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Spring Trends 2023
131 Plays1 year ago
It may be hard to believe, but this is our 5th annual Spring Trends episode here on The Modern Lady Podcast!!! The world has changed quite a lot since we first began our yearly commentary on all things new and novel, but one thing has remained the same: the culture informs the trends. It is always fascinating what we learn about our society once we start digging deeper into what is big in the food, fashion and travel industries. So join us this week as we investigate everything 2023: from the Canadian tuxedo to caviar, "set-jetting" vacations to Itameshi cuisine, we are big fans of what is trending right now and we suspect you will be pleasantly surprised too!
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Transcript
Conference Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey guys, Michelle here with some big news. We've often said that the Modern Lady podcast is meant to feel like just us friends, sitting around the kitchen table, chatting about all the things. Well how about this summer, we ditched the microphones and cut out the middle man.
00:00:18
Speaker
Lindsay and I are so excited to announce that we will be hosting a Cultivating Your Family Culture conference this summer at the St. Anthony Spirituality Center in Marathon, Wisconsin, and we really want to see you there. We've taken some of our favorite episodes and topics and have created a weekend that will motivate you to create a family culture that will have a generational impact.
00:00:43
Speaker
But this time, we're digging deeper and hope you'll join us in person for the chat. Join us June 9th to 11th, 2023 for a weekend filled with engaging conversation, a lot of laughter, and inspiration whatever season of life you're in.
Podcast Support and Reviews
00:01:01
Speaker
Check out the St. Anthony Spirituality Center website at www.sarcenter.com or our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com for registration information and all the details. And now on to the show. Mmm, perfect. I love that. I think that should just, do you want to end it like that? Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
00:01:30
Speaker
That's amazing. I can't believe we did that full circle. That was amazing. That was so fun. Oh my goodness. That was a blast. And I kind of had a sense that this year's would be. The trends themselves were so interesting. Yeah.
00:01:55
Speaker
Welcome back to the Modern Lady podcast. You're listening to episode 137. Hi, I'm Michelle. And I'm Lindsay, and today we are talking about the trends for 2023.
00:02:08
Speaker
Every episode, we share something that we are each loving or enjoying at the time, whether it be a book or podcast, a movie or a new practice we've adopted. And every year, around this time, these two stay-at-home moms decide it's time to sneak a peek outside our closet studios and homes to see just what the rest of the world is loving right now, too. And thus, the annual Spring Trends episode was born.
00:02:34
Speaker
So from silence to caviar to denim, have no fear, the Modern Ladies are here to journey alongside you as we navigate the scene that is the trends of 2023. But first, the best way that you can support the Modern Lady podcast is by giving us a rating and review on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts. Your reviews, especially on iTunes, can really help others who might be interested find our podcast too.
Salon Etiquette Tips
00:03:01
Speaker
Your comments mean the world to us.
00:03:03
Speaker
This week's shout out goes to Michelle, aka Carmelite Connection, who gave us a five star review on Apple podcasts and said, quote, I'm so glad you're back. I've been wanting to tell you how much I enjoy your podcast. I love it so much that I fall asleep.
00:03:20
Speaker
Yep, you read that right. And if you chuckle, then you're exactly the kind of women who are my people. When I really love a podcast, I put it on to take a nap. I find the familiarity of the voices so soothing and relaxing. I thought you might get a kick out of my peculiar review. Don't worry, I re-listen to the episode later, and I love the flag etiquette episode." End quote.
00:03:44
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, Michelle, for your message and review. I definitely chuckled when I read that we put you to sleep, but we totally get it and are really honored that we can be such a calming presence in your day. If you would like to leave us a comment, you can do so on our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com, or you can leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, where you can find us at the Modern Lady podcast.
00:04:18
Speaker
But before we get into today's chat, Lindsay has our modern lady tip of the week.
00:04:24
Speaker
Well, Michelle, I almost made it to a proper hair salon for some pampering, but needed to cancel. So while it's almost been a decade since I've set foot in a salon, and I should give a little shout out to my hairdresser, also named Michelle, who comes to my house, I came across this list called 13 Polite Habits Hairdressers Actually, Dislike, and What to Do Instead on the website for Reader's Digest. And I thought, this is perfect, because one day, one day, I'll make it into a salon again.
00:05:09
Speaker
Whoa, okay man, how do we treat them right? Well, the first one says that some hairdressers get anxious if you show up early. They can see you waiting there, and even if you're totally fine and happily waiting, they might feel the need to rush to finish up with a client that's currently in their chair.
00:05:12
Speaker
So the article opens with this truth bomb.
00:05:27
Speaker
So it really is best to show up at your scheduled time. Now, if you're going to be early and you don't want to wait in your car, they suggest calling the salon and saying that you will be a bit early and asking if your hairstylist would like to see you earlier.
Salon Chat Preferences
00:05:41
Speaker
The next one isn't just applicable to hairdressers, but it's also a major pet peeve of flight attendants and restaurant staff. Do not use terms of endearment when addressing them. It might seem friendly to call them sweetie or hun, but many are bothered by that as it makes them feel like you don't take them seriously as professionals. And it's also proper etiquette to ask someone who has a name that is commonly shortened, think Elizabeth and Liz, Beth, or Lisa, if you can call them by one of those versions.
00:06:10
Speaker
Don't grab things off their table, even if it's something like a brush to brush your hair one last time before you leave or a little hairspray just for that one last little spritz. At first, I couldn't imagine someone being so bold, but now on second thought, it wouldn't surprise me.
00:06:26
Speaker
Now, this one is one I've wondered about. What about if you're feeling chatty or feeling like you want to be quiet? How do you navigate both of those? The hairdressers in this article said that the level of chatting is established by the customer, but they pointed out that it is hard to focus on doing your hair and chatting, so maybe not chatting nonstop.
00:06:46
Speaker
But what if you want silence? This is what I've always wondered about after starting to be too chatty with a masseuse every time that became regularly. And then I wanted to be quiet, but didn't know how to backtrack. So they suggest being polite when sitting down, right? Like being a little chatty when you sit down, but then saying something like you've been really looking forward to relaxing after a busy week and that you're looking so forward to just sitting quietly in the chair. And they said most of the time they will totally get the hint that you want to have a quiet appointment.
00:07:16
Speaker
And finally, show up with clean hair. Yes, they're going to wash it, but perhaps you've heard that color goes on better on dirty hair. Well, that's a myth. And while you want to look nice, they remind you to be aware of the clothing that you are wearing so it doesn't get in the way, like turtlenecks, which can complicate the haircutting process. And they said to leave the designer clothes at home because even with the cape on, they're worried still about getting hair color on your clothing. Hmm.
00:07:42
Speaker
I'm really stressed out about going to the salon now. But good tips. The one that I was really interested in too was also the chatting one because I have to say I almost never want to chat when I go for haircuts or massages. For massages, I'm just honestly trying to stay awake at all. I just want to go to sleep.
00:08:09
Speaker
But even for haircuts, I'm really happy just sitting there in silence. But I feel like I have to be polite and make small talk. So that is a great reminder that you don't necessarily have to.
Spring Trends Episode Reflections
00:08:24
Speaker
They don't mind either. They also enjoy just focusing on their work too. Absolutely. And then that just had me thinking about other times where it's like to chat or not to chat. And then I thought the place where I go where they try to chat to the most, ironically, is the dentist.
00:08:41
Speaker
They ask more questions at the dentist than they do at any other service I receive. That's so true. I was just at the dentist yesterday and I had that happen and I answered a question.
00:08:55
Speaker
that she asked like five minutes earlier and I held on to my answer and answered and it was really awkward. So you could probably just let that go too. Yep. Do you know what maybe it's time for some dental office etiquette for the next episode. Yes, I could use those.
00:09:16
Speaker
This episode of the Modern Lady podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Being tired suburban moms in our thirties and forties doesn't exactly make us influencers and you might want to look to more reputable sources for new fashion and beauty trends.
00:09:31
Speaker
Please contact the professionals to find out if it is really time for the international debut of the Canadian tuxedo before purchasing said items. And please, for the sake of all that is beautiful, don't go out and buy a red skirt suit and giant purse for your night out at an underwater themed experimental no plates restaurant based on this episode of the Modern Lady podcast without double checking to make sure that all the cool Instagrammers are doing it
Caviar's TikTok Popularity
00:10:00
Speaker
first.
00:10:00
Speaker
Thank you and enjoy this episode. Food and fashion and travel. Oh my. We are indeed back at it with our Spring Trends episode. Around March every year, we start asking each other in our planning sessions for the podcast, is it time for Spring Trends yet? And it's truly one of our favorite episodes of the year, right, Lindsay? It is. And we've always said that this is one that's just purely for our pleasure.
00:10:27
Speaker
We don't know if anyone else likes it or follows it. None of that matters. We just enjoy recording this one so much. It's just it's a selfish episode, I guess. Right, Michelle? Mm hmm. A selfish episode that we still hope benefits and entertains and is edutainment for everybody. But it is funny because we are so
00:10:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think you mentioned it in one of your Insta stories the other day. We both kind of do our own thing anyways. Yeah. And so we love to know what the trends are, but then almost immediately after we record it, we're like, well, that was nice. Yes. And then throughout the year, right, we've had things then pop up that kind of reiterate what we said on our trends episode. And we're like, oh, well, we knew that. Oh, hair flip. Yeah, a little hair flip, yes.
