Only Boring People Get Bored

About and not about Fashion Month. Mostly about dressing to feel alive.

One thing I keep seeing, and which resonates with me (especially leading into fashion month - see you in Paris???), is this thread from Hurs -

There’s a lot more to it, obviously, here’s the whole thing. But the points that I really agree with - with regard to fashion fashion AND creativity in general - is that the good taste groupthink is….a drag.

Things have been looking very samey samey. The “quiet luxury” trend moving into “mob wife” moving into “brat” - from the outside it feels a lot like the masses waiting to be told what they are for that season. Which then starts to feel like disposable style, and the opposite of what we all aspire to when we get dressed.

Alissa, ILYSM.

It does all start to feel boring and a little pre-prescribed, and I could rant about it, but you know what? Only boring people get bored.

Feeling something! Once I wore this Dries halter top, I couldn’t stop. Here’s a similar one. And I love it with suit style pants - mine are Old Céline, but try these instead. And finally, the only shoes I plan on wearing this fall - they’re sadly sold out, but this pair from Anne Mashburn, and this pair, are great. And of course, there’s always the classic Clark’s. And on the right, I was going out for dinner with two of my best mom friends from my son’s school - for mom’s night, I decided to wear some sheer pants from this post. With a giant oversized tan button down, and again, the shoes. In both looks I FELT LIKE ME! I felt alive! I felt happy and hot and comfortable and interesting and, yep, a little trashy.

I LOVE the idea that “good taste” is dead. I’m tired as hell of 2024’s flavor of “minimalism” which to me all feels like The Row minus the intellect or sense of humor. I’m tired of high brow designers knocking eachother off and trying to cash in on retail hits through their ~own lens~ (AKA dollar signs in eyes).

I’m into ideas over trends, and twists and turns that feel individual and practical. I like things that feel a little trashy or tacky, and I’m embracing a new phase of my style that nods to that. I want to get dressed to feel (here it is again) horny, rich, and lazy. Not brat, not mob, not quiet.

On the Left, this is via Erin Wasson, and it’s the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and will live on my moodboard for the rest of my life. This is the swimsuit - I want one. I don’t really have the words to express how much I love this shot and this outfit - a spoon to turn your Jeankini into a strapless situation…brilliant. Now my outfit on the right feels very meh but when I put it on, I felt so good. I love this High Sport top (you can also shop it here) and I really loved it with my flimsy Umbros and flimsy (in a good way) Row mesh sock shoes (shop the white version in more sizes here).

I like the idea that the era of the all cream and beige Instagram grid can go screw itself, and that the people who do use clothes as a medium for self expression will find a bonfire in the woods to dance around at midnight. That’s the party I want to go to. I want to think of clothes as means to communicate something private and interior, or convey something so abstract and subtle in a concrete way. To nail a feeling and a moment we’re all having but can’t articulate, hitting a vein like Friday’s Alaïa show at the Guggenheim, or Khaite’s softened approach on Saturday. From Booth Moore: “There is a yearning for joy and optimism in the zeitgeist, and many designers are responding this spring 2025 season, even Cate Holstein, New York fashion’s reigning queen of darkness.”

And that’s what I mean when I say using clothes to “feel something.” You can change your mood by changing your outfit, you can feel soft, or scary, or like a haunted Victorian doll, all depending on the look. You could be powerful or pretty or sexy or baby or joyful and optimistic (this is what I’m feeling), but my hope is that we stop aspiring to simply be on trend or chic or….worst of all…classy. Too often having good taste is confused with having good style.

Alaïa on the left, Khaite on the right. Feels personal!

So I’m not about to bitch and moan about Fashion Week, I’m not going to complain about being busy or spread too thin. (This is also because I know that outside of the very small group of people who go to shows, NOBODY GIVES A SHIT.) Aside from the beige and cream boucle everything that honestly really has overstayed its welcome, I also don’t want to yuck someone else’s yum when it comes to creative expression. I never want to be the…ahem…turd in the punchbowl.

Being neg about this time of year was never really my thing anyway, I’ve always felt puppyish during fashion week, despite my insecurities.

On the left, this is the perfect sweatshirt I wrote about from Jamie Haller - I can’t take it off - it’s sold out, but I highly recommend this one from Amazon as well. Also can’t take off these sporty shorts from Made Some. They remind me of the dELiA*s era. They’re SHORT and sexy - I wish I’d gotten them a size smaller so they’d also be TIGHT. They’re cool and chic but also funny. I am such a huge fan. And then these Jamie Haller flats but in silver, which she doesn’t do anymore. I love silver + sporty. On the right - a great, classic stripe sweater from Kule, and these silly pants I bought on impulse at Warm in Amagansett, they’re by a brand called Surfette - I can’t find them online, or the brand page or Instagram or anything….does anyone know anything about Surfette? They’re towel material, and I bought them specifically to wear in the fall and winter with sweaters. They’re so dumb, I fucking love them. This pair from Dries does kind of the same thing, and is probably easier to style. I like them here with these mega soft suede Tyler booties from The Row (here’s a fantastic pair that’s shearling lined and available in a wide size run). The thing I like about this is it’s nicely balanced in terms of function. Fall sweater + summery pant + mid-season shoe bridges the gap between the two other extremes. With a real winter boot it would look too forced, and with a sandal it just wouldn’t be that interesting.

I have massive anxiety about going into my one day in New York next week (more on that later) and Paris at the end of this season - about not getting to go to anything, being rejected - because at the end of the day, Earl Earl is me. Everything I’m doing is a representation of me and what I believe in and like and want to see in the world. I can’t not take it personally, because it IS personal. But I’m still putting myself out there, IRL and online, here. And for the things that I can go to and see, I’m just so excited. Even if I don’t like the clothes or the things or whatever, what a gift it is to live in a time when people continue to open themselves up in spite of everyone saying it’s pointless or fruitless or a losing game. Or worse, tearing you apart in your most vulnerable moments (my heart breaks for Virginie Viard, I honestly liked a lot of what she did at Chanel).

Oooooooo I am having so much fun! The left is one of my favorite outfits ever - the top is a beloved men’s Dries shirt, which I wear all the time. Here’s a gold one, and a black one - both on sale. I’ve eyed this sarong from Chan Luu for a while, and now that I have it, I can think of about thirty seven ways and places to wear it. It’s SO BEAUTIFUL, and I can’t believe it isn’t more expensive (it’s $175!). The tassles are heaven. And on the right - can you believe I have more than one pair of yellow pants? These are by Indress, but they’re hard to find online (go to the store when you’re in Paris!), and this color is a few seasons old, but I like these too, and these are also wonderful and probably a little easier to wear. And my new Still Here tee is almost exactly the same color - I love them together with the matte texture of the shirt contrasting with the shine of the pants, but all in the same color - and toss on this Row string belt to paperbag waist them. That belt is old and sold out, but try this, but I also really like something like this here. Finally, THE beloved AGS jelly flats because they’re goofy but kind of disappear. Anything dark would be too high contrast with this, but so would white. I needed something almost invisible. I LOVE this.

Fuck the haters.

Let’s have fun, let’s hug and high five and feel something together. And I mean that in a greater sense right now, because I know probably only like .01% of the people reading this will be at the shows or care about Fashion Week as an institution. But my wish for you is to swim in your pond, put something silly on, feel something, connect with someone, try something, wiggle around in your own skin and wag your tail.

Feel good, feel good, feel good.

Your friend, forever

Laurel