Pop Culture Bits and Bobs✨

The most chaotic newsletter you've ever read

Hello, dear readers!

A belated newsletter today because life has been a nutty sundae with extra nuts on top lately! I appreciate the four of you who texted in a panic, “Where’s your newsletter?!” The rest of you… Are you even REALLY fans?? (That is a joke, of course you are!)

I’m switching up the format today to keep things fresh or ~spicy~ as my sister would say.

Met Gala Inspo 👗

I haven’t seen as much Met Gala content as usual, as I’ve officially deleted both TikTok and Instagram (I’m now that person?). But, even in my social media-less state, I spied many a hot take. I’m not here to talk about my opinion on the theme or people’s looks, I’m here to discuss which looks were inspired by women!

Let’s talk about Megan Thee Stallion’s hair on the carpet. It was inspired by Josephine Baker’s look for a performance in 1951.

Several others on the Red Carpet cited Josephine Baker as their inspiration, including Quinta Brunson, Venus Williams, Dua Lipa, Gigi Hadid, and A$AP Rocky.

✨ Josephine Baker was a dancer, singer, actress, and civil rights activist. Want to learn more about her in a future newsletter?

✨ One of the other inspirations that was everywhere on the Red Carpet was Gladys Bentley. Gladys was a queer nightclub entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. And she could ~wear~ a suit (see below). Gladys inspired Kendall Jenner’s look.

Women in Flight ✈️

I’m reading “Great Circle” by Maggie Shipstead, which Emilie Sommer recommended approximately three years ago. PS: Emilie is awesome and a Book Buyer at East City Bookshop in Washington, DC! She has incredible book taste.

“Great Circle” centers around a fictional woman named Marian Graves, a daredevil female pilot in the 1920s-1930s. In the novel, she is known for her attempt to become the first pilot to fly over the North and South Poles in one flight (some would call it a great circle, get it?). I Googled Marian to see if she was real, but she’s sadly a figment of the author’s imagination. However, the author was inspired by real-life aviatrix Jean Batten! Jean was the first pilot to fly solo from London to New Zealand.

If you want to learn more about other women in flight, the Air and Space Museum has a great webpage of several women aviators.

Let’s Go To the Movies 🎬

If there is a biopic about a woman in history, I *will* be first in line with popcorn and cookie dough bites in hand. I’m thrilled the Lilly Ledbetter biopic, Lilly, will be in theatres May 9. Lilly Ledbetter was the plaintiff in a critical Supreme Court case about sex discrimination in employment and equal pay.

And with that, this chaotic mish-mash of a newsletter comes to an end! Thanks for reading, and see you next week with a more normal-ish newsletter. Or who knows, maybe you all like this, and I should switch it up more often. Let me know!

Citations

https://www.thecut.com/article/megan-thee-stallion-ponytail-met-gala-2025-red-carpet.html

https://time.com/7283031/josephine-baker-met-gala-references/

https://people.com/met-gala-2025-outfit-inspirations-side-by-side-photos-11728833

https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/kendall-jenner-2025-met-gala

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/05/02/how-the-real-life-exploits-of-a-pioneering-aviatrix-inspired-maggie-shipsteads-novel-great-circle/