From the Group Chat: Moo Deng the Baby Hippo, Frog Princes, and "My Old Ass"

EDITOR’S NOTE

Happy Sunday. You might’ve noticed my enthusiasm for highly questionable fashion — and this week was a good one. Let’s start with bags, which have clearly lost the plot. Exhibit A: Suddenly popular east-west handbags, which are allegedly “timeless” and “practical” (I couldn’t disagree more). Exhibit B: The most out-of-touch Birkin — which is a true accomplishment for a Birkin — involving both croc-stamped gold and 3,000 gems. Exhibit C: Rihanna’s ludicrously capacious, furry YSL bag, which I suppose is fitting given she also wore what’s essentially a high-fashion bathrobe as formalwear this week. And don’t get me started on high-fashion “sock-shoes,” which are roughly 10 times more puzzling than whatever you're imagining. To process all that, I’m off to make Brown Butter Maple Blondies and do a little fall cleaning. Because if there’s one thing that’ll make me feel…normal, it’s the “cult of storage.” (PS: For more health and wellness advice, sign up for our Skimm Well newsletter.)

— Melissa Goldberg / Senior Editor / Washington, DC

EDITOR’S NOTE

Happy Sunday. You might’ve noticed my enthusiasm for highly questionable fashion — and this week was a good one. Let’s start with bags, which have clearly lost the plot. Exhibit A: Suddenly popular east-west handbags, which are allegedly “timeless” and “practical” (I couldn’t disagree more). Exhibit B: The most out-of-touch Birkin — which is a true accomplishment for a Birkin — involving both croc-stamped gold and 3,000 gems. Exhibit C: Rihanna’s ludicrously capacious, furry YSL bag, which I suppose is fitting given she also wore what’s essentially a high-fashion bathrobe as formalwear this week. And don’t get me started on high-fashion “sock-shoes,” which are roughly 10 times more puzzling than whatever you're imagining. To process all that, I’m off to make Brown Butter Maple Blondies and do a little fall cleaning. Because if there’s one thing that’ll make me feel…normal, it’s the “cult of storage.”

— Melissa Goldberg / Senior Editor / Washington, DC

👀 In this week’s edition of Utterly Perplexing Rebrands: Men’s underwear is apparently getting a risqué glow-up. And it involves a lot of…lace.  

👰 From group yoga to pre-ceremony sound baths, the Goop-ification of weddings has simply gone too far. 

🛩️ The latest travel debate that has the internet taking sides: Should first class be childfree? 

🐴 We want to meet the person brave enough to wear these Alexander McQueen hoof boots. Paging, Horse Girl Bella Hadid...

Step aside, Ayo Edebiri and Julia Fox. The new “it” girl has arrived: Moo Deng. Moo who, you ask? Moo Deng, the perpetually shiny, adorably rotund baby pygmy hippo who’s taken over the internet for “almost always eating, sleeping, or being dramatic.” (Relatable.)  Ever since she was born two months ago, zookeepers at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo have posted photos and videos of Moo — whose name roughly translates to “bouncy pork” — getting sprayed with water (she has a lot of feelings about it), nibbling her keeper (a tough task since she barely has teeth), and seemingly screaming (it’s become her signature). All of which has resulted in what can only be described as complete and utter Moomania. Of course, there are the endless memes (this one of Moo and Pete Davidson can’t be beat). But the deeply hydrated hippo has also inspired a creepily lifelike cake, a Sephora Thailand campaign (you too, can achieve that baby hippo glow), lots of fan art, what appears to be a forthcoming line of merch, and even a Washington Post thinkpiece on the science behind our obsession (it’s really not that deep). 

In fact, Moo has become so popular that the zoo’s videos have racked up tens of millions of views and zoo visitors have doubled — which has led to a some not-so-nice incidents. Now, visits to the famous hippo will be limited to weekends, with each lasting five minutes. But the zoo is still giving the people what they want (read: more Moo), courtesy of a 24-hour live feed, which is apparently coming this week. So what’s next for the internet’s new princess? Probably lounging in the sun, gallivanting in puddles, and snoozing, if we had to guess. But fingers crossed for an Erewhon smoothie collaboration.

Whether you find it amusing or absolutely baffling, we’re here to report that the bewildering internet trend of using the animal kingdom as a means to categorize men is still going strong. And while we were willing to get on board with eager-to-please Golden Retriever Boyfriends (not to be confused with Rottweiler Boyfriends, German Shepherd Boyfriends, or Doberman Boyfriends) and this summer’s Hot Rodent Men, we fear the animal classification has officially gone too far. Enter: the Frog Prince. Now, to be clear, Frog Princes are neither amphibians nor royals. Rather, according to one writer, they’re “sexy” men with “unusual” features like wide-set eyes and goofy smiles à la Harry Styles, Rami Malek, and Dominic Cooper. That’s supposedly different from the aforementioned Rodent Men, but honestly, we can’t tell you exactly how. As far as we’re concerned, all we see are — *squints* — famous men.

Another week, another Real Housewives of the British Royal Family drama. Yes, the Mountbatten-Windsors were at the center of yet another photo controversy. But this time, it was King Charles (or rather, whoever runs his social media) who came under fire. On September 15, Buckingham Palace posted a photo of Prince Harry on Instagram, “wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday.” Surprising? You bet, given (a) things are a tad, uh, strained between Harry and the Firm and (b) public birthday wishes are reportedly reserved for working royals (which explains why the last message for Harry was in 2021). And, sure, it was generic, but it also seemed perfectly innocuous — until eagle-eyed internet sleuths alleged that the palace had cropped Meghan Markle out of the original photo in a not-so-subtle snub. However, a palace spokesperson called the accusations rubbish, saying the photo was “used in the format it was received.” (For the record, both the full image with Markle and a zoomed-in version of just Harry are available on Getty Images.) Whether you believe the palace’s nothing-to-see-here-folks statement or not, here’s hoping Harry’s next birthday is less dramatic.

If you were on the cusp of adulthood and could get advice from your older (and hopefully, wiser) self, would you? That question comes to life in the recently released film My Old Ass. The delightful, coming-of-age comedy follows carefree Elliott (Maisy Stella, who you might remember from her viral “Call Your Girlfriend” cover), who rings in her 18th birthday with a particularly potent shrooms trip in the woods. There, she comes face-to-face with her 39-year-old future self (the Queen of Deadpan Delivery, Aubrey Plaza). Of course, Young Elliott has some questions, but when Future Elliott starts dishing out pearls of wisdom — especially about family and crushes — Young Elliott finds herself conflicted. Probably not as conflicted, though, as we feel about the fact that Plaza and Stella look nothing alike. In light of the duo’s easy banter and we’ve-been-friends-for-years chemistry, we’re willing to overlook that.

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