No Nonsense #77- Capsule, The Chronology of Water and Pokopia
Hi Dolls!
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
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!!!
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See you next time!
XOXO,
The Polyester Team
