2018, explained in clothes

To me, the best parts of free market life are not the student loans, or the long, hard hours, or the endless kinds of [different, fancy salt](, but rather those sites of impressive innovation where consumers repurpose our mass-produced culture — recipes for [Doritos-crusted chicken](, Pedialyte as a [hangover cure](, tips on [removing rust with Coca-Cola](, makeup hacks involving [Preparation H](, and the “gangster” reappropriation of [Peppa Pig in China](. Such were the types of innovations that came to mind as I read E.J. Dickson’s [wonderfully reported]( story on breastfeeding supplements, in which loving moms with low milk supply turn to bootleg “galactogogues” like blue Gatorade and a secret off-menu Starbucks item called “Pink Drink.” Feeding another human with your boobs seems far more innovative than any of these things, even though it’s technically the most natural collaboration in the world. I guarantee that those who don’t have kids will still enjoy this matchup between capitalist invention and our oldest, and perhaps hardest, mammalian pastime. —[Jamie Lauren Keiles](, reporter for The Goods 11 pieces of clothing that explain 2018 [jerseydressjacket]( Sarah Lawrence for Vox In January 2018, most of us had never heard the phrase “brooch warfare.” Pete Davidson had not yet spent $93,000 on an engagement ring; in fact, he was not yet dating the woman to whom it would be given. The general public didn’t equate Paul Manafort with jackets made of thousands of dollars’ worth of exotic bird leather. But then the rest of the year happened, and suddenly, we’re supposed to make sense of it all. The news is made up of people doing things that other people deem newsworthy, and those people are, for the most part, wearing clothes. Which means that a large portion of the news we consume is scaffolded by fashion items. But then there are the other times, the times when the clothing transcends actual events and becomes a story of its own. Whether it was a protest in the form of color-blocking, a somehow malevolent eyewear trend, or a soccer jersey that became a symbol for so much more, these are the 11 items of clothing that explained what the hell even went down this year. [Read the rest of the story >>]( Every Furby gets a home [furbies]( Sarah Lawrence for Vox A Furby with a monocle is having [a picnic]( with a Furby who has a cocktail umbrella punched through her straw hat — she has no hands to hold up her own parasol. Elsewhere in this corner of the internet, a Furby with homemade arms [decorates]( a Christmas tree. A different Furby [reclines]( on its crudely affixed Barbie legs. A Furby with a pearl nameplate necklace [eats]( beef-fried noodles, while a fluffy pink Furby [makes]( gingerbread men in a yellow tutu. “Wishbone seizes the means of production,” reads the caption under [a photo]( of a gray-spotted Furby driving a full-size John Deere tractor. This is how Furbys — the half-bird, half-blob baby robots that were everywhere in the late ’90s — live on Tumblr, where collectors have congregated for years to give new life to their outdated toys. The Furbys have highly specific backstories and personalities and customized appearances obtained through what can only be described as [violent]( plastic surgery. They are all different, and they are all loved. They make up one of the fiercest, sweetest fandoms on Tumblr, and changes to the platform could be putting their community in danger. [Read the rest of the story >>]( More good stuff to read today - [Why amorphous blobs have taken over home decor]( - [“Now, I’m free to do whatever”: Michelle Obama explains her $3,900 Balenciaga boots]( - [Why airlines make you check your carry-on bags]( - [Is America ready for high-fat yogurt?]( - [Why the internet loves dunking on guys’ terrible apartments]( - [Instagram is helping save the indie bookstore]( Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.