‘Expertly crafted’ AMELIA DIMOLDENBERG

‘A beautiful siren song to anyone who has ever felt ashamed of their own taste’ SCARLETT CURTIS

'An ode to both fearless critique and visceral fandom’ BILLIE JD PORTER

‘Expertly crafted’ AMELIA DIMOLDENBERG

‘A beautiful siren song to anyone who has ever felt ashamed of their own taste’ SCARLETT CURTIS

'An ode to both fearless critique and visceral fandom’ BILLIE JD PORTER

A deep dive into the joy and power of personal pleasures, quirks, obsessions and bad taste, from zine royalty, Ione Gamble.

Most of us consider taste to be a primal instinct. We like the things we like and everything we choose to consume, covet or loathe in our day-to-day lives is dictated by this unknowable force … But at some point, we learn to not fully trust our own taste. We accept that there are people who have better taste than us, so we stop following the flutter of our hearts and attempt to finetune our brain to fall in line with what others consider to be 'good'.

The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste is an antidote to this ever-creeping homogeneity and bland tastefulness. Edited and introduced by Polyester editor-in-chief, Ione Gamble, this book gathers influential writers from the pages of Polyester to take on the monumental task of defining taste for a generation battling algorithmic content suggestions and ever shortening trend cycles. It is a bible on how to navigate our own likes, dislikes, apathies and adorations.

In a world constantly vying for our attention, having faith in your own (bad) taste is more than a small subversion – it's a rallying cry to live our lives unapologetically.

CONTRIBUTERS: Ione Gamble, Rene Matić, Lauren O’Neill, Catherine Cohen, Seth Bogart, Zarina Muhammad, Tavi Gevinson, Gina Tonic, Misha MN, Katy Cutbirth, Yomi Adegoke, Angela Hui, Sabrina Brier, Kieran Yates, Annie Lord, Nicola Dinan and Ramisha Sattar.

Details

ISBN13: 9780008750473
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 272
Edition:
Publication Date: 29 Sep 2026
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 22.2(H)x14.1(L)x2.6(W)360
Weight (gm): 360

Author Biography

Ione Gamble is the founding editor-in-chief of Polyester and host of the Polyester podcast. She has come to be known as a powerful force in both driving and analysing contemporary feminism, arts, culture and identity. Her debut non-fiction essay collection, Poor Little Sick Girls, was published by Dialogue books in May 2022 to widespread critical acclaim.

Reviews

‘Expertly crafted; it’s a comfort to find people who take the silly things you love seriously’ AMELIA DIMOLDENBERG
‘An important, beautiful siren song to anyone who has ever felt ashamed of their own taste’ SCARLETT CURTIS
‘The essential text on cultural taste’ HANNAH EWENS
‘I flew through this book in one sitting. It’s like a conversation with all your funniest, smartest mates in book form’ DAISY JONES
‘What a ride! Thought-provoking, nostalgic and piercingly relatable. An ode to both fearless critique and visceral fandom’ BILLIE JD PORTER
‘Warm, nostalgic and gloriously alive’ ELLEN ATLANTA
‘This book will empower you to find an unabashedly celebrate what makes you tick’ ASHLEY HAMILTON
‘A celebration of all the joys our culture so often tries to flatten’ DOMINIQUE SISLEY