00:11:16
Speaker
It's so true. It's just it is nice to be connected to society and culture and some of the things too. I'm glad we do it because often something does tend to come up that is actually a pretty accurate commentary.
00:11:32
Speaker
on our culture, or like something deeper that's going on below the surface. And so, yeah, we might kind of joke about it as being something frivolous, but more often than not, it is also kind of surprising when you take the time to examine your own culture. You can learn a lot about it.
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah, the trends inform the culture and the culture informs the trends, right? And especially I think in the travel section, that one always, I always think, well, what is there for travel trends? And you and I aren't travelers. It couldn't be more elusive for us. But I just always find that that one particularly speaks to what the culture is. People are really needing at
Caviar in Culinary Trends
00:12:12
Speaker
that time. That one says so much more than just destinations.
00:12:16
Speaker
And, and I also find that this one actually does motivate me, even if I don't want to do the things we're actually talking about, it does still get me excited to try a few new things going into spring summer, right? I'm like, maybe I do want to go look at some new clothes or make a new cocktail. So it might not be the specific things that are on trend, but it still gets me kind of motivated for the spring summer to try something new. It's true. And then if it's even in your mind, because we were mentioning it, I found that
00:12:45
Speaker
Like, if it's something that wouldn't have been on my radar at all otherwise, other than being able to chat about it on the podcast, if I do come across it on a menu, if it's a food thing or in conversation, I'm more likely to try it. And like you said, try something new then.
00:13:01
Speaker
Okay, well I guess it's not so frivolous after all this is actually maybe one of our most important episodes before you said maybe it's not so frivolous I thought this leads perfectly into the first thing on our list and then I'm like the first thing on our list is the most frivolous So Michelle, yeah, have you ever tried caviar? Okay
00:13:28
Speaker
I was trying to think about this the other night. I don't think I have. I don't think I have. Have you? We bought it a couple years ago and for New Year's. And so we bought. OK, this is going to sound so ridiculous, but.
00:13:42
Speaker
Jason bought Dom Perignon champagne for Christmas that year and caviar now we only bought that champagne and I will say this is because he received a ton of gift cards to the liquor store for his 40th birthday so we would have probably not dropped that money on champagne just to be clear but I mean why not then go ahead and buy some caviar if you're having that now I actually think I chickened out I was trying to remember back I didn't eat it but I'm trying to remember why I didn't eat it so I think Jason ate the entire
00:14:12
Speaker
I believe actually he made duck hot dogs with Cappy. So it's true and I'm actually trying to remember and we'll get to the actual trend in a second. Yeah, yeah.
00:14:33
Speaker
But I eat such exotic foods though, like I'm really open to that. I might have just by a different name. Yeah. Like in a less fancy setting. Which we'll learn about. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yes. Tell me, tell me about this. Because I wanted to make, you know, make sure I really understood it. And what I learned is that for it to be caviar, and this is just like with champagne, there are very specific rules.
00:14:59
Speaker
So it has to be matured sturgeon eggs, and sturgeon is a fish, right? So the terms caviar and roe, R-O-E, are not interchangeable, although caviar is a type of roe. So roe is far more prevalent, but like you might be having salmon roe, which might be mislabeled red caviar, but that's actually, I guess, like authentically and legally not what it should be called.
00:15:26
Speaker
But there are now multiple different kinds of sturgeon caviar. For a long time, there were only three accepted types, the most popular one being beluga. I'm sure you've heard in fancy movies, beluga caviar. Now there's about, I didn't count it, but maybe seven or nine different breeds of sturgeon that would technically fall into the caviar category. Okay.
00:15:52
Speaker
Yeah, there was a lot to learn about Caviar, which I didn't realize it was so nuanced. But when I was looking at this, how it kind of exploded onto this scene, did you come across the TikTok video? No. That apparently launched this craze? No. So it was actually started by a woman, a young woman named Danielle Zoslowski on TikTok, who filmed herself last year enjoying her favorite, quote, OG snack.
00:16:21
Speaker
which is caviar on what she called fitness bread. So Danielle is actually a third generation sturgeon farmer. And so she is qualified to tell us about caviar. And her family business is called Marquise, and they deal in caviar. So this is kind of the video that started it all. And she's gone on to do more of like even pairings with caviar, like Doritos and caviar, apparently is
00:16:52
Speaker
Delicious. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. So she was just explaining in that video too, a lot of different things, like how caviar transfers, uh, taste so easily, like it's very sensitive. So you can only use certain kinds of spoons to spoon it onto your fitness bread. And yeah, I just, I kind of love the idea of casually reaching for a tin of caviar for your mid-afternoon snack. Like it's no big deal.
00:17:19
Speaker
And I love the high low of the Doritos and caviar. That's my personality. I love that mashup of the high low. So I'm really interested to try it
Current Cocktail Trends
00:17:28
Speaker
now. Now, one of the classic ways of serving it, the way I've always seen it served prior to, I guess, TikTok, is on a little blini. I don't know if you've seen a blini.
00:17:37
Speaker
They're like a mini bite-sized pancake. I also saw them called cocktail pancakes, which is just amazing. That is the name. That needs to be the name. Cocktail pancakes. And they add a little creme fraiche. Now creme fraiche is like sour cream, but it has a higher fat content to it.
00:17:57
Speaker
So you do a little dollop of that and then you do your, your caviar on top. So a little bite sized. And I think I'd be willing to try, I like, if I'm going to try something like that, I like trying it the classic way, right? The way that most people would have it. And then something crazy like on Doritos. So you, so I always believe you should try something the way it's been consumed most of the time throughout history and then, and then shake it up a bit. Yeah. You start with the classic and you adapt it from there.
00:18:24
Speaker
for sure. And then I saw that it's being used right now in one of the most popular cocktails. It's called the Salty Girl. Well, it's the Salty Girl restaurants. There's a few of them. I think one's in LA, one might be in Boston and New York. And then they have this cocktail that I think is just called the Salty and it is vodka, olives, pickled onion and caviar. And can I just say that is not my type of cocktail.
00:18:49
Speaker
trying to keep it all in here. And so that is not what I would order, but I guess if that interests anyone else, yeah, caviar cocktails.
00:19:00
Speaker
Okay. Well, wow. What a way to kick things off. Like we're starting high. Just hit you with everything right out of the gate. Um, so we're starting in the food category, but we've kind of now broached on cocktails and cocktails are still a thing. Like it's still big. So what else is going on with cocktails?
00:19:22
Speaker
Yeah. And I feel like the last couple of years we really talked about mocktails and those are still a big thing too. So they're not even on our list because we have addressed the mocktail thing in the last couple of years. So let's go back to the alcohol side. So kind of piggybacking off what we just talked about, pickled cocktails are really big right now. And this is no surprise either if you followed us last year when we were talking about like the fermented drink trend, the kombucha based cocktails.
00:19:48
Speaker
this idea of like pickled or savory cocktails, they're really big this year.
00:19:56
Speaker
Yeah, it does fit in with the fermenting trends from the last few years. Right. And I was searching for examples of pickle cocktails and it truly is everywhere right now. And they pair it with all kinds of things. The pickle juice, like there's some with tequila and vodka. There's a drink called the pickleback. You start with a shot of either bourbon or Irish whiskey.
00:20:20
Speaker
And then you chase it with a shot of pickle juice. Pickle brine. I'm going to have to tell Jason he is going to love that. And the article title was like, it's time to bring the pickle back because that's the name.
00:20:36
Speaker
But I was like, why pickle juice though? Like, why do you chase it with that? And it actually is supposed to, the pickle juice is apparently supposed to neutralize the taste of the alcohol a little bit while burning it off at the same time.
00:20:51
Speaker
Okay, so that makes sense then with the pickle juice because like with tequila shots, you do the lime and then you lick the salt off your hand. And so the same idea of that saltiness with the alcohol, right, would make sense with the pickle juice as well. Now, speaking of tequila, we talked about tequila last year. Well, we've got something else this year, which is huge and it's in the tequila family and that is Mezcal.
00:21:14
Speaker
And mezcal is a type of tequila with both being made from the agave plant. All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila. Just like bourbon is a type of whiskey. Does that make sense? Okay. Yes. It's like you want to memorize that in the restaurant and be like, okay, hold on. All tequila is mezcal. You're trying to order and you're just whispering to yourself. Yes.
00:21:43
Speaker
Now, here's the other thing that makes it different. So, well, actually, this is how it's produced, but it is what makes it different. So, the core of the agave plant is roasted in the ground. So, it gives it that kind of smoky flavor, right, versus tequila. The agave plant is steamed in a brick oven. So, same plant, different technique.
00:22:03
Speaker
And then just for how to drink it, so you can make it a mezcal margarita, right, instead of using tequila. And as I said last year, margaritas were the staple cocktail in the Marie house last year. I love a real margarita, Michelle. I don't know if you guys have made them yet, but you need like 500 limes. Like it's just so, it's like maybe like nine limes a drink and then the tequila or mezcal. And then you use Cointreau or like an orange flavored liqueur. It's so good.
00:22:33
Speaker
So you can obviously do margaritas, but if we're sharing fun cocktail names like you just did, I came across one in Food and Drink magazine that you can Google if you want the exact measurements, but there's a cocktail called the Tawny Little Blood. Yeah, Tawny, T-A-W-N-Y, Tawny Little Blood.
