Basket Case: What to Buy at SKIMS, According to Our Editors
December 7, 2023Welcome to Basket Case, wherein your trusty VICE editors scour the proverbial aisles of our favorite online retailers to bring you a smorgasbord of the absolute best things to buy. In this installment, we're kicking back in boxers, robes, thongs, and pajamas from SKIMS, Kim Kardashian’s underwear, loungeweat, and shapewear brand. Just BYOB (bring your own bedhead).
Try as you may to build a mental moat around your brain that prohibits any information about the Kardashian-Jenner empire from penetrating it, resistance is futile, and that’s OK! Even if you have never watched a single episode of The Kardashians (or its predecessor, Keeping Up With the Kardashians), you deleted your Instagram account in 2020, and you moved into an off-the-grid cabin in a remote county of a sparsely populated state, there’s still a strong statistical chance that you can name at least three of the five eponymous sisters and that you have some visual memory of that PAPER magazine cover.
The influence of our generation’s most powerful media family is not only palpable; it’s shoppable. One of the fourth-wall-breaking qualities of the Kardashian cinematic universe is that nearly all of the immediate family members now have their own commerce brands, from Khloe’s hugely successful clothing line Good American to Kris Jenner’s oddly legit green cleaning product company Safely to Kim’s instantly-white-hot brand SKIMS, which will be our focus today. See, folks, to put it bluntly, SKIMS is fire (and would be even if it wasn’t helmed by the biggest sex symbol of the past decade).
SKIMS is known for its ultra-comfy, size-inclusive approach to neutral basics, offering underwear, athleisure-wear, and loungewear designed to not just make buyers feel like Kim Kardashian, but also fit like a glove on a broad range of body types (XXS to 4X, and in a wide rainbow of neutrals and nude skin tones). TikTok is positively inundated with enthusiastic reviews of cult-fave products from the brand, from the Soft Lounge Long Slip Dress to the Sculpting Bodysuit. The whole collection is minimal, comfort-focused, unfussy, and monochromatic. You can say a lot of things about Kim Kardashian, but you can’t say that she doesn’t know what women want. Perhaps more impressively, she tells women what they want, and continuously manifests success. (In addition to its skyrocketing commercial success, the brand recently won the Innovation Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.)
Instead of trying to resist the brand’s gravitational pull, the VICE shopping team has gone fishing in the SKIMS product pool and found a variety of seriously excellent and genuinely well-worth-it buys, from cotton rib basics to indie-sleaze-inspired disco pants to stolen-from-your-boyfriend ultra-soft boxers. It seems like every week the brand is dropping a new collection, many of which sell out in minutes. SKIMS just debuted its Holiday Shop—and with a new collection of unisex loungewear, the brand is hedging a bet: that men will be as enamored of the brand as women are. No longer are there just pieces meant to emulate your boyfriend’s worn-in faves; there are also products hoping to become them.
We’ve tried a wide breadth of SKIMS product to see what slaps, as well as test-run two of the biggest-ticket unisex items from the Holiday Shop: the Cozy Knit Unisex Robe and the Fleece Sleep Set. Here are the best product from SKIMS, according to our editors.
The Cozy Knit Unisex Robe
Snuggie-curious, but looking for something just as cozy but a little sexier and less adult-toddler-y? That’s where this stretchy, sumptuous robe comes in. The Cozy Knit Unisex Robe is a new addition to the brand’s unisex offerings and a popular pick from the Holiday Shop. Our editorial director got her hands on one and says, “This is definitely the oversized, stupid-soft robe that I would slink around my house in all winter (and that a boyfriend and I would steal back and forth from each other).” It’s like surrounding yourself in a forcefield of Barefoot Dreams blankets, oxytocin, and teddy bears.
The Fleece Sleep Set
Another unisex option from the Holiday Shop, the Fleece Sleep Set comes in classic plaid prints and has that super-soft polar fleece texture that was oddly ubiquitous in the late 90s (and therefore reminds us of cozy nights in our millennial childhoods). Ideal for cool nights, lounging on the sofa by the fireplace, and staying warm during out-of-bed trips to the kitchen to get another cup of Sleepytime Tea, the Fleece Sleep Set’s generous sizing means it’s oversized on women and smaller-bodied peeps, but can accommodate a variety of sizes and boyfriends, husbands, dads, and dude-friends, too. A couple notes: These PJs need a few hours to breathe when first taken out of the packaging, and are so warm that they definitely trap in heat—a blessing for winter nights—so they’re probably best reserved for cool sleepers.
The boxers (for women)
If you’re femme, you know that finding ultra-soft and comfortable women’s boxers is strangely harder than it should be—and so SKIMS’ awesome collection of stolen-from-your-boyfriend’s-drawer boxers is one of its most impressive offerings. The Boyfriend Boxer, made out of a cotton-modal jersey blend, is perfect for lounging; the Soft Lounge Boxer is a little more thigh-hugging, in a cotton-spandex blend; and the Cotton Rib Boxer is the most breathable of all and has a super-soft waistband that won’t pinch.
