Floaty, Folkloric, and Freaky
Looking forward to the impending spring with socks-as-balloons, a welcome alternative to Prayyying, the best T-shirt of all time, and more.
Hi all! Here is the promised fresh new post looking forward to a spring bearing deflated balloon socks, floaty Brazilian sets, a possible scam (?), Prayyying found dead in a ditch, and more. The next post for paid subscribers I’m 90% sure will be a roundup of everything I found alluring at the coolest vintage store I’ve been to in years, so if you’re interested in that, consider signing up for a paid (or subsidized!) sub below. I’m still very much in need of your support and I appreciate all of you more than I can type.
Oh, and my scent of the week is Serge Lutens’ original pre-2008 “Gris Clair…,” which I became fixated upon after reading the genius
’s piece on how it was stolen from her flat (horrifying). Upon hearing of my newfound love, my lovely manager let me sniff it, and when I near welled up at its slightly brutish, mostly beautiful ozonic lavender, he let me have a 3/4 full bottle. Lucky me!If you like these posts, please let me know by liking and commenting here or on Esque’s Instagram, subbing to the Esque Substack (this) for free, getting bonus posts for five bucks a month, or for ZERO DOLLARS, share (tag me if on IG so I can see and thank you)! If you share with three friends (or enemies), you’ll automatically get a free month’s subscription to Esque’s paywalled posts. If you buy anything from an Esque link, there’s a chance I’ll earn a percentage commission at no cost to you—if you end up inspired by anything below, please send over a photo of your new togs by replying to this email and I’ll comp you a month of Esque!
If you cannot afford the $5/month, I totally understand—respond to any of my email sends and I will get you a $2 subscription or comp you, whatever you need. Esque is for everyone!
Thank you SO MUCH for your support, whatever you are able and willing to do to help is extremely valuable to me and I’m honored to be a small part of your life on the web.
These “laminated” silk socks, likened to deflated foil balloons in a recent NYT article, fascinate me—the idea of slipping my feet into something not plush, but crispy, is equal parts terrifying and titillating. I cannot buy a $54 pair of socks but if anyone sends them to me I will make a comprehensive review. I think they’d be cutest with clogs (though they might have to be slingbacks, as these look slippery). Anyone who has tried them is very much invited to comment or DM me about their experience! Other MLR pieces, like a furry, Tribble-esque clutch, are worth peeping, but these socks are certainly the label’s crown jewel.
My lovely friend
wore this scarf when we hung out in NYC the other week, and now I am so taken by the entire Hares Hoard stock. The Manuscript Scarf is both the most colorful offering, and by virtue of its chaotic colors kind of canceling each other out, also one of the most neutral, and I could see this being an easy everyday option all winter long, though the scarves knit with “folk traditions” and “weird medieval” creatures are just as incredible.
I was so taken when The Nong Rak shared these photos of dresses in crinkled silk—the whole carousel is incredible, but I especially love this first fit with the maroon and chartreuse-y yellow. This is also the first example I saw of what I think will be a defining characteristic of this season’s garb: an almost cartoonish floatiness to offset the heaviness of a long, brutal winter. Almost as groundbreaking as flowers for spring, I know, but I think this year the floatiness will be uniquely cheeky and dynamic, from dresses that stay six inches off the torso at all times to, now that I’m thinking about it, those deflated balloon socks from earlier. Put those two concepts together and you get… inflated socks? I can actually see that happening!
One of the brands I covered when writing about my pal Aline’s largely-Brazilian-indie closet, ÃO can be shopped at Pinga Store and is like if Molly Goddard didn’t have PR people working overtime to police reviewers’ use of the word “frothy,” and instead focused on chilling out. The colors in the fit above are so Molly, and the pieces are still pricey—the top goes for around $300 USD—but again, compared to Molly, that’s small potatoes.
Another facet of S/S dressing I adore is reliance on the already-messy piece, i.e. a piece that is ruched and smushed and scrunched to the gods on purpose and thus is virtually unwrinkleable. These also tend to make you look like you’re wearing a bug’s shed skin, bonus! See the ÃO below:
I saw Alyssa Coscarelli in this dress and I think the key for me is it BEGS to be worn with short hair: a pixie, as per Alyssa, or even a buzz. With the longer hair it kind of skews Forever 21 ad, but with a short crop, the volume of this dress turns one’s body into a delightful triangle.
