Sensual Sleepwear for Rhapsodic Napping

An old picture of one of my favorite sleepwear items ever, a turquoise and pink romper by Leg Avenue.

I know I just talked about loungewear recently, but now I wanna talk about sleepwear, too!

There’s a fair amount of overlap between these two categories, but there are some notable differences. Loungewear is the sort of thing I’d mostly wear around the house, but would have no reservations about sporting to the store or a local café if I needed to, or wearing on a casual Zoom call. Sleepwear, on the other hand, tends to be a little slinkier, a little skimpier, and not exactly grocery store-appropriate. It must also be comfy enough that I can toss and turn in it and not wake up a sweaty, tangled, wrinkled mess.

Now that we’ve got that distinction sorted out, here are some sleepwear items I’ve been eying lately…

 

Remember when the word “mask” could refer to stuff that didn’t remind you of the global health crisis we’re all facing?! (Gulp.) I think silk eye masks are the best type of mask (fight me, N-95s… just kidding) and don’t know what I would do without them. One entire wall of my bedroom is a window, which ordinarily I love, but it can be tricky when I’m trying to squeeze in some mid-day zzz’s. There is just something about the pressure on my eyes, and the total blockage of light, that helps me sleep so much more easily and peacefully.

I probably already have too many masks of this sort, but this pink silk one by Emily Au is calling to me nonetheless. There’s something so delightfully meta/Dada about napping while little illustrated eyes cover your actual peepers.

This mask would be best paired with a black silk slip, pale pink striped thigh-high socks, and a white noise machine. Mmmm.

 

Excuse me, this matching pink satin robe and nightgown set is far too cute to exist. What I love about this is that it makes coordination effortless, so you can have your glamorous Cat on a Hot Tin Roof moment without needing to spend hours getting ready like Elizabeth Taylor did!

I also love that each of these items could be worn separately, depending on the situation. I can imagine falling asleep in just the nightgown and then slipping into the robe to go make breakfast and coffee in the morning… or wearing the nightgown during a hookup and then throwing the robe on to walk my date to the door. So many possibilities!

I would pair this ensemble with shiny black stiletto heels, hot pink lipstick, and big hair for an over-the-top selfie photoshoot… and then I would kick off the heels, blot the lipstick off, tie my hair back, and curl up for a nice comfy snooze, draped in stunning satin. Ah, heaven.

 

Sometimes you just wanna feel like a cartoonishly hot babe, and this cotton Lola Bunny nightgown from H&M is just the thing for those moments. It’s essentially an oversized T-shirt, which are the best thing to sleep in anyway (particularly when borrowed from a beau). I like that the design is juuust presentable enough that you could throw on some leggings underneath and maybe a denim jacket on top and you’d be fine to pop by the store or answer the door.

H&M also makes one of these bearing the NASA logo, and I love that juxtaposition. Imagine the kind of person who would own both of these. They seem like they’d be awesome to hang out with.

I’d pair sweet Lola Bunny with black cashmere socks and a pale lavender sleep mask. Bunny ears optional.

 

I’m absolutely losing my shit over everything made by Prayers and Plans, a Black-owned luxury loungewear company. However, this midnight-blue silk slip might just take the cake. The cut is so sexy yet so simple, and that color is just… va-va-voom. Silk can be so amazingly vividly hued; there’s a reason I keep gravitating toward it in this post!

I love when nightgowns are designed with actual sleeping in mind, rather than just being optimized for visual sexiness (there’s no shame in that, it’s just not what I’m after when I talk about sleepwear specifically). There’s enough looseness in this slip’s design that it seems like it’d be comfy all night long. Plus I’m pretty sure that if I had a one-night stand with someone and woke up to see them wearing this in bed the next morning, I’d have a hard time leaving…!

I’d pair this with… ideally nothing at all, honestly. And it looks like it’d actually feel fine when worn naked, unlike a lot of more lingerie-leaning slips that can scrape you with lace and poke you with seams.

 

I’ve always loved Yokoo‘s quirky collection of handmade knitwear (they made an absurdly warm raspberry cowl I’ve treasured for a few winters now) and I know from experience that these items are the best accessories for wintertime naps, especially before your landlord turns the heat on in your building (le sigh). The Pembroke Cowl is HUGE – like, almost Lenny Kravitz huge – and can be custom-made in a wide array of autumnal and wintry shades just for you. This scarf in the “warm blueberry pie” color has been calling my name for years now…

Yokoo’s scarves are also the absolute best for cold winters in general, especially if you’re someone who uses your voice professionally as a singer, podcaster, etc. (I used to have a voice teacher who insisted I should wear a scarf EVERY time I left the house, to “protect [my] throat,” and I don’t quite go that far, but…) I remember it feeling very comforting when, in winters past, I would sometimes wake up from a nap in my Yokoo cowl while sick with a cold or a flu, and head out the door immediately to go pick up medicine or soup without needing to first change my outfit.

