A podcast about trends, taste, brands, and products, hosted by fashion industry professionals Amanda and Kim.
Amanda McCarty + Kim Christenson
IT'S A HOLIDAY MIRACLE! Kim and Amanda are back with a two-part holiday trend-tacular!!! In this episode, we'll pour some eggnog over ice, put on our Christmas teddies (jk, no way), and settle in with a nice Hallmark movie. Get all the details about this episode at the thedepartment.world
Kim and Amanda take a cow print, checkerboard odyssey through the Avant Basic trend, with stops along the way at SHEIN and the natural deodorant aisle.Find the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Have you ever touched up your black jeans with a Sharpie? Exclusively owned shirts with Peter Pan collars? Get ready for some nostalgia (or a refreshing style shift), because two of the most iconic 2000s aesthetics are back: twee and indie sleaze. Note: Amanda's audio is a little weird in this episode. Dustin did everything he could to fix it. Find the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
And just like that...the 2000s were back again. In part one of two, Amanda + Kim talk about how 2022 is looking a lot like 2002, with the return of Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda. And we'll talk about the newest social media trend: snarking the snarkers. See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Neil Blakemore joins Amanda + Kim for the second half of our conversation about the true crime trend. See the full episode notes at thedepartment.world.
Amanda, Kim, and special guest Neil untangle the trendy rise of True Crime. Find the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Grab a Cosmo, put on some totally unwalkable shoes, and join us on a journey to uncover all of the fashion, food, and social trends created by a single HBO show: Sex and the City. Find the full show notes here.
Why eat ordinary food when you could have...SUPERFOOD! Kim + Amanda unpack the trendiness and marketing genius of so-called "superfoods."Find the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Amanda + Kim continue their odyssey into "health food" trends with a special focus on fro-yo and rich white dudes with loud, dumb opinions.Find the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Open a fresh bottle of Clamato and join Amanda and Kim on a centuries-spanning journey through the cyclical trend of juicing.Find our full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Grab a green juice, pour it into your #girlboss mug, and join Kim + Amanda for part II of their dissection of the "That Girl" trend.Find our full show notes at thedepartment.world.TW: this episode does discuss eating disorders and social media phenomena related to eating disorders. If you or someone you love is dealing with an eating disorder, please visit The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). They provide free and low cost support for individuals with eating disorders.
Kim tells us all about the "That Girl" trend sweeping social media and Amanda wonders "how many salad ingredients is too many?"Find our the full show notes at thedepartment.world.TW: this episode does discuss eating disorders and social media phenomena related to eating disorders. If you or someone you love is dealing with an eating disorder, please visit The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). They provide free and low cost support for individuals with eating disorders.
Amanda + Kim are still recovering from the Jell-O-sode, so why not take a deep dive into some classic "American" comfort foods?!See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Amanda + Kim explore the trendiest food of all: Jell-O/gelatin. And they take a hotline call about gender reveal parties. Find the show notes at thedepartment.world.
Your name is a pretty big deal! By listener request, Kim and Amanda break down the trends and history involved in baby names.See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
“To feed the trolls or not feed the trolls?” This is something the entire internet is debating (when they aren't debating whether or not Crocs are cute). In part two of our troll-travaganza, Amanda + Kim discuss troll feeding and how to avoid becoming trolls ourselves.See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
TREND ALERT! Beach brawls, bad behavior on airplanes, and being a jerk on the internet are more popular than ever! In this episode, Amanda + Kim break down the who/what/where/why of trolling and snarking.See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Amanda + Kim reflect on things that Gen Z thinks is actually cool (and not cheugy). This is part 1 of 2!See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Amanda + Kim reflect on things that Gen Z thinks is actually cool (and not cheugy). This is part 1 of 2!See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
Amanda and Kim slice and dice (and fricassee) the internet's latest thinkpiece and quiz obsession: cheugy. Find our full show notes at thedepartment.world.
This is part one of our ultra miniseries on "cheugy," the internet's current favorite source of think pieces and quizzes. But to understand cheugy, we have to travel back to 2014. So throw on your scarf, grab your PSL, and get ready to dissect the term "basic."See the full show notes at thedepartment.world.
In last week's episode, we talked about how our concept of value has changed. This week we'll breakdown the values we want from brands!
The pandemic re-centered what "value" means to us, as we also began to demand more "values" from the companies selling to us. In this episode, we break down the ways in which our feelings about the value of items are changing. Also: a wild Grub Hub dating story.