I encountered Habib Wear via writer Lauren Oyler’s Instagram (lol), and to me it is what Prayyying always purported to be but never was with its cryptic juxtapositions of words and aura of philosophical potency that either entreats you to peel back 613 layers of irony or encourages you to accept the biblical onion in its entirety. Not 100% my style (anymore, I would have eaten this up in college), but I am glad someone is making an alternative to Prayyying’s neo-conservative 3dgelord drivelwear.
If I were going to be edgy, you better believe it would be in this cap (also if I had more of a collection to LA).
I just really liked how this was styled: an opaque white T-shirt (sleeves down to the elbows!) with a black one underneath, peeking out only at the collar. Feels very reverse-priest to me. I wonder if the Uniqlo men’s T-shirts are opaque enough to pull this off, though I will warn you that they pick up sweat stains near-immediately (though maybe that’s just me revealing myself as Sweaty). I wish they had longer sleeves, too!
I encountered this Ukranian brand, Etnodim, and yes, some of their embroidered linen tops look a little bit corny as they’re styled Business Casual on the site. However, I see the potential in these if someone takes them full folk, layering on embroidered pieces and trinket-heavy belts—the above top specifically I could see layered under a vintage shearling vest or waistcoat such as this one (currently sub-$60 and from the 70s, allegedly!). Might look even cooler with a super-long top layer. Essentially, I think if you style these pieces with minimalist or “chic” aspirations, they’ll look odd, and the key is to lean into exuberant, cozy layering as we ride out the end of winter:
Now this shirt is a different story—much easier to style, though it’d still look cool layered up with furs and knits. I think this button-up could be worn untucked over a knee-length black pleated skirt, subtly balloon-legged gray trousers, or even straight-legged dark-wash jeans (tucked in and belted with those, IMO). The one thing I don’t like about it is its hidden placket. If a top is buttoned, by god I want to see and appreciate those little circles!
Onto a few home decor desires as I just moved into my new place and as of now my room looks akin to Fenix’ at the beginning of Santa Sangre (more on that below).
Huge disclaimer that I think this site might be a scam, as their Instagram is largely barren, but if it weren’t, I’d deeply covet the above colorway of stripy duvet cover. It’s a LOT harder than I thought it’d be to find a 100% cotton set that doesn’t either look deeply depressing or unsettlingly infantile, so if any of you brave souls want to order from Crushimo and report back to me, you’d be doing me a huge service.
For better or worse, you all know that Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre is my favorite movie, one I’ve watched upwards of 30 times in my life, and I was so excited YEARS ago to learn that Deadly Prey, an American gallery that partners with artists in Ghana to paint uniquely extraordinary bootleg movie posters, had a Santa Sangre piece on offer for only $25. I haven’t lived anywhere consistently enough to pull the trigger since I found the poster, but it might be about that time. There are literally 548 products, either archival or regular HQ prints, to look through on the Deadly Prey site, with tons of Lynch projects, horror movies, and cult classics covered.
The other spot for posters (though not as budget-friendly) is Posteritati, a collection (sorted by director) of vintage artwork and ephemera for all of your favorite projects. My heart is captured by the above Fallen Angels poster featuring the most underrated blonde of all time.
Speaking of Fallen Angels, I have written about this many a time but I will simply never be able to get over Takeshi Kaneshiro in this Tank Girl ringer tee. No one has ever made a decent dupe. I would pay ungodly amounts for one. The tight cap sleeves and wide-ish, clavicle-teasing neck are the keys here, as is a slightly cropped length and slim-cut torso.
Finally, this is a lip balm my coworker recommended to me when I complimented her rosy lips and this specific shade, Rose City, is a quite perfect, IMO universal, subtle red. Not very moisturizing, be warned, but great for quick color applications.
Thank you for being here!
<3 ESK
welcome to Portland! very curious about which vintage store you'll be highlighting in the next post; I have several local and local-adjacent favorites...also +1 to newly-developed Hares Hoard obsession.
i love that sanfona dress.. if i were a caterpillar i would look like that