Capsule #14 ft. Birta Líf

Hello loves

My new flat looks out onto a primary school and I finished this newsletter during their outdoor playtime as the teachers put the new Olivia Rodrigo album on the PA for the kids. It was really nice. How much inner child work will we do while living here???

In today’s issue we’re talking about: September outfits, celebrity divorce, reading slowly, and, of course, Kylothée. There’s also a man wearing a Chanel bag in the most gorgeous way - I’ll let you scroll to find that.

Plus, Icelandic podcaster Birta Líf is here to tell us what's Hot and Not ❤️‍🔥

All the love, and thank you for reading!

Holly

Prepping for…

The best weather to dress for. It’s currently really warm in London and New York, but over the next few weeks we’ll hit that sweet spot: cool enough to cover your arms or legs, warm enough not to bundle everything up into a coat. In honour of this blessed time, here are a few looks at their best in September, inspired by celebs and influencers who are good at it because they spend a lot of time in seasonal cities.

The formula is simple: either more warmth on the top with a bare leg (personally think this is heaven), or you go for the trouser but let the arms breathe. Small lessons: shoes are vital, sunglasses add a lot, braids and a cap make things more fun and chill.

Time to talk about…

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner. After a few days zooming into photos to look for wedding rings and over analysing IG stories, we finally got the confirmation that the couple are going their separate ways. We know very little about the details, other than a few sources chatting to TMZ about their “very different lifestyles” - Jonas the homebody, Turner the party girl. There were other whispers of him doing most of the childcare (with no mention that Sophie’s currently on set in London filming Joan).

This is the sort of stuff that really riles you up, doesn’t it? I spent some time this week working from a café largely populated by new mothers caring for their babies. Sometimes with a fellow mum friend, mostly alone. It doesn’t look easy.

And culturally, I think equating motherhood with complete self sacrifice (as the press and IRL conversations often do) scares young people off. There are so many reasons people are generally having kids later - career progression for women, financial instability, climate fears, the housing crisis - we could go on. But even with the bits we should have more control over (like expectations placed on mothers specifically), we feel far from real change. I don’t think it’s our business to know why the marriage broke down, but it is concerning to all of us to watch Joe’s PR team drop “bad mother” breadcrumbs into our news cycle and not question it.

Food for thought…

In a note to Vanity Fair about her summer, Jemima Kirke talks about the joy of rereading, rewatching and revisiting old things. It resonated because I realised recently that I barely remember so many of the novels I’ve read. I hold onto a few specific extracts (or “vibes” let’s be real), but it’s rare. To quote Jemima: “I think a lot of times we’re trying to accumulate books and movies rather than take them on.” And she’s right - there’s a pressure to keep up with the latest releases, to consume stuff while it’s being talked about, to align our social worth with how many artworks we can recite.

That’s not to say reading more isn’t good - I actually think it’s one of the more important parts of my life that can easily fall off when I’m busy - but it’s a reminder to focus on why it matters. And that isn’t to heavily populate a Goodreads account or tick the title off in a conversation. It’s to engage with something outside of your brain and your little world, to get off your phone, to enjoy language and form, to spark ideas and interests you may not know you have, to relate to people you already know or might meet in the future, to chill, to bottle the time when you feel good, to pass time when you feel awful, to indulge on the weekend because it’s not your job. I could go on!

So, in the interest of reading more mindfully, I propose: slowing down, rereading a chapter (or entire book) if you want to, and making notes in a reading journal or Notes app about the stuff that moves you.

And finally…

A moment for Timmy and Kylie. What a launch. I know he’s an actor and Kylie has PR literally running through her veins but I think this is real. He's kissing her fingers! You can’t fake that.

Ok finally finally…

You have to click through. It’s that good. 👜

This week, Birta Líf popped into Capsule to share what’s 🔥hot🔥 and what’s not 🙅‍♀️ …

Birta is a cool mom and podcast host from Iceland. That’s right, we’re global now 🇮🇸

📺 Watching: Kate Berlant’s standup show, KATE, at Soho Theatre in London.

📖 Reading: The many profiles on Olivia Rodrigo that came out this week. Her interview with Phoebe Bridgers for Interview mag (not usually mad on these but thought PB was great), the Guardian piece (on losing her childhood to work) and the Vulture profile where she chats about influences like Joan Didion.

🎧 Listening to: GUTS, of course. It’s so good.

Squeeze hates to say it but it looks like C*vid is back moving through our circles again. As well as wishing you all well, Squeeze also wants to remind you that taking time to rest is really good for you, enjoy a book or a film, sit and reset. We’ve still got a big autumn to have!

If you’d like to adopt Squeeze or one of her friends, click here to learn more.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear how you’re finding Capsule - let me know here. See you next week 💋