn Women”: Sex, Sadism, and Supremacy in the Witchsploitation Movies of ‘70s

At a time when cinema was advocating for women’s liberation with verité films about quiet suffering, witchsploitation was, albeit unintentionally, allowing women to see themselves as all-powerful, immune to millennia of social repression, and supremely comfortable with their position. 50 years later, their trashy excesses still feel like a cleansing ritual. 

check it out!

 The Rise Of Girlie Ghost Hunting

Whilst some people think it’s fun to smash pumpkins or wrap toilet roll round trees, others look for spirits. Teenagers have been tampering with Ouija boards and calling for Bloody Mary in the mirror at sleepovers for generations but paranormal explorations in mainstream media were never really aired until the early 2000s.

Have a look!

 The Tradwife Mass Exodus and Why Women Are Turning Their Backs on The Alt-Right

Who would have possibly thought the tradwife way of life wouldn't be sustainable forever? In a series of New York Times articles and Instagram influencer pivots, we're seeing a mass exodus of women leaving the tradwife moniker behind.

This week, hosts Ione and Gina discuss the ways this alt right trend left women open to abuse, the culpability of the ex-tradwives, and the absolutely obscene press tour Nara Smith is currently taking part in.

Listen in!

 A Cinematic Fetish: A Polyester Guide to Horror, Desire and Costume.

With Halloween rapidly encroaching and cold weather on the horizon, our fashion editor Katy Cutbirth has started to turn off the Amazon Originals and rewatch all of her favourite horror movies. Her favourites tend to be of the sexy and moody variety: erotic horror, preferably with impeccable costume design that leaves her inspired to get dressed. 

Full list!

Delilah Holliday's Guide to Protecting Your Peace and Living a Soft Life 

For Delilah Holliday, protecting her peace has also meant learning what to leave behind. After a lifetime of people pleasing, Holliday is setting firmer boundaries and embracing a life that doesn’t need to be shared online. Whether it’s recognising red flags in relationships, stepping away from draining environments or pushing back against demanding work expectations, she’s learning that peace sometimes comes at the expense of being liked, which is a trade-off she’s willing to make.

Here, Delilah Holliday shares her tips for protecting your peace and living a soft life.

Full guide!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Polyester Gamble Ltd
268B Commercial Way
London
England

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Hi Dolls!

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

 Why Do We Need To Bring Back Shame?

If you move between enthusiasm and exhaustion for the big four fashion weeks (or like me are completely reconstructing your sartorial choices due to a new penchant for estradiol valerate), you may have come across a certain piece walked this September. A coral slogan tee walked by Hari Nef that plainly declared Bring back Shame.

have a look!

 Fashion Week Exclusivity Was Worse Than Ever: Remembering The Bodies Fashion Forgets

More disabled people should be at fashion week! But beyond representation, what could the industry be doing to include disabled people in the conversation, rather making them feel like an afterthought?

check it out!

 This Photo Diary is Reflecting on Being 14

In June 2016, Dora Sahbazovic bought their first analog camera. They spent that long summer capturing something only hindsight could later make clear: what it was like to be 14. 

Have a look!

 I Am Jane Doe And The Internet's Complicity To The Cornell Case

This week, hosts Ione and Gina take apart the social media reaction to the so called 'Cornell 7', the monetisation that influences inflammatory responses on X in particular and whether the I Am Jane Doe campaign is a successful way of protesting against the systematic failures that allow assaults like this to happen in the first place.

Listen in!

 Buy Curious: Where We’re Shopping This October

Polyester fashion director Katy Cutbirth is back with your October shopping recs!

Full guide!

 Lab Gurrrl’s Guide to Making Makeup for a Living

In the guide below, Lab Gurrrl talks us through her own journey to becoming not just a certified cosmetic chemist, but also how she’s turned her lab work into a front-facing social media presence that inspires others to enter the world of beauty science. Or at least, understand the specifics that go into making a shimmer eyeshadow shimmer and lip gloss pop.

More! More! More!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

It’s official - Autumn has arrived.

Each month, we send our Dollhouse members journaling sheets with themed questions and prompts to help you reflect on what you’ve been experiencing over recent weeks.

Feel free to print out the sheets and make them your own (collaging, stickers and doodles are encouraged!!), or feel free to keep it digital and type in your answers. 

If you’d like your work featured in a future journaling round-up post on our site and social media, please send us your completed worksheets on email! Send these to hello@polyesterzine.com with the subject JOURNAL SHEET. We love to see them 🌞

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

Ecca Vandal on Chopova Lowena, Trusting Your Collaborators and Adoring Bjork

Ecca Vandal is our October cover star! Click to read the full interview and check out the full editorial!

have a look!

Maraschino’s October 2026 Horoscope

Astrology angel Maraschino is back with your October horoscope! Check it our below!

Your full horoscope!

 Secret Diary of a Photographer at Paris Fashion Week

Photographer Simran Kaur went BTS at Paris Fashion Week - check out the full diary below!

Have a look!

 How a Covid Conscious Lesbian Bar in Massachusetts Became the Epicentre of the Culture Wars

This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the ongoing backlash Last Ditch are experiencing from offering a mask optional night in their programming. Is the owner in the wrong for excluding patrons who can only attend fully masked events? Is their community acting too harshly in their response to her business decision? And should we question the ethics of laughing at situations that the right wing are capitalising on during the American mid terms?

Listen in!

 In Defence Of Sleeping Naked

I started almost a decade ago. Following entry-level commando in my flimsy sleep slips, I realised there was no real reason to have underwear on overnight. The evolution was natural, I actually didn’t need to wear anything at all. Between the smooth sensation of soft skin on sheets, the subtle arousal of the Eyes Wide Shut-esque fall of my pajamas, and the satisfaction of a full body stretch with no fabric restrictions, there was no turning back. I was a convert. A nighttime nudist.

Full piece!

 Lina Abascal on Her Documentary Short ‘Come to Brasil’

Lina Abascal is a Los-Angeles based filmmaker and writer whose work explores music, the internet, fan culture, and the communities that surround them. Her latest project, the documentary short Come to Brasil, looks beyond the memeification of a phrase that has been present online since the dawn of the internet, to examine what it reveals about super-fan culture - and what it means to those fans when some of the world’s biggest pop stars leave entire countries off their touring circuits.

More! More! More!

 Rebekah Sherman-Myntti's Guide to Not Waiting for Permission

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti has been paving her own way for years. From deciding she was a producer - in order to become a producer - to starting her own film festival in New York when she spotted a need for a space where “filmmakers and musicians could be seen in a meaningful context, where new work could sit beside work made by older or more established artists”, she has never taken no for an answer. Or rather, she has never waited for permission in order to take the lead on creating change for her own life and for those around her.

Full guide!

 CHRCH is the New Era of East London's Tattoo Community

Musician and artist Izzy Bee Phillips reflects on their new Friday side quest into tattooing, exploring the parallels between music and tattoo culture in this editorial.

Full editorial!

 Culture Slut: American Horror Story: Coven and the Myth of Gay Good Taste

Surprise, bitch! Thought you’d seen the last of Misha?

Our contributing editor Misha MN is back with another edition of Culture Slut. This time, they’re looking at American Horror Story: Coven.

Full essay!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Polyester Gamble Ltd
268B Commercial Way
London
England

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We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter. Check them out below <3

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Film: Donkey Skin

Obsessed with this french fairytale from the 70s! I've never seen colours like it!!!

Book: Darryl by Jackie Ess

Picked up this book bc my friend was reading it and I read the blurb and immediately ordered. It's about a cuckold reckoning with what that means for masculinity and gender roles in 2017. 

Jenn Lehwald - Entertainment Editor

Film: Smiley Face by Gregg Araki

Watched this for the first time last week and genuinely laughed my ass off

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Sandra Bullock 

I have really enjoyed having my Instagram flooded with clips from Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s mammoth press tour for Practical Magic 2 (despite being sure that the film is probably garbage), so much so that I have been on a mini Sandy marathon, and these are my top three picks:

In third place, Practical Magic. 

There is so much about this film to love; Stockard Channing and Diane Weist as the aunts, a really horny Nicole in a red wig, a beautiful house, an idyllic setting, and some interchangeably attractive men. The storytelling and script takes a backseat and the experience is driven by vibes and texture alone. The life is the dream, not the story.

In second place,  one of my all time favourite comfort films, Ocean’s 8. 

I have never seen any other Ocean’s film, I have no interest in bank heists or gangsters or George Clooney, but I lovvvvvvve a crack team of hyper-competent female criminals banding together to steal a priceless Cartier necklace from a snooty actress at the Met Gala. There could be no better plot, in my eyes. Big shout outs to Sandy and Cate Blanchett’s will-they-won’t-they sexual tension, Sarah Paulson’s neurotic housewife, Awkwafina’s skateboarding pickpocket and Anne Hathaway’s insufferable starlet. Points deducted for a wholly unnecessary five minutes of James Corden, and an inexplicably Irish Helena Bomham Carter. 

In first place, it has to be Miss Congeniality.

Sandy gives a truly magnetic movie star performance as no nonsense FBI agent having to go undercover at beauty pageant to catch a violent terrorist, and it’s delicious. She’s funny, strong, quietly vulnerable, athletic, up for absolutely anything. The romantic subplot with Benjamin Bratt really works for me, so does her Pygmallion relationship with veteran pageant consultant Michael Caine, but the real meat is in the female ensemble of contestants, including Heather Burns as Miss Rhode Island. Candace Bergin is fabulous as the villainous Kathy Morningside, and William Shatner gives such a comprehensive performance as a pageant compere, he went on to host the actual Miss USA pageants on television. The supporting cast is loaded, but Sandy still shines over everyone, she’s just such a likeable and relatable star, and I truly love her. As for the sequel: no comment.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Book: Tell All Your Friends: A History of Mainstream Emo by Emma Garland

I’ve just finished reading this masterpiece which explores emo through the lens of 11 albums spanning the genre’s early hardcore roots to the time Daily Mail warned parents about their kids turning emo (lol) to modern interpretations through Saboys, Drain Gang etc. and how elements of emo have forever impacted pop culture. It’s due to drop in February but you can pre-order now from Waterstones, Foyles or wherever. 

Misaj, mosquito repelling moisturiser

Full transparency, this was a PR gift but I really wish I remembered to pack this for my Italy trip because mamma mia, I have been devoured. Not only does it banish mozzies but it also makes your skin super soft, yayyyy! 

Morphe Underslated eyeshadow mini palette

Full transparency, I bought this using my own free will and money. Saw this mini version of the cool-toned matte essentials palette that has been my go-to for years in Boots and immediately grabbed as my original big one has been bashed around a bit. This one actually fits really easily in my makeup bag and I have been using it every day since!

Rob Corsini - Contributing Editor

Film: Muriel's Wedding

I watched Muriel's Wedding for the first time this weekend and they just don't make 'em like this any more. Obviously it's the making of a superstar in Toni Colette, but it's also just such a funny, sometimes sad, very hopeful but also still complex film about growing up and getting validation. Immediately added to my Letterboxd top 4.

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

Sorry this is so specific but it was either this or me recommending Strictly again and I think you would rather this. Last weekend I went to Bologna - a beautiful city full of airy porticos and bread based foods - and as someone who loves to eat, I had a marvellous time. I had many excellent morsels over the few days I was there (I also went to zero museums I’m so sorry), but my fav by far was a piece of the special Sunday lasagna at Trattoria da Me. I love it when lasagna is kind of burned?? But also very creamy?? There was so much of both tastes and textures, balanced out by chunky, rich ragu. I ate it in about five seconds and have thought about it every moment since. If you are in Bologna, please go get a slice (but be warned they only do it on Sundays which makes it feel even more special), you’ll be so happy!!!!

Shannon Oxley - Junior Social Editor

Toy: Needoh

I sourced a Needoh on Vinted as they’re sold out everywhere and my life is changed. My goal for the rest of the year is to become one of those squishy traders on TikTok.

Series: Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip

They truly picked the best women from each Franchise to celebrate 20 years of housewives! Having Luann singing “Chic C’est La Vie”, Lisa Barlow cry and Porsha twerk weekly brought so much joy in life that I didn’t know I needed and I cannot wait for the finale!

See you next time! xoxo

The Polyester Team

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

Wisp on Her Glittery New Shoegaze Sound, ‘Anti-Rules’, and Loving Every Awkward Phase​ 

Natalie Lu, also known as Wisp, is the soft-spoken shoegaze star who has graced the stages of Camp Flognaw, Lollapalooza, and has opened for nu metal legends System of a Down and Deftones just three years into making music.

We caught up with her to talk about her new album.

Full Editorial!

Polyester’s Picks for Fierce Festival 

This year, Fierce Festival will take place in venues across Birmingham from 14-18 October, showcasing performances that put experimental, interdisciplinary, and queer voices centre stage. If you’re thinking of going along - and you should be if you want to see performance art that feels truly interesting and challenging - here are our picks for what you should be checking out.

Have a look!

 Are Thinkfluencers Democratising Education Or Is This Just Academia Slop?

This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the newest kind of content creator - the Thinkfluencer. This short form video essayist condenses topics into bitesize chunks to give viewers insight on topics ranging on everything from neuroscience to the Met Gala. Is this content helping to make academia more accessible or is it hindering our natural hunt for knowledge? Or is this just another trend for engagement farming?

Listen in!

 Literature’s Bad Women Need To Be Worse

The brief excursions into the freedom of collapse presented in books such as ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ and ‘The Bell Jar serves as testament to a bleak, limiting idea of what is to be female: freedom meaning, at best, a self-indulgent flit between rebellion and acceptance.

Have a look!

 Put Him in the Jar: Rituals, Revenge, and Survivor Justice

When I was caught in an endless doomscroll populated by a staggering number of thinkpieces about the Cornell 7, a voice cut through the noise: "I will curse anyone's SA'er or abuser for free." Sophie, a self-described witch and sexual assault survivor who goes by sagmoonmagic on Instagram, has pledged to add the names of survivors' offenders to her "justice jar," with the help of a Google Form that asks only for the name and birthdate of the offender.

Full piece!

