Sarcurious

For our first-ever guest episode, we’re joined by Alexa Alper, cofounder of Alps Vintage, a Chicago-based vintage business she runs with her sister, Nikki. What began with thrifting, estate-sale treasure hunting, and selling finds online became a full-time business centered on vintage watches, jewelry, accessories, and the thrill of finding pieces with real personality. Alexa takes us inside the world of sourcing vintage watches: from digging through markets in Morocco and finding hidden gems while traveling, to why she gravitates towards specific brands when sourcing, bracelet-style watches, and pieces that feel more like jewelry than traditional collectors’ watches. We also talk about learning the business in real time, navigating authenticity and repairs, creating a brand identity with your sister, and why vintage shopping is ultimately about finding something that feels uniquely you. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:13 Gals Catch Up 00:01:17 From thrifting and estate sales to a full-time vintage business 00:07:09 Vintage watches as jewelry: style, quality, and what to look for 00:14:18 ’70s Seikos, pricing rare finds, and sourcing designer watches 00:18:54 The art of the hunt: sourcing vintage from Chicago to Morocco 00:23:03 Growing Alps Vintage: community, marketing, and working as sisters/co-founders 00:31:58 Pop-ups, holiday markets, and the future of the brand 00:42:19 Personal style, rapid fire, and where to find Alps Vintage Follow us on Instagram @Sarcuriouspod Have feedback, a topic request, or just want to say hi? Reach us at [email protected]. We read everything! A note: we're fashion enthusiasts, not professional historians. We're learning alongside you. Thanks for being here! We're so glad you found us. — Chandler & Yoana

Aviator sunglasses have spent almost a century doing double duty: protecting pilots' eyes and building an entire narrative around masculinity, power, and fashion. In this episode, we trace the shape from open-cockpit flying goggles to American Optical's 1935 D-1, through the mid-air accident that gave Bausch & Lomb the original teardrop shape and green lens, to the moment the US military officially standardized the aviator sunglass in WWII. We follow General Douglas MacArthur's history-making return to the Philippines in 1944, the postwar surplus boom that put pilots' exact sunglasses into civilian hands, and how Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and eventually Tom Cruise in Top Gun turned a military tool into a Hollywood signature (and a 40% sales spike for Ray-Ban). We dig into why aviators became a political symbol and how 2025's ~49% jump in aviator searches, Ray-Ban's first-ever creative director in A$AP Rocky, and a Dolce & Gabbana collab are pulling the shape back into the center of culture. As always, we close out by talking about how we each wear (and feel about) aviators, and what this most universal of shapes says about ease, authority, and personal style. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:13 Gals Catch Up 00:08:07 Defining the Aviator & the First Commercial Sunglasses 00:10:41 Open Cockpits, Goggles & American Optical 00:13:33 Bausch & Lomb & the Original Aviator Shape 00:17:23 Ban Rays: Ray-Ban’s Origin 00:18:02 WWII Standardization: The AN6531 Comfort Cable 00:19:15 MacArthur's Return & the Birth of an Icon 00:20:45 Postwar Surplus & the Aviator Goes Hollywood 00:24:38 The Aviator Goes To The Moon 00:25:26 Top Gun, Tom Cruise & the Ray-Ban Sales Boom 00:28:21 Ray-Ban's Brand Strategy: Caravan, Wayfarer & Taxi Driver 00:32:33 The 2025 Comeback & A$AP Rocky as Creative Director 00:34:01 Dolce & Gabbana, the Shooter Model & the Sunglass Case as Jewelry 00:36:44 Why Aviators Are Universally Flattering 00:38:14 Aviators as Political Language: Biden & Macron 00:43:35 From Sunglass to Optical & the End of "Nerd Glasses" 00:45:53 Military Surplus Goes Civilian (Then and Now) 00:49:12 Personal Style & Feelings 00:52:45 See You Soon! Find our full visual guide, references, and show notes → linked here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sMdPkGoyqesq55UkPWdymhsz_66UDGd8/view?usp=sharing Follow us on Instagram @Sarcuriouspod Have feedback, a topic request, or just want to say hi? Reach us at [email protected]. We read everything! A note: we're fashion enthusiasts, not professional historians. We're learning alongside you. Thanks for being here! We're so glad you found us. — Chandler & Yoana

