Shein, Microtrends, and American Earnestness

This week on Tasteland we're joined by W. David Marx, an American fashion and culture writer who works and lives in Tokyo, Japan. He is the author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style and Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change.

Preorder Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century

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W. David Marx

• Newsletter

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• Instagram

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Subway tastes

00:02:26 There's no song of the summer

00:09:05 Skinny pants are never coming back

00:12:10 Only Fads

00:17:10 Fad consumerism culture, US vs Asia

00:21:27 The age of the double sellout

00:24:00 The 21st century crisis

00:35:49 Rich enough to not have a smartphone

00:41:25 Cultural roots of contemporary politics

00:51:04 Everyone is a marketer

00:56:37 You can't be unfamous

01:01:04 Capitalism without morality

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.