Fashion for everyone

i recently did an interview for the lovely folks at antler magazine. a few excerpts from the piece are below, but if you care to read the whole story click here (pages 28-31).

i've been tagged by the style antagonist! usually i'm terrible at answering these chain questionnaires, but this time i was determined to follow through for a change. so here we go...!

1. what is your current obsession?

jewelry!!! making it, buying it, wearing it, thinking about it... i'm decidedly obsessed.

2. what is your horoscope & how do you relate to it?

i'm a virgo, which is reflected in how exacting i am. i avoid the word 'perfectionist', but admit there is a lot of order in my version of chaos. i think it shows in the way i dress ~ my style is kooky but in an unusually clean way. it's also evident in my designs ~ what is made to look haphazard is actually very precise.

3. what are you wearing today?

a printed blue satin t-shirt dress from target's go international line. originally, it was majorly muumuu style ~ awkwardly long length, huge stiff sleeves ~ but i saw in it some serious marni potential (i'm always assimilating styling suggestions from that collection). so i bought it (for around $20), chopped off the hem, and hand-pleated the sleeves. now it's a cheap + chic summer staple!

4. what was the last thing you bought?

12by12 harem pants & christian louboutin 'miss fourtune' shoes (both of which i wore yesterday).

5. what do you think about the person who tagged you?

with a name like 'style antagonist' i'd expect quite the attitude ~ but she's as sweet as they come!

6. what's for dinner?

it's too soon to tell, but if i had to place a bet i'd put my money on take-out from noodle studio in williamsburg. they have the best tofu green curry in town, and i eat it at least twice a week!

7. what's your favorite decade, fashion-wise?

i'm sort of partial to this mythical ideal decade ~ it would be a haute couture (ie: polyester-free) version of the 1970's, with a generous splash of the roaring 20's mixed in.

8. what are your must-haves for summer?

this time of year, i always carry a lovely folding fan in my purse. i also adore a pretty parasol ~ it's an extravagant yet practical accessory that you can only get away with from july through august!

9. what would you love to be able to afford?

a big, white, light-filled new york city loft, with a closet the size of my current quarters!!!

10. what is your favorite piece of clothing from your current wardrobe?

i've talked a lot on this blog about my favorite gold vintage jacket, which forever remains #1 in my world. i wish some designer would knock it off and send me one in every color! i guess i might just have to do it myself...

11. what is your dream job?

doing just what i'm doing ~ styling photos, designing jewelry, and writing this blog!

12. what's your favorite magazine?

italian vogue, followed closely by its french sister.

13. describe your personal style:

sort of 'palm beach eccentric' ~ like a madcap, blue-haired, bridge and brandy-loving granny (stuck in a 20-something shell). it's iris-apfel-aspirational:

14. which Beatle is your favorite?

the egyptian scarab (winks cheekily).

15. what are you proud of?

using my own two hands to make the world a prettier place.

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(next up: i tag my beautiful blogger friend, what i wore. jessica, you're it!!!) / (updated to add: my twitter friend the village idiot. you're it too!)

allow me to present to you my ultimate fashion icon, the inimitable iris apfel, a woman who effortlessly scaled the mount everest of personal style, becoming the first woman to have her wardrobe exhibited at the costume institute at the metropolitan museum of art in new york (during her own lifetime, no less):

here's a lady who for many decades has worn whatever she damn well pleases; she is a reminder that the best thing about personal style is that it is yours. you can use and abuse it however you like.

i started this blog because i really like playing dress up - every day - and i know so many lovely people who for various reasons feel they need to dance on the safer side of the tracks. i was one of those people for a while.

i grew up in a conservative community, wearing uniforms everyday to school. i was exposed to art, to theater, and to elegance, but did not have much access to the fantasy of fashion.

then, at some point, i realized that i could take my play clothes out of the costume box and wear them every day if i felt like it. i could wear pants on my head and my legs through my sleeves if i cared to.

i bring this up because of an interesting comment made on eddie's the last glamourai post. a reader felt that street stylers, and i assume style bloggers, dress in a way that is too self-conscious.

it inspired me to add that there really is such a thing as dressing for YOURSELF. i like myself better when i feel good in an outfit. i feel empowered by a beautiful detail or a kooky print, and when it's cold outside, i'd much rather wear 15 different fun things than one big boring sleeping-bag of a puffer coat. the more the merrier!!! who gives a flip if someone else thinks it's too much? they don't have to wear it.

the reason i have chosen to make some of my everyday 'costumes' public on this blog is that i'm having a great time in them, and i hope other people will see that and be inspired to take risks that are right for their own lives.

the selfish pleasure i get? it's not in having someone make my photo in the street (although that's always flattering). it's the way people in cafes, subways, gas stations - and yes, on the street - smile and engage with me. in a world that can be very isolated & disconnected, where many people are living lonely, my personal style is a language that i've realized enables me to make new friends all over the world.

let's remember that this is a reciprocal dialogue, and have fun

with not only our own style, but also each others'.