00:22:53
Speaker
And it's port, like port wine and apparently the smokiness of the mezcal and the port wine go really well together. And so it has those two ingredients and then freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, habanero bitters, a slice of jalapeno, sea salt, and then a slice of lime and orange as a garnish. And that sounds so good. Yeah.
00:23:16
Speaker
There's a lot going on in that drink too. Oh my gosh, but I love port. So that would be a great cocktail to try. And the final thing about cocktails, another big trend is nostalgia cocktails. Now they aren't thinking, you know, from the 50s or 60s when I think of nostalgia. No, no, they're in the 90s and early 2000s now.
00:23:38
Speaker
vintage and nostalgic cocktails. So all I can think about from my bar days in the late 90s and early 2000s is like the drink Rev and like Mike's hard lemonade and just these like sick and sweet. But yeah, it's there's a lot we'll talk about today about vintage and nostalgia trends. We're really all wanting that. But just like with fashion, really for the young people these days, it's all about the early 2000s.
00:24:03
Speaker
I was just going to say there is a lot of talk of vintage, but it's all pertaining to the 90s. Like our era. Oh, we've become.
00:24:13
Speaker
vintage. And the interesting thing I find about this vintage trend is actually common, I guess, in a lot of revived trends, which is that, yes, these older things cycle back, but it is always changed somehow to fit the current culture, right? And the tastes. So even here with the vintage cocktails, foodandwine.com was talking about how there is a maturing though of these classic 90s cocktails.
00:24:43
Speaker
So you mentioned, yes. So like they're saying even like with the very, very high sugary content of those cocktails, they use so many of the mixes, right? Yes. And so now, for example, instead of using a sour mix in drinks, that bartenders and mixologists are using real citrus.
00:25:05
Speaker
Yeah. That fresh juice is preferred to canned juice and that even like craft labels of anything is going to take precedence when they're making drinks. So it goes along with, again, a lot of other trends in both food and elsewhere where it just feels like part of the whole trend is now the artistry behind it. Yes. So we don't just want to drink. We want it to be meaningful and deeply creative.
Mushroom Trend in Vegetables
00:25:32
Speaker
Yes.
00:25:33
Speaker
And I love that. And that goes back to the whole margarita thing. I will again make a plug for making margaritas from scratch because if you only, I was going to say grew up drinking margaritas, like, and I guess grow up from the legal age. You grew up drinking margaritas.
00:25:50
Speaker
Back in the day, you would get the Bacardi can. Your mom would put the Bacardi frozen mixer can beside the fruit punch in the freezer section of the grocery store in the cart and you would go home and pop open the can and you would add the alcohol. And so for me growing up, margaritas were always that blended, sickly sweet drink and they're not like a real margarita. Yeah, if you guys haven't been doing that yet, really make some real ones. They're delicious.
00:26:22
Speaker
Okay, well, with all these cocktails, we're going to need a full stomach. So let's just transition and sidestep here into the food trends for 2023.
Italian-Japanese Fusion Cuisine
00:26:34
Speaker
Are we still like?
00:26:36
Speaker
kind of on par with last year or in a completely different direction? Well the first thing that we've seen actually over the last several years I would say is that mushrooms, mushrooms are still having their moment. Whoever is doing the marketing for mushrooms is doing a great job. From started at the bottom and now he's here. Literally just fungi at the bottom of them.
00:27:01
Speaker
But every year there's a new mushroom right and the mushroom de jour this year is the My talky is gonna be my guess how it's pronounced We'll just say the English words the English version of that is called the hen of the woods Now you might have seen this mushroom. It has these unique feathered ripples in the viral video Michelle Did you see this video on tick tock or Instagram of the fried chicken dupe?
00:27:27
Speaker
Oh, um, yes, I think I did. Yeah. And it looks actually delicious. I'm not a mushroom fan. And, but this, when she batters it in like a KFC type batter and then like
00:27:38
Speaker
pulls it apart. This like feathered ripple mushroom looks like chicken. It has that same look. And so that has just made this one so popular. Now it's so popular that there's even a restaurant in my favorite little town of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, that's called the Hen of the Woods, which is that name of the mushroom. The restaurant's called that. And of course that fake fried chicken is a staple in their menu.
00:28:04
Speaker
Okay, yeah, because that is one of the things that I was reading about this mushroom is that it's meaty. Like it's very meaty, so that makes sense. You would substitute meat, like meat-based things, which is so cool.
Spicy Food Challenges
00:28:18
Speaker
I am really impressed that mushrooms have this kind of staying power.
00:28:23
Speaker
in trends and it's easy to see how it is in terms of food because I think that the earthiness and some and kind of plainness of mushrooms just pairs well with almost anything else so it's really versatile I could see that for sure but it's actually mushrooms are kind of everywhere else too yeah have you seen that too like food decor and fashion yeah
00:28:50
Speaker
Like, and we'll talk about fashion a little bit later, but I was reading how they have even found ways to manufacture mushrooms to be, to feel like leather. Wow, I haven't heard that. Like the texture.
00:29:05
Speaker
People who are concerned with sustainability in fashion or or things like that. And so yeah mushrooms Kind of well, you can eat them you can drink them you can decorate with them and now apparently you can wear them There's nothing that the humble mushroom cannot do All right next on the list move over Tex-Mex and honestly, I was writing that I thought has anybody even talked about Tex-Mex in the last 25 years
00:29:34
Speaker
Like, it's the only food mashup that popped into my head. But, anyways, there is a new, I guess, cultural or ethnic food mashup in town. So, make way for Itameshi, or is that how you would say it, Michelle? Itameshi? Yeah, I would say it like that. Okay, okay. Yeah, the last thing you want to do is learn trends and then mispronounce them, right? Because it's the opposite of cool. All the street creds suck right out of us.
00:30:01
Speaker
Well, what is it? It is Italy meets Japan. So we noted last year on our podcast, the rising popularity of Japanese food, but I never saw the whole Italian thing coming. It just was like Italy came out of nowhere. So there are a lot of foods mashed up together, but the most basic one I happened to see yesterday, right after I finished writing my notes on this, a Facebook post came up about sushi pizza.
00:30:27
Speaker
basically just sushi in the shape of pizza. And I'm like, all right, we're at that basic level already where it's just gone down to sushi pizza. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think this trend is so interesting too, because Japanese culture seems to be, again, kind of like a mushroom, easy to pair with different cultures. Like even in decor and style, there's like the Japandi style, which is the mix of Japanese and Scandinavian design.
00:30:58
Speaker
But I found on the website Inameshi.com, there's this whole backstory for this food fusion. And I didn't realize that it had its beginnings all the way back in 1881. What? Yeah, that was when the first Italian restaurant opened in Japan. And so this struck me because I remembered from our homeschool curriculum that we do, it mentions that Japan went into
00:31:26
Speaker
that period of isolation for over 200 years. And those years were between 1643 and 1853, and only then did it open back up to the world. And in the years following that, I think they had a very brief civil war as well, where they're trying to figure out how much foreign influence they wanted to let back into the country.
00:31:47
Speaker
So I was thinking like between the year that Japan opened up in 1853 and when that first Italian restaurant opened in Japan in 1881 like it's not a long time and
00:32:00
Speaker
So perhaps the Italians, as well as I was reading the French and the Germans, they seemed to have a lot of the initial influence in Japan after the isolation ended. So that was a little historical thought experiment. I don't know if it's true, if that's the case, but I can see how that has
00:32:23
Speaker
a lot of longevity to it because, yeah, again, both cultures, if you think about it, they love simple flavors. They use in-season produce. They both have this love for umami. Yeah. Right. With that fifth sense of taste, I think. I don't know how to describe umami. And yeah, and they both really include a lot of depth.
00:32:47
Speaker
in their savory foods. So, yeah. Itamashi, I'm here for it.
Non-Dairy and Dessert Trends
00:32:51
Speaker
I like both Italian and Japanese. It is so much more than sushi pizza. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, in terms of that too, they were this website, itamashi.com. It gave an example, like a Ragu type of sauce, but you make it with pork belly.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or you could use ramen dough to make Italian-style noodles. Ooh, I'm making that. Right? Yeah, that sounds great. Yeah, because it would be similar. But I think with ramen, the alkaline levels are different. And so that would create a whole other taste profile. Right. That's very technical now, Michelle.
00:33:31
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sorry. Sushi pizza and what's next? You know what's next? The Hot Ones Challenge. You know how everyone, the YouTube channel is great. And I just was saying to Jason the other day about the Hot Ones Challenge on YouTube. I was like, this is so funny. I love, okay.
00:33:50
Speaker
it's love hate with the internet with youtube all these things right pros and cons but one of the things i love is just somebody just just an average joe can come up with this idea which becomes this huge thing and he gets to eat hot sauce with the biggest celebrities of the moment it's just pretty darn cool that that can happen
00:34:08
Speaker
So people are loving spicy foods, right? And they are desiring to build up a tolerance of them just like in that challenge. But then I had to laugh because you know when something becomes super boring and mainstream when it's at Costco and we were at Costco the other night and you can buy the hot sauce challenge with different bottles at Costco.
00:34:29
Speaker
Oh, but that's how we are able to incorporate these things into our summer barbecues. Yes. We pick everything up at Costco and bring it home, and now you have entertainment as well. That's right. The Holland Challenge. Yeah, do you know what? I've seen clips of that. I didn't realize it was a whole show or YouTube channel. Oh, it's so good.
