Our Merch, Ourselves

What do the bands and brands whose merchandise we buy say about who we are and what we value?

If you want to recreate the 1960s winged eyeliner that Cailee Spaeny wears in “Priscilla,” you’ll have to do so without the aid of the limited-edition makeup kit produced by the film’s studio, A24. It’s sold out. Ditto the dark gray sweatshirt with tonal “Priscilla” embroidery across the front. You can, however, still purchase a baby-doll T-shirt bedizened with the film’s title in rhinestones. And the heart-shaped locket by the jewelry designer J. Hannah, inspired by the one Priscilla wears in the movie, which was in turn inspired by one Priscilla Presley actually wore, is still available, in sterling silver ($400) or 14-karat gold ($1,280).

I was chatting this week with some colleagues about the locket, about what animates someone to buy a pricey piece of jewelry that’s being sold as a merchandise tie-in for a movie. Is it love for the “stealthily devastating” film “Priscilla”? For Priscilla Presley herself, or Elvis, or the film’s director, Sofia Coppola? Perhaps one just likes the necklace. A24, the studio behind films like “Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” “Uncut Gems” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” knows it’s probably some combination of these factors, mixed with love for the studio itself. A24 is known for its canny collaborations with hip designers — a “Hereditary” tee, designed by the trippy design studio Online Ceramics, originally $65, now sells for at least double that if you can track one down on a resale site. You can also buy hoodies, half-snap fleeces, dog leashes and dopp kits featuring the A24 logo.

Our conversation quickly turned to questions of identity. Why do we buy merch, or shy away from it? What does the merch you wear say about who you are, what you believe in? You might buy a sticker from your local bakery to support the business, or wear a Renaissance tour shirt to declare yourself a member of the BeyHive. “If I ever move away from New York, I’d buy a tote bag from my favorite Brooklyn sandwich shop,” one of my colleagues declared. Carrying the bag in your own city seemed too boosterish, too earnest for a New Yorker, whereas outside the city, the local merch telegraphs your hometown pride and N.Y.C. pedigree. Once you leave the place, the merch becomes a souvenir, a nostalgic keepsake. Another colleague, an avowed merch skeptic, got her daughter an Los Angeles Dodgers shirt when her family relocated from L.A. to New York, memorializing the matrix of allegiances the move evoked.

Perhaps we were overcomplicating it, getting too Gen X in our obsession with authenticity. Justin Bieber famously ignited the ire of indie-rock snobs when he wore a rare Nirvana T-shirt to the American Music Awards in 2015: How dare a purveyor of pop hits appropriate the cred of a beloved countercultural institution! Why does merch have to mean so much? Of course, it doesn’t. Debating the laws of merch is a diversion, an amusing exercise in questioning our own pieties. I made no fewer than two friends in college because one of us was wearing a Pixies T-shirt: “I’m into this band, you’re into this band, let’s see if that’s enough to fuel a meaningful relationship.” (In both cases, it was.)

We’re heading into an election year. The merch machine’s transmission is shifting into overdrive, raring to emit its bumper stickers, buttons and lawn signs. I’m trying to stay focused on the things that I love, the bands and books that have shaped me, and how those enthusiasms are the easiest way I know to connect with other people. One of my colleagues told me how excited he was to buy a Taylor Swift Eras Tour tee for his daughter, a memento to remind her of this delirious season of Swiftie mania, of friendship bracelets, deep belonging and lyrics belted in collective joy.

That’s the type of connection I want to cultivate: the impulse to bond over the things that light me up, that bring me closer to other people. That sentiment doesn’t make for a particularly cool or catchy piece of merch, but communicating it plainly seems a project crucially worth investing in.

For more

“Coastal elites who think lit-mag tote bags are basic started ’gramming themselves in A24 snapbacks and hoodies with the earnestness of a Knicks fan wearing blue and orange to the Garden.” From Vanity Fair, how an indie film studio became a merch powerhouse.
Fans waited overnight in the rain to score Swift merchandise last spring.
“Repping the city by repping its establishments — forestalling their bankruptcies one T-shirt purchase at a time — has become a big part of street style.” Stella Bugbee, The New York Times’s Styles editor, on the pandemic rise of “Zizmorcore” in New York City, from 2021.
The modern merch market: Lexapro sweatshirts and Gwyneth Paltrow trial mugs.

