I Am Not a Sellout [Yet]
What I'd buy brand-new for fall if I could, plus an invaluable starting point toward collecting under-the-radar contemporary art.
Hi all, it has come to my attention that some of you would like a bit more of me recommending new stuff that’s buyable right now online (as opposed to my typical proclivity, posting one of one vintage pieces or simply inspiration pics unattached to any viable merchandise). I am happy to oblige and not just because I really want to be able to get sent free stuff or broker brand deals because I have no money, so the first thing you’ll see below is a list of items that I don’t think are heinous to purchase new (as opposed to, say, a leather jacket, faux fur hat, or band of yore’s merch T-shirt), raring to go for the swiftly-incoming fall season.
After that, to ensure you all I’m not a TOTAL sellout [yet], I’ve been getting really into collecting ultra-contemporary art on the cheap (like, I scored an incredible original work for $22 cheap), so below you’ll find several names to know who are selling their art right this second, many for less than you’d pay for a babaà sweater or something. You’ll find Kewpie Shrek and Divine, abject Mickey Mouse, amoebic raves, and more, all primed for you to start an incredible collection that might become your most unique investment over the years (at the very least, they’ll make your room look insanely cool). Thanks for reading!
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 set you up with a $1.50 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.
I’ve written about these jeans before—DO NOT SIZE UP TWO SIZES as it says to do if you have a more feminine build, I tried that and was swimming in them, but they were incredibly good quality and I could see that if I’d ordered my usual size they’d have fit gorgeously. Post-KATSEYE Gap ad, I’m feeling realllll Gappy when it comes to the jeans I crave. Use ADDON for an extra 10% off (hopefully that will still work when you see this).
I need a real goddamn raincoat this PNW winter. I’m sick of wearing puffer coats that promise “water resistance” only to clog with liquid and add 30 lbs to my shoulders the second I step into the sheets of downpour. I adore the shapeliness and length of this Damson Madder number, I just wish it came in brighter colors (practically, it’s important to be visible when it’s raining hard out here, emotionally, I get so tired of navy by March) and didn’t have a silly initial embroidery on the chest, though maybe I could learn to overlook that, or pretend it means I’m a D&D Dungeon Master.
Another pretty sick raincoat in a more masculine cut at 75 godforsaken percent off? whoever initially priced this at $800 should be eaten in case of emergency.
I always forget that 100% silk is really fairly insulating, so this dress wouldn’t be miserable to wear, layered under a coat and with some light tights, perhaps, to the odd fancy event I attend this winter. I think eventually we’ll see a swell in Grecian-inspired silhouettes and brands like Di Petsa will come to the forefront, so consider this a Trend Prediction (or an admission that I never read a single H*rry P*tter book because I was too busy being a Rick Riordan adherent).
This is basically the ideal winter coat for me: textured, so I don’t have to worry about snags or stains, Raglan sleeves (this is huge, because it means you don’t have to be so damn precise with shoulder measurements, a godsend for people with a build more narrow or wide than the industry can comprehend), and a nice, snub little collar. Unfortunately, it’s like a million dollars.
This site is random and may be sketchy, but THIS is more like a price I’d pay for a similar coat—anyone have any intel on Musinsa, or ABOn for that matter? I’ll probably try to Depop something anyway, but I just want to impress upon your mind how important Raglan sleeves are to me in the winter.
My pal
recommended these to me after I complained to her about the Chloe Sevigny Ecco style being sold out (and, besides, looking too burdensome to lace up every time I’d wear them), and she suggested these Vivaia MJs, which I was skeptical of at first given their porous texture, but the more I look at them, the more I like them (and they’re, according to most wearers, deliriously comfortable). I’d love to try them some time soon.
I recently posted on Instagram that these (and Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s Belmont boots) were my two ideal fall/winter shoe, but I think I like these better (and they’re $200 cheaper)… I bought a pair of vintage Justin boots on Depop to fill the void. I’ll shove some insoles into them, pray, and let you know what happens.
I can just tell from these photos that this 100% natural fiber sweater hangs and drapes in such a louche, easy manner as to make even the most boring outfit look impossibly precise. I love it styled with the neck all scrunched up instead of rolled down, as seen above.