00:34:48
Speaker
Yeah, it's really, really well done. I mean, it might not always be family friendly, just if people are sweating, it might squeak out a little swear word. But I find, you know what? Michelle, I wasn't expecting to talk about this, but I find it's similar to Desert Island Discs, my favourite radio show slash podcast ever.
00:35:06
Speaker
where you can get people to open up about their lives when they think they're not being interviewed. And so when you're just asking them about certain things and they're kind of distracted, then they start opening up more. And so like, I found that their guard is kind of down because they're eating on camera, which a lot of celebrities wouldn't normally do, especially the females, right? Like getting dirty and eating chicken wings covered in sauce, but they really open up in a different way. And I'm like, this is such a creative way to interview people.
00:35:33
Speaker
Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing makes people open up like crying. Yes. Speaking of crying from pain, I'm in the last food thing on the list that's like dinner related is, you know, chicken sandwiches. They are still
00:35:53
Speaker
You can't drive around a corner in our city without a chicken sandwich on a billboard being advertised by one fast food joint or another, or like small little pop up mom and pop restaurants. The breaded chicken sandwich, particularly the Nashville hot chicken is just, I would say the sandwich of the year still. Okay, Michelle. So let's just say we've had our hot sauce and you need something to drink. Well, another year, another new non-dairy milk.
00:36:20
Speaker
I actually wonder, was I going to be able to find another new non-dairy milk? And sure enough, so last year we told you about potato milk, right? And it's still out there on the list for 2023. Potato milk is hanging on despite my not seeing it on anything in real life.
00:36:38
Speaker
But the newest milk is pistachio milk. And now this sounds to me a lot more appealing than potato milk. So I was reading about pistachio milk lattes and they sound delicious. You just use your pistachio milk coffee, vanilla and maple syrup. So I am on board with pistachio milk.
00:36:55
Speaker
Okay, I can do pistachio milk too. I think that's probably more in the family of almond milk, cashew milk, where it has that earthy flavor, like a distinct taste. So you would use it to flavor things specifically.
00:37:14
Speaker
Yeah, potato milk was the wild card for sure. It was the wild card. And I was truly shocked to see it still popping up on trends list for this year. I'm like, wow. Yeah, and I can't remember if that had like the health benefits, apart from just not being dairy. But yeah, when it comes to nuts, I can see it being much more like it might be also for health reasons, like benefits from the nuts. It's higher in protein.
00:37:42
Speaker
Um, pistachio milk is higher in protein than dairy milk. So, all right, now it's time for dessert. Okay. Now, well, actually this first thing is a good bridge between dinner and dessert because it's not necessarily the food, it is the texture of the food. So on the Delish website, they had something called dishes with a chance of clouds, meaning fluffy foods. And I just got really excited about that.
00:38:09
Speaker
Fluffy food. So think whipped, fluffy, oozy. We're talking meringues, cloud bread, marshmallows, whipped feta. So it's all of those fluffy foods are very much on trend for 2023.
00:38:25
Speaker
Oh, okay. Well, like that sounds delicious. I think anything that is fluffy is usually also delicious. Well, there's one dessert that kind of straddled both this fluffy foods trend and the vintage foods trend. We'll talk a little bit more in a minute about, um, so I love, I love when something can, you know,
00:38:44
Speaker
be trendy on two friends. And that is Baked Alaska. Are you familiar with Baked Alaska? Yes, but I'm blanking on what it actually is. I have heard about it though. So believe it or not, I have been fascinated by Baked Alaska since childhood because as a little girl, I used to lay on my tummy and read my mom's 1970s cookbooks. And so I've loved reading cookbooks since childhood.
00:39:10
Speaker
and that one. There was something so fancy to me about Baked Alaska and it is having its moment again. So it's not only a tasty dessert and a piece of art because it is beautiful when done and sliced. It's also a scientific marvel because it is ice cream entombed in meringue and then you bake it in the oven and the ice cream stays frozen despite going into the oven.
00:39:34
Speaker
Right? What? Yeah. Yeah. So it's what magic is this? Frozen, like Alaska, right in the middle. So I dare say I would gasp, right? And you cut into it. So you're supposed to cut into it and you can do layered ice cream. So you're getting all the colors as well when you cut into it. So I'm just, I have, that is what I'm making. I am making a baked Alaska next weekend. I am so excited.
White Coffee Trend
00:40:00
Speaker
Yeah. Well, that's not something you usually hear about people trying at home. Yeah.
00:40:04
Speaker
like on their own but could you imagine yeah the feeling you would get if you were to attempt something like that just in our home kitchens and pulling it out and slicing through it and finding so you said there is like a scientific process to it so well it was actually very popular in the 60s and 70s so a lot of it was like a housewife dessert it was one of the fancier ones you'd make if your husband's boss was coming over um but the scientific aspect was that there's something about the air
00:40:32
Speaker
pockets in the meringue that create a protection around the ice cream that makes it not melt. Now, I haven't checked how long it goes into the oven for, but it goes in long enough to brown the swirled tips of the meringue. So a couple minutes, for sure. You would expect some of the ice cream to be affected, but it's not due to that insulation.
00:40:54
Speaker
Okay, very cool and then so vintage recipes So, you know many of us I went through a period on Facebook where I sharing vintage recipes all the time when we'd all laugh and gag and laugh and gag But those desserts and those recipes are are back a lot of people are wanting to try them and I thought this is so funny because I didn't know that it's officially a trend and as I just revealed our summer this year is a 60s summer and
00:41:20
Speaker
Jason and I are going to do a lot of sixties foods, sixties cocktails. We want, well, we already dressed like it's the sixties. Um, so I'm like, Oh my goodness. Look at that. And it's specifically mentioned ambrosia salad, which I happened to make last weekend, just as a fluke. So ambrosia salad, which I don't know if you've ever had it, Michelle, but it's back to the pistachios. So maybe they are having a moment. It's pistachio pudding mix. It's whipped cream. Well, it's actually cool whip, not real whipped cream.
00:41:49
Speaker
and it's fruit salad and crushed pineapple and coconut and the rainbow marshmallows and wow I think that's it and it's all and it is actually delicious it's delicious it's cool it's refreshing it's like you it looks crazy and it is just so good on a nice hot summer day after a barbecue to bring out this nice cool refreshing dessert so I will be making more ambrosia salad this summer
00:42:14
Speaker
That is so interesting. That sometimes makes me wonder when you hear of really seemingly random combinations of food that actually taste delicious, who came up with that recipe? I'm so impressed with their knowledge of
00:42:30
Speaker
like flavor profiles. Well what a lot of this is just from what I've studied before with vintage food but a lot of those recipes that seem to make no sense for us um weren't so much about flavor profiles but it was women showing off their fridges so it was still pretty new to have a fridge in the 50s and 60s especially if you were over in England.
00:42:49
Speaker
It was a very much an American housewife thing. And so especially to have fridges with a lot of space. And so that's when you started getting instant pudding, jello, cool whip. All of these desserts, because if you could just have them set in your fridge and these like no-bake cakes that you would use cool whip and like cookie slices, that when sitting in the fridge would combine to make a spongy cake-like texture. So this idea of opening your fridge and having like the layered jello whipped cream, little desserts and parfait cups, that became a look at what we have type of thing.
00:43:19
Speaker
Oh my goodness, that is so cool, I didn't know that before.
Unique Dining Experiences
00:43:24
Speaker
Alright, so if we're moving through here, we didn't know we did this, but we actually set this whole section up like a meal. We started with cocktails, then we moved into the main course, we just had dessert, and now we get to sit around and sip our coffee. So what is trending with coffee this year?
00:43:41
Speaker
This blew my mind. It is called white coffee. And we're not talking about a flat white, which happens to be my coffee order when I buy a coffee. This is actually white coffee. So what it means is beans that have been kept white by halting the roasting process.
00:43:57
Speaker
And obviously this doesn't just affect the color, but it changes the entire taste profile of the coffee. Now, while this trend is brand spanking new, I'm talking like March of 2023. So this is breaking news here in the West. It turns out, like so many other things, it's been a process that's been long done, practiced in Yemen. It's from Yemen. And they serve this coffee with a spice blend of cumin.
00:44:24
Speaker
black pepper, turmeric, and cardamom. And I just think that sounds absolutely delicious. And so we have in our region where we live a couple of great small coffee roasters, and I'm so tempted to ask them if they can do this because they roast their own beans. I mean, like, can you do white coffee with this spice blend?
00:44:42
Speaker
Yes. I mean, and you're right because we have so many coffee places that do their own and they're so into that artistry of the craft, right? I bet you they would be really on board with trying something like that. And I also, I was looking at the white coffee and I was thinking, you know, it seems to be very aesthetic, right? So I was wondering if this was more like an Instagrammable appeal more than taste or
00:45:11
Speaker
anything else really, but I think it is actually also supposed to be more caffeine to it too. So like a stronger coffee, about maybe not a ton, maybe about 5% more caffeine. Um, so yeah, I think it might be interesting if it would be like a gap between like an espresso, super, super strong dark coffee and a regular roasted coffee, regularly brewed coffee right in the middle, you'd have the
00:45:41
Speaker
Wait.
