Midnight Snack Vol. 26
90s Cult Icons, $$$ Sake, Camo for Fall & More!
Hello Night Crawlers, welcome to Vol. 26 of The Nocturnal: Midnight Snack, a weekly recap of anything I found “shareable” over the last 7 days. I'm officially back in NYC (yay!) and SO excited to be snuggled in my **usual** cozy chair as I write to you on this fine Sunday. I’ll admit I’ve yet to do the 168-hour week breakdown I mentioned last week, but now that I’m settled and in “Organized Fall” (aka adult back-to-school) mode, “I’m right on top of that, Rose!” like Sue Ellen Crandell.
And if you don’t know that reference, dear Vampires, I’m here to educate you on the genius of Christina Applegate’s early works.
Now, let’s get into this week’s recs for what to See, Listen, Talk, Taste, & Shop:
See: Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead
I was ELATED to discover that this iconic movie, the film that LITERALLY inspired me to become a fashion designer, is having a bit of a resurgence thanks to social media. In 1991, before the internet, Sue Ellen Crandell taught my seven year old self the smoke and mirrors reality of the fashion world and the true meaning of “fake it til you make it.” Teen movies just do NOT inspire at this level anymore! And they definitely do NOT live up to the wildly unrealistic plot line and runway-worthy costume design that make DTMTBD a true 90s masterpiece.
I already did a pretty good plot summary when it first showed up on my hulu in 2022, so here you go:
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Issa classic.
Listen: A Song About A Metro We Took In Japan
Osaka and Kyoto were our next stops after Tokyo and they DEFINITELY delivered with a little more vibe and some buzzier nightlife. Yay! Or at least the nightlife was much easier to stumble upon than in Tokyo, that is, where the cultural gatekeepers are doing a REALLY good job of keeping that circle closed. While in Osaka, which also had the best shops imo (and I scored a really cute furry bow bag), we took the Osaka Loop Line, which is also the title of a song on one of my hub’s upbeat party playlists:
It’s a super fun electronic track by Discovery that totally fits the vibe of this city, which brought the exciting energy I was looking for in Japan!
Talk: At What Age Do Cultural References Become “Too Old”
Lately I’ve noticed that my cultural references are falling on deaf ears to some of the younger gen and it’s SO SAD! Some of these people are A MERE eight years younger than I am, yet, still, they stare blankly when I bring up someone as iconic as Peggy Bundy. Yes, the queen of leopard print, belted leggings, and bouffants herself, is an actual unknown to some of these “youngers” (I’ll call them). The conversation came up recently as I was talking to some of my team at work about Halloween and what everyone was being. One of the youngers mused about if she would grow out of loving to dress up, and I immediately said “NO”, excitedly sharing my dress-up plan (Peggy, duh). And I was met with **TOTAL crickets**. “You know, Married With Children? Christina Applegate??” I grasped, desperately, searching for some signs of awareness. But NOTHING. And then it dawned on me: This same exact thing happened to me last Halloween with some youngers (again, only 8-10 years!) at a friend’s house party.
I was dressed up as 90s supermodel Stephanie Seymour, wearing her iconic bridal hi-low gown from the “November Rain” music video, with my hub (*fiance* at the time) dressed up, obviously, as her then boyfriend, Guns N’ Roses lead-singer, Axl Rose. BOTH icons in their own right, and both somehow barely known to this clan of youngers. One of the people there even worked for Vogue! If I can’t count on the fashion adept of this gen to know my cultural references, what can I expect of the rest of them??? Le Sigh.
Here’s the “November Rain” look, which I was super proud of:
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So, trying not to sound like a Debby, I said to my younger team member, “No, you will not get over dressing up for Hallowen…BUT your references won’t be so obvious anymore.” Which is kind of a BUMMER. Is this happening to you, too??? Or are my tastes too niche?
Taste: Legit Sake
I don’t know if I was just drinking the kool-aid or if sake in Japan really does taste better, but I was LOVING every bottle we had there. And this particular sake we had while at Sushi M (amazing tasting menu to try if visiting), Aramasa 'No.6 X-Type' Junmai Daiginjo Sake, tops the list:
Googling this bottle right now made me realize it’s quite expensive, so maybe that’s the difference (lol). Perhaps we were just getting bougie with some banging sake while there… but I’m 99% positive that we ALSO had plenty of incredible $60 bottles too. Will try to find those names too as I don’t foresee purchasing this pricey gem for a casual night out on the regular.
Shop: My Friend’s Hats are the New D.A.R.E.
I was digging camo hats lately, probably subconsciously bc of exposure to both the Chappell Roan Midwest Princess hat AND the Kamala Harris take (potentially inspired), and my bestie Sal just came out with the ultimate version for his brand Artache Hotel.
For real how cute are these?! And, honestly, VALID message: save your monies for the good stuff, people. Could this be a D.A.R.E. rebrand staple?? I think so! Regardless, I can’t wait til this camo hunter version arrives to me this week, but you can check out the other styles and colorways here.
Alright, Night Crawlers, I’m already late on delivery and the movie I’m watching just got GOOD (finally), so I must leave you.
Now go to bed, Vampires! See you next Sunday ;)
xoxo
Christina