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and SZA.Mohammed Badra/EPA, via Shutterstock; Chantal Anderson for The New York Times; Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

SZA, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo — along with the “Barbie” soundtrack — are among the top nominees for the 66th annual Grammy Awards. Here’s the full list.
Our critics picked their biggest Grammy surprises, including a strong showing by the indie-rock group boygenius.
People magazine announced Patrick Dempsey, the actor known for playing Derek Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy,” as this year’s Sexiest Man Alive.
The Trump family coordinated their looks as they took the stand in New York, our fashion critic writes — lots of navy, with no red or flashy displays of wealth.
“Sleep No More,” the Off Broadway production that helped alter the landscape of immersive theater, will close after more than a decade.
Paramount released the trailer for a musical remake of “Mean Girls.”
Gannett hired a 35-year-old journalist to be a full-time Swift reporter.
A researcher in England discovered the identity of the man on the cover of the 1971 album “Led Zeppelin IV” — a Victorian-era roof thatcher named Lot Long.
The EZ Band’s blend of norteña and pop offers some Americans a way to connect with their parents’ culture.
A museum in Switzerland said it must sell its Cézannes to survive, but critics say it is violating industry guidelines.
Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, a famous tourist attraction, temporarily closed after earthquakes.
Davide Renne, the Italian fashion designer, died just days after becoming Moschino’s creative director. He was 46.

THE LATEST NEWS

Stephanie Keith for The New York Times

F.B.I. agents stopped New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, on the street and seized his electronic devices, an escalation of the investigation into his campaign finances.
Israeli troops battling Hamas fighters have surrounded hospitals in Gaza. Sick and injured Palestinians, as well as civilians taking refuge, are stuck on the hospitals’ grounds.
Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said that “far too many Palestinians have been killed,” the closest he’s come to criticizing Israel’s conduct in the war.
Hamas and Israel are negotiating a possible deal to release hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a pause in the fighting, more aid and the release of women and children held in Israeli prisons.
President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea is cracking down on journalists who cover him critically, calling it “fake news.” Critics accuse him of suppressing free speech.

CULTURE CALENDAR

🎧 “Heaven Knows” (Out Now): PinkPantheress is the quintessential Gen Z pop star. The 22-year-old British singer and producer got her start on TikTok, where videos featuring her songs have amassed billions of views, and her aesthetic is influenced by eminently popular 2000s revivalism. The Times critic Lindsay Zoladz describes the new album as “an effervescent collection of infectious hooks” that blends her characteristic Y2K-era influences with hyperpop to invoke themes about death and the afterlife.

🎬 “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” (Friday): It’s been eight years since the final installment of the “Hunger Games” movies, adapted from Suzanne Collins’s novels, but the franchise is back. This is a prequel that tells the origin story of Coriolanus Snow, whom we met in the first four movies as the president of the dystopian republic that makes entertainment out of young people killing each other in an arena.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero.

Crispy Mustard Chicken

Turkey may reign supreme when it comes to November poultry, but let’s never forget its equally feathery cousin, the chicken. Perfect for any weeknight, my crispy mustard chicken with bread crumbs is an updated classic that’s homey and full of tangy flavor. Adding garlic and Worcestershire sauce to the mustard coating, and plenty of butter to the bread crumb topping, makes for a dish at once crowd-pleasing and satisfying. The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but if you’re a white meat household, bone-in breasts work well, too. Just watch them carefully so they don’t overcook.

REAL ESTATE

LeSha Thorpe and Kari Heidl-Teske

What you get for $800,000: A 19th-century house in North Kingstown, R.I.; a two-bedroom condominium in Portland, Ore.; or an English country-style home in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

The hunt: Three friends sought a Brooklyn townhouse offering communal living space but separate apartments. Which was the right fit? Play our game.

Renter for life? Switzerland offers a glimpse of a post-ownership society.

The easiest houseplant: Bromeliads can flourish in low light with infrequent watering.

LIVING

The moon, as seen from the Lick Observatory in California.Special Collections, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz, (Lick Observatory Records)

Future past: As new telescopes are launched or built, old observatories still have wonders to share.

Better workouts: Treat soreness after exercising.

Taste of home: Food delivery apps catering to Chinese-speaking communities are growing in popularity.

Skibidi: Gen Alpha — the cohort that follows Gen Z — have begun a rite of passage: confusing their elders with new slang terms.

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

A game changer for Thanksgiving pies

If you’re inclined to reach for a hand-held peeler to knock out pounds of apples for pie, might we suggest an old-fashioned rotary peeler instead? All it takes is 10 seconds and some hand cranking to have a peeled and cored (!) apple, sliced into perfect, juicy rings. It’s exponentially faster than any other method. So speedy, in fact, that even if you only whip it out a few times a year, the investment is still worth it. And on a day like Thanksgiving, when all burners are firing and every saved second counts? It’s essential. — Sofia Sokolove

GAME OF THE WEEKEND

Stephen Brashear/USA Today Sports

Gotham FC vs. OL Reign, National Women’s Soccer League final: This isn’t just a championship game. It’s also the final match for two American soccer greats, Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger, who won back-to-back World Cup titles for the U.S. in 2015 and 2019. Rapinoe, 38, is now a forward with OL Reign, based in Seattle; Krieger, 39, leads the defense for New Jersey’s Gotham FC. Both announced that they would retire after this season. Expect a fierce farewell match — neither team has ever won the N.W.S.L. title, and both players would surely love to end their careers with one last milestone. 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.