If you know Nymphet Alumni, you know a lot. Co-hosted by Alexi Alario, Sam Cummins and Biz Sherbert, the initially fashion-focused podcast has, at some point during the half-decade since its inception, skewed toward broader cultural commentary and trend forecasting. The three spend each episode reporting on past trends or predicting future scenes that have yet to acquire proper nomenclature.
Known best for coining “Blokette,” aka that fugly sportswear-centric micro-moment from a few years ago, which heavily featured primary colors, hair bows and Adidas boxing sneakers, the trio is effortlessly ahead. There are plenty of other banger episodes by these three ladies: “Ep. 121: Whimsimod,” “Ep. 127: Opium” and “Ep. 156: #SWAG Dadaism,” to name a few.
On March 18, 2026, Nymphet Alumni released “Ep. 153: Catalan Chicslop w/ Clairolime,” where Caroline Cai guest-starred to help the hosts unpack “Catalan Chicslop,” a funky, minimalist aesthetic helmed by brands like Paloma Wool and Gimaguas.
“Sheer meshy fabrics with crazy nipple exposure. There’s sequins, bonnets and ballet flats. Inverted silhouettes and references to Catalan modernism,” Cai said. “Everything has to be sublimated into an elegant, sartorial form,” she added.
“The color palette is earthy, freaky neutrals. They’re cool-toned,” Alario added. “The green, grey, blues and silvers make wearers look like fish,” she said.
“It reminds me of paella!” said Cummins. They also shout out smaller brands like With Jean and Geel, which they say contribute to the European coastal, casual style.
The pod keeps its bases covered when qualifying each new scene. In the third act of the nearly 90-minute episode, they mention the musical equivalents to the clothing brands they’ve conjoined to form the aesthetic. They named Erika de Casier, Smerz and Oklou as sonically similar. Equally “Eurotastic.”
But the music is where things get interesting.
PALOMA WOOL
Hayley Williams kicked off her Hayley Williams at a Bachelorette Party tour in Atlanta on March 27. Just a week and a half after hearing the episode, I noticed Williams’ impeccable display of “Catalan Chicslop” through her tour outfits. In Atlanta, she wore the matching ‘Gemma’ grey long-sleeve and skirt set by Gimaguas. Her next stop, Toronto, saw her in Paloma Wool boot sandals, a Paloma Wool cami and a gold Gimaguas ‘Justine’ skirt.
The pattern continued through June, when Williams’ tour ended. Her best onstage outfit was Philadelphia night one, where she donned Paloma Wool’s ‘no. 2824/Long Tina’ mesh midi skirt. I ordered one immediately. I don’t even listen to the Hayley Williams album like that; she just looked majorly tea. I wear my ‘Long Tina’ all the time.
So an alt-rock star wore some clothing combos on tour that fashion reporters fashionably reported beforehand. So what?
So I’m curious.
The timeline between the episode’s release and night one of Williams’ tour is way too tight. I believe Williams is cool enough to be a secret Nymphie; I don’t believe she was scrambling to put together such a curated wardrobe a week ahead of her tour. And though a prime example of “Catalan Chicslop,” Williams slightly strayed from Nymphet’s strictly outlined path, employing randombob accessories like an aviator hat with goggles for a few of her looks.
Now, I don’t think Williams’ adoption of the aesthetic disproves the musical matches made on mic by Nymphet. I was in Paloma Wool’s Melrose flagship last week, and Oklou was singing softly over their sound system, proving Nymphet’s thesis. Though Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party is a fabulous album, it is brighter and punchier than these garments. Still, the subtle Spanish styling works incredibly well when Williams wears it to perform these songs.
As an indie fashion nerd and music enjoyer, I have what I consider concert outfit synesthesia. I believe in my heart of hearts that I know exactly what to wear to sway in the crowd of whatever artist I am transsexually swaying to. For alternative harp duo LEYA, I donned $150 worth of Cou Cou matching undies beneath a white mesh, puffed-sleeve gown. Like, the vintage dress was representative of the hoodied harpist chick’s plucking, and the Cou Cou was the gay guy’s operatic vocals. You know?
My sensitivity to what everyone is wearing out to a show extends to the onstage talent. Though my outfit for LEYA matched the music in my head, the music’s makers wore something completely different: a hoodie for her, a baggy tee for him. Still cool, but not on-the-nose evocative of the songs they played. Even for performances I have no tickets for, like Williams’, but that I am vicariously attending through short-form social media clippage, I wonder what I would wear.
That’s why I am thankful for Sherbert’s expert journalistic endeavour, a Substack called American Style, where she reports on what people are wearing to all kinds of events: sorority rush, state fairs, Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival.
So, upon spotting Williams’ use of “Catalan Chicslop” garb, I wondered, “Does Nymphet know this is happening?” I wondered if anyone knew this was happening. I couldn’t possibly be the sole identifier of this coincidence. The timeliness of it all.
Williams scheduled a short break between the Hayley Williams at a Bachelorette Party tour and her fall tour, The Hayley Williams Show. I questioned whether she’d keep up the “Catalan Chicslop” for the new season. One week into the new set of shows, and aesthetically, she’s on a completely different wave. She’s in bright burgundy and yellow now. A Tyler McGillivary graphic halter top, which might be as spiritually far from Paloma Wool’s subdued alt-basics as one could get. Williams looks equally fabulous.
The trend cycle is in a unique spot right now. Microtrends that everyone clings to, then just as quickly moves on from, have been on the way out for years at this point. Instead, these little pockets, outlined by sources like Nymphet, are holding more longevity and relevance culturally. Though Williams may have indulged in this example for but one spring-to-summer stretch of shows, her tour will be historically cemented with the help of her cult fanbase. So too will her embrace of “Catalan Chicslop,” in all its meshy, earth-toned glory.
Photography courtesy of Getty Images