 Bucking Fastard is a Picaresque That Never Makes Its Way Home

Not unlike Little and Big Edie, or the too-precious-for-this-world coed siblings of Bertolucci’s The Dreamers and Lanthimos’ Dogtooth. The sisters of Werner Herzog’s latest, Bucking Fastard, are not so tragic. At least, Herzog seems to think so. 

Full essay!

 The Defence of the Sex Playlist

I like the idea of everyone crafting a set of songs that embodies their beauty and individualism, and finding the right rooms to stream them into the next time they get some play.

Have a look!

 Helena Gao’s Guide to Connecting to the Motherland: China Edition

For Gao, connecting with the motherland isn’t about claiming an experience she didn’t have. “Obviously, I didn’t grow up with it,” she says. “There’s a lot of things, for good and bad, that I cannot claim.” Instead, it’s about spending time in a place, engaging with its people and allowing yourself to discover a relationship with it on your own terms. Here, Gao shares her guide to doing exactly that.

Full guide!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

We’re bringing the Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste to The Norah Store in Manchester!

Join Polyester editors Gina Tonic and Lauren O’Neill for readings from The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste (published this summer) - featuring everything from X Factor to why poetry might actually be crap - as well as drinks, books and zines for sale, and other girly things.

Norah Store, 47 Henry St, Ancoats, M4 5DH / Thursday 8th October / 7-9pm

Signed copies of The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste will be available to purchase on the night 

Hope to see you there!

Tickets here!

XOXO

The Polyester Team

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

 Cinecism: Minotaur Is the Modern War Film We Needed

Our film columnist Maia Wyman is back with another edition of Cinecism - this time looking at Cannes Grand Prix winner Minotaur!

Check it out!

 What Dreams Are Made Of: The Beautiful Trauma of Millennial Cringe

From 50-denier tights, patchwork denim mini skirts and Snoopy underwear from H&M to Hilary Duff at the O2 Arena this month: an ode to millennial cringe!

Full essay!

 The Problem with Sydney Sweeney’s Gambling Advert Isn’t Her Body

It's not about Sydney Sweeney doing an easily misinterpreted advert again. It's not about her being completely naked in it either. Listen to me, it's just sports. Or at least, that's what gambling app Novig want you to think.

This week, our hosts Ione and Gina dissect the discourse surrounding Sydney Sweeney's latest advertisement drama and get to grips with the more pressing problem that is arising across the world of marketing: The ethics of promoting gambling and who benefits from the popularisation of bettings apps.

Listen in!

 Dear Chris Kraus

“Two years ago I interviewed Chris Kraus for this magazine; it was the first time we met in person. Since then, she became the first author I published and, along with Semiotext(e), the press she co-runs, one of the main reasons I started my own. She lent me her house in Los Angeles for a week while she was away teaching. I spent it alone, surrounded by her books, writing her a letter about what happens when someone whose work shaped yours becomes someone whose house you’re  living in.”

Have a look!

 r/Girl Dinner Diaries and the Unifying Appeal of Gossip Over Picky Bits

The feminine tradition of putting the world to rights over a nice meal is no longer confined to IRL hangouts. On Reddit, women all over the world are spilling their guts and revealing their plates on /r/GirlDinnerDiaries in an anonymous crowdsourced group therapy session to a growing audience of 6 million hungry ladies.

Full piece!

 Culture Slut: The Met Gala is a Mess

Our contributing culture editor Misha MN is back with another edition of Culture Slut, this time taking a deep dive into the mess that is the Met Gala.

Full essay!

 Exclusive: A Look Inside ‘Forgot’ by Cafe

For nearly a decade, Vita Haas and Lucy Weisner have made a career out of finding the clothes you didn’t know you were looking for. Through Café Forgot, the duo has built a New York institution around rare and the one-off pieces of clothing. Now, they’re turning that eye inward with Forgot, their own line of playful, pared-back essentials, launching in late September.

Sneak peek!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

We’ve got some exciting news to share with you: your Polyester membership just got even better <3

Along with all your other excellent (if we may say so ourselves) benefits, we’ve now levelled up all memberships with the addition of a Members Only area on polyesterzine.com (find it in the top navigation bar, or here). Here you’ll find extra interviews, recommendations from your faves, even more BTS, and other top secret content that you can only unlock with your Polyester membership. Take it from us: it’s very good stuff. 

We’re always always working to make your money go further and we hope you love the Members Area - and if there’s anything else you wanna see as part of your membership, let us know at hello@polyesterzine.com. We love hearing from you so much <3 

Thank you for helping Polyester to keep going. We rely on memberships to keep commissioning incredible writers, photographers, and shoot teams, and to continue making work that we believe really matters - and if you agree, tell a friend to sign up today. 

In the meantime, enjoy your new perk and have a great week, 

XOXO, 

The Polyester Team

We’re heading to Charleston in Lewes for an evening celebrating The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste, and we’d love for you to come along!

Join Polyester Podcast hosts Ione Gamble and Gina Tonic for a deep dive into all things bad taste. 

Dollhouse members get a code to get tickets for free - Just enter IoneGamble100 at checkout ❤️ 

Hay Barn, Charleston, Lewes / Saturday 26 September / 7.30pm

We’d love to see you there!  <3

Tickets here

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Book: Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

Most of fashion week is travelling between shows and because they're short stints, I thought I'd recommend a short story collection! Sayaka Murata is the legend behind Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman and this book is full of great, grotty small tales to keep you engrossed between shows.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Ignoring Fashion Week

Ignoring fashion week: a clout chaser’s dream, they just want you to buy more stuff! IMO there should be a singular week a year or every five years because we have more clothes on the planet that we even need, and it seems like it stresses everyone out for no reason.

Ione Gamble - Founding Editor in Chief

Film: The September Issue

Was truly appalled at a team dinner last month when no one had watched the September issue except me and Misha. If you’ve been engrossed in the John Galliano Met controversy then I promise you’ll have the time of your life with this documentary

Treatment: A blow dry (I got mine at Blue Tit)

Whether you’re participating in fashion week or not everyone knows I’m a huge proponent of not needing a reason to have nice hair. Blue Tit is my local and I love it!!

Film: Bill Cunningham New York

If fashion week brings out your inner cynic or even if you just hate fashion altogether, I promise you’ll watching this documentary will make you feel so much hope in your heart that’ll it will feel like it could burst. Bill Cunningham GOAT!!!

Camille Mariet - LA Editor

Goated item: PlayHot portable handheld turbo fan

OK, this is truly a holy grail rec. Between the heat and the humidity, it has been hellish in LA this summer. I shudder to think how things would’ve gone for me had it not been for this little fan. It has 5 speeds, holds a charge pretty impressively, and I can honestly say is the most powerful handheld fan I’ve ever encountered. I don’t leave home without it anymore. And just in case someone is so compelled by its power that they steal it (and they WILL try), I also bring my Café Forgot hand fan as a lifeline.

Cucumber lime Electrolit
I’m not done complaining about how hot LA has been!!! Once the temperature passes 90*F, no matter how much water I drink, it’s just never enough. These things have saved me at several dire points the past couple months. And luckily for me, they come in the only flavour that I am ever drawn to in an electrolyte beverage— pepino limón <3

Misha MN - Culture Editor

Book - Empress of Fashion by Diana Vreeland

An incredible biography on the life of one of the most important women in 20th century fashion and her groundbreaking career. An American socialite with a European childhood and a passion for self-mythologising, she danced on stage in London for Cecil Beaton, sold lingerie from her own boutique to Wallis Simpson, and eventually became a columnist for Harper’s Bazaar, the most cutting edge fashion magazine of the era. Working under the legendary editor Carmel Snow as an editor, Vreeland became a force in her own right, creating both a visual language with photographers like Richard Avedon and Louise Dahl-Wolfe and a whole new lexicon of words like “youthquake” and “pizzazz”. Eventually she took over as editor in chief of Vogue and championed the youthful vitality of artists like Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton. After her tenure at Vogue, she went on to helm the then fledgling Costume Institute at the Met, and create the most famous fundraiser in existence today; the Met Gala. Vreeland’s contribution to the modern fashion world is titanic, she transformed what was becoming an increasingly staid and dull world into a theatre of imagination, of fantasy and innovation. She is responsible not only for the way fashion photography became its own art form through her work at Harper’s Bazaar, but also the very language of fashion itself.

Book - The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley

I might have recommended this book before, but it’s worth revisiting, particularly during ongoing conversations of who the fashion world and the Met Gala chooses to celebrate during and directly after their lives. Talley’s first fashion job was as an assistant to Diana Vreeland at the Costume Institute, and she was so enamoured of him that she sent him to Andy Warhol to work for Interview, where he became very successful. Soon, Talley became an editor and fashion writer at Women’s Wear Daily, W magazine, the New Yorker, Ebony, and finally Vogue as fashion news director, eventually becoming creative director under Anna Wintour, the first black man in history to do so. His writing is intimate, detailing the closeness of his relationships with legends like Karl Lagerfeld and Wintour, how he created his iconic look, and the importance of dreaming in fashion. At the height of his career he devoted his power to lifting up black creatives, designers and models, something fashion still needs to do. One can only imagine his response to Black Dandyism at the Met. A unique memoir and a fabulous life.

See ya next time, and happy fashion week <3

XOXO

The Polyester Team

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

Maraschino’s September 2026 Horoscope 

Astrology angel Maraschino is back with your September 2026 horoscope! Check it out below!

Full horoscope!

 Why Does Everyone Suddenly Want To Smell Like A Cute Little Kitten?

There’s a litter of indie fragrance houses adopting the scent of kitten fur. Whilst the warm sweet, almost vanilla-like laundry smell of a cat’s fur is undeniably good, why are people keen to smell like this?

Full essay!

 Is C*ntslop A New Pop Genre Or Just Another Way To Diminish Women?

Alert! There has been a slop detected in the mother toilet - who refused to flush?? We are talking about, of course, the lukewarm reception that's being directed towards the new Adela and Rebecca Black album releases.

This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the newest term spawned out of Twitter and being dissected on Substack - C*ntslop. Are pop music visuals going too far? Or are they not authentic enough? How does it all tie into the white gay male gaze? And should we stop pandering to the pink pound?

Listen in!

 Angels in the Attic is the Editorial Exploring Divine Beauty Through Disorder

Angels who've fallen out of heaven and landed somewhere completely mundane — an attic, a bathroom, a childhood bedroom — and are quietly wrecking the place. Feathers molting everywhere, wings too big for the room, halos crooked, stockings torn on the way down. It's less "holy" and more "divine being having a very human, very messy moment." Explosion and ejection as the visual language — feathers caught mid-fall, limbs sprawled across tile floors, wings crushed against bathroom counters — beauty and chaos existing in the same frame.

Full editorial!

 The Littlest Funeral Home is Reimagining Deathcare on Social Media

The bodies are piling up in a dollhouse in America. @LittlestFuneralHome is the campest palliative deathcare can offer. Dethroning death as taboo, creator Erik Forrest uses dolls to become acquainted with the abject. Emblaming tutorials are a scroll away from skits of funerals-gone-wrong. The melodrama of the dollhouse soap opera screens spontaneous combustion, a Madonna-soundtracked purgatory, velveteen crimson drapes shrouding the autopsy table from the crystal chandeliers. In Erik’s funeral home, mourners drink bleach from shot glasses and crash services. Morticians, Leatherface-style, dissect the dead. Flowers in the parlour never bloom nor rot - the dead are forever in plastic.

Have a Look!

 Angourie Rice’s Guide to Embracing the Cringe

For Angourie Rice, the key to getting over embarrassment is accepting that most of the time, nobody is thinking about you as much as you think they are. It’s a lesson she’s taken from Finding Emily, the new rom-com in which she stars as a psychology student who teams up with a lovesick musician to track down his dream girl.

Angourie Rice shares her guide to letting go of the fear of judgment, embracing your cringe and, ultimately, finding a little more freedom in doing exactly what you want.

Full guide!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Or otherwise located UK dolls, if you’re up for travelling <3 We’ve teamed up with the inimitable Fierce Festival to give away a pair of day passes for their Saturday festivities on 17th Oct, which gives access to all shows that day including the evening party with YIRRAMBOI 🪩

The arts festival is known for hosting a varied and brilliant array of performance art that will make you laugh, cry and scream with joy. You’re going to love it!

To apply, email your name and the name of the bestie you’d like to bring to hello@polyesterzine.com with the subject FIERCE FESTIVAL.

Best of luck!

Lots of love,
The Polyester Team 🎀

We’re so excited to reveal the cast of The Paper as our September cover stars!

Back in March, Polyester headed to the Universal Studios backlot to spend the day on set with the cast.

The second season of the highly anticipated The Office spinoff has just dropped - meet the cast and read the full cover story below.

Read the full piece

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team 🌷

We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter. Check them out below <3

Ione Gamble - Founding Editor in Chief

Series: Furious 

Was really surprised by how GOOD this tv show is. Truly amazing - every performance slaps, an amazing disabled character (saying amazing disability representation feels a bit undermining to just truly how funny and nuanced the character and actor is), gripping stunning no weak episodes. Starts off slow but stick with it because it really pays off once it gets going.

Series: Under the Bridge 

Don't know why i’m in my true crime/crime bag this week but i watched this Hulu limited series from 2024 and was also impressed. It is so so so so so so grim and sad and a dramatisation of a true story but I think its well worth a watch as I had no idea about the case before. A really interesting look at who gets forgiven / let off when it comes to the crimes of teenagers in relation to gender and class. Riley Keoughs character is very strange though so if you watch it email / dm me your thoughts please.

Food: Ritas Restaurant & Malk Acid afternoon tea at Selfridges 

Had an absolute treat of late summer in which I got to have not one but two amazing meals courtesy of the actual genius Missy Flynn https://www.instagram.com/missyyflynn/?hl=en. One being at her restaurant, Ritas, which has a perfect garden for the end of summer and even more perfect food and cocktails. Then me and Gina went to her afternoon tea at selfridges featuring gummy sweets and devilled eggs. Genuinely the PERFECT activity for a heatwave as Selfridges has incredible air con so get yourself down there if we have another one.

