I really love clothes. I can't help but sink most of my money into my wardrobe. I've had lots of different eras with what I wear and each stemmed from a fascination/obsession with something.
Growing up in the peak of the vintage store era made me dress so (arguably too) creatively when I was a teen. We had a really amazing and generally well priced vintage shop that was filled with one off pre-80s pieces. I used to go out clubbing when I was 18 in 50s and 60s cocktail dresses. This was a great way to be ostracized by my peers who did not get it yet, especially as a weird looking teen, but yet I persisted. This era fused with an 'all black everything' The Cure/Bauhaus/Jesus and Mary Chain era of chunky boots, black skinny jeans and leather.
At 19 I moved to Paris to be an au pair and was determined to assimilate. I received copies of Caroline de Maigret's 'How to be Parisian' and Ines de la Fressange's 'Parisian Chic' and I haven't looked back since. My style is still so influenced by those books and Parisian style in general. I like wearing a mixture of simple and fun clothes. My daily uniform is almost always a graphic tee/shirt/plain jumper and wide leg jeans/tailored trousers/midi length skirt. I like my dresses to be bias cut and mid length. I love wearing suits. I like contrasting feminine and masculine pieces together. I have a huge amount of jackets. I like solid colours and rarely wear patterns. I wear a lot of black but I'm trying to change that. I generally don't wear jewellery. The only accessories I wear are sunglasses, so I have a massive collection. Same for shoes and bags. I walk a lot so I mostly wear trainers, and I don't drive so I invest in good shoes that are as comfortable as possible because they are my car.
My wardrobe is pretty androgynous and I regularly buy from the men's section. I have wide hips though (romantic kibbe) so it's taken some experimentation and some acceptance that clothes will never look the same on me as they do on men. My biggest style influences are Nick Cave (suits, shoes, textures) and Penelope Gazin (fun, hot, playful).
May 6, 2024
Related Recs
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Longer than it probably should be for me to explain this but I love discussing this stuff:
Whether I am thrifting or getting something brand new, it is important to me that the fabric feels good against my skin, that it either fits how I would like or I could do minor adjustments on my own, and I need to like the colours. Whilst I have had a style evolution, its more so in how I express my tastes than the contents of them. I have always liked some variety to the textures of the fabrics that I wear, I love unusual colours and fun prints, and I look for silhouettes that are sharp.
My style is basically eccentric librarian which aligns with both my tastes and my lifestyle so during the day to day I wear a lot of button downs, blazers, and heels, with a lot of the prints being stripes, tartans made out of a lot of wool, corduroy and cotton. When I am more casual there is a lot of jeans, well fitting t-shirts, flowy dresses and minis, this is when I tend to be more playful with silhouette.
I tend to wait for items to go on sale because given my tastes, the clothes that I want tend to be unpopular because people think that they would be difficult to style, or would stick out in their wardrobe. Strategically I also go to the "bargain bin" at thrift markets for the same reason lol. After the sales/bargain I will see if theres anything on my mental list that I want, and I will just try on the things that catch my eye. Then if I want accessories I look at sterling silver pieces and vintage ties and scarves. I get a lot of my shoes from my older sisters' wardrobes (and tbh a lot of other clothes, we are close like that) but if I buy them they tend to be in line with a pair I had and wore until they fell apart. Then when I have my things I try them on one last time, make sure they are within budget and get them.
My rule is no impulse buys. If I want to buy, I save and make a list with the date that I will go get the thing. I mull over it and think about why I want it in my wardrobe and then I get it. Style icons for me are Mary Quant, Myha'la, Cree Summer and Robin Williams. And I'd say the fashion journalists/bloggers/commentators/educators that I keep up with are Derek Guy, Lakyn Carlton and Cora Harrington.
Sep 13, 2024
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I used to live in an extremely hot sunny dry climate and loved to show a lot of skin. I went through phases of different styles just trying things out. Junior year of high school people called me the sexy librarian; senior year my favorite style in high school was kinderwhore which gave off strange mixed messages and intimidated people I think but it was also appropriate for my off-putting hostile personality. I wore a lot of very short skimpy dresses or lingerie with sheer black tights and big sweaters on top and I loved to play with textures and layering. A family friend who was a semi famous musician in the 1990s-2000s was obsessed with my style and wanted to hire me as his assistant because he thought I was cool which i appreciated because none of my peers told me that to my face lol.
When I was a teenage dirtbag my everyday summer uniform was high-waisted denim short shorts, some variation of a Breton top, tank top + open chambray top layered on top, or see-through white drapey t-shirt/tank top with trashy lacey black bralette peeking through. Sometimes I would mix it up and wear a tutu. I wore low-top black converse or the Doc Martens Darcie boot. My friends and I thought we were the characters in Kids (1995) so that was quite the lifestyle.
Started to dress more feminine/glamorous and got really into wearing lush fabrics and vintage furs. Then I went back to a more androgynous look and would usually wear just high-waisted skinny pants of some kind with a black blazer. Then for a while I had a bohemian free spirit kind of vibe.
Wore a lot of miniskirts dressy tank tops and cropped blazers with sheer tights and heeled boots. then I started to examine the contradiction between my attention seeking clothing and my distaste for being openly ogled in public by strangers and decided to try dressing more modestly.
Overcorrected to a minimalist somewhat conservative style of dress and looked frumpy and shitty all the time but did command respect from people. Read about the Kibbe system (if you search you’ll probably find my post about it) and saw that I’m a theatrical romantic and that David Kibbe recommends that I wear delicate flowy clothing that accentuates my shape rather than trying to balance it out or cover it.