00:45:42
Speaker
Okay, now let's say you don't want to cook at home and you're like, hey, but Lindsay, Michelle, I want to go to a restaurant. What are the restaurant trends? Well, what they're seeing, what we're seeing is a lot of experimental dining and themed dining, unique dining experiences. This idea of experiences, we're going to hear a lot more about in traveling as well. But because I think people were home for so long, when they go out now and they spend money, they want it to be an experience, right?
00:46:12
Speaker
So one of those I saw is a restaurant that is a 20,000 leagues under the sea restaurant theme, which honestly just made me laugh because I thought of it as an upscale version of when on full house they went to the pirate ship restaurant if you recall.
00:46:28
Speaker
and they had to jump off the plank. But there is a cool hidden restaurant in Toronto that I've been following for a while called Pastiche, where it's literally, it's not like a speakeasy, but it's like you go into what seems like a nondescript building and then I think you go behind a wall and suddenly you're in this really cool restaurant. So things like that, right? That really get people talking. And then the other trend as well is monthly dining subscriptions or social clubs. Again, where you actually buy a membership and you have to be a club member
00:46:58
Speaker
And Michelle, we have a brand new social club that requires memberships opening in Uptown Waterloo right now. So. We do. Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Right on trend in our own city. Well, that is really interesting. I think I was reading that the subscriptions thing was really born out of the pandemic, right? We're coming out of the pandemic, trying to drum up business again for people to come back in.
00:47:25
Speaker
And I do love the idea of a social club that you just go to, you pay and then you, you get to go and do everything. But I think for me, the themed restaurants are the most exciting part of this whole trend. For restaurants, I just think how fun and creative.
00:47:45
Speaker
It's like dinner and a show, but you're immersed in the show. It's like you're participating in it. So you're right. Like I think I saw one that was like an aquarium restaurant and kind of is the word.
00:48:00
Speaker
Is it macabre to say like it's a seafood restaurant? So like you're supposed to be eating seafood amongst the fish you're eating, which I feel like is a little dark for dinner.
Fashion Trends: Structure and Vintage
00:48:14
Speaker
Speaking of dark for dinner, this isn't on my list, but have you heard about the one where you eat in total blackness?
00:48:20
Speaker
Yes, I was just going to ask if that was still a thing too. I think it must be. That one's a couple years old now, right? But I'm a really picky eater, so the idea of not seeing what's put in front of me is terrifying. I thought you were going to say exciting. And thrilling, but terrifying. I'd have to be like, just whisper it in my ear, what is this? And I'll try it. But so that one was ahead of the trend, having the total blackness restaurant. Yeah.
00:48:45
Speaker
And I think once again, it's just another indication that creativity is almost just as important as the thing or the product or the food itself in this industry. Okay, so let's say we want to try one of these themed restaurants. You clearly have to dress for the occasion, right? And so this seems like a good time to switch gears here and talk about some of the fashion trends coming up for 2023.
00:49:14
Speaker
Yeah. Overall, I have loved actually looking them up this year because you and I were saying before we started recording, there was nothing crazy. There's been some crazy things in the past with fashion trends, but it really does seem to be just going back to the classics, which I just love.
00:49:30
Speaker
Um, but before we get into some specific details, there's one trend I've noticed all over Instagram that I am personally loving. And so instead of, you know, social media sometimes making us feel bad, I've seen a lot of women use it as this excellent tool. So women of all different body shapes and sizes,
00:49:49
Speaker
are creating huge fan bases by trying on clothing and showing you what it looks like on their body, which might look like your body. Like you can tend to find someone on Instagram right now that is your size, your height, your weight, and a specific body shape. And then, so for someone like me, I have a very specific body shape.
00:50:10
Speaker
And it makes me not want to try a lot of new clothes. Like I get nervous about trying different styles. And so when I see these women trying on the clothes, I'm like, they look fantastic in that. Like that's really inspiring me to go out of my comfort zone and maybe buy some different clothes. So that's a trend where they're using a tool.
00:50:27
Speaker
that is often responsible for making women feel worse about themselves but using it to really encourage women to to try on new fashion and new clothes so yeah finding an influencer that you love that looks like your body type on instagram is a trend that i'm loving
00:50:41
Speaker
Yeah, I have noticed those two, those accounts. And I love that it's not even just like body shape and size, but even age. Yes. I love like the, I suppose, because we're in terms of social media, we are the older generation on social media.
00:51:01
Speaker
But there are people our age even who are taking trends and fashions that may be marketed primarily to a younger crowd and either adapting it or showing how you can, how it's meant to be worn even for someone in your season of life or yeah, for your age, how to adapt. So it does seem actually a little bit more in line with what fashion seems to have always wanted to be about, which is
00:51:31
Speaker
uh taking this standard but manipulating it to be unique to you and so I love that that's kind of filtered down even more thanks to social media to us in our everyday lives. Yeah and then speaking of unique to you the other thing that I'm unofficially seeing as a trend is something that you talked about years ago and wanting you wanted to talk about in the podcast and that is this whole getting your colors done well that's what we used to say in the 80s
00:51:57
Speaker
you would get your colors done. I don't know if they're calling it that anymore, but yeah, so many women are doing those color consultations and finding out, I guess, I don't know, are you still a season, a season of colors? Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I think it's a season and like a temperature.
00:52:13
Speaker
Those two things combine like winter cool or winter warm or something like that. I haven't had it done, so I don't know. No, and I kind of started, I used to think, well, I know what roughly looks good. Like, I always know what people compliment me on, right? If I come in wearing a certain color, I'm like, okay, I usually get compliments on these colors, so they must work for me.
00:52:32
Speaker
Um, but then I was out buying some clothes the other day and I wanted to buy some colors and I did stand there going, well, I don't actually know technically which ones would look the best on me. So yeah, maybe it is time to get my colors done. Yeah. I've always been fascinated by those videos where they would show a woman sitting in the chair, usually a woman, and she has one palette of color underneath her.
00:52:56
Speaker
And usually you think like, oh, that doesn't look too bad. Like those look nice. But then they switch it out for her actual color palette and you're like, oh my goodness. It's completely changed the look. Like her skin looks better and her eyes are, look much more alert and alive just by color theory. And so I, yeah, I also would, I've always wanted to get my colors done.
00:53:22
Speaker
So let's say you've got your colors done and you want to buy some new clothes. Now, one of the things that's really in style right now are those skirt suits, right? So the little blazer and the little matching skirt, think the Chanel, the classic Jackie O Chanel suit. But of course they want to make it more fashiony right now because it's 2023. So maybe the jacket is cropped, maybe the pattern is a bit more
00:53:43
Speaker
Um, a little bit more, I guess, avant-garde or fashiony than a classic pattern. Um, so yeah, skirt suits, which I love. I have, to be honest, I wore my grandmother's 1960s skirt suit to high school on a dress down day because it was the nineties and you could wear whatever you wanted. Um, and so I wore one of her actual like little, um, skirts with the matching blazer and white gloves to school in high school. So I have been a fan of the skirt suit for 30 years now.
00:54:13
Speaker
I love that you used a civvies day for that. Oh my goodness. But yes, like what I'm seeing with, especially with this as an example, the skirt suits is that there is a trend in fashion right now, a return to structure in clothing, right? And I think that might be the underlying thing for the skirt suit coming back.
00:54:40
Speaker
I know when I was a kid, when I was a teen, I didn't like structure. I didn't like anything that was too boxy. And so like, for example, anything with shoulder pads was like an immediate no for me. And skirt suits just seemed very boxy.
00:54:57
Speaker
But maybe this time around is my time. Like maybe I've grown into them now. So I'm ready to consider embracing structure. I'll have a skirt suit. And it's funny because talking about structure, one of the other things, and this one ticked me off a bit because I feel like this changed rapidly since last year. I'm seeing the nipped waist blazers back with the little like the waist being tucked like tight tailored in.
00:55:21
Speaker
But I feel like everyone just bought the oversized slouchy blazer. Like we just, come on people, we just bought those at winners like three months ago.
Denim's Fashion Comeback
00:55:30
Speaker
And now we need nipped waist blazers too? Yeah, I know what you mean. I wonder if we can get away with it because there could be very different ways to wear
00:55:43
Speaker
the two of those blazers. Yeah. You could have both, right? Yes. Yeah. I'm going to go out on a limb to make us both feel better and say that it's not necessarily a replacement of last year's trend, but in addition to last year's trend. Yes. Because I actually, I have to say,
00:56:01
Speaker
I really love the silhouette. I love the look of the oversized looser fitting blazers. And I think it's more casual, whereas maybe the tailored one is more formal. So, you know, given yours and my particular stage of life, we don't have many places to wear formal nipped waist tailored blazers. So I think it makes sense that we're still more inclined to the looser fitting ones.
00:56:28
Speaker
Yeah. And then just to finish up with this tailored trend, we were seeing a lot of pinstripes back on fabric. So that kind of masculine tailoring, that fabric choice, which I love. I love a pinstripe. And then I'll just talk a little bit more now about skirts because skirts are really popular and they're not mini skirts. They are like knee or longer, like right to the floor. Maxi skirts are back.
00:56:52
Speaker
And so either like a long really fitted and tailored one with a little nipped in blazer would be a beautiful classic silhouette. Or, well, the denim skirt. Michelle, the long to the floor denim skirt. Now, I was pretty well known for my denim skirt. My long one to the floor in 2003. I wore it almost every day to work and got many a compliment on my floor length.
