Wear, Watch, Want #163: The Sweaty, Spooky Sweater Edition

Wear: Costco Hand Towels

I have been using these impossibly cheap towels from Target as workout towels, and now that I’ve got a real swanky setup I thought I should upgrade my towels. I could only get by using rough towels and telling myself they were “exfoliating!” for so long. I had, oh, absolutely no idea what I was looking for, but I knew I didn’t want microfiber (the feeling of microfiber on my fingertips is… abhorrent), so I went on a Google spree and found out many (many!) Peloton users love these towels from Costco. You get a dozen towels for $16 and they are plush. At least, they are compared to my Target bargain bin ones. And when i use them I don’t feel like I’m losing two layers of skin, which is a definite improvement.

Watch: The Haunting of Bly Manor

You may remember that I loved Mike Flanagan’s first loosely literary horror adaptation The Haunting of Hill House. Mike Flanagan makes good horror (if you ignore Hush, which is so ableist that I get unreasonably furious when anyone says they like it), both for people like me who like a mysterious, uneasy type of horror and those who live for a jump scare. Both Netflix Haunting series are steeped in that pit of your stomach, something is wrong but I can’t say what type of horror that I love, but Bly Manor is much less jumpy and gory and more of a slow burn. (Some horror fans cannot stand a slow burn! To that I say: Take your jump scares and jump out a window.) If you’re willing to be immersed in moody horror and actually watch the show instead of having it on while looking at your phone, this is a great series that in some ways is even better than my beloved Haunting of Hill House.

Costumes, for me, was a huge part of Hill House, particularly Carla Gugino wearing nude wedges with her pajamas. I didn’t know if Bly Manor would live up to that legacy, but the costumes here are integral to the story and I cannot believe a Google search for an article breaking down the costumes returned NOTHING. The costumes for both series were designed by frequent Flanagan colleague Lynn Falconer, and I would like a longform oral history of her work, immediately please. The way Dani dresses in such a frumpy, figure disguising way that totally mirrors her character’s identity crisis and desire to disappear! And if you think, “That’s just fashion in the 80s” I implore you to watch oh, a single movie from the 80s, and if that’s too much work look at how Miss Jessel and even Hannah are styled. Speaking of Hannah, every outfit she wears is effortlessly gorgeous and I would wear them all today.

I MEAN!

I wish I could have found a full length photo because there are also Good Boots

There are also great child actor performances, something that is hard to come by, but also frequently found in Mike Flanagan’s projects. If you want something atmospheric and spooky that will also break your heart and sew it back up, The Haunting of Bly Manor is IT.

Want: Big, Interesting Cardigan

Do I need even one more cardigan in my life? Absolutely not. I have one thousand. I live for a sweater. But I keep finding myself scrolling through various shopping apps looking for yet another cozy, voluminous cardigan. This one from Anthropologie has a leopard wrapped around it! This one is juuuust elderly looking enough to suit my tastes. This one really fulfills my fashion dream of dressing like an older, poised dance teacher. UGH I LOVE THEM ALL.