THINGS THAT ANNOY ME (Part 2)

My list of pet peeves continues.

Taken on Wednesday, moments after someone took off their backpack on a downtown 6 train, swinging around and knocking my coffee out of my hand. People who obliviously wear giant backpacks on packed subway cars—pet peeve.

Howdy, fashion fans! Welcome back to AND ANOTHER THING.

As everyone gears up for a fun and fabulous holiday weekend—the weather forecast in New York looks like the set of The Perfect Storm, so that’s awesome—I thought I’d revisit my ongoing list of pet peeves.

Last June, I published Part 1 of a list of things that annoy me. My Substack was only a few weeks old, and it became one of my first posts to really pop off. (Those are comments from that post at the top of this newsletter.) I guess misery really does love company?

Well, good news: I have more pet peeves. Lots more.

And what better time than now—when everything else in the world seems to be going so well—to revisit the recent additions?

But! Before I go through my list, I want to ask: What’s your biggest pet peeve? Tell me the first thing that comes to mind:

Now, for Part 2. Ready? Set. Read.

1. “Looksmaxxing” as a trend, topic of conversation, or even as a word.

2. People who add “maxxing” to the end of words. “Sleepmaxxing,” “Vitaminmaxxing,” “Brainrotmaxxing.” We used to call this “having hobbies” and “drinking water.” GQ, you’ve gone too far! I read your stories on “Spermaxxing” and “Chinamaxxing.”

3. Glitter, and people who put glitter in invitations. That shit gets everywhere.

4. TVs above fireplaces.

5. TVs above fireplaces that display “digital art.”

6. Beautiful flowers that have been dyed colors that are not found in nature.

7. Babies wearing all black. Not to get all Anna Wintour on the issue, but it’s not natural, guys! Babies deserve florals, bright colors, and pastels. (I got a dress from Baby Dior for Grace’s birthday party, and it now hangs in my office like a work of art.)

   

   Here’s my babies in pastel.

8. People calling babies “little nuggets.” Thank you for this one, Hayley Bloomingdale.

9. When someone pretends they don’t care where they’re seated at dinner. Yes, you do! (Related: when I say, “I don’t care where I’m seated,” I’m lying.)

10. All corporate email jargon that has slowly crept into our real lives, including phrases like “Let’s circle back on this,” or “I’m going to table this for now.” We’re making dinner plans, not a marketing pitch.

    

11. People who wear workout clothes all day without working out.

12. People who wear workout clothes all day after having worked out in the morning. (Whoops, that’s me.)

13. People who insist “we have to do this more often,” but then never follow up. I guess we don’t? And that’s why we haven’t?

14. Requests for online reviews—there are too many of them! When I get home from a trip, I’ll be asked to take surveys from Uber, American Airlines, the hotel I stayed at, the restaurant I ate at the night before. It’s like another full-time job. Besides, isn’t this what Substack is for?

15. Ring lights visible in mirrors during live streams.

16. Hotel rooms with no full-length mirrors. This is diabolical.

17. AirPods. Some of my friends think these are the greatest inventions during Tim Cook’s reign at Apple, and I admit they’re fantastic for people with the organizational skills to keep track of them and appropriately shaped ear canals who can use them. But that’s not me. (I guess I have petite ear canals?) Wired headsets till the day I die! I even wore wired headphones when I was shot for a J.Crew campaign last year. (They promised they’d send me the suede riding jacket and baggy corduroys in those pics—but I’m still waiting!)

18. Grown adults making TikToks in public. Especially in places where people are just trying to survive, like airports.

19. Restaurants that don’t let you sit until your whole party has arrived.

20. Restaurants that have “hand-cut potatoes” on their menus. They’re French fries—you’re not fooling anyone.

21. QR codes on menus. If I wanted to stare at my phone while ordering dinner, I would’ve stayed home and ordered UberEats. Just print the menu off, OK?

22. Restaurants with impossible-to-read fonts on menus.

23. The font Papyrus. I’m with you on this, Cheree Berry.

24. Beige kitchens. I blame faux-minimalists for convincing TikTokers their homes should look like luxury psychiatric facilities. As a reminder, Kim Kardashian’s kitchen was done by Axel Vervoordt, not Home Depot.

25. Filming fireworks instead of watching them. (Yes, Mom. I’m talking to you.)

My favorite pic of Mariacarla Boscono at her wedding.

