A few weeks ago, I asked superstar Times journalist Megan Agnew to share some of her insights about the supposed ‘Hamptons-ification of the Cotswolds’. (I was doing some digging for a potential story, and she gave me so much great material that I ended up compiling a mini Hamptons primer for Londoners, while the Cotswolds piece is a work in progress.) As you may have spotted, one of the through-lines of Late Filing is the dialogue between New York and London – and in summer, those city boundaries spill out to Long Island and the Oxfordshire hills respectively. I knew Megan would be a perfect commentator because she moved out to New York from London a couple of years ago, and because she is so exceptionally skilled at social observation and cultural critique. She was explaining to me how in the Hamptons, the difficulty of obtaining a permit means that hosting a dinner party on the beach is about so much more than the party itself, and she gave me this great quote:
‘Access is one of the biggest status symbols, particularly in a city [like New York] where there’s so much money. Having money doesn’t delineate you that much from your peers, so you’ve got to have something else.’
It’s funny because while I know the competitiveness, social ambition and status games are on another level out there, to me there’s just so much of that in London now, too – especially in fashion circles. On the flip side, when salaries are so meagre, it can feel like the only real flexes left are the ones that signal who you know and how important and cool you supposedly are – party invites, press trips, PR gifts, bylines. As for those in the industry who have money – sometimes procured via lucrative consulting gigs, brand partnerships and book deals, but usually via family – then how tastefully it’s spent is highly important. As I see it, there are two ginormous seals of approval that most women in this world are vying for, even if they’d never admit to the vying bit: (1) a Vogue wedding and (2) an interiors feature in the right magazine.
My friends who work in real jobs are sometimes baffled when I relay this to them – how the parties you’re at and what you wore to them is sometimes more pivotal to career success than the actual copy you file – but to be clear, there’s still plenty of signalling in their industries too. Earlier this summer, I was at a wedding of a corporate lawyer couple, one of whom had just made partner, and the fact that a bunch of senior partners from the firm showed up for the evening reception was a major co-sign. Likewise, the finance-world TV show Industry offers some of the sharpest commentary on status I’ve ever seen. I remember chatting to the costume designer Laura about how she chose a certain Cartier watch for Harper because it’s the same model Yasmin wears, and how as an outsider, Harper is very good at observing and adopting those subtle codes of belonging. And while to non-finance people, a rich banker is a rich banker is a rich banker, there’s a jab in one episode about the supposed prestige of a Pierpoint (modelled on JP Morgan) compared to a Deutsche Bank.
As I like to yap on about in most issues of Late Filing, I’m pretty immersed in the world of wellness, which itself has given rise to new ways of signalling status. When anyone with money can dress themselves in designer clothes – and anyone without can get the knockoff – then the body itself becomes its own signifier. A totem of discipline and time for self-investment. The luxury goods downturn of late is in part due to the reduced spending power of the aspirational customer but also the mega-rich redirecting their cash to fancy gym memberships, retreats and skin treatments. Personally, when I’m walking around the nice bits of London, I’m a little envious of the woman carrying the old Céline bag and a lot envious of the one with the super-toned legs.
Obviously all this stuff is completely ridiculous and so far removed from most people’s day-to-day reality, but as an editor, strategist, nosy person and liker of nice things, I have always found it fascinating. It prompted me, with the help of my friend Kitty (who I realise I mention every issue), to put together no less than 100 subtle flexes and status symbols that feel very right now, from private party merch to perfect posture and ShopMy Icon status to a 90+ sleep score. From the admirable to the insufferable. The full list is available for paid subscribers. (To upgrade, it’s just £5, which gets you full access to The Digest every week and two exclusive features every month like this and this and this.) And I would love to hear some of yours. Maybe I’ll include them in next week’s roundup.
Listing your flat on The Modern House, Aucoot or Hemingway + K. And then sharing it on Instagram ‘for anyone interested’.
A hot husband. Surprisingly rare.
Influential followers and subscribers. It’s not just how many – it’s who.
Money-can’t-buy wedding vendors. A celebrity hairstylist who squeezes your big day in between red carpets, free of charge.
Muscle. The sort that only years of serious gym discipline and eating enough protein can get you.
Advance proofs. You read Switzy and Life of M by the pool on holiday. In May.
Being a young patron. Ideally on the committee. You just love the arts.
The Chanel Beauty lacquered vanity case. The PR list everyone wanted to be on.
ShopMy Icon status. You certainly wouldn’t call yourself an influencer… but the numbers don’t lie.
Substack Bestseller status. You’re not buying or bribing your way into this tick.
Posting that you’ve passed the Pangram test. And admonishing anyone who doesn’t. (FWIW: Late Filing is 100% human-written.)
An Industry cameo or mention. And the SternTao cap as a souvenir.
An invite to Tom Macklin’s Club Ciné screenings. With a front-row view of Gillian Anderson.
An EU passport. Your British friends hate you.
A US O1 visa. Your British and European friends hate you.