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Film: What A Way To Go

I've been obsessed with Shirley Maclaine since I watched Sweet Charity last year and this is a creme de la creme turn by her in some of the most jaw dropping unreal sets and costume designs I've ever seen. Paul Newman STUNS. I'm determined to see this in a cinema asap because it was just that good.

Jenn Lehwald - Entertainment Editor

Album: Girlfriend by Grace Ives

Been spinning this like crazyyyyyy. 1 million bangers.

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Film: Adrianne and the Castle 

Saw this 2024 Canadian doc over the weekend and I was floored by it. It follows the story of Alan St George, an artist and sculptor who renovated a house with his wife Adrianne, transforming it into a maximalist 63-room wet-dream palace full of depictions of the happy couple and their epic love. He built Adrianne a stage and a theatre, endless closets for her extravagant wardrobe, anything and everything they could ever want. She died in 2006 and the film actually becomes a look at grief and lost love, and it is heart-wrenching. The couple’s outsider aesthetics are complimented by the film, which creates reenactments of key moments from Alan and Adrianne’s life, looking like something John Waters might have directed in one of his more sentimental moods. The film delves into a widower’s life in detail, but also, excitingly, keeps a lot of information close to the chest. How rich were this couple to have endless time and space to create this shrine of a mansion? What did Adrianne do besides be worshipped? Why were both of them disowned by their families? Was Adrianne trans? A drag queen? A highly eccentric fallen debutante? We are left with as many questions as were answered throughout the runtime, and I think that’s a mark of a fascinating story being cleverly told. An emotional five stars.

Series: The Vampire Lestat 

I loved the Interview with the Vampire series from the last couple of years, so v excited to finally catch this third season, focusing on Lestat de Lioncourt’s meteoric rise as a rockstar. Sam Reid is gorgeous beyond belief, and pulls off his frontman fantasies with aplomb, but is perhaps not quite as convincing as Stuart Townsend’s nu metal rock god in 2002’s Queen of the Damned. Jennifer Ehle turns up as Leatat’s incestuous mother (was that in the book??) and I honestly love her. Jennifer Ehle can do no wrong in my eyes, going from a perfect Lizzie Bennet in the legendary BBC Pride and Prejudice series to a vindictive lesbian on her death bed in Rose Glass’s St Maude, she’s got the range. I’m only a couple of episodes in, but I can see from the IMDB listings that Marius, my favourite vampire will turn up soon, and of course, the best vampire of all time, AKASHA will be making an appearance too. The only thing that could make this series better is if I’d gotten to go to the Lestat concert Sam Reid gave in New York as part of the promotion for the series. Grammys and Molly-laced blood all round.

Music: Cocteau Twins

My soundtrack of the summer has been assorted Cocteau Twins tracks, and I could not be happier about that. After randomly coming across one their songs in May, I haven’t been able to stop listening to Elizabeth Fraser’s angelic voice and the often indecipherable language she sings in, a true Lingua Ignota. My favourite song (with English lyrics) is Seekers who are Lovers, which I initially thought was about fisting: “A love as big as a wrist fills you up and you can’t look on. The breath of God is in my mouth, a love you can taste,” etc. I’m also v into Cico Buff, Sea Swallow Me, Cherry-Coloured Funk, Violaine, and I Wear Your Ring. Truly a song catalogue for the ages. Five stars.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Erin Parsons’ online archive: 

Beauty historian slash makeup Erin Parsons has kindly compiled all of her collection into a self-founded online archive, what a legend. The site says it’s “working to establish New York City's first public makeup archive and make its collection accessible to all.” There’s hundreds of different products, my favourites are the art deco compacts and pierrot clowns from 100 years ago and the Salvador Dali 80s compacts. 

Song: This Song May Or May Not Be About An Alt Right Influencer by Portraits Of Tracy

This FUCCCKKSSSSSS!!!!!! Tracy Geneviève Amare is a genius. Apparently she wrote this MTV-ified diss track after finding out a well known Neo-Nazi was listening to her work, literally telling him to open his eyes or die. 

Song: Tokyo by Nikio Rubio

Fresh sexy trip-hop Sneaker Pimps vibes I don’t know what to tell you! Been stuck in my head since I first heard it.

Book: Ghost Month

How would you react if the dead came back for a full month every year? Would you welcome them into your home or run away screaming? That’s the premise of Simon Wroe’s new book, which is both very readable and fun to think about. It follows multiple characters journeys as they deal with the presence of the dead. I think my reaction would depend entirely on who chooses to haunt me. 

Befriending a toad :)))) - I have made friends with a toad.

Rob Corsini - Contributing Editor

Activity: Getting Pizza With Your Friends 

I was having a really sad week but then all the Polyester team came together to have pizza and it just fed my soul in a way that you really cannot get elsewhere. Friends are what life is for!!

Film: Hoppers

Pixar is BACK baby. I actually think this may be Pixar's best film since Coco (2017). When I was watching all I could think was this is cinemaaaaa - so many films are not FUN and more but Hoppers was FUN in spadeloads. I've recommended it so many people and they've all loved it including Jenn (Entertainment Editor)

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

TV Show: Celebrity Masterchef

It's September which means your resident mum is back recommending her favourite midweek BBC shows and will be doing so til circa April next year [airhorn noise]. Right now I am enjoying the new series of Celeb Masterchef not least because it features Polyester girlie Shakira Khan who is doing an incredible job. Really hope she wins because she's so cute. Elsewhere I like the new host Giorgio who is an Italian chef, because he is always telling the contestants off when they do pasta wrong and so on. In all: a big laugh and a lovely thing to put on while you go on your phone <3

Shannon Oxley: Junior Socials Editor

Book: Down the Drain by Julia Fox

I’m late to this one, but I was absolutely obsessed with this book! It’s been a while since I’ve found a book that I genuinely cannot put down, and this was exactly that. I already loved Julia, but reading all the ins and outs of her life made me adore her even more. It’s messy, chaotic, hilarious and completely addictive, I couldn’t recommend it more!

Album: Eli- Stage Girl (Not A Dream Anymore)

After having major FOMO from missing Daisy Chains Festival, my feed has been filled with videos from the festival, and the ones of Eli have made me want to see her live even more! Since then, I’ve had this album on repeat. It’s giving early 2000s pop and Disney Channel nostalgia in the best possible way, and I’m completely obsessed

See you next time! xoxo

The Polyester Team

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

The Rise Of The Eco-Hobby 

You may have seen some of their projects on TikTok without realising it, because the outcome is usually more interesting than if they’d used manufactured products. These creators make sequins out of food waste and natural dyes from flowers in their gardens, which they seamlessly incorporate into their art. But for eco-hobbyists, their work goes beyond the artistic factor, and it’s no coincidence that it’s a niche that’s growing in numbers

Full feature!

 Ugly Betty at 20 and The Great Fashion Magazine Dream

Twenty years ago, sixteen million people tuned in as a young, ambitious fashion writer, Betty Suarez (played by a then-unknown America Ferrera), nervously awaited her job interview at Meade Publications. Wearing adult braces and a colourful Guadalajara poncho, she was immediately rejected for the coveted role of assistant to MODE editor-in-chief Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) in favour of a thinner model candidate. Undeterred by the rejection, Betty declares that “magazines are my passion…since I was a kid.” For her, MODE isn't simply a workplace to break into, but a cultural institution she believes in.

Full essay!

 Kinda Chic That Cool Girl Trends Are Ruining The Internet...

This week, hosts Ione and Gina talk about the growing need to be seen as cool across social media - spawning everything from tutorials on how to be cool to long read Substacks dissecting the tutorials. Has the the algorithm has fully drained the joy of recommendation and curation? Is the quest for coolness futile? And if everyone is kinda chic, then is no-one chic at all?

Listen in!

 The Polyester Guide to Shopping in Japan

The Polyester Guide to Shopping in Japan

I spent ten days moving between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with one mission: to shop. Before leaving I'd interrogated every well-traveled fashion person I knew and surrendered more than a few evenings to TikTok rabbit holes. My Google Maps became a constellation of saved vintage stores, archives, bookstores and antiques shops. Some were every bit as wonderful as promised. Others felt sadly unremarkable.

Full Guide!

 Kink Is Back In Cinema – How Transgressive Is It?

Babygirl (2024), Pillion (2025) and now I Want Your Sex (2026); take it from director Gregg Araki – “Sex is fucking back!”

Araki declared on a No Notes interview earlier this summer, part of a press tour for I Want Your Sex, a singular film in Araki’s oeuvre for coming after a 12 year hiatus, partly starring an older protagonist, and being a sometimes silly and ultimately uplifting sex comedy.

Have a Look!

 From Errands to Interior Motives, Why are Social Media Shows Focusing on the Mundane?

For a while, it seemed that YouTube and Netflix had made this genre of entertainment obsolete. But a new wave of Gen Z-targeted ‘shows’ that live on social media are adopting similar formats. Examples include Subway Takes, the short-form chat show hosted by Kareem Rahma; Interior Motives, a game show where contestants guess the gender, sexuality and age of an anonymous person based on a photo of their bedroom; and the Errandsshow, where each episode follows a different person completing a practical task.

Check it out!

A Daisy Chain Fields Festival Diary By Quiet Light

A look BTS at Daisy Chain Fields with Quiet Light!

Full diary!

See you next time!

The Polyester Team

xoxo

 Hi Dolls!

We’re back with a brand-new lineup of features this week - take a look below 💕

 From Ninajirachi to Oklou: Excavating the Girl EDM Genre

Say the word “EDM” to most people and you’ll be instantly swung back to the 2010s, a landmine of light-up laser shows, party favours, heavy bass and wobbling synths. EDM has pulsed through pop culture for two decades, exploding in the 2010s alongside a boom in festival culture. Now, in 2026, women and non-binary DJs, producers and musicians are driving its re-emergence.

Full feature!

Cinecism: Tony, The Anthony Bourdain Biopic, As Told By 2011 

Matt Johnson’s latest feature, Tony, strolls languidly along the gritty boardwalks and shingled houses of 1970s Provincetown, and happily breathes in the fishy salt air. Watching it, you feel nostalgia for a feeling you never experienced. You are overcome with a sense of gentle warmth. Of cozyness. So much so, that you forget you’re watching a movie about Anthony Bourdain.

Full essay!

The Girlification of Surveillance Culture

This week, hosts Ione and Gina take on the girlification of the surveillance state, the actual terrors that lie in the tech companies controlling our cameras, and why we need to stand up against the normalisation of peer to peer data capture.

Listen in!

Behind the Scenes on Polyester’s Camp Miasma Screening 

Welcome to Polyester’s Little Pink Book: the directory full of the chicest, smartest, more gorgeous people from all around the world. Flick through these pages to see all of the beautiful people who attended our latest event in London - where we hosted a screening of Jane Schoenbrun’s new slasher Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, as well as a summer camp halloween party!

Check it out!

 Touching Grass is the Editorial Surrendering to Being Visible

touching grass

A story about context, incidental observation, and surrendering to
being visible.

Do you think about the way that you’d like to be seen -from a very far distance, closer, interrupted by a city in surge, girl
in motion colliding with the street.

Full editorial!

 Sabine Tautou’s Guide to Surviving the NYC Heatwave

In New York, professional dominatrix and performance artist has been taking her subs to the streets to help cool them off. When speaking to me about her newest series that is going viral across social media, Sabine Tautou tells me it’s been an especially aggressive summer in the city - we get Tautou’s tips and tricks for keeping cool.

Full guide!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Hope you’re all having an amazing summer. We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter. Check them out below <3

Ione Gamble - Founding Editor in Chief

Activity: Making basque cheesecake

Hatti actually put this idea in my head but we didn’t end up making one together so I did with Gina and our friend Bridget. Honestly never been more impressed with myself - tastes delicious looks professional and most important so easy to make!!!! Someone have a dinner party and I’ll bring one x

Content creator: Martika Diaz

I GOT SOMETHING I WANNA TALK ABOUT

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Film: Audition

Super late to watching this cult movie and hoo boy is it a cult film for a reason!!! Starts slow then goes absolutely nutso

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Film - Jason and the Argonauts

Wrote a fab piece about The Odyssey for Culture Slut the other week, looking at the way swords-and-sandals epics have impacted Hollywood and our collective vision of antiquity, and in doing so I came back to this absolute classic from 1963. I love Jason and the Argonauts, with its incredibly imposing Bernard Hermann score and groundbreaking Ray Harryhsusen special effects. Claymation seamonsters, murderous skeletons and batwinged harpies lurk round every corner and the complicated choreography of their fight scenes is truly commendable, especially compared to today’s action sequences that have so many quick cuts that you can’t even orientate the camera, let alone the action. Top marks for the handsome Todd Armstrong’s Jason, and Nancy Kovack’s Medea, who I only found out on this rewatch has been dubbed by another actress because producers didn’t like her original voice. Imagine that happening to a leading lady now. Five Greek legendary stars.

Film - Arrival

In a rare fit of modernity, I went to see Disclosure Day in the cinema, but it was shite. I lovvvve realist science fiction about alien encounters, but this was NOT IT, with a screen play that felt thirty years out of date and which brought nothing new to the table. A week later I still had a bad taste in my mouth so I had to revisit the best ever alien-encounter-on-earth film; 2016’s Arrival. Directed by Denis Villeneuve before he got sucked into Dune and starring icon Amy Adams, Arrival follows a team of scientists and linguists as they try to make contact with aliens who have landed on Earth for mysterious reasons. It’s sensitive, poignant, complex, it’s all you could want from sci-fi realism. The building blocks of language and communication are so beautifully manipulated that it becomes a viewing experience that no one could ever forget. Amy Adams should have been Oscar nominated for this, but that’s another story. Five stars.