For naptime, I’d pair this massive grey scarf with a long black modal slip dress, and (if it was really cold) black cashmere gloves. For bonus points, pull the scarf up over your eyes to act as an impromptu sleep mask!

 

What sleepwear are you craving these days?

Monthly Favorites: Grey Glass & Fingerfucking

mosaic6457db2bd5ef81bbea97f62222248f6b3ff60d60

You guys, August was such a weird/exciting month for me sexually. It was a bit of a whirlwind. Let’s identify some highlights…

Toys

• Surprise, surprise: my most-used toy of the month was the Fucking Sculptures G-Spoon. Or, as Luthvian aptly calls it, the “G-Swoon.” Nothing else feels quite like it, except maybe the fingers of a partner who knows exactly where my A-spot is and how to stimulate it. Holy fuck.

Peepshow Toys sent me the Jimmyjane Iconic Wand this month and I have been diggin’ it. It has its problems (hang tight for my review) but it feels Hitachi-esque without the Hitachi’s excess bulk or noise. A surprise smash!

• The Eroscillator could be on this list for literally any month of my sex toy reviewing career, because I got it when I started my blog and it’s been my right-hand man ever since. But I felt a renewed appreciation for it this month, when I used it in a partnered-sex situation for the first time in a long while. It still works really well in that context. (And, to the immense credit of the dude I was using it with: he already knew what it was, and was interested to feel how oscillations differ from vibrations. ♥)

 

Fantasy fodder

• In mid-August, I got finger-fucked so excellently that the memory proceeded to make me blush and giggle daily for the rest of the month. I had never really thought of finger-fucking as a particularly nuanced skill before, but hooooly shit, some people are ridiculously, brain-warpingly good at it.

• This Jake Peralta/Nick Miller crossover fanfic hasn’t even gotten sexy yet, but the very idea of that pairing entertained me in my carnal moments after reading it. (Let the record show that Bisexual Jake Peralta is canon, now and forever, amen.)

• I experimented this month with jerking off to non-sexual recordings of people who have attractive voices. (Mostly Benedict Cumberbatch reading poetry.) It didn’t really work. My mind got too wrapped up in the subject matter and I couldn’t focus enough to get off. Does this mean I don’t have a voice kink?

 

Sexcetera

• hahahaaaa I got laid for the first time in ~16 months. It was both a totally big deal and not a big deal at all, if you know what I mean, which is nice. (Just in time for my breakupiversary, too!)

• I attempted Tinder this month. It is kind of awful (for me, anyway). I have feelings about it. You will get to read ’em soon.

 

Femme stuff

• I am in talks with an Etsy seller to order a piece of vulva art-jewelry custom-made to look like my actual vulva. Obviously I am going to write all about it when the deal is done and the vulva-ring is on my finger!

• My new signature scent is Elizabeth & James Nirvana White. It is summery, feminine, and a little bit sexy (much like my previous, much-beloved, tragically-discontinued signature scent, Kate by Kate Moss). My bestie says it smells a bit like white wine, which might explain why I’m drawn to it…

NARS Audacious lipstick in “Charlotte” is the ideal cranberry red and you can’t convince me otherwise.

 

What were you obsessed with over the past month, my loves?

Talismans for Sex Appeal, Confidence & Foxiness

I’m fascinated by the idea of talismans: pieces of jewelry or other items you wear on your person often (maybe every day) that hold some significance to you, that give you some kind of power or magic or important reminder.

A friend of mine wears a rose quartz point necklace daily because she feels its love energy is good for her. Another friend has a tattoo of a favorite literary quote in her bestie’s handwriting, as a reminder of books and pals she adores. My mom wears rings stacked on her fingers because a fabulous, beloved late aunt once told her rings would make her feel empowered.

As for me – I have a golden snitch necklace that reminds me to be brave, a ring made of blue topaz (the “writer’s crystal”) that I swear boosts my scribe powers, and a rose quartz female symbol necklace to invoke lady-love and femme solidarity.

Here are some talismans that could bring a little sex magic and foxy focus into your life…

As I mentioned, rose quartz is said to be the best crystal for increasing love and compassion – both toward other people and toward yourself. By that token, I think a rose quartz massage wand would make a fantastic dildo! (I wondered if vaginal fluids might dissolve quartz, but my crystal-addicted friend tells me no. You could always put a condom on it just to be safe, though.)