24. Hotels that want to text you a room key. I don’t want my stay to feel like two-factor authentication. If I had my way, hotels would still have keys—like, actual keys, metal ones with lanyards. (I love dropping them off with the concierge as I leave the hotel; it makes me feel like an Old Hollywood movie star.) Most hotels now use keycards, which I’ll tolerate. It’s nice that they fit into my wallet, and they’re easy to replace. But I’ve been to a few hotels—I don’t know why, but it feels vaguely Scandinavian—who now text passcodes for room access and stuff. What the? (For the record, I do love a WhatsApp hotel concierge, however.)

25. Let’s retire the phrases “stealth wealth” and “quiet luxury,” OK?

26. I love tourists! No, really. They’re the pulse of New York City. We want their money and their energy. That said, they must not stop at the top of the subway stairs. They will get shoved. They will get screamed at.

27. Erewhon. Yes, I said it! Erewhon annoys me. It’s like an expensive cult (is that redundant?), and I know it’s coming to New York, where I’m sure I’ll be annoyed by how much I like it.

28. Tiny sunglasses. At best, you look like a slightly confused algebra teacher. At worst, you look like Benjamin Franklin.

    

    Did you know that tomorrow marks the 241st anniversary of the letter in which Benjamin Franklin described his invention of bifocals (“double spectacles”) to his friend George Whatley. The letter was dated May 23, 1785.

29. People who call me “just to chat.” If my phone rings, you’d better be in jail or dying. Just text me.

30. Voice notes. Some of you people are out here sending podcast-length messages. Just text me!

31. Using the word “journey” when talking about anything apart from the 1970s rock band, Journey.

32. People who get up the moment a plane lands—congratulations on being first to stand motionless in the aisle! I understand people who shove their way to the front of the line to board a plane—I need that overhead space, too. But what’s the point of being the first person to stand when the plane lands? We all gotta wait for the jet bridge to connect the plane to the gate, and we have to file out. Calm down.

33. People who say “rizz” for “charisma.” Don’t do that.

34. #blessed is so annoying. But I love it when Marc Jacobs says, “grateful, not hateful.” (Speaking of Marc, I just rediscovered his men’s fragrance, which launched when I was in college, and I asked for it for Christmas every year until I graduated. I’m obsessed again.)

35. E-scooters are now officially on this list, although only when they’re being driven on sidewalks or left in an inconvenient place. Once, in Paris, I watched three kids leave their scooters right in the middle of the Place de Concorde and walk off. How do you say, “What a bunch of wankers” in French?

36. People who complain about AI ruining the world.

37. People who don’t admit that AI is ruining the world.

38. I guess the discourse around AI, in general, is a pet peeve? (Except mine.)

39. Mandatory valet parking. This annoys me because I’m both cheap and impatient. I hate waiting in a long line to get my rental car, especially when it’s a small lot or—the ultimate annoyance—when I can see my car nearby in the street.

40. Button flies. Sorry, Jane Herman, they’re the worst! Not a value-add invention. My fingers are too clumsy, I always forget the bottom ones—give me my zippers back! (If anyone is looking for a late birthday present for me, may I suggest these jeans from The Row?)

    

41. I think it’s inappropriate for group fitness instructors to force people in their classes to high-five, smile, or otherwise interact with the people working out next to them. This should be a personal choice.

42. Cold plunge discourse.

43. I lamented bad grammar in my first list, and what Hunter Harris said recently stuck with me: “Just tuck that period on the inside of the parenthetical.”

44. People who turn fashion parties into photo shoots. Presumably, this happens most often when some of these people are contractually obliged to post pictures of themselves there. But can’t you do that in the bathroom like a normal person? Chloe Sevigny and I went to a Miu Miu party last fall, and half the room was people taking pics of themselves, or of each other. It felt so dystopian—no one was drinking, partying, or getting wild. I can remember when the whole point of parties was for people to lose control a little.

45. TSA. But I love it when the TSA officers are friendly!

Thank you for reading all the way to the bottom!

Please like this post and leave a comment—what are your biggest pet peeves? Tell me!

Subscribe, if you don’t already, and tell all your friends about your favorite substacker. That’s me, obviously.

More soon. Stay safe and chic,

Derek C. Blasberg

PS. AND ANOTHER ANOTHER THING. If you need more:

And some more comments: