Capsule #126: Hot & Not wrapped!

Hello!

And so we’re finally here, the last issue of Capsule of the year. I am extremely grateful for your readership this year, in what has felt like a bit of a transitional time for the newsletter. I think our content has grown up a little bit over the past 12 months, and spoken with more confidence and conviction. And we’re just getting started! I can’t wait to share all that we have planned for 2026 with you.

I mainly want to wish you a really lovely break, whatever that looks like for you. If we know anything for sure it’s that time off goes quickly, and once the regular routine is back up and running we always wish we could have more present and actually allowed ourselves to relax. You deserve to unwind.

In our final newsletter today, we’re sharing the bits from 2025 that are worth remembering. And we’re excited to bring you Hot & Not Wrapped, so we can see what our guests have deemed the Hottest and Nottest this year. ❤️‍🔥

Relax, have fun, listen to yourself. You can do whatever you like.

Holly x

★ Things worth remembering from 2025 ★

1. The spreading of David Lynch wisdom, including Margaret Qualley sharing the way he proved that you don’t need to suffer to make good art.

2. On a similar note, Lady Gaga releasing MAYHEM, a feat only possible because she felt loved and healthy enough to make it:

3. Paloma Elsesser’s house tour. One for the ages!!! And while we’re on her great taste, this could be the best anyone has ever looked as a wedding guest.

3. The resurgence of George Michael’s ‘Father Figure’ after Babygirl. Great for the intergenerational playlist over the holidays.

5. This soft, bluey/lilac, brown and red colour palette, seen at Chloé AW25 and Susan Fang SS26. It’s always the subtler ones that have longevity. Less “colour of the season!!!!”, more delightful and fresh take on things you already have.

6. Dua Lipa and Callum Turner being sweet literally all the time. Why hide your lover when you could dance in every capital city across the globe together!!!

7. The sofa as the main event. Excellent ones were present in the music videos for ‘Relationships’ by HAIM and Wolf Alice’s ‘The Sofa’. Waiting for a hidden gem to pop up on Facebook Marketplace any day now.

8. Lorde’s surprise set at Glastonbury on the day Virgin came out. Not just the surprise but her essence: relaxed, focused, and confident, in a white t-shirt, white jeans, and a few little silver accessories. Like showing up to an event wearing an outfit that makes you feel exactly like yourself, even if it’s not quite the conventional dress code. Watching people grow up and grow into their art is inspiring. If you want more Lorde, including the quotes about coming off the pill and coming into your sexuality, these are good!

9. The thoughtful ways people weighed in on ambition this year. I started looking into this after seeing Nadia Meli’s quote “the more I heal, the less ambitious I become” pop up everywhere. And I keep returning to Lorde for Perfectly Imperfect advising us to leave something on the table sometimes: 

10. Greta Lee’s insane style. Two amazing looks for the ages:

11. Solange doing life on her own timeline, as usual, and reminding us of power of slowness:

12. Jonathan Anderson’s reaction to the end of his Dior show 🥲. It means something!!!

13. The Hayley Williams Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party era. From the rollout of 17 surprise singles saved as files to her website, to getting fans to help compile the album, to performing ‘True Believer’ on Jimmy Fallon after the Morgan Wallen comments, this has been a masterclass in a) doing things in the way that works for you and b) prioritising integrity. Coolest!

14. Watching Addison Rae “try hard” to be a star in public. She showed us that she’s not embarrassed to put in effort, but proud of it, and is willing to let us watch her try as she perfects her craft. She said on Quen Blackwell’s show: “People say she’s trying too hard. How about you try at all?”

15. And finally, a nice way to end and a resource we may need to dip into over the next couple of weeks, Little Simz on the power of no:

We’ll be dropping our official Best Dressed of 2025 list on Instagram. Make sure you’re following!

We’ve crunched the numbers and are coming to you this week with Hot & Not WRAPPED. What was the hottest and what was the nottest from our special guests this year??? Let’s find out!

📺 Watching: Finally ready to spin the best Christmas film: Falling for Christmas with Lindsay Lohan. Also, Arden Rose’s vlog on why she doesn’t plan to move back to the US (worth it just to watch the relaxing b-roll of her painting while she explains!), Lady Gaga’s ‘My Life in 10 Songs’ and Rosalía’s new video for ‘La Perla.’ The chastity belt!!!

📖 Reading: Clairo’s feature on the Creative Independent, and ‘Mother, Maybe,’ a really beautiful essay by Hannah Black for Feeld’s magazine on deciding to have children. A really excellent read for anyone who identifies with struggling to make decisions, big or small.

🎧 Listening to: Some of the good indie Christmas songs: ‘Wintering’ by The 1975, ‘Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call’ by Bleachers, ‘So Much Wine’ and ‘Christmas Song’ by Phoebe Bridgers, ‘Glory of the Snow’ by Clairo, ‘Lonely Christmas’ by Now, Now, ‘My Favourite Day’ by Fickle Friends, and ‘wishlist’ by flowerovlove.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear how you’re finding Capsule - let me know here. And if you have a friend who might like it, do refer them! 🥺

See you in January 💋

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