Second Life

This week, Kat, Who What Wear co-founder and Chief Content Officer Hillary Kerr, Shopping Director Bobby Schuessler, and Editorial Director Lauren Eggertsen are here to discuss their best, chicest, and most original gift ideas for the holidays. They’ve curated a list for (almost) everyone in your life, from a vintage butter mold and a gorgeously kitschy wine bottle apron for the host in your life to personalized packing cubes for your travel-obsessed bestie. They also talk tips for buying presents for multiple people in your life during the busy holiday season, the value of a personalized gift, and whether or not thank-you notes are still required in this day and age.

Geo Rutherford is a popular TikTok creator and author of the new book Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes That Dot Our Planet. Geo started her career as a high school art teacher in the Midwest, creating engaging and thoughtful art curricula for her students. She eventually decided to get her master’s in arts education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Upon moving, she fell in love with the Great Lakes and their unique role in our ecosystem. (She even based her thesis art show on them.) When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she started posting videos on TikTok, and one of her first-ever videos about her Great Lakes–inspired art went viral. She then leveraged her background in arts education with her newfound limnology hobby and posted more about lakes, telling informative, entertaining stories about the oddest and coolest lakes worldwide. This fall, she published her book, which Kirkus Reviews calls “a chilling but thrilling primer for budding limnologists,” and continued her annual TikTok series, Spooky Lake Month, in October. Content warning: Brief discussion of suicide

Today, Senior Fashion Editor Anna LaPlaca joins us to discuss her 2024 State of Style story. At the end of each year, Anna takes a closer look at why the trends of the last year have emerged, what they point to in our larger society—and what might be next. She’s incorporated detailed research from industry sources and talked to fellow editors and experts to take the pulse of the fashion industry right now. Is boho here to stay, or are we simply feeling the singular effects of Chloe? Is quiet luxury finally cycling out? What does the return of maximalist fashion mean culturally? Listen to find out.

Scarlett Johansson is an actor, director, producer, and co-founder of the skincare company The Outset. She began acting at age nine and continued to work steadily through adolescence and beyond, making films alongside industry legends like Robert Redford and taking on increasingly ambitious roles like the titular character in Girl With the Pearl Earring. Her career climbed to new heights in the last decade, as she was nominated for Academy Awards for the films Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story, and played the lethal superhero Black Widow in the Marvel movie franchise. But after years as an accomplished actress, she knew that she wanted to expand her horizons and use some of her hard-earned expertise for her own projects. She then founded her own production company, These Pictures, and in 2022, co-founded the skincare company, The Outset, to provide solutions for adult acne and other skin issues that had plagued her for years. The brand, which launched on Amazon and QVC earlier this year, has come to be known for its effective ingredients and simple, nonirritating formulas. As if that wasn’t enough, this year, Scarlett directed her first feature film, Eleanor the Great, starring the 94-year-old acting legend June Squibb.

Jocelyn Pierce is the costume designer of Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or–winning film, Anora. The film follows an atypical Cinderella story of a sex worker from Brooklyn and the son of a Russian oligarch. As part of her research, Pierce spent time in Brighton Beach, New York, where the film is set, to get a sense of the world she was re-creating. She even invited the exotic dancers who participated in the film to use their own clothes as costumes. Anora was widely released on October 18 and is already garnering awards buzz. Pierce joins us this week to talk about her feelings-driven philosophy on costume design, why she’s an indie girl at heart, and Anora’s costume references to the American dream.