Recession Trends I Might Like (But Probably Don't)
I'm trying to parse the struggle fits and it's harder than expected.
Hi there! I might be going insane because it’s getting harder and harder for me to understand what I like and dislike in fashion trends, but to be fair to myself, things have gotten murky as hell these past few months as the exaltation of summer butts up against the realities of widespread poverty. Read on as I negotiate my boundaries around hat chopping, faux-Bode, bad Lajuju, and more. And please, PLEASE, if you have any thoughts, COMMENT FOR GOD’S SAKE because I think this materialism’s gotta get a bit dialectical if I’m ever going to be able to have good taste again. Thanks!
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Cut-brim caps
apieceofthesun, a 21-year-old fashion TikToker whose videos focus on thrifted and vintage stylings, introduced me to the concept of the cut-brim baseball cap. It’s weird I had never seen this before—I guess I haven’t been tuned in to the microtrends for the past few months, but also, it seems that the more prolific iteration of this DIY-coded look was pioneered by brands like Martine Rose, who chopped straight across the brim instead of following its contours, toenail clipper style:
I like the rounded version better, though I’m under no illusions regarding the fact that it looks just like the impractical, mottled step sibling to one of those dickish cycling caps designed to fit under a helmet that most bike snobs prefer to wear a la carte, ensuring its complete uselessness at any kind of protection. This is a recession trend both in its affordability/accessibility and in its inherent nihilism.
Unfortunately, I think that this week I’ll be searching consignment stores for a nice big pair of shears and a boring test cap to massacre in service of testing this one out. It’s extremely stupid, as it neuters the cap’s one actual practical property, but I do like how the face is framed in a darling, Sandlot boy kind of way. I do wonder if this works better on darker caps than lighter ones because of the fraying that will surely ensue—I might have to do a dual test. Will report back.
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Bode!
Extremely good dresser and my latest Substack follow,
, keyed me in to Glass Cypress, a Houston-based brand that apparently appeared in 2016 but seems to just now have hit its stride with an aesthetic that, for lack of a better way to put it, feels like a less vigorously white Bode, and I mean that in a good way.
This is likely due to the fact that the brand was founded by Bangladeshi siblings Saber and Samee Ahmed and is rooted in Houston instead of the Lower East Side. Where Bode’s kitsch and intentional clunkiness can feel extremely overwrought, especially when juxtaposed with its inordinately high prices, Glass Cypress is easier for me to swallow, with sale prices that don’t feel completely inhumane and uses of embroidery and patchwork that don’t feel sort of condescending (like, oh, how cute, this quaint Middle America culture) in the way that Bode’s do.
The clothes are still extremely expensive, to be clear, but as aspirational buys in a time of economic strife they make much more sense than Bode with a price point that rests at about 50% of its competitor’s for most items. I think people are gravitating toward the home-grown, doodley aesthetic, though, because it’s so conducive to DIY—also why I think, as I noted last week, that people are flocking to accounts like Tessa Perlow’s to be inspired by seemingly doable feats of embroidery (that’s DEFINITELY just my ego talking).
I still don’t really vibe with clothing that seems to aspire to an aura that it hasn’t earned through fastidious recreation of folksy signifiers at a luxury price point, but I believe Glass Cypress’ ethos more than Bode’s, and the brand also seems more willing to veer into weird territory, which I am DEFINITELY here for. More of whatever this is (decapitation-chic?), please:
Weirdly fussy athleisure
You remember the cursed Toteme scarf jacket? Well, nobody can afford that $1,130 shroud anymore (thank God), so now we have this:
I’m about to confuse 98% of my readership with this reference, but tell me these new (and already on sale) Girlfriend Collective sweatshirts don’t look like iterations of the (canonically customizable) Jujutsu High uniform:
It’s cool that the designs are modular, I guess, but even the way they hang on the models in the photos makes them look crispy-cheap in the staticky dollar store sweats kind of way. This design’s detachable hood is so weird:
I’m thinking the front bib is kind of mimicking the oversized collar trend of the 2018-into-pandemic-Zoom-fashion era, and I can see this looking decent with a super hardy, luxurious fabric (and no superfluous drawstring), but as it stands, this looks like something a parent would dress a toddler in before they were going to make a mess. Maybe actual, functional bibs, the kind that catch and hold food and stuff, will come in style soon—none of us can afford to be missing a single bean from our burrito, that’s for sure!
These are all really bad is where I think I’ve settled at this point in writing, but I’m so willing to be convinced otherwise if any of you intrepid souls want to send me pics of you wearing them. This last one feels like a paltry attempt at doing what I mentioned last week that Rose Murdoch does so well, bringing a kind of princely flair to a sporty look, but again, it flops because the material looks like the thin sheets of foam we collaged with in grade school. Plus, and I’ll be writing more about stuff like this soon (not for this blog!), I HATE that the zipper doesn’t extend all the way to the collar. Fashion is supposed to feel matter-of-fact and necessary (at least, it is when it’s good), and everything about these sweatshirts just feels so “let’s give it a go,” like they let AI generate potentially trendy silhouettes, which is sure to start happening soon if it hasn’t already for these faux-soulful fast fashion brands. The Elon Musk-loving founder of Outdoor Voices is threatening us with a comeback, after all.
Inside-out fits
Back in May, InStyle dutifully reported that “Miley Cyrus’s Inside-Out Jeans Are About to Be the Most Unconventional ‘It’ Pants of Summer 2025,” and either I’m just too far out of the LA-NY circuit to have noticed a proliferation or this isn’t quite true, but there’s SOMETHING to the inside-out look that people are glomming onto, probably not least of all because it virtually doubles a wardrobe. A few weeks ago, people got nostalgic for the one from Lost in Translation inexplicably worn by Bill Murray to sing karaoke (click through the carousel for the actual still, the cover is a promotional shirt based on the costume):
Some brands have tried to attack this trend but pulled their punches, prettifying the look into something more digestible by just using contrast stitching on seams and calling it a day:
But while the below jeans are truly heinous (and would be right-side-out, too, on the basis of the shape and rise), I appreciate that at least Vetements didn’t wimp out and try to make the look not goofy. I think if you don’t want to look goofy you should probably not wear inside-out Jeans.
Apparently, this trend has become quite prolific:
When I was a kid, I hated stains on my shirts so much that if I dripped ice cream down my chest, I’d take my tee off and put it back on inside-out AND backwards, tag jutting out under my chin. Unfortunately, no one thought to capture this prescient look in photo evidence, but I assure you, I was at the scene of the original crime.
Haunted companions
Ok, I actually love this one. As opposed to a Labubu, which is already absolutely drained of its ability to induce jouissance, pick up a haunted doll from a thrift or antique shop and slap it on your bag. I genuinely believe that white thing on the left could protect me where a Labubu would cower and flee bad juju. Now I have to write Lajuju
Thank you for reading, and I am once again repeating that I’m still in dire financial straits, so subscribing to this blog (you can even do so for $1.50/month with this secret link) is more valuable to me now than ever. Sharing and boosting this stuff, whether via email, in person, or on social media, is just as valuable and extremely appreciated. I really do love (most of) you guys.
I’m humbled by your support and the fact that we’ve been slogging through the waves of weirdo trends for like five years now. Together!
<3 ESK
That haunted doll is amazing.
The girlfriend collective collars are bonkers. I looked at that detachable hood one for so long…. Thinking maybe you’re supposed to tuck the bottom shoulder part into the sweatshirt… but then why the drawstring? I hate it. But good for them for trying something, I guess????
liked for "Lajuju"