I launched Back Row around four years ago. Like many newsletter writers, I started, then stopped. But then I started again — and haven’t stopped in nearly four years.
I restarted after I finished Anna: The Biography in 2021. I tried to publish the newsletter regularly in the final stages of finishing Anna, but the amount of work that goes into completing a book of that nature (so many source citations!) is immense. Plus, my son was two, and I had just had my daughter. After I finished the book and was waiting for it to come out, I committed to a twice weekly newsletter cadence, even when I was writing for a couple hundred of you, earning no money from these emails, and had no idea if these stories would find a meaningful enough audience for it to become a job.
A lot has changed for me, personally, since I started Back Row (my kids are now 7 and 4, for one), but also for media in general. I have been thinking about this since releasing Gwyneth: The Biography about a month ago. I had probably eight months to prepare for the publication of Anna. With Gwyneth, I had about two. This is possible because books don’t need coverage in print magazines, which have historically required a three-month lead time. I really saw firsthand this past month, as I worked with my publisher on our launch strategy, how the old book publicity tricks don’t necessarily boost sales the way they used to — a morning show on one of the big three television networks (NBC, CBS, ABC) and key NPR placement no longer all but guarantee a spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
In a way, this is good for authors, who now have many more avenues to promote their books, including podcasts, newsletters, and influencer social media feeds, along with more traditional media websites. Because of this and the shrinking segment of the reading public, it is more challenging to promote a book than ever — authors now have to find the audience for their books through seemingly endless channels. This requires more legwork and devoting more time to interviews or helping to furnish content for those channels in some other way.
I had a sense from writing this newsletter how much media has changed in four years. But publishing and promoting Gwyneth only reinforced to me how much of the media now consists of — and may even depend on — people like me. Some call us “journalist creators.” Though I TikTok here and there, I prefer the term independent journalist. I’m able to conduct the investigative research and reporting required to write biographies because I am independently employed by my publisher, but also, by all of you. Seeing how many independent journalists are out there successfully running their own businesses reminded me just how important paying subscribers are. The continuation of journalism depends on you! And it’s independent journalism, more so than former titans like monthly magazines, that can have on enormous impact on culture — the kind of impact that can make books like Gwyneth bestsellers.
I started this newsletter because I believed there was an audience for unfiltered, fearless commentary and reporting about the fashion industry, which has historically been covered by fawning outlets financially dependent on fashion conglomerate ad dollars. I have heard many times in my publishing career “people don’t want to read” and “people don’t want to read about fashion,” but I had a hunch those people were wrong, and the real problem was that few legacy media businesses were even trying cater to an audience like this one. This newsletter has grown healthily, now reaching about 65,000 subscribers. I’ve expanded the coverage scope to include culture more broadly, recognizing that fashion and culture tend to be one in the same these days. And I’m more excited than ever to grow and expand this newsletter from here, having just published my second biography.
In honor of Back Row’s fourth(-ish) anniversary (and inspired by Anne Helen Peterson’s similar list in honor of her fifth anniversary), I took a look back at the archive and put together a list of 12 of Back Row’s biggest hits.
The story that drove the most free subscriptions (which now feels terribly apt given how exhausting 2025 has been): Brands Prepare for the ‘Great Exhaustion’ of 2026.
A close second for biggest driver of free subs — one of the first emails I ever sent: Kate Hudson’s Absurd Empire
The story that drove the most paid subscriptions: Can the Olsens Make The Row the Next Hermès?
A close second for driver of the most paid subscriptions: Confessions: Anna Wintour's Ex-Assistants
The second-most shared story (after the ‘Great Exhaustion’ piece): Trump Won. So Shop Now.
The most read story: The Great Frontier of Compromise Pants
A close second for most read story (I love how much this community loves comfy pants content!): Do Sweatpants Jeans Live Up to the Hype?
The most read paid story: Retail Confessions: Selling Couture to Very Important Clients
The most read interview: Can Gen Z Founders Fix the Online Shopping Hellscape?
The most commented story: Meghan Markle's Show Isn't 'Good', But She Won Anyway.
The most purchased item recommended by Back Row: it’s a tie, for this pair of rag & bone’s sweatpants jeans and… that pair of rag & bone’s sweatpants jeans.
The most purchased shoe recommended by Back Row: these flat Margaux ankle wrap sandals, which I can walk in all day and genuinely love so much I am plugging them again.
Finally, here are 9 of my personal favorite stories:
I loved exploring the psyches of people who cherish and buy fashion’s most expensive handbags: Birkin Buyer Confessions, Part I; and Birkin Buyer Confessions, Part II
The exercise of making annual predictions is one of the most fun for me each year: 10 Fashion Predictions for 2025
Thank you for indulging my obsession with moisturizers and — yet again — our collective exhaustion: Apparently We're Too Exhausted to Even Apply Lotion Now
This was not by me but a cross-post from , who writes the Shop Rat newsletter, and agreed to shop with me recently at the Goop store on Bond Street in honor of Gwyneth: Reserved for G-Spot: A Trip to the Goop Store with Amy Odell
It seems like we have collective Kardashian fatigue, because this was not only one of my favorite stories but also one of the most popular: Why the Vibe Shift Might Finally Leave the Kardashians Behind
A Q&A with fellow Substacker, the excellent Valerie Monroe: Why Plastic Surgery Social Media Is ‘Spiritually Rotten’
A little more than a year ago, I went to London for a Gucci resort show: Can the Influencers Save Gucci?
The very first installment of “Retail Confessions,” where luxury retail workers talk about their jobs and clientele, will always have a special place in my heart: Retail Confessions: Saks Fifth Avenue
Finally, this free post: Why Luxury Fashion Is Turning Off Rich People
If you have other favorites I didn’t mention, please drop them in the comments!
Thank you all SO MUCH again for reading over these last four years. If you want to support this work and read every story linked above and Back Row’s entire four-year archive, upgrade your subscription.
Because I can’t say it enough: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting this work!
