Show notes
In July 2003, Vanity Fair, whether intentionally or not, put together the most monumental photoshoot in history. A photoshoot like nothing that had ever been done before and, dare we say, could never be done again. A photoshoot so deeply iconic, every pop culture loving person still knows 20 years later: "It's Totally Raining Teens."
On that fateful day in 2003, Amanda Bynes, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, Alexis Bledel, Evan Rachel Wood, Raven, Lindsay Lohan, and our gals Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, wearing metallics and soft pinks, posed for in the same room together for this iconic cover. The inside of the magazine was bursting with even more teens (and shockingly some twenty-somethings) including Brittany Snow, Solange Knowles, Christina Milian, Shia LaBeouf, Bow Wow, Aaron Carter, the Harry Potter kids, Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padelecki, Kaley Cuoco, and even more teens I'm too tired to name! It was literally raining teens! Every teen was also asked what kind of cell phone they used, if they preferred Britney or Christina, and how many Juicy Couture outfits they owned. It was the most 2003 thing that has ever 2003'd, and we are obsessed with it.
Why did this happen? We may never know. But what we do know is that this little time capsule is one of the most important documents in modern history. So we read through every profile, contemplate every photograph, and much like we did in 2003, try to decipher secrets of culture and girlhood that we know this magazine holds.
If you, like us, have tragically misplaced your original hard copy of this iconic issue, you can read it along with us this link from Simply Olsen (our Olsen media lord and savior).
You can watch the video version of this ep by subscribing to our Patreon here.
Some other links we talk about:
Lindsay Lohan reflects on the cover
Hilary Duff reflects on ‘anxiety-inducing’ Vanity Fair cover
Evan Rachel Wood, The Real Story Behind That Iconic 'Raining Teens' Vanity Fair Cover
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Do you know if Juicy Couture sponsored the "It's Totally Raining Teens" issue? Do you know the correct way to pronounce "Ryan Phillippe?" Email us: theythoughtiwasyou@gmail.com
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