Although the self-publishing platform has existed for more than a decade, Substack peaked the editorial zeitgeist in 2024 – acclaimed for its independent identity, and of course, influential writers. From OG blogger types like Joanna Goddard who turned to Substack as an extension of her mainstay blog, to new-age editors exploring a freedom of expression on the platform, alla Amy O’Dell’s ‘Back Row’ there is a newsletter and a niche for everyone. Here, we dive into the top tastemakers across fashion, beauty and culture who are telling stories in their own right, inspiring the platform’s millions of subscribers to not only pay their attention, but drive wallet-share..
Feels like: Wine night gossip with your BFF
Author IG: 303k+
The daily lifestyle site, Cup of Jo, has been a fan favorite for women interested in fashion and vulnerable hot topics since 2007. With the addition of her weekly substack, Big Salad, Goddard has redefined her influence to a whole new audience, and possibly, generation of readers.
The Review of Beauty by Jessica DeFino
Feels like: A beauty editor’s secret diary
Author IG: 60k+
Formerly known as The Unpublishable, Defino is an industry expert-turned-independent writer who takes to Substack to share her, well, unpublisheable opinions on the second most capitalistic industry in the world (the first would be wellness). We especially enjoyed her hot take on influencer Gift Guides being a “vehicle for voyeurism or self gifting” for the holidays.
Feels like: News you’re not supposed to know, and can’t wait to share at a dinner party.
Author IG: 19.5k_
If you read anything at all, let it be Feed Me. Emily Sundberg digests – and reacts – to everything worth knowing about in our daily modern day media feed. This includes the hottest brand collaborations, culture, crime, exclusive membership tea and industry insider trading from select guests in her very NYC orbit – all typically before noon, and every single day.
The French Woman by Garance Dore
Feels like: Effortlessly cool advice from your cousin overseas.
Author IG: 676k+
This newsletter is the type of clean, minimalistic chic that you would expect from a self-authored French Woman, but what adds to Dore’s intoxicating effect is the story behind the letter: a fashion blogger and illustrator of the early aughts who traded it all in for family, a blog, and founding a multi-million dollar skincare line.
Feels like: Fashion Avenue insider trading.
Author IG: 86k+
Known for her iconic best-selling biography ANNA, unpacking the leadership of Anna Wintour and the diabolical glamour of Vogue, O’Dell created her Substack as a space for “outsiders to feel like insiders” and between her juicy Retail Confessions series interviewing the first-person accounts of luxury salespeople, to fashion show recaps – it’s a stack that any fashion connoisseur must follow.
Feels like: Tumblr for millennial magazine enthusiasts.
Author IG: 11k+
Author and designer of the Mini-Mags that you may come across in your Substack notes feed – Whitten has become the Substack version of a “comfort-creator” through her nostalgia of magazine era fashion and beauty takes, buys and icons.
Feels like: Your favorite author’s take on what we wear, and how we feel.
Author IG: 59k+
What’s fun about former-stylist now freelance-writer Laurel Pantin’s page, is the sheer whimsy of it. It’s fashion in the most literal sense: outfit ideas and easy-to-read shopping links, but it’s also the humanness that comes with every industry – particularly Pantin’s vulnerable piece on surviving the fashion industry sober, alongside her Saturday Snack and Fancy Mom picks that are an homage to her content on the ‘gram.
Feels like: A space to unpack all the things we’re thinking, from serious to silly.
Author IG: 44k+
The delicious read that is Hung Up, an ode to everything Hunter Harris is personally obsessed with or rather “hung up” on, is a crowd pleaser amongst entertainment and thought-leadership junkies alike. Diving headfirst into celebrity tea, why we care who is barefoot in the airport, and the longevity of trends from #core to #core keep their place in our mental folders.
Feels like: A warm hug for moms and internet junkies in a cold internet.
Author IG: 89k+
Writer and Editor Haley Nahman shares Maybe Baby, a top culture newsletter on Substack with over 30,000 subscribers interested in her thoughts on everything from relationships, to style quirks and media consumption as an evolving woman, wife, new mom and writer. Formerly a founding editor at Leandra Medine’s Man Repeller (who is also a high-profile Substacker herself) Nahman’s newsletter feels like the blogs we used to read and love, with a personal 2024 twist.
Feels like: The cool-girl chronicles for residents of NYC and their aspiring counterparts.
Author IG: 219k+
An interesting transition to Substack, Serena Kerrigan has taken her cheeky, no-filter content style and recommendations off of her home base of Instagram and TikTok to long-form, reflecting her true love for writing (the influencer and host is currently working on her debut novel) as well as her cult-like community (the newsletter launched less than 6 months ago, and has amassed 16,000+ subscribers). If you’re looking for Kerrigan’s favorite places to eat, sleep and shop – with a healthy dose of girlhood advice for dating and creating your dream life – do it for The Plot.