Short - Fashion Disciples: Black

I don’t know what triggered this in my mind, but i had a flashback to a satirical video about the on-set conflict between a photographer and a brand representative, and after some intense googling I dug up this great video written and directed by Isaac Lock from 2018. It’s funny, it’s real, it’s more relevant than ever. The older you get, the more true things like this become, and in some ways, that’s beautiful. Enjoy.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Exhibition: Lara Croft: 30 Years On

Aware this exhibition is in Derby so I doubt any of you are actually going to go but there’s three rooms full of Tomb Raider merch currently on display in a massive Georgian house museum with playable games at the end. There’s even an olden days larder downstairs if anyone fancies trapping some old men in there for the memories. Happy 30th Lara!!!

Exhibition: Japanese Women Photographers

Here’s a good one in London at The Photographer’s Gallery, with works from the 50s until the present day. Hiromix and Yurie Nagashima are two of the coolest photographers ever IMO. There’s also a camera obscura in the building which is fun too but not part of the exhibition, kept spinning it around really fast and feeling seasick.

Series: Ann Droid

Watching Diane Morgan as a robot in that fuckass bob wig just cracks me up, literally started watching it again after rinsing it the first time.

Rob Corsini - Contributing Editor

Group: KiiiKiii

KiiiKiii are my new K Pop girl band du jour. Everything about their last album (except the name lol) Delulu Pack was so good - particularly the single 404 (New Era) but the new EP WhyKiiiKiii is even better I think. Also the just release video for Pop Off Pop Off is very nostalgia pilled for being on the internet in 2007

Video Essay: The recession has finally hit the influencer economy

Really enjoyed this essay about the influencer economy and how pervasive it’s become. It’s kind of obvious when you think about it, but there complete boom in influencers had to have made it more difficult for them to make money - and it did! This kind of sums up that and also how a lot of the content we see is fake. Classic.

Lewis Vorn- Visual Editor

Film: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

it’s visually where i want to live for the rest of my life. the colours in peppa’s apartment are gorgeous. let me sleep on the balcony for two days because i’ve been knocked out by sleeping pill infused gaspacho. the tiny coffee pot earrings and the insane motorcycle gun chase will live in my brain for ever.

Recipe: Nigella Lawson’s spring chicken gnocchi recipe

i dont cook but have had this for three nights in a row and it hits everytime 🙏💖

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

Restaurant: Kismet

if you are in London and you are in the market for a new restaurant to eat at, it would be criminal if I didn't recommend Kismet in London Bridge, which has immediately hit the top of my list for new openings this year. The Turkish-Cypriot food barely puts a foot wrong (the charred but moist kebabi are phenomenal, and the atom dip - made with thickened yoghurt and clarified chilli butter? Omg), the mise en place - with net curtains, a VHS video playing on entry, and the type of emphemera that you'd see in a family home adorning the walls - is top drawer, and the whole meal was honestly a bit of a sensation. Go! I defy you not to love it!

Advice: Not Moving House During the Third 35 Degree London Heatwave of The Year - just don't do it

Camille Mariet: LA Editor

Ice Cream: Mashti Malone’s

Ever since my lactose intolerance hit its full stride, I’ve really struggled with the loss of ice cream. It’s arguably my favorite dessert and so many of the vegan ones I’ve tried have such weird textures and flavor undertones, I usually just stay all the way away. But on Polyester’s last trip to LA, Ione and I stopped by Mashti Malone’s and discovered that they have dairy-free ice cream now??! My favorite ofc is their pistachio saffron and rosewater. Their Turkish coffee flavor also goes crazy. If you’re local or visiting LA anytime soon, do urself a favor and get a scoop from them, dairy or not!!

Activity: Adult ballet

Look I know how annoying this rec is, alright? Whatever, yes, I’m adult ballet girl, deal with it!! But seriously, getting a little movement in while an 80-year-old icon in homemade double-decker readers plays Chopin on a baby grand is kind of chic. And I will say, it has greatly improved my posture. Try it out sometime!! Shout out to Marat Daukayev School of Ballet in LA <3

Drink: Piňa Coladas

Truly, what more is there to say? This is less of a recommendation and more of a reminder that you need a gorgeous piña colada right this second!!! Even better if you manage to get next to a pool for one.

See you next time! xoxo

The Polyester Team

Heyyyy Dolls <3

It’s another big big week on the Dollhouse, so here’s your rundown of this week’s selection, from our August Ravyn Lenae cover to domesticity in fashion, and the re-emergence of fatphobic language. Let’s go!

Ravyn Lenae is Our August Cover Star!

The singer/songwriter tells us about having viral success with “Love Me Not”, learning to love choreography, and her new album Blue Island, alongside a stunning editorial by Nicole Ngai <3

Read all about it!

From Miu Miu’s Aprons to Skirt Over Trousers - Is Fashion Glamourising the Kitchen?

Aprons are everywhere in fashion right now - but what does style’s return to the kitchen tell us about what’s going on culturally?

Find out more!

The Annoyance Economy and the Not-So-Invisible Labour of Chronic Illness

“I, like the other 60% of Americans with a chronic disease, could opine for days about the often harrowing, sometimes absurd, always annoying ways labour shows up when you have a chronic illness, and one “deemed expensive,” at that. That spiritual degradation in the name of bureaucracy and “process” has a name: “the annoyance economy.””

Check it out!

Molly Crabapple’s Guide to Drawing a Babe

Artist and author Molly Crabapple pens her guide to drawing a subject and getting the best out of them.

See the full guide

Inspirational Parasites, Ozempidemic, and How Memes are Normalising Fatphobia

Thin is in - and so is fatphobia. On the site, we explore how fatphobic language slowly came back into the lexicon post-body positivity.

Read more!

See you next time !

XOXO

The Polyester Team

Check them out below!

Enjoy! xoxo

Avalon Fast on CAMP, Witchcraft and Finding Connection in the Face of Grief

When going into CAMP by Avalon Fast, I wasn’t expecting a direct resemblance to these movies but perhaps a potential pastiche. What I received was the opposite: A dreamy interpretation of the space that offers a completely new take of the setting. CAMP presents a story that emphasises the revolutionary catharsis that friendship can offer in the face of grief and self hate.

Read all about it!

Are Influencers Allowed to Disappear?

Zoe Sugg has been offline since New Year’s Day. Seven months. It's the latest in a lineage of ‘where did they go?’ panics. Line up enough of these cases and a pattern appears that has very little to do with any individual creator. It's about what happens whenever an influencer tries to leave.

Find out more!

Member’s Essay: What’s Going On With Nightlife Right Now?

So, while it’s good news that those in power can see that this type of legislation isn’t the way forward, it does raise some timely questions about what on earth is going on with nightlife right now and how - if we wish - we can actually find the nightlife communities that reflect our interests on a landscape where such communities, and venues for them to gather, are vanishing at such a rapid rate.

Check it out!

Why Are Disabled Women Constantly Being Nitpicked?

In the year 2026, it seems we are still discussing disabled women via the lens of the 16th century hysteria myth - but now we are calling it: social contagion. Last week, Kathleen Stock wrote an essay for The Times titled “Why are young women using walking sticks?”, and it not only rests on terrible ableism, but also on gross patriarchal beliefs.

Check it out!

Jack Haven for Non-Threatening Boys*

Ahead of the release of Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun’s new slasher film - we spoke to Jack Haven about their role as the films killer, Little Death.

Check it out!

See you next time!

XOXO

The Polyester Team

TONIGHT - Thursday 13th August / 8.45pm / The Nickel Cinema, 117-119 Clerkenwell Road

Expect drinks, DJs, fried chicken, special treats and a catwalk contest. Dress Code: Summer Camp!

Please RSVP to hello@polyesterzine.com ASAP if you'd like to come, as places are extremely limited. Plus ones can be accommodated on a first come, first served basis.

Hope to see you there!! <3

xoxo

Team Polyester xx

Hi Dolls!

Just getting in touch to remind you about our summer Halloween party celebrating the release of Jane Schoenbrun's new slasher film, Camp Miasma, starring our cover star Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson - and we'd still love for you to join us!​

Thursday 13th August / 8.45pm / The Nickel Cinema, 117-119 Clerkenwell Road

Expect drinks, DJs, fried chicken, special treats and a catwalk contest. Dress Code: Summer Camp!

Please RSVP to hello@polyesterzine.com ASAP if you'd like to come, as places are extremely limited. Plus ones can be accommodated on a first come, first served basis.

Hope to see you there!! <3

xoxo

Team Polyester xx

If you want full access to everything the Dollhouse has to offer - including free zines, free mini pod eps and loads more - become a member here.

Enjoy! xoxo

Before Pinterest Mood Boards And TikTok “-Cores,” There Was Polyvore

Before Pinterest, there was Polyvore. Many apps and websites have come along, both during and since Polyvore’s reign, trying to emulate the original’s air of boundless creativity (ahem, Fits, ShopLook, Combyne). Yet none have been able to recreate the perfect storm that lived on Polyvore dot com

Read all about it!

 Buy Curious: Your August Shopping Guide

August is when many of us jet off or if you’re smart you’re going in September for the quieter beaches, better prices and slightly cooler days OR better yet doing a staycation because who needs to get away when you’ve got the heat wave? Either way, now is the perfect time to snap up those warm-weather essentials while they're still in stock.

Find out more!

Culture Slut: The Odyssey

Our contributing editor Misha MN is back with another edition of Culture Slut - this time looking at Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey!

Check it out!

Lilian T. Mehrel's Guide to Living a Cinematic Life

Lilian T. Mehrel, writer and director of Honeyjoon, brings you her guide to living a cinematic life.

Full guide!

Maraschino’s August 2026 Horoscope

Astrology angel Maraschino is back with your August horoscope!

Full horoscope!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Hi Dolls, hope you’re well <3 

We're throwing a summer halloween party to celebrate the release of Jane Schoenbrun's new slasher film, Camp Miasma, starring our cover star Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson - and you’re invited! Expect drinks, DJ's, fried chicken, special treats and a catwalk contest. Dress Code: Summer Camp!

Thursday 13th of August / 8.45pm / The Nickel Cinema, 117-119 Clerkenwell Road

Please RSVP to hello@polyesterzine.com by August 6th as places are extremely limited. Plus ones accommodated on a first come first served basis.

Hope to see you there!! <3

XOXO

The Polyester Zine

Hope you’re all having an amazing summer. We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter. Check them out below <3

Ione Gamble - Founding Editor in Chief

Film: Project Hail Mary

AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE. Sorry but i really do love a bit of feel good neoliberal cinema despite the fact its probably slop. Genuinely ugly cried for the last hour. Sandra Huller singing Harry Styles at karaoke? Perfect.

Film: Backrooms

lol obviously i just watch everything six months late because I wait for them to come onto streaming platforms but if you haven’t seen Backrooms, watch it!!! I was so impressed.

Series: Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

Have I already recommended this? If i have but you still haven’t watched it then i implore you to. Tatiana Maslany is a generational talent.

Series: Five Star Weekend

The only way to describe this is if Maddie’s Secret wasn’t pastiche. A food influencer’s husband dies so she invites her closest friends to Nantucket for a weekend away. Catnip to me personally! Chloe Sevigny is the best woman in the world!!

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Book: Suspicion by Seichō Matsumoto

Picked this up at the airport bc I only had a carry on and it was like, 130 pages or something tiny. It packed a punch!! A good little murder mystery that Matsumoto is known for and has def encouraged me to buy more by him.

Film: Santa Sangre

I haven’t stopped thinking about The Holy Mountain since I watched it last year and this other film by Jodorowsky popped up on my streaming service and I went for it. Glad I did divas, it was so so beautiful and mental and a lot more linear than The Holy Mountain but in a way I really enjoyed. Trigger warning for everything as usual.

Gig: Outbreak x All Points East

Make sure you get tickets for this once in a lifetime line up with everyone from Deftones to Amyl and the Sniffers performing in London! It’s going to go HARD

Jenn Lehwald - Social Editor

Film: I love Boosters

anti capitalist media x Boots Riley x Keke Palmer… hell yeah.

Perfume Discovery Sets

I’ve gotten really into perfume discovery sets over the last few months to try out new scents and see how they last on the skin - highlights include Discotheque, Dedcool and Nostos

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Film: Midsummer Night’s Dream

I love a good 90s Shakespeare film production, and this 1999 Midsummer Night’s Dream doesn’t disappoint. Michael Hoffman directs a fabulous cast of notable names in an adaptation of the 1595 play set in ancient Athens that for some reason has been transposed to late 1800s Tuscany. I’m not complaining though, it evokes that very specific period 90s Shakespeare aesthetic focusing on warm sunny terraces, perfectly draped vines and beautifully tanned young women in loose white gowns, very much summer holiday abroad vibes. The cast is spectacular, with young Christian Bale and Dominic West (fantastic!) pursuing Calista Flockhart and Anna Friel as the confused lovers, and a surprisingly top-billed Kevin Kline as Bottom, but the true stars are the fairies. A truly radiant Michelle Pfeiffer plays Titania, and Rupert Everett is Oberon, looking the most achingly beautiful any man has ever looked, tucking flowers behind his ears and musing on love and a comedy of errors. Stanley Tucci is also here, as Puck, but I’m sorry, I hate it. Puck should be an androgynous twink, not a balding lothario (very unnerving seeing Tucci with hair, even if it is receding). Interesting note; the (amazing) costume designer here is Gabriella Pesucci, who won an Oscar for The Age of Innocence, and started her career in Italy as an assistant to the legendary Piero Tosi (who designed for all the Italian greats, Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti), and actually worked on my favourite film of all time; Pasolini’s Medea from 1969. Five stars.

Film: Mulan (1999)

For some reason I watched the live action Mulan film from 2020 recently, and it was AWFUL. I know that Disney went through a period of using its live action remakes as a way of revisiting and further contextualising its big animated hits, and I was excited to see a Mulan that was maybe more mature and linked to the historical ballad it was inspired by. Plus, Gong Li, one of the biggest stars of Chinese cinema was in it, how bad can it be? Reader, it was really bad. It was so bad that I started looking up YouTube reviews and found some great videos by Xiran Jay Zhao who goes through the film and lists error the film makes with with Chinese cultural content, from costume design to historical context to spiritual philosophy. Highly recommend this video, it amusing and informative. It became so popular that she made a follow up video talking about the 1998 animated Mulan talking about the elements of Chinese culture the film got correct, and what was westernised for its American child audience. I rewatched the animation after this, and honestly, it still is magical, both charming and fantastical. The songs slap, the voice cast, whilst not all Chinese or Chinese-American are great, with fab comedy roles for James Hong, Harvey Fierstein and Miriam Margolyes (the matchmaker!), and brilliant dramatic leads for Ming-Na Wen and BD Wong (swoon). Oh, and Eddie Murphy too I guess. All in all, I’m guessing I’m recommending both the 1998 Mulan film, and Xiran Jay Xhao’s YouTube channel. Indulge your nostalgia, but then bolster it with some great contextual video commentaries!

Film: Dance of the 41

I read about this film when it came out in 2020, and finally got a chance to sit down and watch it, and I’m so glad I did. Based on a real event that happened in 1901, this Mexican drama follows the President’s son-in-law (played by extremely gorgeous Alfonso Herrera) living a closeted life in government, but also disappearing to spend weekends with a grand secret society of gay men where they can dress up in drag, put on plays, drink, gamble, have orgies, dance, and be openly themselves in front of each other. Eventually, one of the parties gets raided and the queer attendees are arrested, publicly humiliated and exiled. In reality, this scandal became a flash point for gay rights in Mexico, bringing up homosexuality in the mainstream conversation in a major way for the first time. In the 70s, Frente Homosexual de Acción Revolutionaria (Homosexual Revolutionary Action Front) cited the attendees of the Dance of the 41 as an important part of using cross dressing and drag as a political weapon. The film is beautiful and sensitive, with an amazing use of lighting, location and costume. The cinematography is beautiful and honestly, all of the men are gorgeous. If hot hairy Latinos with moustaches in 19th century gowns are your thing, then this is a treat for you. It’s honestly great, both tragic and inspirational at the same time, and I imagine will become part of my yearly rotation of films to watch around Pride season, reminding us both how far we’ve come, and how much history there is beyond the obvious. Five stars. 41 stars.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Song: Pretty Sick - City Kid

Sabrina has gone witch house??? After I rinsed her 2024 album Streetwise to death??? With her new album Anarchy dropping in September??? What a blessed time to be alive.

Book: The Make-Believe by Hannah Murray

I listened to the audiobook of former Skins actress Hannah Murray’s time in a cult where she fully believed in magic before quitting acting forever and I was beyond locked in. The human mind is so precarious and scary sometimes. The way actually words things is so vivid so I’m interested to see what she writes next.

Animated Series: Penny Spud by Amanda Annett

Cutely morose animation series on TikTok that captures the reality, calamity and hilarity of being a girlypop today. Plus, there’s behind the scenes bits where you see them make the sound effects IRL, love seeing it all come together.

Shannon Oxley - Junior Socials Editor

Song: Ain’t in LA by Adela

This has genuinely been on repeat ever since it came out. It feels like we're reliving a 2016 summer in the best possible way, and I'm absolutely here for it. There's something so nostalgic about the production, but it still feels fresh rather than like it's trying to recreate the past.

Beauty: Caudalie Grape Water Spray

I was in France last week, so of course I had to make the most of a French pharmacy trip, and this was one of my favourite finds. I've been using the Caudalie Grape Water Spray nonstop in this heat, it's so refreshing and instantly cools your skin down. The best part is it's only £8 from Space NK, so it's an easy repurchase now I'm back home. I can't recommend it enough!

Rob Corsini - Contributing Editor

Series: Cape Fear

Really enjoying the new adaptation of Cape Fear on Apple TV - I am actually pretty so so on the original film but I just think that everyone seems like they’re having a lot of fun making this one (Javier Bardem particularly) and Amy Adams is always a hoot so there we go, I’m invested.

Film: Backrooms

I also watched Backrooms six months late and I thought it was amazing. I think the plot is basically irreverent and the weakest part but the vibes are great. In the 2026 Obsession v Backrooms war Backrooms clear winner for me (I hated Obsession though)

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

Old episodes of Take Me Out on YouTube

guys idk if you know this but every old episode of Take Me Out - the most iconic British dating show of the 2010s - is on YouTube. It is honestly such good fun and the women on it are all stars and the fashion is so aggressively 2010s (I haven't seen so many shoe boots in years) - it is the perfect antidote to Instagram perfection crap and I am now basically making my way through the entire thing. Incredible hangover watching.

See you next time!

XOXO

The Polyester Team

If you want full access to everything the Dollhouse has to offer - including free zines, free mini pod eps and loads more - become a member here.

Enjoy! xoxo

Why Is Everyone Shoplifting?

Shoplifting has left the shadows. What was once whispered about behind closed doors is now debated in supermarkets, joked about online and confessed on TikTok. Stealing has taken on a strange new identity — no longer viewed only as a crime, but by some as a necessity.

Read all about it!

It Girl Interiors: How Chrome and Stainless Steel are Replacing the Outfit Of The Day

There is a shot that keeps reappearing across a very specific corner of the internet. Not an outfit photo, not a mirror selfie, but a corner of a room. A chrome design piece that changes depending on your social media algorithm. It could be a vintage pair of designer kitten heels resting on a custom steel shelf, or a modern glass-top coffee table with a polished chrome base, topped with a selection of fashion magazines. 

Find out more!

Net Art and How Homemade Websites are Our Last Bastion of Hope Online

I often think of Ciao Bella when building websites as part of my present work as a front-end developer. When I was a pre-teen, the game was a bewitching way to organise the desirable but anxiety-inducing possibilities of adulthood in my head. I am twenty-seven now and living the superficially hectic life of an Elena, albeit in Lagos, Nigeria and not in Montreal - and because of my age, I now tend to search out very different playgrounds and possibilities on the internet. 

Check it out!

Holmes' Guide to Curating Your Dream Festival

ABOUT TO BUST is a summer comedy festival hosting its inaugural event on 1st August - a day and night comedy party in Brooklyn with a lineup of only women and queer people, like Mary Beth Barone and Plasma. Below, Holmes fills us in on what it takes to turn rage into practical action for your community.

Full guide!

I'm a Different Person on Tuesdays

Home.

It is rarely just a place.

For women, it is a threshold: a physical space that

suspends itself between the self we present to the world

and the self we protect from it.

Full editorial!

See you next time!

xoxo

The Polyester Team

SO thrilled to share our July cover feature with Her Private Hell’s Kristine Froseth! The Norwegian actress joined us at the Polyester studio in London and we got all the goss on Cannes, working with divisive auteurs and the nuances of human behaviour.

Read the feature here

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team 🌷

Hi dolls!

Are you sitting comfortably? Hopefully next to a fan? Good, because this week's secret mini episode is all about aircon, and wishing we had it in the UK.

This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the culture war that has spawned on the back of the heatwaves that keep taking over Europe this summer.

We ask the important questions: Is air con an indulgence or a must? Why is French parliament losing their minds about it? Are British people too comfortable being uncomfortable?

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team 🕶️

We’re celebrating the release of The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste with a bazaar at Reference Point, and we’d love for you to come along!

Expect stalls and workshops from 4-7pm, followed by a pub quiz, DJs, and a catwalk contest to round off the evening. For workshops, we will be joined by Buttress and Snatch, Zara McIntosh, Georgia Hope, Gina Tonic and Hebe Konditori!

Please RSVP to hello@polyesterzine.com ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱

Hope to see you there! xx

The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste is a compendium of and ode to all things bad taste - what constitutes bad taste, why certain things are considered good or bad, and how the algorithm is changing taste forever.

As a Dollhouse member, you get an exclusive 20% discount when purchasing from David's bookshop. Just use the code POLYDOLLY at checkout for 20% off.

And to our New York besties, we're also hosting a party to celebrate the launch of our new print issue, The Besties Issue!

We'd love for you to join us! Come celebrate our latest issue featuring cover stars Hannah Einbinder, The Forbidden Fruits cast and Nia Archives on 7th July at Susan Alexandra's downtown location. Expect bestie bracelet making, drinks, readings, performances, and most importantly, friendship <3

Please RSVP to hello@polyesterzine.com ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱

Hope to see you there!!

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team ✨

Hope you’re having a gorgeous month and enjoying the sunshine!! 🩷

Click the link below to access and download your June Digital Merch, a phone background and a laptop background spotlighting two of our recent Polyester gals- Nia Archives and Mattea Conforti

Your June digital merch!!

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team

Hope you’re all having a great week and enjoying the sunshine. We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter. Check them out below <3

Rob Corsini - Contributing Editor

Album: Olivia Rodrigo - You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love

I’m getting in there early because I know half the team wants to recommend this, but I think this is Olivia Rodrigo’s best album so far. Truly banger after banger but personal highlights are Stupid Song, Maggots for Brains, U + Me = <3, and What’s Wrong With ME

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Book: The Lonely Girl's Vegetable Patch by Genevieve Plunkett

I was so blessed to get a proof for this book that is out in September but it was such a great novel to join the feral girl literary canon a la Big Swiss. Really recommend pre-ordering!

Jenn Lehwald - Social Editor

Meg Stalter performing ‘Prettiest Girl in America’ at the Culture Awards

play the track and no one gets hurt!

I’m genuinely obsessed with this bit Meg Stalter is currently doing and also it’s frying me that this performance is like.. kinda good? I’ve watched this probably 5 times. I love her.

Book: The Polyester Book of Bad Taste

My friends have only gone and put out a bloody book! And it’s great! A deep dive into the joy and power of personal pleasures, quirks, obsessions and bad taste. Go buy a copy!

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Films: 1960s Science Fiction

Over the weekend I found myself having a 60s sci-fi double bill that really showed the breadth of the genre. 2001: A Space Odyssey and Barbarella both came out in 1968 and both exemplify different qualities that are essential in good sci-fi. First of all, 2001 is the much more grounded of the two, following serious scientific space exploration as humans try to learn more about the makeup of the galaxy, but so much of it can be seen in our technology today. Corporate space shuttles, video phones, individual TVs in the headrests of airline seating, screens that look like iPads at the breakfast table, it’s all come true, and as for the homicidal AI that tries to kill its users? Who can say at this point. The film making is obviously top notch, what else do you expect from Stanley Kubrick, but the sound design in particular really stood out to me on this watch, with grand orchestras and uncanny jarring chorals, but also long periods of silence, high tension sequences scored only with the actor’s breath in the helmet of a space suit. Barbarella is the exact opposite, it’s gloriously kitsch and camp, a busty blonde naked Jane Fonda rolling around an orange shag carpeted spaceship in an electrical storm, ending up on a strange planet where she has lots of different kind of sex with lots of different kinds of natives. For a long time, Barbarella was the only kind of sci-fi I wanted to see, and whilst my tastes have expanded this remains an undying favourite. The best, weirdest and campest part of the film is 60s it girl Anita Pallenberg (girlfriend of several Rolling Stones) playing the brunette villain, but with her voice overdubbed by camp cinema icon Joan Greenwood, truly a sight to behold. 2001 and Barbarella overlap in their extended abstract psychedelic sequences, both push boundaries in their own unique ways, and the world wouldn’t be the same without them. God bless 1968 and pre-moon landing sci-fi, you will always be famous.

Theatre: Jinkx Monsoon is Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow

So lucky to catch this in its final week of performances at Soho Theatre, on a hangover post-Bad-Taste-book-launch, no less, and it was incredible. The play was written in 2005, focusing on Judy Garland’s final nightclub residency in London 1968 (I’m having a very 1968 time right now) through to her death the following year. Having had a few revivals already, a film adaptation starred Renee Zellweger and won her an Oscar in 2019, but was, in my opinion, not a great movie. Jinkx Monsoon (drag race winner turned Broadway star) and her performance far outshines the film, and probably the script too tbh. She is strong, she’s vulnerable, she’s funny, she’s heartbreaking, and the musical sequences are breathtaking. Massive shout out to the production designers of this, the set is transformed only by lighting when it has to differentiate between the rehearsal room setting and the night club, but it is so effective. Judy’s star power is physicalised by bright golden light that pours out over the audience at the climax of her musical numbers and it feels heavy. The costumes were also great, classic identifiable Judy stage outfits but made more slay by drag costumers, every element was so well thought out. The finale gives us everything, Jinkx as Judy singing Over the Rainbow in a beautiful gown as rose petals shower down from the ceiling and the golden lights paint the faces of the audience, and the weight of the tragedy that has unfolded melts away in a moment of pure bliss. Five stars.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Book: I Want to Go Home but I’m Already There by Roísín Lanagan

Renting is a horror story, especially in London. This novel came out last year and explores how everyday life can quickly become stifling in the wrong environment. Sadly relatable as I’ve been driven completely nuts by all my previous renting situations, whether it’s from mold, noise or housemates (not all of them though!!!)

Song: Shiny Kindness by Helen Sun

Feel like all the songs I’ve been recommending recently have been a bittersweet sad Summer vibe and this is no different lmao, I just like it!

Food: Chai masala soft serve from Tangra

On a more positive note, the buzzy Indochinese fusion restaurant in Soho has launched it’s new menu including this incredible flavour of plant-based ice cream. Wish they did takeaway cones so bad, though legit everything on their menu is delish.

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Blessed be the fruit - a whole new mini ep has just landed for members focusing on the book of the moment: Yesteryear. Is it a successful critique of trad wives or more of a scandalising romp? What if it’s both?

This week, our hosts Ione and Gina get stuck into the frontrunner for 2026’s book of the year.

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team 🌷

It’s been a super busy week at Polyester HQ - we’ve just dropped our THIRD Besties Issue cover with the stunning the gorgeous the talented the unique NIA ARCHIVES and we couldn’t be more excited. She’s been interviewed by the fab Ayan Artan and photographed by the also fab Lewis Vorn and you can pre-order her cover right now!!! Although remember, Dollhouse members get issues for free, so hold tight to find out how to get yours…

That’s not all we’ve had on the Dollhouse this week, however - scroll to see what else has been going on!

Nia Archives on Emotional Junglism, Tall Poppy Syndrome, and Being Shy

Read Ayan Artan’s fab profile of our newest cover girl, where they talk about Nia’s new album ‘Emotional Junglist’ and more!

Read all about it!

