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Editor in Chief: Cynthia Medina Yale ‘28

From Screen to Scream at Vogue World🍿

With the growing anticipation leading up to Halloweekend, our costume deliberations always lead to a familiar set of crossroads: classic or modern? Zombies and vampires– Mary and Smokestack?

Whether classic or modern, Halloweekend has become a showcase for costume making, turning creative ideas into the most avant-garde attire. 

Wandering past blocks packed with TV-and-film characters made real, the influence becomes impossible to miss—where else would Elmo, Rocky Blue, and Hannibal Lecter share a room? 

Aptly timed, Vogue World took the spirit of Halloween and put in on an even bigger display in Hollywood on this October 26th. Stars like Angela Basset, Gigi Hadid, Julia Garner, Anok Yai, and Danai Gurira walked the soundstage dressed as a medley of iconic film and TV characters. Characters from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Dune, and Edward Scissorhands showcased the true beauty and intricacies of costume design. 

The works of Ruth E. Carter, Colleen Atwood, and Sandy Powell were celebrated as true artists of their craft through this artful display of fashion’s iconography in film. 

So if you needed a sign to go cinematic this year, consider this it.

Happy Halloween!

The Algorithm Ate My Closet 🍽 

If you scroll your TikTok feed, you’ll be barraged with statements like: “Burgundy is the new butter yellow”, and “The girls are wearing long-sleeve Intimissimi cashmere tops.” With algorithms making our feeds into echo chambers of the internet, we are being inundated with never-ending declarations of the newest trends in a greater volume than ever before.  With every “what’s in” comes the memo that others—like butter yellow—are so last season.

We can’t help but be influenced by this content — it’s been psychologically optimized to hook us in and give us a fear of missing out. Granted, trends aren’t a bad thing; they’re fantastic for increasing accessibility of niche objects to the masses with demand.

But we are experiencing a dark side effect of these fads: overconsumption, and in turn, waste. The biggest adopters of the current trend cycle are large clothing brands like H&M and Zara. As things move in and out of cycle at a lightning-fast pace, we encounter environmental and financial issues while trying to keep up. Next week, we’ll dive more into using the trend cycle to your advantage to develop lasting personal style that will save landfills and your wallet!

Who Is Grace Wales Bonner?🐆

We used to pray for times like this. Grace Wales Bonner has been named the new Creative Director for Hermès Menswear. Her appointment marks a historic moment in fashion as she becomes the first Black woman to lead a major luxury house. 

If you hadn’t heard of her yet, here are some of her most popular looks:

The Adidas sneaker that took over 2024:

Known for immaculate tailoring, expect that precision fused with deep cultural research under Wales Bonner’s helm. As she puts it, “I see my research as an artistic and spiritual practice… an energy that guides me—intuitive, not merely proactive.”

Grace Wales Bonner will present her first collection at Hermès during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in January 2027.

For The Costume Lovers👻

Halloween comes and goes every year, but the most exciting part is always the candy, the spookiness, and the costumes. This week, we’re diving into three original costumes for you to try out!

For the solo girly: channel your inner Fancy Nancy with sparkles, a boa, and glitter galore – these Edikted ruffle shorts are très magnifique. 

Whether you’re with a significant other or a group, try out Joe Cool and Charlie Brown for a classic Halloween throwback. If your group is a little bigger, try the Spice Girls with the ever-iconic Union Jack dress. Party hard!

Myth: Pet insurance claims are too slow

Unlike in the past, most pet insurance claims are now super easy to process. Now, you can submit a claim right from an app and get the money deposited directly into your account within days. Many insurers even offer options for direct payment to the vet, reducing the out-of-pocket burden. Check out Money’s Best Pet Insurance list to find options with fast and painless claims processing.

See pet insurance plans.

Costume Crunch (College Edition) 🎃

Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween in college is unlike anything else–honestly, it can feel like an olympic sport. Amongst the insanity of midterms, projects, and work, Halloween has been that bright light at the end of the tunnel for me. 

This year, the holiday really snuck up on me. As I write this, realizing I myself have   no costumes planned, let me run you through some last minute ideas if you need them  (I sure do)!

Bumblebee. For all my Eras Tour baddies, let’s reduce, reuse, and recycle. I grabbed my T.Swift outfit, a head band, \ pipe cleaners, and BAM! I’m ready to buzz around downtown Blacksburg! 

Edna Mode . Hello, Darling! This one was so much easier than I thought. I bought a short black wig (thank you Amazon next day shipping ),threw on some glasses, a red top, and a skirt. I’ve got to be real, this outfit was incredible. 

Turns out you don’t need time; you just need taste. 

Lace it up! 🎀

If you are still trying to find a way to make your Halloween costume look chic, I have the answer for you: Lace. It is time to destroy the notion that basic halloween costumes have to be boring. With lace, an overdone angel costume can become a whimsical moth. The possibilities are endless. The framework of the outfit might be the same, but the key is to accessorize with lace or any lace derivative materials. 

The best part about lace? How easily thriftable it can be. From handkerchiefs to table cloths, all you need is scissors and a crafty spirit. This is how to effortlessly incorporate lace into your costume: 

1. Ditch the bonnet and use a lacey fabric as a headscarf or veil 

2. Simply tie lace anywhere you want to, your bag, pants, around your ankles, wrists, or as a necklace. 

3. Cut a pair of lace tights to make classy fingerless gloves 

Even if your costumes are bought and ready to be worn, lace can be incorporated into basically any look: mummy, pirate, angel, bloody bride, Marie Antoinette and more. 

For my favorite sources of inspirations, look at Jean Paul Gaultier s/s 2008, and John Galliano s/s 1992 and Yuhan Wang s/s 2025 collections. Pin them to your moodboard; the styling is yours. 

Born to Be Damned📚

Witches. Hysteria. Heaven in a chokehold. By Clementine Gnoto

Every October, the fascination with witches returns to the runway of our imagination. Yet, Elizabeth Reis’s Damned Women asks the only question that truly matters: who decided women were the natural villains? In Puritan New England, fear wore a halo—and women paid the price.

In her novel, Reis eis shows how this belief was not only  just theological, but psychological. Women internalized the fear, sometimes confessing to witchcraft more often than not simply because they genuinely believed they might be damned. And that’s the turn. 

What’s haunting here isn’t witchcraft itself, but how a culture made women see themselves as inherently corrupt. Reis reminds us that the real horror story isn’t witchcraft itself, it’s how easily a society can turn faith and fear into tools that define and damn women.

Happy Halloween🎨

Welcome back to The Interlude–otherwise known as Quiet Parts, the Column–with art and poetry pairings for the busy patron. 

Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, 1781. Oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of the Arts.

Art history is filled with images of the uncanny, grotesque, unsettling, and macabre. If you’re around New York, be sure to check out The Met’s share of scary works, and if not, here’s Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare, Howard Nemerov, and me, wishing you the most feverish and sublime Halloween. 

Perhaps unwillingly he did this, became / Laureate of those who were afraid. – “Sigmund Freud,” by Howard Nemerov