00:57:19
Speaker
Denim skirt so I still stand by that rule that if you wore it the first time around you're not supposed to wear it the second time around That being said my mom copied me and bought the same denim skirt when I had it and she still has hers So I'm wondering if her granddaughter right Gen Z might want the authentic early 2000s long denim skirt my mom
00:57:39
Speaker
Ooh, I think yes, I could see that happening. And we've always joked, we've long joked in the Catholic homeschooling world about all the moms wearing the denim jumpers, right? Like, okay, everyone go buy your matching denim jumpers. Well, now you can wear the long denim skirt and be totally on trend and fit in with the stereotype of a homeschool mom. Yes, homeschooling was never so cool. Yes. As this moment in fashion history.
00:58:06
Speaker
Yeah, but denim in general, I think right is Experiencing a revival. Is that the case? Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's super hot right now So we joked in there in the warning about the Canadian tuxedo Right for those listeners who might not be familiar. That is a denim shirt and jeans being worn at the same time And it is all the rage right now one of the young mommy. She's had her first baby influencers I've been following for a long time who's actually Canadian but living in Tokyo
00:58:36
Speaker
She was just debuting her Canadian tuxedo and she's really high fashion. And so she was wearing that. I'm like, hey, it really is being, it's international now. It's been released. Yes, into the public, into the wild.
00:58:51
Speaker
Yes. Okay. I'm so glad we got here to the Canadian tuxedo bit because I came across the origin story of it. Do tell. Do you know? Okay. And you're going to love this one because it involves Bing Crosby. Oh, my heart. And we love Bing Crosby around here. Yes.
00:59:09
Speaker
So, apparently there was an incident in 1951. Bing Crosby was staying at a hotel in Vancouver. This is a city he frequently visited and he loved. And it was at a time though when he still wasn't completely recognizable. Like his fame was only just starting to rise. So he was somewhat unrecognizable to much of the world.
00:59:34
Speaker
So the story goes that he tried to check into this hotel after coming back from a hunting trip and was denied his check-in because he was wearing denim on denim, an outfit designed by American jean maker Levi Strauss. And he was considered too underdressed as the dress code called for a three-piece suit specifically.
00:59:57
Speaker
And so one of the staff quickly realized their mistake and who this was, who this particular guest was, and they rectified the situation. But Levi's, the company, caught wind of what happened and they designed Bing Crosby, his very own tuxedo, made completely out of denim so that no establishment could ever claim he was too underdressed ever again.
01:00:22
Speaker
And they even sewed this leather patch on the inside of the jacket that read, and I quote, notice to all hotel men, a perfectly appropriate fabric and anyone wearing it should be allowed entrance into the finest hotels, end quote. So that is the story of the Canadian tuxedo. You heard it here.
01:00:46
Speaker
on the Modern Lady podcast. I'm gobsmacked. Like I just, this is my, this is amazing. Canada being Crosby, a fight against the establishment. It's just, it's everything amazing. Wow, Michelle, you have made my day. There you go. There you go. Now go forth and denim on. Wow.
01:01:10
Speaker
Okay, okay. So let's say you're wearing your Canadian tuxedo and you need your purse, right? It's always about the purses. Well, we saw the brief return of the tiny purse of the early 2000s, but it's all about big bags again. And I think it's because people realize they can only fit their, like,
01:01:28
Speaker
Nokia phone and a lip gloss in it. It's 2001. So it's all about the bag. Now, when we were just in Manhattan, and I was, of course, like watching for street style in Manhattan, everyone was carrying the Marc Jacobs tote bag. And it literally says Marc Jacobs tote bag on it. I don't know if you've seen them.
01:01:46
Speaker
And I saw one, I saw a million. So tote bags are really, really in style. And so I thought, well, let me look up, let me look up this Mark Jacobs tote bag for you all. And we'll just see if we can buy one. So they start in price for the mini one at $390 American and they go up to around a thousand. Wow.
01:02:06
Speaker
Now, if you want to combine, again, combine two of the trends of this year, so the sheer trend, which we're not even going to get into really, but again, they keep trying
Fashion Trends: Bags and Colors
01:02:15
Speaker
to push see-through clothes on people. They've been trying this for years. So there's the sheer trend and tote bags. You can get actually, they're really cute. And I hate that they're so cute, but you can get the colorful sheer Marc Jacobs tote bags on the Nordstrom website for only only $295. And that's a deal. As my family, we always go deals, deals, deals.
01:02:39
Speaker
deals oh my gosh but so wait is it because it's sheer is it see-through it's clear plastic they can see all your stuff now clear purses have come and gone over the years I have watched the rise and fall of the clear purse and I mean it's great if you have like a cute Chanel compact in there not the covergirl pressed powder that I wear
01:03:01
Speaker
Which as a side note, I have a funny story. I remember going into Sax with Avenue as a teenager in Manhattan and going up to their lush female bathrooms, had this like makeup area with individually lit mirrors and like velvet benches and all these stunning women pulled out their Chanel compacts to touch up powder their noses. And I pulled out my cover girl, clean and clear, dark brown compact to touch up my makeup. I just felt.
01:03:28
Speaker
So out of the loop. And anyways, I still use that makeup, but yeah. So if you have rich things inside of your expensive bag, right? It's all just, look at me. I guess that's, that is the frame of mind you have to go into a sheer bag with. I was comparing it and I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't do this with such elite expensive taste trends, but I was bringing it down to my low level.
01:03:55
Speaker
and thinking, oh my gosh, people would be horrified at the amount of things I need to take in my purse. They would be like, what is going on in there? But as a mom, you have to be prepared. And as someone who carried a can opener for years in her purse in a can of Zoodles. What? Yep, I did. I carried. So when you go to a bottle shower and you pep the whoever, there's points assigned to things in your purse. I nail that every year.
01:04:24
Speaker
I usually used to carry a curling iron, a roll of toilet paper, a can opener, and yeah, a can of alfagetti, or their animal counterpart, zoodles. We're not small purse people.
01:04:40
Speaker
I'm glad the trend is back on our side. Okay. And so if you had to pick one color for clothing this year, the color, the color is red. And again, I called this, I called this two years ago. I'm like, red's going to come back. Red is going to make her come back. And so I just want to say it officially on here that I believe that by next year or maybe two years max, red dining rooms will come back. Because when I was that pure one, everyone, everyone Michelle came into that store and they're like, yes.
01:05:08
Speaker
OK, so we've painted our dining room. It's a color by Benjamin Moore called sun-dried tomato. And in my head, I was already saying sun-dried tomato because they were the 50th person that came in that day and told me they painted their dining room that color. So, yeah, red, red is back and you mark my words. It'll be back in home decor soon as well. Hmm.
01:05:29
Speaker
Okay. Well, yeah, I don't know if I'm ready for the return of the red dining rooms. I remember that. And that, I think just anecdotally, I think it's just the first design trend that I was ever really aware of. And so it'll be my first time cycling back. And now think about red. Because at first I thought you were going to say you're not ready for wearing red, but I actually think you would be stunning in red. I don't know if you have a lot of red.
01:05:58
Speaker
I don't have a ton of it, but I, I have heard that too, that I should wear, I should wear red. And I do like red as a color. I was actually thinking like, it is one of those timeless colors. Yeah. Like, I don't know if it, yeah, like I don't know if it ever completely goes away, whether it's like
01:06:19
Speaker
a red lip or a red pop in an accessory or something like that. Red seems to always be hovering as opposed to maybe like pastels or like jewel tones that come in and out.
Transformative Travel Trends
01:06:32
Speaker
So, oh, I'm happy with red in clothes. I'm happy with red. I'm with you on that. And you'll know, like, I think that one of the things that really does tell us if it's on trend though right now is there's a lot of red prom dresses.
01:06:43
Speaker
So I think that there was maybe a long period where you wouldn't see a red prom dress or a red formal dress, but they're back for sure. Okay. Okay. So you're all dressed up and you're ready to travel, right? You're like, okay, I've got my linen button up shirt. I'm ready to go somewhere warm. Where are people traveling to right now? Well, according to a 2023 report compiled by American Express Travel,
01:07:07
Speaker
The majority of people who responded said that they are definitely traveling this year, not just like hoping to travel like they are. We're going somewhere. And they said that they are also planning on spending more money on travel this year than they had in a long time. Again, I mean, this shouldn't be a surprise, right? People finally can travel. They want to go somewhere. And so, yeah, like we were saying earlier, they also want it to be an experience that seems to be really, really common.
01:07:34
Speaker
and what people are looking for. So one of the things I read, speaking of experiences, that people want their vacation to be a transformative experience. They want to come back a different person. And that can seem, I guess, maybe, I don't know, silly.
01:07:51
Speaker
at first, but then you're like, no, I totally get what they mean. Like they want it to really have an impact on their life. And so this can mean things like a retreat, right? Retreats are huge for traveling right now. So going somewhere where you're kind of closed off from the world.
01:08:06
Speaker
Or maybe an all-inclusive that has offerings like dance therapy. Or I read about one that has self-awareness group sessions. Like you don't want to just go and lay. They want to come back or they want to have worked on themselves while they're gone and come back a bit of a different person.
01:08:23
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, I know what you mean. Like even just from what I've seen on social media, like it's so many, especially the younger people who are prioritizing travel, they have a completely different mindset to what they wanted to be than maybe what previous generations had, right?