The Fits Everybody Thong
One of SKIMS’ greatest points of pride is its Fits Everybody collection, which is made of insanely stretchy, buttery fabric that never pulls, tugs, or pinches. The collection includes all kinds of basics, from dresses to bras, but the thong is really where the Fits Everybody concept excels. As any lady can tell ya, there’s nothing worse than a too-tight thong—but this one is so stretchy and comfortable that it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all.
The Boyfriend Long Sleeve T-Shirt
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of stealing one of your boyfriend’s/friend’s/brother’s perfectly broken-in, super-soft long sleeve cotton T-shirts, then you know that there’s truly no more divine pleasure. This unisex shirt fits true-to-size for men and oversized for women, but no matter who’s wearing it, they’ll be sooo chillaxed.
The Cotton Rib Collection
Speaking of the Cotton Rib Boxer, everything from SKIMS’ Cotton Rib Collection is excellent—especially if you’re a diehard cotton-undies stan (our team certainly is).
The Cotton Rib Tank has a cropped length, square neck, and compressive fit (but generous level of stretch), meaning you can throw it on under a sweatshirt sans bra or wear it with matching underwear for cool-girl lingerie.
The Cotton Rib Thong is super high-waisted—absolute 80s/90s inspiration here, and frankly, we love that. It makes your legs look miles long, reveals your full booty cheeks, and is surprisingly un-wedgie-centric.
The Cotton Rib Leggings are another great loungewear choice; they’re breathable, snuggly, and layerable, and we love that you can build your own matching set with other items in the collection, like the Cotton Rib Tank, the Cotton Rib Cami, and the Super Crop Tank. Just makes you feel more together, you know?
And finally, the Cotton Rib Briefs are the perfect chef’s kiss menswear-crossover undies—the classic-white-underwear effect is very Sigourney Weaver fixing the spaceship in her panties in Alien. If “comfortable” and “sexy” are synonymous in your book and you’re not about that lacy-stringy life, these are the briefs that should hit the sweet spot.
Cotton Jersey Cheeky Tanga
Another great underwear option: the Cotton Jersey Cheeky Tanga, which has a super-smooth texture, high-cut leg, and the most perfect, flattering level of cheek exposure in the back. The reviews are impeccable—4.9 out of five stars from more than 700 reviews—and the words “buttery soft” appear frequently in the emphatic descriptions from happy buyers.
The Men’s Relaxed Short
As you may have heard, SKIMS dropped a men’s collection earlier this year, and the internet went wild. You’ll find the same sexy, neutral basics for the boys this time, all in soft, breathable, well-cut fabrics. The Men’s Relaxed Shorts and Men’s Joggers from the Jersey Lounge line are a perfect example; they’re made with a breathable stretch-cotton blend built to last and to go all over town, whether for lounging, hitting the gym, or walking the dog.
The boxer briefs (for men)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the men’s boxers sold out virtually instantly when they hit the site. They’re smooth, stretchy, and designed to be d*ck-flattering (Kim knows what’s up), so naturally, they flew off the shelves. You can still hop on the waitlist, though.
The Fleece Lounge Pant
If you’re looking for classic, cozy, lounge-about pants, the Fleece Lounge Pants are lined in super-soft fleece with a relaxed, straight-leg cut. Reviewers call this style “the most flattering fleece pant,” “the best pant that I own,” and the “softest pants in the world.” Those are serious superlatives.
The Disco Pant
Yes, the disco pant is back! Somewhere between leggings and trousers and between pleather and satin, the disco pant first made its mark in the 70s, then the late aughts, with its tight fit, booty-flattering high pockets, tapered leg, and unabashed sex appeal. In 2008, American Apparel reintroduced the disco pant to a new (drunk, hipster) audience, and the style immediately had a chokehold on hot party girls. Eventually, the disco pant went the way of Jeffrey Campbell’s Litas, lost but not forgotten—fated to return someday, sometime, in a new world. That world is ours today, because SKIMS just brought the bottoms back, and the SKIMS version is even better than the American Apparel original. We gave SKIMS’ disco pants a test run, and not only are they just as flattering and thigh-smoothing as the originals, but they’re thinner (and therefore less sweaty), less prone to bunching, and shockingly versatile, effortlessly paired with everything from a broken-in Slayer T-shirt to a leather bustier.
There you have it—Disco Pants on the streets, Cotton Rib Thongs in the sheets (and maybe a Cozy Knit Robe for in-between). Whether you’re shopping for yourself, your girlfriend, your crush, your boyfriend, your spouse, your side piece, or the Taskrabbit you’ve been having a white-hot affair with ever since they came over and helped you wall-mount a sconce, SKIMS is ready to help stuff your stocking. It’s hard work lounging around in nice underwear to do the research for you, but it’s all part of the job, baby.
Grab all of these editors’ picks and more at SKIMS.
The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.