The Year in Freak Palace
Reflecting on a year in freakdom, or what I've learned since starting this newsletter.
I started writing this newsletter one year and one month ago, beginning on November 19th, 2023. At the time, I was embarking on a total overhaul of my life that involved actively going after the things I want, primarily to reestablish myself as a “voice” in the field of fashion journalism. (Sometimes you have to go where the market takes you, and in my case that happened to involve pivoting to writing about other people’s weird apartments, aka Freak Palaces.) While Freak Palace hasn’t made me a go-to fashion commentator or a frequent podcast guest (note: if you have a podcast…hello), I have managed to prove to myself that I am capable of waking up every single weekend and publishing a new piece of writing from scratch. It’s also made abundantly clear that you get out exactly what you put into a venture and if you want to succeed at something, you actually have to try.
I’m consistently surprised to learn what kind of content resonates with people and what doesn’t. It turns out my monthly obsessions posts are by far my most popular, original topical essays a close second, and rounding out the podium are pieces that have been reposted by semi-famous people. (Thanks Kaitlin Phillips and Chris Black!)
In 2025, I’d like to ramp up operations and double my volume to two posts per week – one paid, one unpaid. This might not happen immediately, but I’m putting it out there for accountability purposes. A lot of freelancers say that Substack provides them with a reliable enough income to make a go of their chosen career. In full transparency, this newsletter made me $1000 last year; enough to buy an extraordinarily nice pair of shoes, but not nearly enough to pay my rent. I’d like to make a paid subscription to Freak Palace as valuable as possible, so I’m calling on readers to let me know what they’d like to see more of. Opinionated commentary on fashion news? Runways reviews? Long, vituperative critiques of Tiktok trends? Individual product recommendations? Consider me a fashion DJ and I’m taking requests.
Hazlitt magazine used to run an essay series called “The Year In…” in which notable writers would select a singular theme around which to frame their experiences of the past year: The Year in Making Clothes by Naomi Skwarna, and The Year in Thrift Stores by Emma Healey, stand out in particular to me. I even wrote one in 2016, more a trend piece on slime videos than a meditation on my life, but I had fun writing it regardless. For me, 2024 was unquestionably the Year in Freak Palace. I’m delighted to have carved out a small space for my niche voice on the internet, and cultivated a community of really weird people who also happen to enjoy fashion. They say lots of Tiktokers are going to be bringing their following to Substack in 2025 –I look forward to welcoming new freaks into the fold.
To round out the year, I’ve selected the best essays I’ve published since starting this newsletter that I think are worth a reread if you feel so inclined.
I wrote about why in/out lists are so annoying
How “not buying stuff” became a signifier of cool
On how most trend reporting has become increasingly shallow and meaningless
Why cost-per-wear is actually not a remotely useful indicator of the value of clothing
Defining the not-quite-medical condition of desperately wanting to buy something but hating everything you come across
My goal in 2025 is to turn this into a book.
A paean to the one-of-a-kind Baby Lynnie
Can we reframing flaws in clothing enough to make them irrelevant?