Erin LeCount on Stubborn Songs, Downward Spirals, and Writing for Her Younger Self

We caught up with the bewitching Erin LeCount to discuss her influences, her songwriting process and her EP Pareidolia, with a gorgeous shoot to boot.

Find out more!

John Cameron Mitchell on Why Hedwig and the Angry Inch Still Resonates 25 Years Later

A conversation with the legendary JCM on what is arguably his most iconic project, plus archive images from Hedwig wig and makeup designer Mike Potter.

Full piece!

Sparklmami on Finding Her Voice, Character Work as a Means of Self Discovery and Musical World Building

“Chicago-based visual artist and musician Sparklmami opens her debut album In This Body with a cheeky nod at the immersive musical world she has spent the last five years building across nine songs.”

Find out about more about Sparklmami’s unique craft @ the link below!

Check it out!

The Girls In Film Guide to Applying to Film Funds

Aspiring filmmaker? Everything you need to know about applying to the funds that could help your dreams come true is right here…

Have a look!

An Ode to the Teaches of Peaches

Elsie Oulton explores just how much conteporary popstars - from Slayyyter to Kim Petras - owe Peaches, the iconic indie sleaze-era provocateur.

Read all about it!

Maraschino’s June 2026 Horoscopes

Find out what’s in the stars for you for June with our resident astrology expert Maraschino’s predictions…

More more more!

Momo Yamaguchi on ‘Hello Limerence’

And finally, we’re chatting with the author of our favourite new novel about germophobes, dating, and “the importance of delusional crushes in a world full of shit.” Hell yeah.

Read more!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Hope you’re all having a fab week - happy Friday!! We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter, check it out below <3

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Book: Nausea by Jean Paul Satre

I know this is a nobhead thing to recommend but I got this at a car boot for a quid and wanted to read more challenging/classic books this year but in reality, this was funny and really relevant to today! Who would have thought!!

Film: Igby Goes Down

I thought at the age of 32 I had exhausted all kinda twee, kinda depressing indie films about out of place teenagers until I found this featuring a baby Kieran Culkin! With Susan Sarandon as his WASP cold mother!! And Ryan Phillippe as his knobhead brother! Search trigger warnings first though.

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Film - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

1st of June was Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, so I’ve been watching a few of her most beloved films to remind myself how great she truly was. How To Marry A Millionaire was good, more of a Lauren Bacall vehicle, but Marilyn is charming and memorable, doing some great physical comedy about being blind as a bat but too vain to wear glasses. Some Like It Hot is often cited as her best work, playing a dazzling showgirl in an all-ladies band that is also harbouring two men in drag on the run from the mob. It’s got fun gender play and is shot in a very luxe looking black and white with some great classic costumes, but far and away my number one Marilyn film is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. What could be better than one dazzling showgirl, but two dazzling showgirls? Paired with the incredible Jane Russell in some of the most iconic musical sequences of classic Hollywood, Marilyn is utterly magnetic, the very definition of a star from the second she steps on to the screen. Shown in glorious Technicolor, these are the images of Marilyn that everyone remembers. Honourable mention to her small role in All About Eve, where she a glamorous young actress looking for her first break. It’s amazing how keyed in to her bombshell persona she already is on this, her first film role. Five stars, and a lifetime of memories.

Album: Sylvester - Living Proof

I was recently reading an interesting thing about queer disco icon Sylvester and his fraught relationship performing with famous drag troupe the Cockettes in San Francisco, and it mentioned this album, so I had to track it down immediately. Recorded in 1979, this live concert in the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, is a true testament to the power and artistry of Sylvester, from his disco version of Blackbird to the ecstatic gospel arrangement of disco mega-hit You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real). The album also features his incredible backup singers Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes, billed as Two Tons O’ Fun, who would later go on to become the Weather Girls, so there’s a little more sparkle for the disco legacy. Truly an incredible album, recording one of the best nights of Sylvester’s career, could not recommend it highly enough. Just fabulous.

Film - Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Having not seen Hedwig in years, I suddenly had an insatiable urge to track it down and relive one of John Cameron Mitchell’s most beloved films. Hedwig tells the story of an East German trans rock star who travels to America and tries to make it big, despite bad relationships and people plagiarising her songs. The music really holds up, with Wicked Little Town being the sleeper hit for me on this run through. Wig in a Box has always been an anthem and something I revisit on my phone when I’m in bed feeling sorry for myself, and it never fails to invoke joy. The clothes are also great, with some beautiful wiggotry and iconic makeup, with some of Hedwig’s day looks almost identical to the outfits girls today run around the gay clubs in. The styling of Tommy Gnosis remains some of the most beautiful boy rockstar looks in cinema, shame the actor is such a monster. Absolutely loved this film, five stars, but I might prefer Shortbus just a little but more.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Album: Bitknot by Feeble Little Horse

perfect collection of songs exploring the friction between human nature and convenience culture. It has the same bittersweet feeling of being dragged around the park by your friends in the sun after receiving some devastating news. Or being at work during the heatwave. But fun.

Book: Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

the endorsement on the front of this book likens it to “The Handmaids Tale on Acid” which actually nearly put me off, it’s not like that at all? I hate when people liken new perspectives to being high, it’s lazybones behaviour. The story feels more like an extended version of Izumi Suzuki’s matriarchal story “Women and Women”, but IMO feels a bit more positive than dystopian, as though there are multiple possibilities for how society and family life could look. Even if all the options are a bit sinister.

Film: Sample People

Gutted that there’s absolutely no mention of this movie in the Kylie Minogue documentary. It’s like an Australian version of Human Traffic starring the princess of pop as a red version of Mia Wallace, her makeup is so good in it.

Churrifically Churros-y (ffs), Ben & Jerries new ice cream flavour

Immediate favourite on first bite and £3.75 in Iceland right now. Worth the chomp, despite my stupid ahh cow’s milk intolerance. Chewly churriffic :p

Camille Mariet - LA Editor

The photography of Anne Geddes

The year is 1997. Bitter Sweet Symphony is dominating the airwaves. Your mom finally has a pair of Bongo shorts in every color. Starbucks still plays jazz. And Anne Geddes is on top of the world. Dreamy images of babies dressed as heads of cabbage or napping in giant blooming flowers are absolutely flooding the landscape of printed merchandise. And until I got a random IG ad for her instagram profile, it never occurred to me that her iconic baby photography stopped being everywhere? How did elementary school admins and pediatric nurses across the globe let this happen to their Lisa Frank? Anyways, I do unironically love some of her images and I urge you to revisit them, even if just for nostalgia’s sake. Some of them are even a little, dare I say, Lynchian? There’s some real gold in her archives. My personal favorite is the one of two babies dressed as mice taking a nap in giant boots.

Stonefruit Panzanella

Stonefruit season is upon us once again, babyyyy!!!! And with that, one of my favorite little lunches/snacks is unlocked for a few gorgeous months. Dice up a couple ripe peaches (nectarines and plums are great, too), pit and halve about 10 cherries, and toss with croutons in olive oil, lemon juice, and a nice balsamic. Finish with a drizzle of saba if you happen to have it, a good pinch of Maldon salt, and basil. If you’re able to handle dairy (lucky), why not toss a little burrata in there, too? Thank me later!!!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Our next print issue is almost here - and it’s fronted by none other than Hannah Einbinder. The Besties Issue features the Hacks star photographed by her real life bestie, Sandy Honig.

Inside, we celebrate platonic love through interviews, editorials and features exploring the intimacy and devotion of being someone’s person.

You can check out the full feature here <3

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE

Orders will ship June 2026 with a publishing date and shipping date to be emailed directly once announced.

If you’re a member you get a free copy - when the issue is out, you’ll get an email with all the info on grabbing your free zine!!

P.S - you can still grab a copy of our cover of the same issue fronted by the amazing women behind the newest femme horror flick, Forbidden Fruits - writer/director Meredith Alloway and stars Lola Tung and Lili Reinhart

If you want full access to everything the Dollhouse has to offer - including free zines, free mini pod eps and loads more - become a member here.

Enjoy! xoxo

Cinecism: Mile End Kicks: An Off-Key Indie Ballad

Our film columnist Maia Wyman is back with another edition of cinesim - this time looking at Chandler Levack’s sophomore feature, Mile End Kicks starring Barbie Ferreira.

Check it out!

The Summer of the Jelly: What Our Obsession with Transparency Really Reveals

Vinted is teeming with translucent firkins. Loewe unveiled clear PVC booties at Paris Fashion Week. The Met Gala carpet saw a plethora of sheer dresses. The trend forecasters have dubbed 2026 the 'Summer of the Jelly'.

Evidently, see-through is in. But what does our cultural fascination with the transparent actually reveal?

Find out more!

Olivia Taylor Dudley’s Guide to Horse Whispering

When she’s not a scream queen, Olivia Taylor Dudley is also a cowgirl - and spends her downtime on the Californian ranch she grew up on, tending to her animals. This countryside-girl-at-heart knows everything there is to know about communicating with horses, as you would if you too had started riding aged three.

Full guide!

Come with Us to Trisha Paytas’ BriTrish Invasion at The Royal Albert Hall

Trisha Paytas brought the Los Angeles sun with her to London for the BriTrish Invasion. Sunday night’s show at the Royal Albert Hall marked Paytas’ first UK appearance since she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2017.

Check it out!

Why Aren’t Gigs and Festivals Fun Anymore?

Whether it’s a £150 ticket, a £50 t shirt or someone in front of you recording the entire show, gigs and festivals aren’t what they used to be. Dare we say… they aren’t fun anymore?

Read all about it!

Zoe Zannos’ Guide to Finding Meaningful Connection Wherever You Are

Whether sharing goulash with newfound internet besties in Budapest or complimenting a stranger on the streets of Prague, Zoe Zannos’ message is simple: meeting new people is easier than you think, and meaningful connection doesn’t require extraordinary circumstances.

Full guide!

See you next week <3

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team 🐚

If you want full access to everything the Dollhouse has to offer - including free zines, free mini pod eps and loads more - become a member here.

Enjoy! xoxo

Caroline Wong on ‘Girls Who Devour’, Women Eating in the Age of GLP-1s and #Girlhood

Painter Caroline Wong sits down with Alekia Gill to talk about her newest show ‘Girls Who Devour’ and how it relates to #girlhood, GLP-1s and finding pleasure in food.

Check it out!

The Female Artists Turning Internet Slop into Fine Art

In an age where our social feeds get more and more outrageous with its slop content, these artists take to the easel to document what we’re seeing through a fine art lens.

Find out more!

Totally Spies: Surveillance, Girlhood, & the Millennial Spy Complex

From Spy Kids to Girl Tech, millennial girls were indoctrinated into the secret service at a young age and in this essay, Morgan Carey poses the question as to whether this was a purposeful decision to make us all more accepting of surveillance culture.

Secret link here!

See you next week <3

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team 🐚

Date my bestie! 

• A newspaper “Personal” style post which advertises your bestie to possible boos (think of those events you see on TikTok where people recommend their mates as dates via PowerPoints) 

• First, tell us about your bestie - what they’re like, what they’re into, why they’re amazing - be as specific as you can

• Then, tell us about the qualities they’re looking for

• 50 words max - keep it short, snappy, and representative of their true essence! 

Example:

Sweet, smart dreamgirl based in Bristol, 28, interested in illustration and finding the best croissants around, seeks hot lesbian bf for bakery crawls and bookshop binges. She’s looking for someone considerate who cares about feminist politics and wants to get a dog and go on trips to the beach <3  

Send your submissions to hello@polyesterzine.com with the subject line PERSONALS SUBMISSION. When the issue is live, we’ll give people an email to contact if they’re interested in any of the ads, and with everyone’s permission, we’ll put them in touch with you.  

Must be 18+ to enter. Applications close on midnight, 24th May.

Lots of love,

The Polyester Team <3

If you want full access to the Dollhouse plus millions of other gorgey perks, become a member here.

See you next week! xoxo

“Loser Like Me”: Glee and the False Promises of Obama-era Diversity

To understand how Glee tried and failed to change the world, you first have to understand the world it came into. The show made marginalised teenagers feel seen in an intolerant culture, but its message ultimately stopped at visibility.

Read all about it!!

Updating How We Feel About Britney Spears

Britney’s lyrics became a rallying cry in 2021, as the #FreeBritney movement advocated against her abusive, 13 year long, conservatorship. And now that an emancipated Britney continues to struggle publicly, you can see them quoted in the comments of Reddit threads about her current rehab stint. It’s as though they’re a message left from 19 year old Britney to her most devout fans. A promise: I will rise again.

Full essay here!

The Navelgazer: Sitting with Sculptor CARO to Talk Bodies, Machines, and Everything In-between.

CARO is a sculptor and all-around brilliant artist whose solo show THE NAVELGAZER opened this weekend and continues through June 6 at MY PET RAM in New York City on the Lower East Side. We sat down at at Capri Club, one of our favourite local watering holes in Eagle Rock (Los Angeles), to talk about work & life.

Check it out!

Excavating the gURL Movement, A Web-1.0 Feminism That Burned Out Bright and Fast

Despite having been framed with technophobia since the days of Gutenberg, femmes are often the earliest contributors to new technology. The Internet was no exception. 'Computer' was originally a mid-century term for the young women tasked with regulating machine output, checking against its calculations and straightening out software issues. Flashcut to the 1990s and the people's Internet was popularly considered inhospitable for femme users. Think of Steve Jobs, hacking away in his humid garage.

Get stuck in here!

Photo Diary: See Our Snaps From a Drop Dead Gorgeous Private Olivia Rodrigo Show

Polyester was lucky enough to get the inside scoop on Olivia’s Spotify Billions Club Live concert - we got to meet the fans, see Olivia perform her new song “Drop Dead” as well as others from across her first two albums “GUTS” and “SOUR”, and generally have a very girlypops evening in the prettiest venue in Barcelona <3 Here’s our photo diary from the trip!

More more more!

Is Married at First Sight the Manosphere for Girls?

