weekend recap + personalized shopping feat. @trustfundgothofficial
also: the mainstreamification of balletcore, twitter vs. tiktok/IG fashion discourse, and sporadic pilates
Birthday blog is still in the works so I’m dropping this quick weekend recap to tide everyone over! I haven’t been in full blogger mode lately—but that’ll be changing! Follow me on tiktok (i know).
First things first… some instagram screenshots. I noticed Devon Lee Carlson and Alana O’Herlihy rocking the balletcore aesthetic, which means the trend has OFFICIALLY gone mainstream. For those who don’t know, Devon is an LA influencer girl/model/founder of wildflower cases, and Alana is a visual artist/stylist/photographer/creative director. Both girls are BFFs of Bella Hadid, and have accumulated cult followings. In other words, they are zoomer royalty. If they’re engaging with balletcore, it means the trend has grown bigger than the twitter fashion girls (who are my favorite fashion critics, by the way).
Zoë is learning ballet and looks hottttt doing it, so naturally I had to include her in the round-up.
Going back to what I said about the twitter fashion girls:
I agree with this take. I think platforms like tiktok and IG are easier to build giant audiences and go viral on when it comes to “fashion commentary”, but the girls on twitter are the ones who actually know what they’re talking about (and have better style in general, lol). hence why “tiktok fashion” is sooo extreme and in your face and sticks out on the street (in a bad way), while the twitter girls are more subtle. (remember my 2022 predictions where I discussed how the twitter girls were spearheading the return of subtle femininity?) Most of the tiktok trend forecasters I’ve watched seem to just be summarizing or recapping what the trendsetters are actually doing, with no snark and very little critical thought.
Meanwhile in the EsméSqualor universe… I’ve mostly been staying in and doing pilates, sometimes. Technically i’m supposed to go to a morning class twice a week but I think I sleep through it about 40% of the time (sorry, caro!! I won’t stand you up anymore i promise). The studio me and Carolina go to on Bowery is teeming with instagram models but it’s aesthetic and the instructors are chill but ruthless.
Last weekend I also went out for first time in foreverrr. friend of a friend was bartending, which meant…free drinks!
On Sunday I met Mika Kol at her glamorous studio in Fidi for a personalized shopping appointment. Mika has been collecting insane vintage pieces since she was 16, and as a result has the most enviable closet of anyone I know in NYC. She’s most well-known for her now inactive depop account, @trustfundgoth, which went viral during the pandemic because of her great clothes and unhinged (in the best way possible) narrative captions.
I sent Mika my Pinterest ahead of time so she could get a sense of what vibe I was looking for, and she delivered. she curated a ton of clothes for me to try. I ended up snagging:
2 pairs of low rise embroidered True Religion jeans
Burberry skirt
Vivienne Tam A-line black and pink mini dress
Tom Ford-era Gucci sweater
Sorry I don’t have photos of the complete haul but I’m currently writing this from a boy’s bed while he sleeps so i can’t spontaneously take pics. But here are the two outfits I’ve worn incorporating the pieces so far—sweater is Danielle guizio, jeans are true religion, skirt is burberry, white baby tee is Réalisation, and loafers are doc martens.
Substack on mobile is being janky, I’m at 16% with no charger in sight, and I’m dying of thirst while wedged against the wall in a full sized bed, so I’m going to sign off here. Thanks for reading this far, and welcome to all my new subscribers, especially my dear Grandma!! ❤️
xx
esmé
