Far From Ugg.

Slowly, over the course of all our various lockdowns (we've had three in the U.K. where I live), most of my wardrobe has become loungewear. It started with Kim Kardashian's Skims line, which cleverly pivoted away from the shapewear of its launch soon after the pandemic hit. Sure, boob tape and sheer sculpt tights are still available on the website, but none of us need stuffing into hot little dresses now; we're not going out. The brand may have taken its inspiration from Kim's own experiments with duct tape, but also definitely follows in the footsteps of Spanx, the shapewear line that made its founder a billionaire. Turns out there is big business in shapewear, especially once you start selling more than, well, shapewear. With most of spending all of our time at home, Skims churned out line after line of soft, supple, comfy-but-sexy loungewear. In the social media campaigns for this Skims 2.0, Kim swapped her famous friends with fit-model proportions for real women ranging from the average to the plus-plus size. There wasn't a true twiglet amongst them (aside from Kendall of course), and stretch marks, saggy boobs and little lumps of cellulite stood out in photos. Still, these women looked good; they looked like they were having a good time, but still glamorous even as they relaxed. I was intrigued.

Actually, I was intrigued, but also a bit cautious. I'm petite, and fit is usually an issue for most garments, even stretchy pieces like activewear. The whole PR stunt/ "Kimono" scandal still lingered in the background. I also wasn't confident that quality would be high. But those muted colors continued to call to me in post after post, and Kim's voice as she described her new collections had a hypnotic, almost ASMR quality. Staring down the barrel of several more months at home with only ratty old gym clothes or pyjamas to wear, I took the plunge and clicked through an Instagram link to make my first Skims purchase.

Despite all the chaos in the postal system, my purchases arrived pretty quickly and happily, I was wrong to doubt the quality or fit! Short of stature herself, perhaps Kim personally ensured that her smaller sizes wouldn't trail past the ankles of little ladies like me. Her Instagram stories promised high quality materials, and she delivered. The cotton lines are stretchy but still hold their shape, and I've had no pilling even after many washes. Ditto for the cozy line, which is thick, fuzzy and warm. Sure; the cut of the cozy line may not the most flattering. But wearing a cloud wouldn't necessarily flatter my legs, and that's what it feels like when I pull on my Skims cozy sweats. Swathed in some sort of synthetic blend (I've never investigated the fabrics used by Skims), I feel like I am wearing a cloud, if clouds were faintly warm and dry. From meditation to crawling on the floor with toddlers, they are perfect for everything I've been up to the past year, and they have kept my mind off all the things I've missed.

This has been the surprising joy of my social media inspired purchases over the last year; they have, in fact, made me happier in a time when happiness felt like a rare commodity. Some days I wore make up, some days I didn't. Some days my hair barely felt the pass of a brush; some days I spent an hour masking, washing and styling my hair. But no matter what, I could pull from my wardrobe a set of loungewear that would make me feel a bit more pulled together, a put more pulled in. Perhaps I even felt part of something in wearing these pieces, like I was participating in the zeitgeist even from within my four walls.

My favorite set is the soft lounge. These pieces are everything loungwear should be; there are pieces to cover you if you want covering, but also cute tanks and boxers that let you show a little more skin if you are feeling frisky. There is stretch to hold you in, but you can move freely and in perfect comfort. The leggings have a higher waist, and I suspect my bum looks especially good in these, even without the visual effects of, say, a Gymshark legging. Bumming around my house, I can pop into a yogic squat if I want, bend to clear some kiddie detritus from off the floor, or roll around in despair on my bedroom floor all with equal ease. Of course they are also perfect for sitting in front of the computer Zooming with colleagues or writing, because no one has to know what's going on under the table. Perfect.

In my Skims loungewear, I feel like I'm tapping into a little of that zen Kim always seems to impart through her camera lens when she takes us into her wardrobe for a reveal of her latest line. I actually feel like I’m channelling a little piece of her lifestyle when I pull on my soft lounge slip dress. This is the magic of Skims; this is why the brand has been so successful. In a year full of chaos in real life and littered throughout the scroll of our social media, there’s been a little bit of calm on the Skims page. It may sound ridiculous, but I honestly think this is another reason why those pieces have reached out and grabbed me.

My latest social media inspired purchase is also in the loungewear category, but heads in a different direction. It gets cold here in the U.K., and the stone floor of our house offers little protection from the elements. Slippers are a necessity, and even though I still can’t get a pedicure, I can at least upgrade my daily footwear. Enter the Ugg slides I purchased after seeing them pop up all over my TikTok. Some reviewers made posts to complain about how hard they were to walk in, but I’ve had years of training in high heels. I wasn’t concerned.

Skims does a version of a slipper; they have furry slides in muted colors. So why didn’t I snap these up and make my collection complete? Well, I’m never someone who goes for a neutral polish on my feet. Some parts of life need a little color; a little bit of spice, to reference a TikTok trend, makes the whole dish delicious. My Ugg slippers are a perfect ombre of light pink up to deep purple; they are a cascade of color in a wardrobe that is tasteful, muted, careful, cool. Meditation time comes and I kick them off; I’m ready to drop deep into a zen silence I crave with no pizzazz. But coming out the other side, I’m only too excited to put my colorful footwear on once more, ready to bring a little zing of energy with me to each room I visit.

This has been the last twelve months for me; it has been a year both big and small. While huge changes have rocked nearly every aspect of my life, I’ve been savouring the little things, and I’ve been surprised to see how these small acts of self-expression have had a big impact on my daily mood. The escape of social media has been mostly a pleasure – a place to laugh, or dream, or get a little distracted by the idea of how good my legs could look in a pair of soft, buttery lounge leggings, even as schools and businesses open and shut around me. It has been a year of small pleasures amidst big changes, and social media has been one of the few outlets consistently available. Honestly, I’m grateful, even if by the end of this year I end up packing most of my Skims away because I’ve finally reached my loungewear limit. One day we’ll all be getting dressed again. But for now, I’m keeping my eyes on Kim’s Instagram; I’ve actually just bought a few Skim pieces from the new terrycloth line. I can’t wait to receive them. So I’ve spent some money because the Internet told me to. So what?