Reality TV purports to be just that - a representation of reality - when in fact the participants selected, the situations they’re put in, and every statement that’s kept in the edit are decisions from the production team. When this is acknowledged, consistent reinforcement of gender norms throughout the genre, particularly those that go unchallenged, can be seen as intentional. Right-wing views are on the rise across the world, and as a consequence, or perhaps a cause, dating shows are increasingly littered with gender essentialising language.

Give it a read!

Buy Curious: What We’re Buying This May

Searching for some summer inspo? Look no further - we’re back with another edition of buy curious!

Full guide!

Hemlocke Springs’ Guide to Recording a Song From Your Bedroom

Hemlocke Springs is an American singer, songwriter and record producer who has been a mainstay in my feed since the early 2020s. While Springs never set out to go viral, her most popular song which became a Gen Z playlist staple at the time, gained so much popularity anyway. A banger is, after all, a banger.

Her latest album, The Apple Tree Under the Sea, centres around her origin story - tracing her past from pursuing her Master of Science degree from Dartmouth to becoming a full-fledged genre innovator in contrast to the pop star she is today.

Full guide!

That’s all! See you next week <3

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

TV series: Desperate Housewives

I’ve been wanting to revisit this iconic 00s show for years, and now I’ve finally started and it’s GLORIOUS. Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp is CAMP with a capital K, that ginger flip and matching soft skirt suits are a perfect visual, especially when mixed with her BDSM submissive husband, thot daughter and evil gay son. Felicity Huffman shows real heart, I think it’s time for her to come back to the screen, I don’t care about that college admissions scandal anymore, it’s all corrupt anyway. Eva Longoria shags a 25 year old playing a 17 year old and hardly anyone mentions it. Terri Hatcher is charming but for some reason is being given physical comedy stunts that even Charlie Chapman and Buster Keaton would balk at, but she also gets to kiss hot men. Nicollet Sheridan as Edie is always a sexy scene stealer, and deserves so much more recognition for her role in this era-defining show. It’s fast, it’s snappy, it’s shocking, it’s got 23 episode seasons and it covers A LOT of ground, there’s been three murders, two houses being burnt down, lots of breaking and entering, and so many attempted assassinations in this quiet suburb it makes Chicago look bucolic, and that’s only season 1. 5 stars, always.

Film: The Philadelphia Story

Managed to catch this career defining 1940 Katherine Hepburn film on BBC the other week, and it’s as strong as ever. Some newspaper journalists schmooze their way into a society wedding so they can get the scoop on the haughty bride, collude with her Cary Grant-ish ex-husband and maybe knock the goddess off her pedestal for good measure, all of which they succeed at. Hepburn goes from ice queen to earth angel after one wild night of drinking and she’s all the more iconic for it. One of the most interesting parts of this film is the meta-narrative around it when it was produced: Hepburn had just been denounced as Box Office Poison, she was too uppity high-hat and audiences wanted to see her brought down to earth, and apparently the best way to do that was have Cary Grant punch her in the face in a surprisingly violent cartoonish prologue. Hepburn spends the rest of the film coming back down to the ground and growing into a real person, both loving, humble and self aware, and the audience ate it all up, giving her a career that lasted well into her 90s. Icon lifetime achievement award, top marks.

Song: The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen

Ever since my Donnie Darko rewatch, I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head, or off my headphones. It’s like the time last year when I listened to Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears ten times a day everyday for five months straight. God knows what my end-of-year streaming statistics will look like. Anyway, I’ve made a great 80s playlist for when I’m walking around doing errands and it really bangs. Depeche Mode, Visage, Soft Cell, Bronski Beat, you just can’t go wrong with the classics.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Book: I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder

As an adult woman, I don’t often get into the headspace of what it’s like to be an adult man but it seems a bit pub-filled and desperate. Thankfully, in Calder’s latest book, he switches the narratives between Chuck and Joey so you get a break between every chapter. It’s a real grim look at what living a corporate life in London, written from a writer who doesn’t use social media so he obviously has a lot of time on his hands to perfect his craft. Don’t read this if you think age gap relationships should be illegal because you’ll be instantly annoyed throughout, though admittedly I found him infuriating regardless. The book reads like watching a car crash, made me feel a bit empathetic for past tragic Hinge matches of years ago. Get it together bro.

Rillers, an Instagram and TikTok account dedicated to a very specific genre of stuffed gorillas

You can seep your Jelly Cats, Labubus, Beanie Babies and Troll Dolls (though I love literally all of these), it’s only secondhand stuffed gorillas for me now. I just think they’re neat. Whoever is behind the account has a collection full of them and has given them all nicknames and personalities so I’ve gotten sucked in. They went quiet for a while but they’re back again with fresh new memes, what a relief. So far, I think Mr Beans is my favourite but this could change.

Game: Cursor Camp

What if I told you that it’s possible to go on holiday in the middle of the workday? Not physically but, with your cursor on your internet browser? Well now you can, see you by the pool.

Shannon Oxley - Junior Socials Editor

Album: Lux by Rosalia

My algorithm has exclusively been content from Rosalia's Lux tour at the moment, and I am incredibly jealous of anyone who has tickets to see her this week. It reminded me just how beautiful and poetic the album is and I have had it on REPEAT this week. Her vocals and artistic references are perfect. A true religious experience.

Rob Corsini

Film: The Florida Project

I rewatched The Florida Project on the Eurostar the other day and it just totally ruined me. I watched it when it first came out but maybe because I was younger / different time / whatever I didn’t quite get it but on second watch thought it was the most tender view into what being a child is - cried more times than I cared to count!

Transport: Eurostar

As previously mentioned, I watched The Florida Project on the Eurostar - which is the best form of transport in the world. Getting on a train and then being in a new country feels both amazing and slightly illegal. AND you get specified seats no fighting.

Camille Mariet - LA Editor

Leisure Suit Larry 6

Another freaked out 90’s point-and-click rec incoming! This old Sierra game’s about a pervy little man who’s at a resort filled with baddies and he’s trying to seduce them. I’m in it for the highly saturated pixel graphics and the baddies!! It’s definitely a product of the 90’s tho, so ye be warned.

Skin Aqua UV Super Moisture Gel

For any super sensitive skincare girlies (and any of us in the US missing BoJ’s OG formulation), this Japanese face sunscreen has been a godsend!!! Last year I completely destroyed my barrier overusing actives and it has been a nearly year-long journey back to full skin health. Since then, I’ve had to be super sensitive to what I put on my face. Though not actually a gel (it’s more like a slightly milky lotion), this sunscreen has a featherlight texture and is delicately scented (it dissipates after a few mins). I can reapply all day long without feeling like my skin is suffocating and it washes off well, too (note: it is definitely not waterproof). I am obsessed with this stuff.

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Yasmin Pettet on Fashion, Ryan Murphy and Being the Weird Girl on ‘Love Island’

This week we’re joined by ‘Love Island’’s Black Cat Energy queen who tells us about standing out on the show, and her plans for DJing domination.

Read all about it!!

Will Cyberdecks Change How Women Interact with Tech?

Contributing Editor Hatti Rex delves into the world of the DIY tech makers who’ve crafted computers out of everything from Polly Pocket compacts to handbags!

Learn more here!

Culture Slut: Excuse Me, The Dancefloor Isn’t Dead

In this month’s column, Misha MN explores whether or not Charli’s XCX recent “the dancefloor is dead” really does have much merit…

Find out what we think!

Romaisa Baddar on Middle East Archive: Women النساء, Embracing Multiple Aesthetics and Shifting Focus

Sara Eldewak interviews Romaisa Baddar about the Middle East Archive platform and their latest book, Al-Nisa النساء (translated as “Women”).

Get stuck in here!

MARO On “So Much Has Changed,” Being In a Band with Your Besties, and Playing a Hometown Show

We spoke with Portuguese musician MARO ahead of her biggest ever hometown show in Lisbon, all about her newest music, and working closely with your best friends.

More more more!

‘Madeline Argy’s Arms’ and What TikTok Got Wrong About Thalidomide

And finally, Lily-Rose Morris-Zumin explains the Thalidomide crisis, and tells us where the movement for justice is at now.

Give it a read!

That’s all! See you next week <3

It’s that time of the month!! The best day to be a fan of beautiful photoshoots and cool creatives! It’s cover day!!!! 🩷🙂‍↕️✨

Want to decide what we cover on the site? Become a member here.

Samara Weaving on Being Emo, Pregnancy and Returning for the Sequel

For our April cover, scream queen Samara Weaving joins us to talk through her (three!) new projects, playing Blink 182 at her baby shower and animal work.

Read all about it!!

Lena Gora's Guide to Leaning Into Your Masculinity

Lena Góra has been on the scene for a while - she’s worked as a model, a writer, director and actor and grew up in one of the most creatively stimulating homes in Poland. As an actress, she’s pushed for more masculine energy from her characters and in this guide, she tells us how to be more comfortable leaning into your masculinity.

Learn more here!

From Britney Spears to Chappell Roan - The Fraught History of the Tramp Stamp

Is a tramp stamp ‘a bumper sticker on a Bentley’ or a feminist reclamation after years of sexist abuse wielded towards women’s tattoos?

Find out what we think!

How Pick Up Artists Have Evolved Technologically 

POV:RIZZ videos are taking over TikTok as pick up artists and manfluencers use video glasses to harass women for content. In this essay, we explore this grim step towards embracing surveillance culture.

Get stuck in here!

Diving into the Wonderfully Strange World of VTuber Sex Workers

There’s a side to camming you may not have heard about yet: V Tubers. These SWs are using avatars to cam and in this feature, we speak to a few of the most popular ones to hear about the highs and lows of the career.

More more more!

Is the Stylist Now Fashion’s Most Influential Figure? 

From Law Roach to Dara Allen, the stylist has become icons in their own right and in this feature, we work out whether designers have as much cultural cache as they used to?

What do you think?

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

So excited for another week of wall to wall content to share with y’all - it’s full of great reads to dig into over your morning coffee this weekend ☕️

Want to engage in chats post read with Polyester’s team members and fellow Polyester readers? Become a member here.

Precious Way’s Guide to Acting in a Comedy Series

When Precious Way found out that she had been cast as a lead in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins she was sitting in her car outside of a Wingstop. Just a couple of months later, she was on set with comedy legends like Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Bobby Moynihan and Daniel Radcliffe.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has been a masterclass in how to have fun while making a comedy show - here’s Previous Way’s guide to acting in a comedy series.

Get into the guide here!

Botox, Beta Blockers and the Politics of Numbness

From baby botox to beta blockers, numbing yourself is getting an indelible connection to feminine expression. In this essay, we explore who benefits from female apathy.

Read all about it!

Girls and Their Secrets - On Diaries, Shame, and Privacy as a Product

Another day, another journaling trend takes over TikTok. In this essay, one writer reflects on their own relationship with diary keeping, their mother’s own destruction of her diaries and the way female secrets are perceived in the mainstream.

Get stuck in!

Iona Bielby on Interviewing as an Art Form and Her New Social Series for Polyester

Internet icon Iona Bielby is joining Polyester for a brand new interview series - here, she gets stuck into why she sees interviewing as an art form of its own.

Full interview available here!

A Look Inside Haut Corporation, One of London’s Best Stockists of Rare, Covetable Vintage

Continuing our series by Fashion Director Katy Cutbirth and Beauty Editor Grace Ellington, which spotlights the best vintage stores around the world, we turn to London. Tucked into East London’s Hackney neighbourhood, Haut Corporation sits along the it-girl–approved stretch of independent shopping on Hackney Road.

Hear all about it!

Get Behind The Scenes on Elouiza’s Choreography for ‘Reveal’

Reveal is a seductive, glossy club track that weaponises sensuality to confront the fetishisation and objectification of trans women. On the surface, it plays as a confident, addictive hot girl anthem, but at its core it operates as satire, leaning into hyper-femininity and desire to mirror and destabilise the gaze projected onto trans women’s bodies. Here, we have an exclusive choreography video for the song straight from Elouiza herself.

Reveal here!

Savoury Girls Versus The Patriarchy

In this essay, we get to grips with how the savoury girl movement stands up as an opposition to the skinnytok and MAHA as a revolutionary act of girly grossness.

Dig in!

Why ‘The Final Girl’ Is a Lesbian

Finally for the week, one writer pens a theoretical proposition to why The Final Girl in horror is actually, always, a lesbian.

Find out why!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Ione Gamble - Founding Editor in Chief

Part 3 of my Vinted searches to get yourself a bargain!!!!! <3

Vintage chainmail

Resist the fast fashion trends and buy chainmail second hand!! So many gorgeous vintage and even antique chainmail bags and purses always pop up on my For You page.

Art / Fashion / Photography books

Literally search the name of any book you’ve had your eye on but can’t face paying either full price or inflated resale price - Vinted has them for cheap!! Personal recs are Kevyn Aucoin Making Faces which I’m desperate for a copy of and I’ve also seen Pierre et Gilles books for literally a quid.

Moschino

Pre Jeremy Scott, vintage early 00s and 90s Moschino is soooo good and so cheap. I’ve seen gorgeous bags / corsets / suits for an absolute steal. Buy it all before I do!!!

Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor

Series - The Beauty

Thought this was gonna be a Substance rip off, and it kind of is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not GREAT! A recent entry to the Ryan Murphy canon, The Beauty follows a crazy billionaire who takes, steals, and sells a new virus that turns the victim into the hottest, youngest version of themselves, with the side effects being that they might overheat and spontaneously combust at any moment. The premise is great, along with a whole host of Ryan Murphy regulars like Jeremy Pope and Evan Peters, throwback stars like Ashton Kutcher, and an obligatory grande dame diva turn from, my favourite, Isabella Rossellini. At first the pacing felt a bit off, new characters are introduced every episode that often die by the time the credits roll, each episode ranges in length from 28minutes to over 40, and the whole thing ends on a cliff hanger, but sticking with it is actually very rewarding. We get Blade Runner robots, Schiaparelli couture, body horror monsters, fat suits, semi-serious manifestos on beauty, sexually transmitted diseases, and a surprisingly great performance from Ben Platt as a shallow Vogue staffer. Think he’d be a great Ryan Murphy lead in the future, maybe as a young Stephen Sondheim in a sexed up miniseries about the writing of Sweeney Todd or something. Patti LuPone could play Angela Lansbury. High praise for The Beauty, but get your episode structuring sorted out. Four stars.