01:08:42
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, you see maybe a little bit less of the classic all inclusive resort traveling and more adventure travel, like hiking through mountains or exploring completely new countries even, or immersive traveling, right? Where you're opting to just live in a place and experience the culture. In addition to what you're talking about, the retreats, like a specific focus,
01:09:09
Speaker
It does just seem to be a shift towards a really authentic and curiosity based tourism that we're seeing now. And you know, it's funny, and I didn't have this in my notes, but this is just popping into my head right now is that I'm trying to wonder why.
01:09:25
Speaker
why this shift, but I think that we've gotten a lot better, especially the younger generations, at relaxing at home. And maybe the lockdowns really helped with that actually as a benefit, is that people aren't like burning themselves out as much anymore. A lot of people are being a lot more mindful about that and learning how to shut things down at home and relax. So instead of needing, working so hard all year and then needing that one weekend at all inclusive where you're just laying and doing nothing,
01:09:51
Speaker
Because we're not needing maybe that escape in that same way, people are looking to be more active on their vacations than in the past. So anyways, that just popped into my mind. But speaking of Gen Z, travel companies are paying close attention, right, to their next generation of clients where the money is going to be coming from.
01:10:08
Speaker
And their research is showing that 84% of Gen Z would rather spend their money traveling than on any other luxury. So if they had to put that money aside for something luxurious, it's about travel. And 79% believe that travel is a really important thing to work into their budgets, not just to do, but to actually work into their monthly budget.
01:10:29
Speaker
Hmm, okay. Well, I could I could see that too. Yeah, and I think you're right I think the pandemic really played into it for that reason. I never thought of that whole idea of Because I think we've talked about Gen Z too and they even have a different approach to work-life balance. Yeah, they do so this totally fits in with that idea and then they are
01:10:53
Speaker
a generation that has grown up with the global influence of social media. Yeah. So close to them. So I could see them wanting to go and see in person the things that they're exposed to all the time on like Instagram or something like that. They not just see it all the time, but now they have the means and the desire to go and actually see it for themselves. Absolutely. And I think that's so great that they have that kind of recognition.
01:11:23
Speaker
that the world is not in my phone. I want to go and actually see it for what it is in real life. That's so exciting. And I love that you're talking about that because that leads into the next trend with Gen Z and it's called set jetting instead of jet setting. So it says that 70% of the millennial and Gen Z respondents to this Amex report that they did
01:11:46
Speaker
Have said that they picked destinations that they've seen in a TV show or movie that they want to go see in real life So I don't think it should come as any surprise then that the top three destinations are Yellowstone Paris and Sicily and that's due to the huge Popularities of the show Yellowstone the show Emily in Paris and of the white lotus which I've never watched and had no idea it took place
01:12:07
Speaker
in Sicily. But yeah, those are the top three, I guess, travel destinations right now with other popular locations continuing to be New Zealand for that Middle Earth experience. And because of Bridgerton and like a fascination with like the Regency and Georgian era, a lot of people are traveling to Bath in England.
01:12:29
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I love that. Yes, like that bath would have a resurgence of tourism. That is so neat. Um, and I was thinking about this too, this set, Jennings. It also might encourage people to look into destinations that they wouldn't have thought to go before because of Hollywood's trend to seek out less expensive places to film their shows and movies.
01:12:55
Speaker
So I was thinking it could also be an opposite way. Like we might be seeing small towns experiencing a boom of tourism because, you know, even if the show takes place somewhere exotic, like in Europe or whatever, they'll be setting it. Well, even here where we live, we have quite a lot of sets now that you can visit. Yeah. Yeah. Is that what we are now? Yeah. It's been called that for a long time at Hollywood North.
01:13:23
Speaker
Okay, we are Hollywood North. I mean like that's, we don't even, we still don't have to go anywhere, Lindsay. Oh no. All of those Christmas movies, those cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies, so many of them are filmed right here, right? And like Niagara on the Lake or the other ones are filmed out in um...
01:13:39
Speaker
in the mountains out in BC. But yeah, yeah, a lot. That's a really interesting point, is that the whole thing is getting more creative to save that type of money. And so actually, this is really interesting because it plays off of that term that you and I love, edutainment, right? Like kind of what we hope this podcast is and what we both seek for and the things that we spend our time listening to and watching. Well, there's something that we, another kind of mashup word that we can use today, it's called edutravel.
01:14:07
Speaker
And so again that people want to experience like what we're talking about the cultures where they're going a more Immersive experience like you were saying so they actually want to take like a class when they're in these countries They they don't want to just visit Japan They want to take a class on Japanese architecture like a tour or a pasta making class right when you're in Italy So again, it's so much more active. I think than vacations in the past
01:14:32
Speaker
I love that. You know what? That type of travel does really appeal to me. Like when I go somewhere, I want to soak up as much of that place as I could. I can't even see myself really doing a lot of passive traveling. It would be very active. And so that is exciting that if it's cropping up as a desire from amongst travelers,
01:14:56
Speaker
then tourism industry will pick up on that. And I bet we'll see more and more things being offered.
Luxury Travel Experiences
01:15:03
Speaker
And I did like just a quick look at some of the kinds of things as well you could do in addition to the ones you mentioned, the architecture in Japan.
01:15:13
Speaker
Like there's one trip where you could spend a week learning how to bake pastries in France. Like pastries in France. Could you get more on brand than that? And even learning how to...
01:15:28
Speaker
do things in areas that you wouldn't have thought of going, but it's best suited for the activity you want to do. So like you could learn how to scuba dive in the Red Sea, which I was learning is the ideal place to learn scuba diving because it has an awesome reef that is very hearty there.
01:15:47
Speaker
But the conditions are very calm as opposed to the ocean. Right. So there's that. And then there is one that I think you'd love in particular. You could be an archaeologist in Colorado. Yes, there's a place called
01:16:04
Speaker
Crow Canyon Archaeology Center, where you can work with professional archaeologists to research the ancient peoples called the Anastasis. So there you go. I know you did like sociology, right? I did anthropology. Anthropology, that's what it was. Yeah, so there's something for everyone out there.
01:16:25
Speaker
I love it. And I feel like the big 18-day family vacation we just did in DC and New York City was edu travel to my kids' disappointment in some ways because we must have hit 30 museums. It was non-stop walking. But that is the type of travel that Jason and I are really inclined to. I can't imagine sitting on a beach. I want to be learning things.
01:16:50
Speaker
And what I think that this does, too, is it gives an opportunity for more locals who live around those resort areas to bring their skills and talents to the people traveling, right? They do want to have that interaction with the locals. And I think that's wonderful. Now, there is a group, I think, of introverts who are listening just whispering silently to us, like whispering, but what about us? I don't want to take a piece to class. I just want to do something quiet. And guess what? Another trend is silent trips.
01:17:19
Speaker
um these are like they're specifically designed for quiet and so it's silent walks through the forest or there's one that goes over the welsh countryside or there's an equidorian silent river cruise where these things really teach the participants to listen to listen to the sounds of the water the nature sounds to just really be present in all that
01:17:41
Speaker
So, I think for parents, right, where all we hear is noise all day, I'm like, I'm reading about this going, actually, a silent vacation sounds dreamy. And maybe Catholics had the market on this with our silent retreats all these years. But yeah, the idea of being on like an Ecuadorian river cruise in the silence sounds really cool. Yes. And no one's allowed to talk to you. Yeah.
01:18:06
Speaker
You know what, that trend reminds me of the 4K walking videos on YouTube that you share. This trend makes 100% sense to me why it's so popular because the world is so incredibly loud. There's so much noise pollution and I think everyone is just overstimulated in general.
01:18:29
Speaker
So there was an article from Conde Nast Traveler where they talked about how silence has been marketed to actually be a luxury nowadays on these trips. So you can pay to go to things like hushed cafes and quiet beaches.
01:18:48
Speaker
But those tend to be very expensive. And the author of the article was saying how she actually went on a quiet vacation by just seeking out a more remote part of the world. So she went to the Faroe Islands, which hasn't really had that big boom yet of tourism.
01:19:08
Speaker
And so, yeah, so maybe those adventure style trips also have to do with people seeking escape from noise pollution in our culture, just as much as it has to do with thrill seeking or experience as well. So what you just said there actually sums up so much of what I was reading about these trends, and that is the word luxury. It really does seem that it is about money, money, money, a lot of these trends and
01:19:34
Speaker
I know it's so interesting because we're hearing so much about like economic decline and like inflation and all these things, but it does seem like people are really spending money on travel and they want luxury. Like they want the nicest and most photogenic hotels.
01:19:50
Speaker
They want to go to an all inclusive, but they want that all inclusive to have the best food that they've ever had. They don't want the garbage buffet anymore. Like people are demanding luxury. So much so that there's like this role that's popping up in hotels all over the place. Um, you might've seen it on one of those amazing hotel episodes with Giles corn that you and I both like where one of the hotels we saw has a sleep concierge. This is popping up in hotels all over where they have a person whose job it is to match you with the best pillow
01:20:19
Speaker
the best mattress and even a soundscape so that you're sleeping the best you've ever had on vacation. So it's truly like luxury or people want to stay on luxury yachts that they would never be able to own. The luxury yacht business of renting them out is booming right now. So I never know quite how that stacks up against the reality of people having trouble affording groceries right now, which is these seems like the real reality for a lot of people and these luxury vacations. They don't seem to
01:20:48
Speaker
to work together. But yeah, it does seem like when you're looking at the trends, so many of them are rooted in having to spend more money than ever on travel. Yeah, you're right. That does seem to be apparent. And remember at the beginning of the episode, we were talking about how often the trends point to something deeper going on.