What Westerners now call paisley print traces all the way back from a sacred Persian motif to a print now associated with 1960s Flower Power and the 2010’s brightly colored lunch boxes. We dig into the motif's roots in ancient Persia and Kashmir, how it got wrapped up with the East India Company and popularized in Europe, why the West named it after a Scottish town, and how it went from a status symbol for the elite to paisley's very different life today, from Rimzim Dadu's cord work to Etro's brand identity. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:13 Gals Catch Up 03:39 Setting the Scene: Ancient Paisley Origins 06:01 Kashmir, Emperor Akbar & the Shawls of Empire 08:14 Trade Routes, Spread of Paisley, Drawing the Line on Paisley vs. the Bandana 10:32 How "Paisley" Got Its Name, Jacquard Looms and Mass Production of Paisley 14:26 On Bandanas, Their Origin, and Tie to Paisley 16:34 "Sham Cashmere": Classism in the Mills, The Aesthetic and Art Nouveau 21:37 The Decline: Bustles, War & the American West 22:46 Boho, Rebellion & the Summer of Love 26:08 The Beatles & Their Love for Paisley 28:21 Cultural Appropriation, Reconsidered 31:56 Paisley's Life Outside the West (Manifest Magazine, Rimzim Dadu) 36:38 Etro’s Heritage and Paisley 41:53 Personal Feelings & Feeling 45:07 See You Soon! Find our full visual guide, references, and show notes → linked here. Follow us on Instagram @Sarcuriouspod Have feedback, a topic request, or just want to say hi? Reach us at [email protected]. We read everything! A note: we're fashion enthusiasts, not professional historians. We're learning alongside you. Thanks for being here! We're so glad you found us. — Chandler & Yoana

Espadrilles have (quietly?) walked through six thousand years of history. What was originally viewed as a peasant shoe became a staple in the late Golden Age of Hollywood’s dressing, luxury resort wear, and many fashion houses’ resort collections. In this episode, we trace the espadrille from the Cueva de los Murciélagos and a 1322 medieval Catalan municipal ordinance through regional Spanish craft traditions, the 19th century's shift from esparto to jute manufacturing, and a 20th-century identity shaped by JFK, Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot, Picasso, and Dalí. We dig into how Yves Saint Laurent and the Castañer family invented the luxury wedge espadrille, why the shoe earned its reputation as "the democratic shoe," and how brands like Naguisa, Morjas, and Goldberger are reinventing it today alongside Chanel, Hermès, and Valentino's own house takes. As always, we close out by talking about how we each wear (and feel about) espadrilles, and what this unisex shoe says about ease, class, and taste. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:14 Gals Catch Up 00:03:49 Espadrille Definition & Early Origin 00:07:57 Origin and Etymology: The Espadrille Precursor 00:13:32 Early Modern Period Regional Styles And Specialties 00:17:15 19th-Century Esparto to Jute Manufacturing Revolution 00:23:44 20th Century Artists and Late Golden Age of Hollywood 00:30:57 Espadrilles In The Modern Day: Democracy, Reinvention, Luxury, Effortless Yet Refined 00:31:47 YSL Meets Castañer 00:37:25 The Democratic Shoe 00:39:32 Trend Cycle Comeback 00:42:38 Reinvention in the Modern Day 00:44:39  Espadrilles Gaining Couture House Codes 00:49:03 Epitome of Effortlessly Cool 00:52:14 Personal Style & Feelings 00:55:47 See You Soon! Find our full visual guide, references, and show notes → linked here. Follow us on Instagram @Sarcuriouspod Have feedback, a topic request, or just want to say hi? Reach us at [email protected]. We read everything! A note: we're fashion enthusiasts, not professional historians. We're learning alongside you. Thanks for being here! We're so glad you found us. — Chandler & Yoana

Lace collars have framed power, piety, and poetic drama for centuries…and they’re still quietly running the show today. In this episode, we trace how tiny stitches of linen thread became status-defining ruffs, falling collars, cravats, and jabots, then follow lace into industrialization and the modern day. We talk Wuthering Heights and method dressing, Pinterest’s love affair with Poet Core, Florence + The Machine’s moody collars, Erdem’s runway shows, and lace’s Prairie Core/gothic drama duality. As always, we wrap up by discussing how we feel about lace collars and what all of this says about gender, status, and our own styles. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:14 Gals Catch Up 03:20 Lace Origins And Types 06:14 Trade Routes And Pattern Books 07:09 Who Made Lace And Why 08:45 Ruffs And Their Evolution 14:06 Sumptuary Laws And Ruffs 18:16 From Ruffs to Falling Collars, Cravats &  Jabots 23:27 Great Male Renunciation 25:13 Lace After Rococo 26:29 Lace After The Industrial Revolution 29:01 RBG’s Power Collar & Judicial Lace 30:11 Prairiecore & Nara Smith 31:46 – Poet Core and Pinterest Predictions 34:40 – Method Dressing & Wuthering Heights 37:33 – Music & Lace Collars: Florence + The Machine 39:41 – Church, Couture & the Met: YSL, Galliano & Rihanna 42:09 – Erdem, Naturalists & High‑Fashion Lace Collars 44:39 – Personal Style & Feelings 50:11: See You Soon! Find our full visual guide, references, and show notes → linked here. Follow us on Instagram @Sarcuriouspod Have feedback, a topic request, or just want to say hi? Reach us at [email protected]. We read everything! A note: we're fashion enthusiasts, not professional historians. We're learning alongside you. Thanks for being here! We're so glad you found us. — Chandler & Yoana