200 magical girls descend upon Williamsburg

scenes from mixed feelings x polyester's magical girl mixer

and

Dec 09, 2024

photos by Bea Oyster. design by Logan Tsugita.

There has to be a German word to describe the comedown, afterglow, dénouement following a particularly amazing thing has happened to you. In the kink and BDSM scene, it’s sometimes referred to as “the drop,” or the dip in endorphins after play. Reddit also offered up “refractory period,” which I find equally sexual and strangely fitting: “‘Refractory’ is devoid of connotations. It is simply the time in-between,” one user wrote.

All this to say, I have few words to describe the events of Wednesday, December 4th, when 200 of you flooded a rooftop bar in Williamsburg dressed in your best interpretations of yourselves as magical girls. I’m still feeling the happy aftershocks, five days later.

This event was just a kernel of an idea three months ago. I was walking home from a party when I spotted Ione Gamble, editor-in-chief of Polyester, grabbing drinks with Dream Baby Press’

Matt Starr

in Bed-Stuy. Ione and I had never met, but we both admitted to following each other’s work online. I (a little tipsy) felt emboldened to suggest something wild: “Would you want to collab on a magical girl party this year?”

In so many ways, a magical girl-themed party was the perfect way to celebrate both mixed feelings’ 1-year anniversary and the release of Polyester’s final zine of 2024 featuring the patron saint of girlhood herself, Sofia Coppola.

“Magical girl” is a delightfully nuanced sub-genre of Japanese fantasy that explores complicated themes that both mixed feelings and Polyester cover in spades. Take Kiki’s Delivery Service and its lessons about burnout, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its exploration of the race from girlhood to womanhood, or even Sailor Moon and its insistence that femininity is power, strength, and resilience, not weakness.

“I think every girl and gay can be their own savior, their own magical girl,” said Sasha Braverman, who channeled Revolutionary Girl Utena in her “princely” look for the contest portion of the night. “I firmly believe in romanticizing one’s life. In fact, it’s the only thing one can do: love magically.”

Another guest, Non Kuramoto, pulled inspiration from Cardcaptor Sakura. “I’m a clown in a punk band, so my closet already had a lot of magical girl potential,” they said. “The wings were gonna happen no matter what.”

“Every time I go to a mixed feelings event I know that fashion is going to be a big part of the night,” said CT Jones, whose inspiration was “fairy with a day job.” “I knew I couldn’t half-ass my look but I also wanted something that felt truly like me.”

To think that, during a dark moment pre-party, we worried that no one would dress up. But you all delivered, as you always do, decked in feathered wings, rhinestone bodices, DIY halos, and even a 3-foot toy sword.

Below, we’ve gathered the best-dressed of the night, photographed by Bea Oyster.

But before I go, a thank you. To our sponsors ElNico at The Penny, Bessou, LUNAR, Casamara Club, and Body Vodka. And to you. We have managed to foster an audience of such intelligent, culturally-aware, and whimsical people, all of whom are responsible for this “refractory”, comedown, afterglow, what-have-you feeling I’m still experiencing all these days later.

ALL our love,

Mi-Anne & the mixed feelings and Polyester teams

Ps. Here’s a Dropbox with all the images from the night! Feel free to post, just make sure that if you do, you credit @snapsbybea.