Cool people like cool things, which is why we asked cool person Elise Bang to come on Perfectly Imperfect & spread the hot rec wealth.

Today’s guest is fellow Substack “newsie” & close friend, Elise Bang. On her newsletter, “twenty three tabs”, she not only drops hot recs of her own, but raises money for charitable organizations, rounds up funny tweets, AND interviews cool people— does it get any better than that?? She was even kind enough to interview us way back in October when we were first starting out. And to supplement her newsletter she recently started “incognito tab”, aka the hottest new Brooklyn-based podcast, which dropped its first episode yesterday— so go check it out! Elise has great taste and lucky for us, she’s here to talk about what she’s been into.

Without further ado

Elise Bang (instagram, twitter, substack)

📺 Gossip Girl

I’m watching Gossip Girl for the first time ever (I know, crazy), and I’m so in love with it. The characters, the cameos (Kim Gordon? Robyn? Hilary Duff?), the fits...all unmatched. I have three tennis skirts now. I straight up watch it alone in bed and audibly gasp and yell at the characters through my screen. I also have a folder of screenshots for every time they say something ridiculous. It’s very quotable, the characters are very lovable (and hateable), and the New York/pop culture references are top tier.

👔 Oversized white button-up

Button up? Button down? You can find a big white button up at any thrift store (check for stains, though) or I also like this one from Entireworld. I love a good collared shirt, and a white button up is both ~chill~ and ~chic~ and also works for like any temperature. I know you all have one laying around from your embarrassing Risky Business or Mia Wallace Halloween costumes from college.

🎵 Pop Up by Yelle

Yelle is a French dance-pop group, and I have the weirdest story of how I discovered them. I was with my childhood best friend when we were like 13 or something, and her uncle put on Yelle’s single Je veux te voix. He was like “aha she is so cool, I saw her in a club in Paris” or something like that… Somehow I’ve remembered the name after all these years, and it’s all I’ve been listening to for the past two weeks. It’s oddly great work music (maybe because I don’t know French?) but also really good dance-y party music. Now my childhood bestie owns a house and is engaged and I’m sitting here listening to a song her uncle recommended to us when we were preteens. Sick!

📷 Film camera from Depop

If you’re a thriftier person than I am, you can find some gems for much cheaper at a thrift store (the only risk is that they don’t work!). I wanted a replacement for disposable cameras, and found this Canon Sure Shot Owl 35mm camera on Depop. It’s super fun and easy to use!

📚 Stack Magazines

This is the best subscription I’ve ever had. For $15 a month, you get a new independent magazine sent to you. Think Apartamento, Cereal, and Racquet. Some fancy indie mags can cost way more than $15, so this is a good deal, too! It’s a great way to discover new magz, and I love that you get a handpicked lil surprise (they don’t tell you what’s coming!) at the end of each month.

🧴 Aēsop B & Tea Balancing Toner

If you told me I could only have one fancy skincare product it would be this one. Have you tried putting on moisturizer while your skin is super dry? Yeah it sucks. Not only does this toner have tons of Vitamin B and antioxidants, it preps your skin for moisturizer, allowing it to actually soak into your skin, instead of laying on the surface. This is one of those products where if I stop using it, there is a noticeable difference in the texture of my skin. I’m biased towards Aēsop (which you can hear more about on my first podcast episode hehe), but they truly make lovely products!

Follow Elise on Instagram and Twitter

Follow twenty three tabs on Instagram

Subscribe to her newsletter, twenty three tabs

Listen to her new podcast, incognito tab, wherever you listen to podcasts

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