Closet Clean: The Final Chapter

Hi Hello, how are you? In the last dispatch of this series, I signed off to go live my life in my newly organized and cleaned-out closet across birthdays, cocktails, dance performances, graduations, and just good old-fashioned quality time with friends. I promised to check in a ways into this living, and that’s what I’m doing now.

One of the things I love about some of my more life-defining conditions - being 40, having a now-middle-school-aged child, having clocked two decades in the fashion industry - is that it distinctly feels like I am in a phase where I have mostly broken free of trend and when I do turn my attention to my dressing, or adding things to my wardrobe, I am doing it with the eye to keep that item for the rest of my natural life, then theoretically pass it on to my daughter at some point. That doesn’t mean I’ll wear it every day, every season, but it does mean that I am proud to keep and care for it, and that it will work for me in return.

But that’s easy to say right now because the trend is firmly, unwaveringly at peak Simplicity. Be it the sort of banal but reliable look of Sabato Sarno’s Gucci, or the wistful pining for my lifelong loves Dries and Prada, or the cult-like following of @simplicitycity , or the popularity of Substack style writers like Laura Reilly or Becky Malinsky, people (and especially women) seem to be looking for reliable, chic, and mostly comfortable ensembles, whether they’re building a wardrobe or not. I’d even argue that the more whimsical stylings of Leandra Medine or Jalil Johnson speak to a level of simplicity, though theirs both layer in a rare level of sartorial humor. I would even argue that all of the people I see around ton wearing just shapewear as clothing are in line with the trend of simplicity.

So, below a few snaps from living my life in my clothes, with contextual notes on the clothes themselves. Taking pictures of myself in the mirror and talking about my wardrobe has led me to discover that I have some sort of deeply internalized shame about capturing images of myself or spending any time talking about my clothing - it’s fine when other people do it but on me, for some reason, it feels like frivolity and vanity. But what I found this spring as I cleaned out my closet – feeling steeped in guilt every second of the way for finding moments of enjoyment in a world full of sorrow – is that my clothing, when I needed it to, brought a level of joy and relief and love to my life that I truly treasure.

So much of my wardrobe is old and accumulated over time, and so much of the rest is secondhand. One thing I’ve been meditating on lately is that it’s actually a bit difficult to aspire to both of those things. I am privileged to have had access to all this stuff these past two decades; to work in fashion, to live in a center of access (versus in the suburbs or even somewhere with fewer shopping options). But also, I remember being a new single mom to a baby and how impossible it was to find time to dig around on eBay for things, or to go to vintage stores, or to really risk any type of shopping that might result in something other than exactly what I need, because my time and money was so incredibly limited. The proliferation of resale is INCREDIBLE, and I wonder if there are ways to make it even easier for people with less free time or less expendable income to build their wardrobes.

The other thing thats been heavy on my mind while writing this series is the privilege I've had of being straight sized, and that I haven’t changed sizes much in my life, and how that affects my ability to build a wardrobe or love getting dressed. I shop secondhand with ease because the vast majority of clothing manufactured is made with my size in mind. That’s not a humble brag, rather something I’m considering in terms of how to encourage more people to take part in this process when less of what’s available was made with them in mind.

As an aside, I mentioned The RealReal a lot here, but I also cannot say enough how detrimental to their sustainability cause and also the general shopping experience it is to shop somewhere that does such an epically bad job of categorizing and recognizing and organizing what they take in. People cannot buy what they cannot find. I present, by way of example:

Thank you guys so much for following along on this journey with me, and for all of the sweet notes you sent along the way about your own closet cleanouts! I hope summer has brought you the type of joy that feels like fuel.

Creatures of the Wind corset top bought secondhand this spring from my friend Batsheva’s closet sale at her incredible new boutique on Elizabeth Street, skirt is Prada bought from TRR a few years ago, and shoes are Aeyde, purchased from TRR last year.