If your head gets cold in the winter and you hate the patriarchy, A Darling Knits has got you covered. This “feminist” beanie would be a terrific daily reminder of your values, while scaring off gross misogynist dudebros for you!

Tonya’s Collars sells some beautiful stuff. Whether you’re shopping for a meaningful gift for your sub, seeking a collar your dominant can ceremonially put on you, or you just want to advertise your kinky heart, something like this heart collar would be lovely.

Along those same lines: lately I am loving how leather handcuffs look as an everyday accessory. These blue ones are real stunners, and with a little confidence, you could play them off as simply high fashion and not, you know, bedroom tools. (And then you could come home and have your partner lock ‘em together and get frisky as fuck.)

If you love being a lady, or you just love and respect ladies, this female symbol necklace could be a gorgeous way to broadcast that fact to the world.

Red jasper, according to folks who believe in the power of crystals, “stimulates your sex drive and prolongs sexual pleasure.” Plus it’s just a badass-looking stone. I love the bold look of this ring.

Okay, how brilliant is this period-tracking bracelet?! You can have it custom-made to the length of your usual cycle, and you move the moon bead around the bracelet to track your body’s phases throughout the month. So much more glamorous than a period tracker app!

Make sure you only wear these when it’s appropriate (and consensual), but… these cufflinks are awesomely saucy.

Show off your enthusiasm for oral sex with this “eat me” necklace. If a conservative type asks you what it means, you can always tell them it’s just an Alice in Wonderland reference!

If you’re all about that 1950s sex kitten aesthetic, stick this Bettie Page compact mirror in your purse and pull it out any time you need to touch up your lipstick. Bettie’ll watch over you like the patron saint of glamour!

Okay, brace yourself. You can order a realistic vulva ring. And if you send the seller photos of your actual vulva (or the vulva of someone you love), they will custom-make your ring to look like the pussy in the pictures. Ahhh!!! There are not enough exclamation points in the world to express how amazing this is!!!

But let’s not leave penises out of the equation… This phallic pendant is surprisingly elegant for what it is. It makes me think maybe I need to start wearing a penis around my neck…

Do you have any meaningful jewelry or other little tokens you wear on a regular basis? What do they mean to you?

Sharing the Sexy #26

Photographs of fucking machines!

• Vaguely relevant things I fell in love with on Etsy this week: super cute reusable menstrual pads and feminist-themed knitwear.

5 bad things men learn from porn.

• A review of an electro-sex urethral probe. Not for the faint of heart, but certainly interesting!

• This photographer is putting together a body-positive book about vulvas and needs your donations to make it happen.

• Here are 30 eye-opening examples of cisgender privilege.

This study found that 30% of men are threatened by vibrators. (The article acts like that’s not a lot, but frankly, it’s way more than it should be.)

• The man with the smallest penis in Brooklyn talks about media influence, body confidence, and why he entered a small penis contest.

• Have you ever had an orgasm while exercising?

Sharing the Sexy #10

• Jessica wrote about dating a former pick-up artist. I don’t think I’d ever do this, because those dudes are inherently misogynist and gross, as Jessica’s story corroborates.

• E.L. James, author of Fifty Shades of Grey, has designed her own line of sex toys. Aren’t we tired of this madness yet?

• The Frisky profiled 12 impossible sex positions.

• Ever wondered what the male orgasm feels like?

This former homophobe decided to pretend to be gay and live as a gay dude for a year.

This nun became a sex therapist. Fuck yeah, sexual liberation! (Side note: do you remember that scene in The L Word about the lesbian nuns…?)

• Sex toy reviewer extraordinaire Epiphora reviewed the James Deen dildos. She is the best, truly. I turned down an opportunity to review a Deen Peen because I’m pretty sure it physically wouldn’t fit in my vagina, and her review makes me glad I made that decision.

• Aphra Behn wrote about hormones, moods, and “scientific sexism.” This post got me thinking about how, if menstruation were a male phenomenon, PMS would have been cured by now. Extra for experts: feminist writer Gloria Steinem’s excellent essay If Men Could Menstruate.

• I found an Etsy seller who makes aluminum butt plugs. Very curious to know how they stack up.

• This video of Hank Green discussing sex, gender, attractions, and behaviour has been all over the interwebz this week. I went into it thinking, “Great, another straight white cis guy trying to ‘explain’ what life is like for minorities,” but he actually gives a pretty good (and easy-to-understand) summary of these concepts, which I think will be helpful for other straight, white, and/or cis people who can’t quite grasp ’em.