01:21:07
Speaker
Yeah, like in our hearts. I think that this desire for luxury, I wonder if it has, I'm sure some people enjoy spending a lot of money, right? Or it makes for a good
01:21:24
Speaker
uh, if they're like influencers or things like that, like it's part of their personas online and stuff like that. But I wonder if the root of a lot of that is a desire to savor pleasure and enjoyment again, which may not actually at its core then have to require a lot of money. Right. But I think that's something that other countries and cultures have already ingrained in their society that maybe in North America, we still haven't
Spending on Experiences
01:21:54
Speaker
quite incorporated it regularly in our lives is just you think about why people are going to say Italy and they're wanting to spend the laid back mornings like in their robes, sipping really good coffee and taking in the landscape and hearing the sounds and things like that. I feel like there is a part of
01:22:20
Speaker
Italian culture that already knows how valuable that is. And so they do it regularly where we have to travel to want to experience things like that.
01:22:31
Speaker
Yeah, I can definitely see if you have money and you want to spend it on these amazing luxurious things that for sure is a trend and I wonder if for the rest of us it appeals to us so much because we want to be able to sink into something so pleasant or delightful or pleasurable and enjoy it and savour it for what it is.
01:22:54
Speaker
Yeah and I also wonder too if the last couple of years have made us always worry that we could lose that chance again. So if you've got one trip to do you want to do it like a beautiful
01:23:07
Speaker
trip that really is an entire experience and you're willing to spend the money on it because I don't think anyone could have predicted that we could lose that chance to travel and I think that there's that fear that that could happen again for whatever reason and so it's like okay let's spend the money let's make because we also learned the value attached to memory making
01:23:26
Speaker
And I think that we hadn't experienced that before and I know that that was a consideration for our trip with our kids Every time we're like well doing this extra thing is gonna cost extra money and extra money adds up very quickly on vacation Yeah But we were realizing that that value that monetary value is connected to memory making and while it's not always connected Like you know, you can make memories certainly without spending money
01:23:50
Speaker
Sometimes it made us go, okay, it's worth it this time. Okay, we'll spend that little bit extra for that. And so because that was playing in the back of my mind going time, time is so short and that we might not have this experience again. So I think that maybe that's also a motivating factor for some people. And so looking over this list, I'm like, okay, well, if we can't travel somewhere luxurious and you want to just have that little piece of luxury at home, maybe it goes full circle.
01:24:18
Speaker
And you start with some caviar. Well done. Thank you. Well done. Thank you. You get your little tin of caviar or roe, right? We know that they're not the same thing now. If you need to go a little bit, if you can't do the beluga and you just bring that little bit of luxury home.
'Rocky' Series Impact
01:24:47
Speaker
Okay, it's time for our What We're Loving This Week segment of the show. So Lindsay, what have you been loving this week? All right, so everyone knows that we are always on the hunt for engaging family-friendly movies that will draw and keep our teens on the couch, right, for family time. So our oldest son is all about weightlifting and fitness right now, and I'm all about the 1970s right now, so I thought it's time to watch Rocky.
01:25:13
Speaker
We've never watched Rocky. And now I've already, I was already too excited about this, right Michelle? And I told you about my love of Rocky already, but to share with everyone else. So I had no idea what to expect because my only exposure to Rocky is the countless parodies of people running up the steps.
01:25:31
Speaker
And my parents dressed as Rocky and Adrienne for a costume party when I was a kid and that night has always stuck in my mind. So it turns out Rocky is an outstanding film. So it was made for only $950,000 and it was written by Sylvester Stallone in just three days when he was basically homeless. It's gritty and real and you find yourself really rooting for the goofy
01:25:57
Speaker
street smart, so I'd say not overly educated, but soft hearted Stallone. There was very little bad language, and I was surprised by the large amount of Catholic touches throughout the film. He is a Catholic in the movie, and there's actually articles written on the Catholicism of Rocky. So I'm not saying that it is a Catholic movie, so obviously it's not going to be perfect, but I was not expecting any of that.
01:26:22
Speaker
We were blown away. Now we've watched the first five Rocky films and we have loved each and every one. They are glorious in their predictable cheesiness and mostly still family friendly, even through the eighties. Um, and I would still again stress like families with teens, right? Um, maybe not for younger children.
01:26:41
Speaker
And we're excited to move on to the Creed movies, which we had no idea when the Creed movies came out over the last couple of years that they are connected to Rocky. It's a spin off of those movies and Sylvester Stallone is in them. So I love it so much. I just registered my son for a boxing waiting list in our city and I might start boxing as well. So Rocky, I am Team Rocky. Wow.
01:27:05
Speaker
That had quite an influence on you. That's amazing. You said the first five. Yeah. So is there more Rocky movies or is it the five and then Creed? There's five and then there's one that's called Rocky Balboa. I think that only came out in the
01:27:23
Speaker
I'm going to be so confused because that one came out in like 2006 or maybe 2012 and then the Creed movies kind of came out around that one as well. So I think that that's technically Rocky VI and then the Creed movies. But yeah, there was one later one that he does.
01:27:42
Speaker
Um, we keep having to google them and because we keep trying to figure out what years they all came out because then there's a huge jump between rocky four and rocky five Um, it's only it's like a five-year jump jump in production But there's the movie happens right after like the timeline is right after That was my next question. Yeah. Yeah, so it's all over the place and some like if and there's so much written about rocky like the there is a lot of passion about these movies and
01:28:08
Speaker
And so there are some that people believe like kind of dip in quality in the middle, like when he single-handedly has to represent America in the Cold War in a fight against the Russians. It's great. That's amazing. I love that.
01:28:24
Speaker
And it's the introduction of Mr. T. I didn't know that Mr. T gets his start in a Rocky movie and he is not the lovable, child-friendly Mr. T that we came to know later in the 80s. He is a vicious spider and the first ones. I could talk for an hour on Rocky, but yeah, I had no idea I would love it this much. So if you are looking for like even just husband and wife night, just the
01:28:47
Speaker
The two of you put on the first Rocky, like do it. It's a reason why it is so, and not, not only is it just beloved in film, like among film people, it was nominated for 10 Oscars and it won best picture that year. So yeah, it's a solid blockbuster. It's great. Okay. Well, I have never seen
K-drama 'Little Women' Review
01:29:06
Speaker
Rocky. So I will, I will probably be rectifying that soon. Now, what have you been loving this week?
01:29:14
Speaker
Okay, well, you know, a little bit of a different sort of a thing, but I love when that happens. I know, I know. But it has been a while since I've had a good K-drama to recommend, and I indeed have another one to share with you all.
01:29:31
Speaker
So this one is called Little Women and it just came out this year on Netflix. So the premise is that it's based on three poor sisters. They're really down on their luck and things take a turn for them when a close friend of the oldest sister, who's also impoverished, mysteriously dies and leaves her seven billion won.
01:29:55
Speaker
which translates to, yeah, just over 70 million Canadian dollars, I think, and just under $53 million US. So the question is, where did this money actually come from? And it causes all three of the sisters to become embroiled in a scandal that involves the wealthiest elite in Korea.
01:30:18
Speaker
So I enjoyed this show a lot. I found it thrilling and captivating. Like you always need to know what happens next. And I find this common in K-dramas where there's even just a little bit of suspense to the storyline that they do a very good job of leaving their episodes on cliffhangers. So much so that I actually watch the episodes offset. So I'll often have to watch until like near the middle of the next episode.
01:30:48
Speaker
And then I'll stop. And then the next night, yeah, I'll start in the middle of the episode again and watch the middle of the next episode. Or you would just never go to sleep after that first episode, right? Yeah, exactly. Yes. And the episodes are also between like an hour or an hour and a half long.
01:31:05
Speaker
there's anywhere between 12 and 20 episodes in general. So whenever I finish a K-drama, I reflect back and think, so much has happened in this show. But about this one in particular, about the title, Little Women, I actually didn't click on the show right away to watch because I thought it might just be a Korean adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's book. And the synopsis does say that it's loosely based on the book,
01:31:34
Speaker
But I think the only thing that is based on the book is a slight representation of the characters in the novel and then the sisters in the show. So they are poor, like Alcott's characters. And the three sisters in the show do portray the March sisters. So like the oldest is like a cross between Meg and Amy. Middle sister is very Joe March. And then the youngest sister is definitely a Beth kind of a character. So
01:32:03
Speaker
There you go, another K-drama for your viewing pleasure if you're looking for something a little bit more on the thrilling side. This is a great show to watch and it's on Netflix.
Podcast Engagement Options
01:32:18
Speaker
Okay that's going to do it for us this week. If you want to get in touch and chat with us about our topic today you can find us on our website www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com or you can leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube where you can find us at The Modern Lady Podcast. I'm Michelle Sacks and you can find me on Instagram at mmsacks.
01:32:43
Speaker
And I'm Lindsay Murray and you can find me on Instagram at Lindsay Homemaker. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great week and we will see you next time.