Spilling My Secrets
I think I accidentally found the best underwear... plus, cozy armor, the thing I used to hate (and now don't?) and more.
Honestly, it’s been really hard to write for the past few weeks, as I’ve been falling headfirst into a new crush on someone who has absolutely no care for the world of style, so my priorities have been skewed. Also, to put it plainly, it feels insane to write about clothing so much at a time when the best people I know haven’t been able to even thrift shop in months and the worst people I know continue to lavish themselves with fast-breaking summer sandals and near-disposable sheer dresses. However, I still do and will always love fashion in some ways and I have no plans to quit this blog just because I’m having an Elliott Smith moment. In addition, I’ve grabbed a few garments lately that have made my life considerably better, so I do have some trade secrets to spill to you guys today, including THE underwear and socks I’ve settled on as my ultimate after 10+ years of searching for the platonic ideals + a hard truth I’ve come to realize about something I used to hate that I might be letting into my life.
P.S. Billing for paid subscribers is paused for a month while I get my head screwed back on straight. You can still email or DM me (info below) for a comped subscription. Thank you all so much for your patience while I try not to kill all the butterflies in my stomach :’)
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THANK YOU for being here, and I am always available @that.esque on Instagram for sartorial scandals/situations/summons. Here is a little preview of what’s below the paywall:
I’m super into this style of jewelry that just looks like an anatomical body part is plated in a precious metal, especially one that would ostensibly guard one’s fingers from smoke staining them with scent.
Rajewelry66 on TikTok makes some really cool medieval/punk-style rings, but this nose plate is by far my favorite thing they’ve done. I wonder if a plate over one’s lower lip or fitted into the nose bridge would work… if so, this jeweler would totally be my pic to execute it.
Ok, big reveal: the best socks I’ve ever found, after a decade of fading, unraveling, and stretched-out ankles, are from an LA shop called The Good Liver. They’re knit in organic cotton from a CA farm and have three easy-to-style colorways and two lengths: I always go for the longer crew style in the light cream. $20 for three pairs is the best price I’ve found for socks that maintain their shape, soften with wear, and never bunch up, though because they’re 100% cotton, at first they might feel a bit rougher than if you’re used to a blend. Their sturdiness and handsome looks are well worth the adjustment period, IMO. Unbleached Apparel also has some great-looking options, including a few FoxFibre pairs, but I haven’t tested those so I won’t recommend them with the same confidence I can the linked pair.
This might sound silly, but I’m so glad I found this underwear. Jockey’s string bikinis are, again, 100% cotton, but perfectly smooth, equal parts breathable and absorbent, suuuuper cute in how they frame the hips and thighs (not necessarily my favorite body parts), and full coverage everywhere it matters:
The brand’s french cut is good too, but its cut feels a bit diaper-ish for me. I like the minimal front of the string bikini paired with its thorough backside. For either, make sure you buy the “Elance” version for a comfortably covered waistband (I still have experienced zero slippage without the grip of an exposed elastic). For the price of three for $24, not including its FREQUENT sales (try MOTHER25 for a quarter off until 5/12), I haven’t found a single other brand or pair that compares.
I got this shirt while it was on sale for $12, and it’s a great one for if you like to feel just the tiniest bit compressed in a tee. Its cap sleeves aren’t too skinny, shallow, or feminine-feeling, and the cornflower blue shade (as well as some of the other colorways, like a great tan) is evidently fade-resistant and definitely gorgeous.
This might be the perfect boyish red T-shirt, and in 100% cotton for $15, I might have to try it and see, will report back.
The GOAT for queer swimwear, Waysyders, came out with some sick two-pieces, including convertible tankinis, binder-like swim tops, and more colorways of its rugged-but-adorable board shorts. Just in time for swim season!
Of course Janelle Abbott is up to her usual mischief, this time with a delicious new technique she calls “croissant.” Her M.O. to use the most possible reclaimed garments in a single new piece as possible seems well-served by this strategy.
I love everything Women’s History Museum does and am proud to have been following it for years, since before they started their own label. These Bowery Boy x femme fatale heels encapsulate everything I love about the brand, its fomentation of gender and incorporation of violence and humor in equal parts is always galvanizing.
Ok, my big secret is… I might be going back on what I wrote on this very blog years ago, I think maybe before it even transitioned to Substack: I used to hate camo with a passion, and now, via the influence of several factors (not least of all my move to Portland, OR), I am reevaluating. I’m especially taken by Realtree right now and have wanted, specifically, a Realtree zip-up hoodie (for least possible contact with face and hair when taking off and putting on) for months. Zip hoodies, in my opinion, BEG to be patterned or have crowded, loud graphics a la y2k Ed Hardy. A solid-colored zip hoodie looks depressingly “2011 Man Whose Celebrity Crush Is Zooey Deschanel” to me, no matter the hue.
I’ve also wanted a classic olive bomber jacket for months now, and can someone tell me why this one looks so much worse than…
…this more expensive one? Is it just the color (I prefer the lighter, truer olive)? Is it worth the difference in cost? Please weigh in.
The fact that you can zip this armorlike sweatshirt over your face (a la the monster-faced sweatshirts every SoCal boy worth their salt had in fourth grade) makes me think one should be issued to everyone who feels uneasy walking alone at night. The scaled arms are genius and I hope to see more of both those and the hood-as-mask in mainstream sweatshirts in the near future.
These regal Sung Ju pieces remind me of last season’s Colleen Allen showings, but a bit more fanciful and less uptight. I especially love the chunky, bloated collar and the dragging coattails.
I have been so enamored with the butt cleavage trend we’ve all seen emerge over the past few years, but I don’t think I could do it casually—I’d have to wear some cult-y 70s colorblock gown with bell sleeves in a garden.
The only take on “casual” butt cleavage I’ve seen thus far are these Schiaparelli jeans that dip low in both front and back—the spine-tracing zipper is necessary if not showing actual crack to provide the suggestion of one.
My iconic friend Aline owns this AO skirt, which I think offers a genius, way-more-wearable take on the devilish “Bottom V-neck.” That brutish brown-gold plus navy color combo is also great, but the showstopper here that convinced me I need this skirt is the double bubble construction.
I am so deeply in love with this polo only available at the SC103 storefront in NYC. That perverse stripe of safety yellow hits me juuuuust right. If I were a cartoon character, I’d wear this top every day.
I would pair the polo with these Big Bud Press work pants that I ordered this week in a 25% off sale (it’s going on through the weekend!).
I also copped these. I know I’m the most boring person in the world, but I just cannot justify investing in pieces I can’t wear any damn day right now.
Thank you so much for your patience and for being here.
<3 ESK
Does your crush wear realtree 👀👀
another butt cleavage thing i have are these biker shorts by gansho: https://www.gansho.com.br/product-page/biker-short-bdf i'll text you the nsfw pic of me wearing them to a rave lol