The weather’s getting colder (or at least it’s supposed to be), but Hot or Not! is back and better than ever, just in time for the holidays, too. From Thanksgiving to Black Friday, Kwanzaa to Christmas to Hanukkah (or Chrismukkah, for fans of Seth Cohen and CW’s The OC), it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Our gift to you is the latest volume of our official unofficial guide to pop culture, the trends we see on campus, around Seattle, and through our phones. With a little help from our poll-responding friends, “Tatler” has assembled a list of everything hot, and everything not this holiday season.
HOT
Celebrating the holidays on November 1st. Halloween may be the only time of year when a girl can dress like anything she wants (or whatever Cady Heron said…), but the day after is when you can finally admit the holiday season has begun. On November 1st, Mariah Carey wakes up just a little wealthier and the final stretch before Thanksgiving gets a little more bearable. Retail stores dust off their playlists, TikTok shop ads become more incessant, and influencers start adding new items to their Amazon storefront. The world is healing.
Hallmark Movies.
Concerts. Many of Gen Z’s favorite artists are making their way to Seattle, or at least close by, in the foreseeable future: Billie Eilish, Tyler the Creator, and Taylor Swift (Vancouver, but close enough). Given that it’s the season of Giving, concert tickets may be a good present to ask for.
Drinks from the WCC.
Midwest emo edits. My For-You Page is full of edits of my favorite athletes to “Scott Pilgrims vs My GPA” by Mom Jeans., but why stop there? I have a list in my Notes app of some Midwest emo songs I think could make really good edits, so I’ll leave some here: “Death Cup” and “now THIS is podracing” by Mom Jeans.; “Re-Do” by Modern Baseball; “Stone” by Born Without Bones; and “I Would Hate You if I Could” by Turnover. Do with this what you will…
Digital cameras.
The Wicked press tour. Though I have no interest in watching the movie, there is nothing more entertaining and sweet on the internet than Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande constantly breaking out in tears on the press tour. The one clip of an interviewer talking about niche communities on the internet “holding space” for the lyrics of Defying Gravity will inspire content on TikTok for at least the next month or so, and I think that’s beautiful.
NOT
Crocs. As one poll respondent puts it, “I’m disgusted that I have to say this but the croc reign of terror continues.” Personally, I think Crocs can be worn quite tastefully, but I can understand where some Croc haters are coming from.
Brat summer. Brat Summer may be over and people may be getting tired of it, but Brat is a forever thing. After being both the host and musical guest of SNL, Charli xcx has announced an arena tour in 2025, following the very successful Sweat Tour this fall, and received 7 Grammy nominations for the critically acclaimed album. I’d say that’s pretty hot.
The stretch from Thanksgiving Break to Winter Break. Praying that this almost always insane time of year is full of bearable grade-boosting projects and a minimal amount of tests and essays for all Tatler readers!
The Remixes of Christmas Songs played in Stores.
AI voiceovers. I have seen so many edits on TikTok with AI voiceovers talking about knee surgery. Can someone explain what “knee surgery” means in three words or less? Or provide a visual explanation with a whiteboard?
Sleeping less.