I gave away like 80% of my wardrobe and now I’m in the process of figuring out what that looks like in a way that I’m comfortable with, finding the balance between drawing attention and trying to completely hide myself. For casual wear I’m mostly wearing high-waisted skinny jeans, camisoles with lace trim, and usually some kind of cropped jacket on top. Still love to wear maximalist glam clothes and lots of furry textures in the winter.
I have mostly followed a strict no athleisure no tennis shoes policy for most of my adult life. I like to wear leather slip-on shoes with a moderate stacked heel. Feeling drawn back to bomber jackets. Experimenting with drawstring waist and paper bag waist pants that are tapered at the ankle. Considering buying harem pants. I’m thinking I will probably go back to a more bohemian style to project my inner warmth and affability instead of scaring people away by appearing cold and standoffish. so it’s a work in progress of getting my swag back…
May 5, 2024
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god i could really write a whole essay on this
for context, i’m studying pattern cutting and have been really into/very specific about my clothes forever but have known fashion since maybe 15-16
because of how i fit into the clothes-scape my tastes cannot be separated from trends whether i like it or not. how i dress is rather on trend lately tbh
over the years my pants have gotten bigger as i grow more accustomed to the comfort of having less fabric on your body + the dynamism of a wide leg in the somewhat constrained silhouettes of menswear. also inextricable from wider pants just becoming more a part of the collective consciousness and thus my consciousness
my tops have gotten smaller & tighter as i've grown more confident and comfortable with my body. still love a baggy vintage tee when it’s warm though
maybe best way is to talk my fav clothes and why they’re my fav clothes:
- plasticana clogs. super california shoe but also like a half clog half loafer. i love heeled shoes i think they’re more elegant and just more smooth so i’ve worn loafers mostly for the last 6 years. these are like if those felt like sneakers to me. so easy so comfy
- fadepants cords. super baggy, so fucking comfortable. really dynamic shape with a lot of personality. they just feel right
- slim gildan tees. they remind me of the artist guy in Blow-Up and the way that guy looks reminds me of the energy we all used to have in the wood/metalshops at parsons, functional dress
- hanes beaters. so new york summer. also i love how they fit me they flatter my build
- oakley sunglasses. indestructible. ridiculous shape in a way i can own. michael jordan wore them in the 90’s and i love basketball & his game
- bandanas. remind me of home. remind me of my gay ass new york friends. a lot of them were from home too but i met them all in new york. funny how life works. they suit my hair well when i don’t feel like wearing a hat or i haven’t got time for a shower, and it’s very windy in stratford a hat might blow off
- 90’s vintage snapbacks. they fit over my hair that’s really the only reason
- our legacy borrowed bd shirt. it reminds me of the shirts my friend katie wears and those shirts are aggressively northern california. so is this one. and it’s just cute
- supreme leather collar work jacket. has all of the pockets, and the roundness/diesel type fit that a new yorker’s jacket would have. and that makes me happy. form + function
i think right now my style is in a pretty solid place of amalgamating the things that make me me, between upbringing, interests, places i’ve lived + the things i’ve taken from them, queerness, and my growing understanding of how all the things i wear are made. feeling really good about it all. want to figure out how to wear 90’s retro basketball sneakers though because they’re something i’ve loved forever and im a huge basketball fan but they’ve just never felt right when i tried them, except foamposites. personal style is a neverending pursuit if you’re doing it right
May 14, 2024
Top Recs from @caskeyc
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1. Don't set an alarm and wake up naturally. Snooze for however long you want to, it's okay
2. Have breakfast. For me it's toast. Have it with butter/jam/honey and a lot of water and coffee and juice.
3. Listen to an album in full and do some puzzles until it ends. I like to stick a record on and do the nyt games (connections, then wordle, then the mini, then I'm ready for a crossword)
4. Shower and use all your best stuff. Smell great. Make your hair feel soft.
5. Wear an outfit you don't get to wear that often. I tend to wear the same thing over and over at work so I wear something a bit more fun and less practical.
6. Go outside. I live near a road with secondhand shops that are great browsing but quite tempting on a budget. To beat the temptation just look in the windows and then walk round the streets or to a green space if it's a nice day. Walk as fast or as slow as you like. Try and spot cats that might let you stroke them. See how each place you go smells different. Walk down streets that you've not been down before just because.
7. Come home and decide how much energy you have. If you have energy do an activity (I would write, play an instrument, do some art, read, play a game) if you don't then watch something from your watchlist. Saturdays feel like a good day to watch something new.
8. Cook yourself a meal. Start before you're hungry and spend ages on it. Use every pot. Listen to music. Sing whilst you wash the dishes.
9. Play! Video games, board games, internet games, card games, phone games, rearrange your plushies, embrace your inner child. Play with ideas, experiment with felt tip pens, write a limerick. Get silly with it.
10. Talk to your friends. Invite them over, call somebody up, text that person back you didn't have time to. I like to spend a good day off by myself then have a great time talking to people after I've recharged.
11. Have so much fun getting to do whatever you want you fall asleep at whatever time. Monday - Friday is about appeasing your body clock, Saturdays are for filthy pleasures like falling asleep at 3am because you were too busy flirting or reading or watching videos.
Apr 16, 2024
Re: my last rec I'm kinda realizing reading this might have changed my life actually
Apr 16, 2024