The Sparks That Inspire
Acquired Taste: vol 03
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Earlier this week we talked about personal style influences and it got me thinking that it would be nice for us to share a bit more of ourselves with you. After all, our taste and style shaped from a lifetime of experiences, why not share a few with you here.
Without further ado, here is a glimpse at the different elements that have shaped my personal taste:
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR EARLIEST STYLE MEMORIES AND INFLUENCES:
The earliest influence has to be my love of ballet. I started dancing when I was four years old and the disciplined uniform of the lightest pink tights, black long-sleeved leotard, soft leather slippers and elastic around the waist is something I always turn back to as a style reference. It explains why I draw inspiration from a young Audrey Hepburn in her 3/4-length sleeved black shirts and trim trousers. The onstage look also infiltrates my choices, most obviously in evening wear. I do love a full skirt against a fitted bodice.
My earliest style memory is from third grade but serves me well to this day. They were yellow rubber galoshes that fit over my shoe. Nobody had anything like them. Wellingtons were not the fashion as they are today, especially not in my small Midwestern town in the early 80s. I can still remember the school kids making snide remarks as I walked past, coming home and telling my mom that I never wanted to wear them again. Her response was something to the effect of, why do you give a fig what other people think or say, who says they have the last word in taste?
MY STYLE AS A TEENAGER WAS…
This was in the early nineties and I longed for high-fashion. I collected all of the fashion magazines and grabbed international issues whenever I was in a bookstore that sold them. I wanted to be sophisticated and sleek. Not what I saw around me every day. I would chop my hair off after seeing Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista in an editorial. It definitely set me apart from every other teenager in my small town.
Instead, my reality was limited to what I had available in my wardrobe. I tried to make the most of it but we’re talking about a hodgepodge of random 90s style buys from Express and The Limited mixed with some Girbaud jeans which fit me so much better than Guess.
MY STYLE PET PEEVE IS…
The idea that tight clothes make you look sleek and thin. They do the opposite, friends. Also, nobody looks comfortable in them - either because they are constricted by shoving themselves into them or, if they are stretchy, because they are revealing too much of what they really want to disguise.
Also, those poor souls who don’t trim the vent stitch on a new jacket - same for the label on the sleeve.
THE ONE THING I WEAR EVERY DAY IS…
A smile.
I AM ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND THE PERFECT VERSION OF…
A wrap sweater. It’s the ballet influence. I had two in 2001, merino wool from Banana Republic. The moths loved them as much as I did. I’ve yet to find anything that perfect. The fit is typically too tight and the length too cropped.
MY FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP IS…
We own an Atelier so the world is my oyster. There are very few things I need to shop for that we can’t design and have made.
I do miss old-school department stores. I could spend hours in them. That feeling of discovery that is lost now in the digital age. You could walk out with a new outfit, a duvet cover and some champagne coupes. The customer service was always impeccable. Bonus points if they had a restaurant with older, chic women lunching.
MY MOST MEMORABLE CULTURAL INFLUENCE…
I grew up in the pre-digital age so cultural references were limited to television and print media - and whatever interesting characters you would meet along the way. Did I mention I’m from a small town? The choices were limited, to say the least.
But!
My parents started getting season tickets to the Fisher Theater in Detroit when I was in High School. Probably one of the best, most impactful things they could do for my developing mind. I was exposed to so much more through those performances. It was an hour’s drive each way but totally worth it.
The one play I wish I could experience again and again, I saw with my older brother and grandmother when my parents were out of town. Tru - a one man show about Truman Capote. I had no idea who Truman Capote was! Can you imagine? It felt as if we had been invited into his apartment, post Answered Prayers, where he dished on everyone and delivered bon mot after bon mot. It was incredible! I remember my grandmother’s laughter that night. I haven’t felt that entertained in a long time.
I WOULD TRADE CLOSETS WITH…
Lee Radziwill but I wouldn’t fit into anything!
I LIKE TO COLLECT…
Old magazines. I have a stack of old Gourmet magazines from the 1960s and 1970s that I found in an antique store near my hometown. I didn’t buy them and regretted it tremendously. Thankfully my dad scooped them up and shipped them to me. The trouble was worth it for the old advertising alone! I also have a selection of old Holiday and Flair magazines.
I have collected the full series of The Happy Lion stories by Louise Fatio and Roger Duvoisin from the 1950s-70s, sweet stories about a most polite French lion and his various encounters and adventures. Bonjour Happy Lion!
MY FAVORITE PLACE IN NEW YORK IS…
It was the Campbell Apartment many moons ago when they still had standards. It is so out of the way in such a high traffic area, it felt like you needed a secret handshake to enter.
The King Cole Bar holds memories but I would have to say the gated courtyard to the Palace Hotel. It’s where my husband proposed to me.
FOR BREAKFAST I EAT…
Almost always, eggs. I love them in all forms: boiled, fried, scrambled, poached. A bright orange yolk makes me smile. And a lot of coffee. To know me is to understand I’m never not drinking coffee. It’s my only vice.
WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST IN THE DIGITAL AGE…
The Sunday paper and the desire to sit with it all day.
I feel this way about most things in printed form, now replaced by endless scrolling.
MY LEAST FAVORITE TRAIT…
My perfectionism. It can hold me back in life as I wait for something to feel ready to share with the world. I’m learning to jump off the cliff and not worry if it’s the perfect swan dive.
I used to want everything in my orbit to be pristine and that’s exhausting. It also lacks character. I have a small volume of Truman Capote short stories I took with me on a weekend vacation with my mom when I was younger. She accidentally knocked over a glass of red wine and it soaked into a few pages but didn’t destroy the book. She bought me another to replace it but I still have both because the wine soaked one reminds me of a trip, a place, a feeling, a moment in time.
THE PERSON, LIVING OR DEAD, I WISH I WERE MORE LIKE…
Auntie Mame. She had style, was fearless in trying new things, and carved her own path in the world.
WHERE DO I FIND INSPIRATION…
I’ve been trying to spend less time on social media for my own sanity. I’ve narrowed my Instagram scrolling to a few accounts that introduce me to new ideas in design or culture and some really wonderful photographers:
THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE I’VE EVER HEARD IS…
Miuccia Prada’s advice for developing style:
“Study, study, study. Read literature books, watch movies, look at art.”
And the incredible Martha Graham,
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost.”
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Such a fun read. Seeing those vent stitches too often these days.
The Happy Lion reference unlocked a core childhood memory! Loved that character!