Today we have a very special episode. We are going to share all of our recent hotline calls from all of you!
Nostalgia collides with our dating series as we discuss why cool girls have been making allowances for such lousy behavior from dudes since the aughts. We call it the Ethan Hawke Effect. Get ready for a stroll down slacker heartthrob memory lane!
Amanda + Kim go on a collision course of the new relationship trends that have emerged in this new decade.
Kim and Amanda talk about catfishing. From raccoons to avoiding red flags, this episode has it all!
Join us as we explore how the inception of online connections changed the trends in monogamy in the 2000’s through present day. And Dani calls in with a Missed Connections story!
It's the first episode in our miniseries about online dating and we are going to talk about the early years of online dating, specifically the granddaddy of them all, OKCupid.
It's part two of our conversation with Wendy Mullin, founder of the iconic brand Built By Wendy! We will talking about her collab with Wrangler, Sew U, and her Simplicity patterns (and so much more)!
We have an extra special treat for you this week - Wendy Mullin from the iconic fashion label Built by Wendy is joining us for this super exciting episode!
Amanda and Kim reminisce about the iconic films and directors that drove trends in fashion, aesthetics, advertising, and even wine(!) well into the aughties.
Kim and Amanda continue on their 2000s hipster mission, talking about the magazines that were meaningful to hipster women of the aughts.
We thought this week it would be super fun to talk about some of the Hipster subcultures and the trends behind them. Specifically the Scenesters, Electroclash, Ye Oldes, DIY and Freak Folk. We also have some great messages from Dani and Kristen!
This week we continue a bit more into some 2000’s trends that not just defined that decade but offered some insight into our today. This week is a deeper look at IRONY (and misunderstandings) and some additional Scammers in the Hipster culture: JT LeRoy and The Mast Brothers.
Kim + Amanda dig into the seedy underbelly of the hipster culture of the 2000's, discussing The Hipster Grifter, "Ironic Sexism," Suicide Girls, and The Encyclopedia of Hipster Abusers. TW: This episode includes a lot of frank conversation about physical/sexual abuse and bullying.
Amanda and Kim continue their deep dive into the hipsters of the aughts and get the conversation started with some hotline calls!
“How did the hipster burn his mouth? He ate pizza before it was cool." Amanda and Kim begin a deep dive into the hipster culture of the early aughts.
We are going back in time to the 2000s again this week as the second episode in the series featuring what we like to consider The Terrible 2000’s. This week we are going to uncover some slightly different but vaguely overlapping territory and discuss Blue Collar to Bling and Raunch Culture.
This week Amanda + Kim polish off their Von Dutch hats, iron their velour tracksuits, and get ready to begin a several episode journey back to the early aughts. This episode covers reality tv, the celebutantes, Juice, Uggs, Kitson, and Perez Hilton.
Amanda and Kim take a deeper look into some more color trends that define us this episode!
Amanda and Kim explore the trends in colors and the key players behind them - most importantly Pantone and their Color of the Year.
To coincide with our Slumber Party theme we thought that no slumber party was complete without the hair - which was such an important part of the late 80’s and 90’s. Mainly inspired by celebrities, models and musicians - hair was dramatic and a zeitgeist of the times.
Welcome to Chapter One of our slumber party series! In this episode, we'll talk about Trapper Keepers, stickers, Lisa Frank, Ouija boards, and the Girl Talk game empire (among many other totally nostalgic topics). Put on your oversize t-shirt and get ready to get barely any sleep!
This is not a true crime podcast, but Amanda + Kim break down the millennial legacy of "killing" everything beloved, including chain restaurants, breastaurants, the "ethnic" aisle, malls, and department stores.
Amanda and Kim come back one more time to cover all the odds and ends of the #girlboss era.
Amanda and Kim fluff up their shoulder pads and dive into part two of Tragic Trends: The Cult of the Girlboss.
Amanda and Kim toss on their power suits and talk about the Tragic Trends: The Cult of the Girlboss.
Amanda and Kim spice up the trending dialogue around Blands! A concept being gossiped about regarding VC backed disruptor brands who share monotonous san-serif “blanding” across identity, voice, naming, logo and visuals.
Cuddle up with Kim and Amanda as we explore the nesting trends, including #JOMO, hopefully the end of #FOMO, and minimizing your consumption while making your home into a nest by buying secondhand home goods.
Fight the urge to #cabinfever with The Departments Listcast - Amanda and Kim spend some time getting self help guru with some great tricks to fight the winter blues during quarantine.