This dress is ancient Dries. The sandals are The Row, and I found them this spring on TRR. Because I wear a size 11.5/12, TRR has historically been amazing for finding my size shoes where most independent boutiques will only go up to a size 10 at best. My clutch is Brother Vellies, it’s 6 or 7 years old from back when I worked with the brand and we produced these woven boxes with artisans in Indonesia. The volcanoes were more active than usual that year and everything we received in production smelled faintly of smoke, and this bag still does. Matilda’s dress she made from fabric she bought at Collina Strada’s office sale, and her handbag was a gift from Mr Larkin, my favorite CPH brand.

This shirt is old Lemaire, rescued from my boyfriend’s closet cleanout years ago and worn nearly to death. Same Brother Vellies clutch as above, but this skirt is Dries, actually part of my clothing allowance when I worked for them in 2010. The shoes are a new acquisition from Loeffler Randall - another great brand for anyone that wears a size 11/11.5 or 12. I tend to buy a few new pairs of shoes each year, because I live in New York and am privileged enough to be able to walk 5-8 miles a day most days, which means I am very, very hard on them. I resole at Cowboy, which I’ve mentioned before in this series.

I bought this dress a few years ago from Club Vintage, one of my favorite resale shops. Anna and I worked together many many many years ago at Opening Ceremony, and it has been a joy to watch her launch and grow her business dedicated to recirculating existing clothing in the chicest way possible. The shoes are Aeyde, you’ll recognize them from the first photo and also if you happen to see me on the street, because I wear them nearly every day.

Did you already know that Christian Dior had a mens pajama line? This is one of my favorite eBay searches, they are the best pajama tops and if you find the satin weave ones they are very… day-to-night? Not in the normal day-to-night way though? The cargo pants are J.Crew, gifted to me year before last when I was part of the J Crew Collective. And this Marni bag was given to me years ago by my boyfriend and is an absolute workhorse during the summer months. I have loved Marni Market since forever, they created the collection in partnership with artisans in Colombia and have created a micro industry out of this and their homeware. It’s been a while since the Castiglionis were in charge but I feel like this program still has a lot of their DNA.

On set for something cool, this Perfect White T Shirt was in a t shirt pile at Scout when I visited this February. The jeans are Dries from Spring 2011, by far my eldest jeans (“I am the eldest jeans!” joke), but I saw Ssense asked them to make them again and they still have the skirt iteration of that re-release available online on sale.

This was way more casual and beachy than I normally dress day to day and I remember feeling really uncomfortable walking around in shorts and a jean shirt. It pushed me out of my comfort zone! The shirt is Triarchy, and its made using their compostable plastic-free denim from Candiani. It’s super soft and I like the multi-function between jacket and shirt. This was gifted to me this spring, and I am so honored because I am such a huge fan of their work! The embroidered shorts are Dries mens and were a hand-me-down from my friend Daniel, and the sandals are a few years old Manolo Blahnik that I bought secondhand a few years ago but I can’t remember where. I do remember I bought them during the winter which is a great time to shop for summer because nobody is buying sandals. Incidentally, right now is also a great time to look for coats.

I wore this today, I am actually still wearing it now while I finish this newsletter up! It’s a netted dress I found from Dries on eBay for super cheap and those same Aeyde sandals I wear all the time. The handbag is a bag I have gotten more compliments on than any other possession in my adult life, it’s the Mini Age Bag from Advene, and it is tiny but big enough to fit my phone and keys and wallet and lip balm, and comes with a removable shoulder strap as well. I love this bag soooooo much, it has worked so hard for me in the year I’ve had it and I feel no inclination to put it away.

Looking back, this is a lot of Dries, and maybe that’s relatable because we all have certain brands that stay with us for our whole lives, or that we always aspire to imitate. When he announced his retirement earlier this year, I started writing a love letter to the brand with a decidedly business twist, but it felt like too many people were already publishing good ones. Maybe when the women’s collection comes out in September I’ll publish it. Hopefully by then he will be mostly at his vacation home or in his garden, which I thoroughly hope for all of us, whether our reach has been global or just within the confines of our own home.

Enjoy xx