I have been consistently impressed with Gap this past year, and I doubt this faux-cashmere sweater would let me down. I recently received a shipment of my late grandma’s (still writing about you, forever, Grandma!) real cashmere Land’s End sweaters, so I don’t need to fill out this side of my wardrobe, but I do wish I had a few in lighter tones, so if I needed one I’d grab this blue shade.
I used to own this shirt and I regret selling it. Thick, hardy fabric, this is heirloom material (and I continue to love this specific stripe situation). This plus decent jeans makes you look like you have An Outfit on, even under a blah coat or puffer.
I’ve written about these before to great effect (lots of emails from people telling me they love them), and I got my hands (not my feet, yet) on a pair while in the Bay Area—they seem genuinely good quality, but I wonder how they’d stand up to my prodigiously sweaty toes.
I found the above illustration by Justin Brown Durand as a postcard at Fayes, a coffee shop/gallery in San Francisco that I stopped by while visiting for my friends’ wedding a few months back, was enchanted by the three designs I picked up, and only recently though to look him up (silly of me to wait). I was lucky, though, to look him up when I did, because last week his Etsy store was on 50% off sale and I snagged this incredible original work for only $22 (most everything is still under $60 even without the sale):
Kind of reels like work Phillip Guston would have made if he had been an art school student in 2025, and I mean that in a great way. A lot of his current works feature pop cultural icons like Woody Woodpecker and Mickey Mouse, rendered psychedelically alongside sailors and cowboys smirking, guts and veins dangling outside their bodies in a way that somehow denies morbidity.
I hope to keep collecting Durand’s work—I have a feeling it will be worth a lot more than $22 one day, but I’m in it for the pleasure of saying I Was There.
From the Chilean Acequia Taller Etsy shop, you can commission ceramic Kewpie dolls disguised as cultural figures ranging from Shrek to the goddess Kali to Finn from Adventure Time to, my favorite, Divine:
Each dollar costs somewhere from $70-$90, which I think is a great price for an original work of this quality (and you know it will be the #1 conversation starter on your desk or bookshelf).
I believe the haunting images on Bug Dumb’s T-shirts and other textiles are painted with bleach? Either way, they’re 1/1 and unlike any other shirt design I’ve seen, with the images seeming to emanate a glow due to the carving-like bleach technique used to produce them.
Anna Mond’s chunky, drippy paintings are fever dreams of twisted faces, bulging eyes, and grotesque grins, closer to sculptures than paintings with how dimensional they are. It seems quite a few of the pieces on her Instagram are available for purchase, including the demented posse of clowns above and whatever this is:
In my mind, this is the epitome of the “Oh, look, a strawberry!” meme audio.
We got quite a few of Gina Truex’s vintage masks in at the consignment store I work at right now, where my coworker kindly pointed out to me that Truex was quite iconic in the 80s and her papier mâché masks usually go for sub-$100 online despite their uniqueness (if you’re in PDX, DM me for the shop address and you can grab some for under $50 or $60!).
Whether in risograph, book, or commission form, Jamiyla Lowe’s art is ripe for the collecting before it really blows up, showcasing delirious half-dreams rendered in uncanny line work and mildly disturbed curves (her sculptures also live in this created world and are just as sick).
Though unsurprisingly often sold out, Allycoolcatt’s nail sets are well worth setting an alarm for, as are they the $135-$250 price tags they typically go for, with ingenious themes that make me think of children’s storybooks and never feel formulaic or too trendy like some other nail art I’ve seen. I don’t know if I could bring myself to ever wear something so beautiful, but just LOOK at her range—Ms. Frizzle above, Coyote Ugly girl below:
Lastly, Emma Larsson’s abstract watercolors feel like otherworldly amoebic raves, organisms morphing into one another in combinations of shapes and colors that could only come to me in dreams. You can request her digital catalog or inquire about paintings’ availability at emma@6ix.se.
Thank you so much for being here, and if you end up copping any art (or anything from my fall list), please let me know in the comments or on Instagram!
<3 ESK
Wait these recs are so good! The clothes but also the art!! Love.
Love this! May I recommend an artist? He is 78 and used to be unhoused. A local artist here in Mexico met him and set him an IG profile so they can sell his drawings and a few collab t-shirts (I own one) to support him. He now has a home, is able to buy groceries and art supplies, and has been featured in a few local art shows:
https://www.instagram.com/donbaldemar?igsh=Z3lxNTRrdWJsM3dv