There are countless tips and tricks when it comes to getting dressed. Consider the three word rule, the One-Ton-or-None trick, the wrong shoe theory, the Big-Slim-Skin mix, the 7 point rule…
Unlike most sartorial trends, what I like most about these strategies is that they offer helpful pointers to maximize your own closet instead of adding to it when you’re feeling uninspired. Or in my case this spring, feeling both the expanse of possibility and its overwhelm as the warmer days rolled in.
Earlier this month, I completed the ritualistic unpacking of cotton dresses and folding away of thick wool, turning over my wardrobe to re-discover a lighter one. I could almost feel my summer character loading, the edges still pixelated, details not yet rendering. I didn’t find a need for full reinvention, but learnings acquired over the past year (with a slightly shifting body and style) meant that I wanted to refine my approach to getting dressed. So while I’ve learned that in terms of silhouettes and pairing I gravitate towards the sculptural and romantic, toned down with casual elements like sneakers and jeans, I still felt like I wanted to lean into the element of play (most things worth doing, I think, are worth doing with play in mind) while balancing out those aforementioned components.
That’s how my new theory—let’s call it The Power of Story & Character— clicked.
It came to me when I was styling a new (to me) skirt I found at Seconde Vintage in Montreal. I’d had it on with a pair of loafers and was feeling like it could very easily fall into formal old lady territory. A quick paw through Marcus’s wardrobe led me towards his oversized Bugs Bunny shirt, and styled together, a persona manifested. I texted a photo to my friend Lucie, who I’d bought it with, almost immediately. “I feel like an Italian grandmother who slept over at her grandsons’s and nabbed his tee the next morning.” I wrote to her.
The character and story filled in the accessories blank—croc tote with charms, cobalt socks—and imbued the look with joy. Eureka!
There’s not much else to the theory, though it can help to select a rolodex of characters (essentially your style icons but not necessarily) to refer to. Mine include Chloë Sevigny, Marie-Antoinette, chic Italian octogenerians, librarians with a flair for the architectural. It doesn’t really matter if the story (sometimes just the function of the outfit) or the character comes to you first, only that put together they bring more joy to the act of getting dressed.
For example:
Librarian returning book haul home in a basket and tote (after her shift at grays).
Marie-Antoinette if she ever attended an intra-mural soccer game (sideline rosé not pictured)
Etc!
It’s no novel thought to say that we are often (always?) saying something about ourselves when we get dressed to go out into the world, so why not lean into it? It’s just more play! I want to know who you’re cosplaying as this summer. Lmk!
Lately
Reading
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
Part memoir part expansion on Dederer’s 2017 essay “What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?”, the book explores the relationship between art and artist while attempting to disentangle herself from the work that has influenced her own. For me the essay was more effective, and I also struggled with some of the reaches made in comparing certain “monstrous” female artists (I use inverted commas as the ones in the book are deemed monstrous mostly for being bad mothers not bad people—which is fodder for exploration but the comp. didn’t feel apt.) and some of the memoir portions felt under-explored.
A Separation by Katie Kitamura
Not done this one just yet but it’s a quick read about the ending of a marriage and a trip that unravels secrets about it. I don’t feel like it will be as riveting as her hot-off-the-press Audition that everyone is talking about, but a good pick to get back into the reading groove.
Using
Violette_FR Lipsticks
My hairdresser, Sandi, put me on Violette_FR’s Boum-Boum Milk last year and during my last appointment she convinced me to try her lipsticks next. Or rather the fact that hers had not moved in an hour and a half of chatting and sipping Perrier convinced me. Right after my hair cut, I ordered the Bisou Balm in Bonbon Myrtille and Bisou Jelly in Aïssa and can confirm they are both the most perfect buildable lipsticks. Long-lasting, delicious smelling, and for the matte formulation (Bisou Balm) surprisingly not drying.
Ilia Mascara
Another recommendation this time from my friend Victoria who swears by this Limitless Lash Mascara. I bought it during the Sephora sale but waited to finish my old tube before cracking it open. I’ve been using it for a week now and am converted. Victoria says she hasn’t used another mascara in years and I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t either.