Film - Witness for the Prosecution

I’ve been in a Marlene Dietrich mood for a while, so when this came up on television, I jumped at the chance to see it. Based on an Agatha Christie novel, this 1957 features an aged Charles Laughton as a defence lawyer for a mysterious man (Tyrone Powers) who is being accused of murdering a wealthy widow for her fortune. His wife is played by Marlene doing her best femme fatale impression, and is not quite what she seems. Spoiler alert, but in the third act, the lawyers meet a suspicious Cockney tart in a bar that is so clearly Marlene in a black bob wig it becomes an absurdist level of camp, and that’s all any of us really want, isn’t it?

Special mention to Una O’Connor as the distrustful housekeeper and Elsa Lanchester as the long suffering nurse who gets some of the best comedy set pieces trying to take care of the ailing Laughton. They wrote some great War flashbacks for Dietrich to show off her unique destroyed 1940s glamorous allure, even making time for her to do a quick number that ends with her trouser leg getting torn off and starting a riot. Top marks.

Music - Akihiro Miwa

I was having the kind of hangover only Hayao Miyazaki can cure so I found myself revisiting Princess Mononoke and it introduced me to someone incredible I had read about in passing over the years but never fully engaged with: Akihiro Miwa.

Miwa voices Moro, the giant ancient Wolf goddess, and their voice has such a startling, brittle quality that I had to find out who played the role, and that led me down a whole rabbit hole. Miwa is a cultural icon in Japan, an ancient drag queen, author, director, actor, composer and singer, working since the 1950s more loudly and openly than you can imagine. Singing Japanese versions of French chansons in night clubs in glamorous beaded gowns and beehive wigs, they also became a close friend of highly controversial gay poet/writer turned insane right wing political terrorist Yukio Mishima, working together on stage and in film.

Miwa represented the androgyne that Mishima was so intrigued by in his early writing, and I highly recommend looking at pictures of the two of them together, it’s every queen-and-trade fantasy you could have. Miwa recorded a few albums, and right now my favourite is 老女優は去り行く一美輪明宏のすべて +2, a collection of French chansons and Japanese ballads sung live for an audience. Their cover of “La Vie en Rose” is truly great. Five stars.

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Film - Paprika

I watched Perfect Blue a few years ago and don’t know why it took me so long to watch Paprika, but I’m glad that I did!! This film is so beautiful to look at but so gripping as a story too. Also great to have a movie that makes you put your phone down the whole time to watch it.

Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Obvi everyone has seen this but I thoroughly recommend a rewatch, it was such a different experience watching on a 2026 telly than on a 2006 telly and I loved every minute of it. I always shy away from rewatches but this has made me reconsider my position.

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

Burger: Zula Burger

The Polyester team was v kindly ~gifted a gorgey meal at Zula Burger in Marble Arch, London recently, and what a time we had quite frankly. Jenn and I both had the new Nashville Burger which was a special collab with chef Lorcan Spiteri, and I can personally vouch for its deliciousness. I have it on good authority that Zula also have a bunch of other chef collabs coming up which also sound banging.

The fries were crispy crunchy moreish, and while I wasn’t necessarily sure how well Basque cheesecake for dessert would follow burgers, chips and sodas, any doubts I might have had were proved very wrong by the light, almost delicate slices that we were presented with.

Also, we have all recently become obsessed with getting one menu item ‘for the table’ so that we can all try it, and on this occasion we got a table hot dog, which I highly recommend doing (show me someone who doesn’t want a little bite of hotdog and I will show you a joyless person) - this was made with a beef sausage which I’m personally a big fan of, with all the classic HD (Hot Dog) trimmings, from ketchup and mustard to pickles. Perfecto.

Visit: V&A East

The V&A museum in London is lovely but it is famously in West London, which is diametrically opposite to where I live. AS SUCH: I am very excited for the V&A East to open next week! The permanent collection is going to feature a mixture of art and fashion (Molly Goddard in a museum where she belongs!!), and the first exhibition is called “The Music is Black: A British Story” which is about how Black British music has shaped British culture, from 1900 until now. Sounds good doesn’t it???? I’m buzzing girls.

See you next time!
The Polyester Team <3

xoxo

We’re so glad to present to you a bumper week of features, interviews and more for you to sink your teeth into 🍏

Want to get an all access pass to the site including exclusive BTS content, free zines, free merch, a WhatsApp community chat and more? Become a member here.

The Situationship Nobody Talks About: The Live-In Ex

It’s hard enough to get over a breakup without, well, still living together. The phenomenon of seeing through a tenancy contract with your ex is growing more and more common among young people who have no other option during a cost of living crisis.

Read the feature here!

Culture Slut: K Pop Demon Hunters and The Sailor Starlights

In this month’s column, our contributing culture editor Misha draws a parallel between the K Pop Demon Hunters and the Sailor Starlights pop stars from the Sailor Moon franchise.

Check it out!

Thora Birch on The Chronology of Water, Eschewing Competitiveness and Playing Cult Characters

With a sharp black bob and thick rimmed glasses, Thora Birch became the face of 2000s outsider geek culture (see: Ghost World). She was the struggling teenager, accidental star of the show and its emotional centre (American Beauty). Who could forget her cute face as the brave kid sister who helps save the town of Salem (Hocus Pocus)? Through these cult movies you loved from your teens, Thora became someone you knew as savvy and rebellious – even if you didn’t know her at all. 

Full profile here <3

Pamela Des Barres on the Spirit of Sexuality, ‘‘I’m With The Band’ and Fighting Conservatism

The original groupie joins The Dollhouse to teach us the lessons that the Free Love movement didn’t manage to make last in the social consciousness.

Read her wise words here!

This Editorial Connects with the Eerie Darkness in Femininity

A girl with an animal horn feels delicate but not entirely innocent. Sat with an empty cocktail glass, she’s distant and detached, like the night ended without her. In a shadowy car park or on the stairs, she hovers in a space between leaving and staying.

See the full shoot!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team <3

Hey Dolls!!

We are SO excited to announce that pre-orders are open for our next issue!

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE

For our first cover announcement - the amazing women behind the newest femme horror flick, Forbidden Fruits - writer/director Meredith Alloway and stars Lola Tung and Lili Reinhart join us for a roundtable discussion about the movie, the special bonds formed when women work together, and their female led film recommendations

Orders will ship by end of May 2026 with a publishing date and shipping date to be emailed directly once announced.

If you’re a member you get a free copy - when the issue is out, you’ll get an email with all the info on grabbing your free zine!!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team

We’re back with a fresh batch of recs - check them out below <3

Ione Gamble - Editor in Chief

Part two of my recs for making the best vinted purchases of your life. I currently have norovirus so am not feeling enthusiastic (please send recovery tips) but do want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on shopping:

Y2K stationary

Don’t search y2k - instead just search your favourite character eg Betty boop stationary Betty boop party invites etc. The designs are soooo much cuter than what’s currently available and you can feel superior for not buying into the temu industrial complex.

Japanese ballerina jewellery boxes

I spent way too much ($25) on one of these at a flea market a few years ago that plays the godfather theme and ever since have been trying to track down other cute ones. Also makes a gorgeeeeee gift!!

ANTONI + ALISON

Ok this feels like sharing an insider trading secret but ive seen the nostalgia fashion accounts posting Antoni + Alison for a few months now… paired with Petra Collins tapping them for a collab for her clothing line I’m Sorry and it’s safe to say the cult twee mid 00s London brand is poised for a comeback. You can buy mainline SO CHEAP on vinted but because I’m a classless girly I think my favourite pieces are the sequin nylon bags they did in collab with Debenhams, which you can pick up for less than a fiver.

Lauren O’Neill - Managing Editor

Newsletter: Capsule

I can be quite bad for watching a TikTok about something and then assuming I know all about it, which is admittedly a terrible trait to have in this, the year 2026. As such, I’ve really appreciated Capsule recently - it’s a newsletter which breaks down pop culture trends into fun, digestible chunks. Have enjoyed reading bits and bobs on Fashion Week (I find the endless discourse a bit much so it was good to have the main takeaways outlined), and vulnerability in pop music recently, but there’s loads of good stuff on there. Big rec from me for the Substack girlies especially !!

Gina Tonic - Senior Editor

Film: The Brood

What I like about Cronenberg is that there is always one of his that you haven’t seen and last week I did a double bill of this and Scanners. Unfortunately, the latter was kinda boring but The Brood was INCREDIBLE. Giallo vibes from DC that worked actually really well with his body horror.

Film: The Chronology of Water

I finally watched Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut and it was so so beautiful and moving. I had to have a shower straight after to wash my feelings off me. Perfect balance of aesthetic and quiet emotion.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Film: Carolina Caroline

I was lucky enough to get a a screener for Dinner In America director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s newest film and I love it so much. Very Bonnie & Clyde and 70’s inspired, it’s a romantic crime thriller road trip situation with some heartwarming moments with really watchable characters. Feel like I can’t say too much without spoiling it but it’s out in June so I’m putting it on your radar in advance, cancel your Summer holiday unless there’s a cinema there.

Dai Wang Korean Ginseng Tea, which they sell at Holland & Barrett for 65p

Bro I am somehow locked tf in and calm as shit at the same time, ADHD heads get to know who needs Elvanse when you have this?! Disclaimer: do not drink it if caffeine makes you feel weird. There’s a 3 for 2 deal on at the moment too. I only went in for popcorn. (Disclaimer: do not drink it if caffeine makes you feel weird!!)

Misha MN - Contributing Editor

Film: The Passion of Joan of Arc

I am deeply passionate about Joan of Arc and am constantly excited about new adaptations of her story (here’s to hoping the projected 2027 Baz Luhrmann film will be better than Elvis), but this 1928 classic remains the one to beat. One of the best silent films of the era, La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc is a reenactment of Jeanne’s trial for heresy by the Catholic Church, based on the actual historical documents of the time, or so the film would have us believe. Starring La Falconetti as the titular heroine, she gives truly one of the greatest performances of the 20th century through just her expressions. That old Norma Desmond adage rings true here; “we didn’t need dialogue back then, we had faces.” Falconetti’s eyes are so commanding and yet vulnerable, and the style of the filmmaking is so groundbreaking for its time, focusing almost solely on closeups and micro expressions. The cast are unadorned, no make up, just detailed skin texture, bizarre features, warts, hair, crooked teeth, it’s as jarring today in our world of beauty filters as it must have been then with their grease paint and Vaseline slathered lenses. We need ugly people in films again. Quick note, there’s a scene where Falconetti is tortured and then has her head shaved (for real) on screen, and it really really reminded me of the incredible New French Extremity film Martyrs (2008), a definite visual and thematic through-line about divine female suffering here spanning 80years and more. Five stars.

Album: Max Richter - Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works

Was absolutely shocked to hear that iconic composer Max Richter has only been nominated for an Oscar once, and that was this year for Hamnet. Must have been why they went the whole hog and put On The Nature of Daylight in it, best foot forward and all that. When he didn’t win, it made me want to revisit some of his other great work and I settled on the music he made for Woolf Works, a three act ballet exploring the life and work of Virginia Woolf, a production of which I managed to see a few years ago, and has never left my mind since. The standout piece from that was the final act - The Waves, which features a reading from Gillian Anderson of Woolf’s suicide note over the sound of crashing waves which then dissolves into Richters classic post minimalist style, both heartbreakingly poignant, and shatteringly beautiful. Truly stunning, almost Nyman-like, but stripped of its elaborate adornment, more quiet and internal. Beautiful. Give him an Oscar for that.

Film: Donnie Darko

Been decades since I’ve seen this but it still slaps. 2001 seminal edgy teen movie Donnie Darko follows its titular character, a mentally disturbed high schooler, who narrowly avoids death and then has to live in a strange world that is trying to save its own balance, aided and abetted by the scene stealing Frank the Bunny. I forgot how good this was. Real life siblings Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal play realer-than-real film siblings, Drew Barrymore turns up as every outcast’s favourite English teacher, Patrick Swayze is a self-help-guru-nonce, and the soundtrack goes so hard. Did anyone else remember that this film was set in the 80s?! I knew it had some great 80s music in it, but I think I thought it was because it was cool, not a period piece. Hallucinations, time travel, troubled teens in therapy, little girl dance troupes, this film has it all. I remember how groundbreaking and transgressive it felt as a young teen seeing it for the first time on video at a friend’s house, I’d give anything to feel that again. I love Donnie Darko, and I have never doubted my commitment to Sparkle Motion. Five stars.

Rob Corsini - Junior Editor

Game: Pokopia

No one talk to me for three months I’m building my Pokopia home. If I could have a wish it would be that we lived in the Pokopia world instead of this one because it’s fun, you can change the weather by flipping a doll on it’s head, and you get to hang out with Pokemon. Gina is angry at me because I told her that I am now trubbish number one fan but he is so cute in this game that I moved him to my cutiepie island even though he didnt start on it so it was a big deal because only true cuties graduate like that. It’s crazy how this is 100x better than animal crossing new horizons (which I love.) even though nintendo been trotting those games out since before I was born.

Camille Mariet - LA Editor

Cooking your own branzino

Listen, I famously cannot cook. I once put 1/3 cup of salt into a brown sugar frosting instead of a 1/3 teaspoon (I don’t know, whatever). But a dear friend of mine recently taught me just how easy it is to bake a branzino and now I can’t stop. Buy one that’s cleaned and coat it in olive oil, salt, and pepper, stuff it with Meyer lemon wheels and parsley stems, bake it for 20 min at 400F, and you’re good to go!!

Kodak Charmera

My friend recently brought one of these tiny little cameras to a bar hang and I RAN to get my own. It’s rechargeable, takes both photo and video, has a digital display, uses a microSD so you can easily transfer images off it, and ~ might I say ~ handled the low light of an East Hollywood bar impressively. It’s also a keychain, so you can pop it on your keys or your bag or whatevs and live your Spy Kids dream!!!

See you next time!

XOXO,

The Polyester Team