This is something I’ve been personally struggling with, and even now, for some reason, I’m embarrassed to admit it - but… I love my fitbit watch. LOVE. I think because my style in every other sense is so analog and so utilitarian and pared back, and my jewelry style is so heavily influenced by the 1940’s Retro period, a smartwatch feels, to me, extremely out of place. It broadcasts something that I feel self conscious about - which likely says more about our society than it says about me. I feel like wearing one signals attempt at weight loss, or trying to keep up with a New Year’s Resolution, when it’s been drilled into my head since basically forever that not trying and not caring is the only way. We’re supposed to be fit, and punctual, and together and “in the moment,” but we can’t have to work at it.
However, I love being able to quickly glance at my wrist and tell the time, not having to second guess my initial read like I do when I wear my vintage Cartier (which I love, but it requires winding every time I wear it and it’s just not practical). I love being able to shower in it, swim in it, that it doesn’t get notifications from my phone, that it allows me to disconnect from my phone but stay tethered to reality because I can read the time in less than a millisecond no matter what I’m doing. I find it liberating, honestly.
And then! I do actually love to be able to track my steps, especially living in LA and hardly walking ever unless I set out to do it intentionally. I like being able to track my heart rate during a workout. I like seeing how well I did or did not sleep. I like all that stuff. I like data. I’m competitive and goal-oriented, and the little vibrating thing it does when I hit 10k steps is massively satisfying to me. Also, this is not a sponsored post, I just truly love what the watch does for my life, but I also strongly dislike what it does to my outfits.
However, I don’t like how my watch looks. I also don’t really like the Apple Watch or the Oura ring - I feel like it’s maybe better to just let the thing be what it is and not try and dress it up too much or make it discrete. I was almost tempted by an Apple Watch with an Hermes band, but then… it just made the whole thing too fussy. It ran counter to the mission. Plus, an Apple Watch is much bigger than mine, and it dings every time everyone basically looks at you, and the last thing I need is more un-ignorable notifications.
So how can I make it feel more like a native part of my style? Or can I even? I know a very, very chic girl from Antwerp who wears her vintage Cartier Tank on her left wrist, and her Fitbit on her right wrist. Her style is so simple, it somehow totally works. But on me, I don’t think it would work. I also would feel claustrophobic I think having a watch on both wrists.
But then I found this reference on my desktop, and I felt aha.
This is Jillian Davison - she’s the Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar Australia, and was once the Fashion Director at Glamour before it went digital-only. She’s a stylist, and has the crispest, cleanest, sharpest personal style. She’s not at all someone I would think would go for a smart watch. But here! She! Is! And doesn’t it look fine.
I think what I’m responding to here, is that she’s sandwiched it between two pieces of actual jewelry. And that jewelry appears to be vintage or antique - I could be wrong but those look like antique Victorian silver bangles.
Also, her clothes are pleasantly classic. Everything just kind of blends together in a very lovely way, that you neither notice nor ignore the piece of tech on her wrist. I don’t know how long I’ve had this screenshot on my desktop, but its been a source of inspiration for a long time.
1. A beautiful antique, Victorian silver bangle. Nice and clean, this one. Etsy, $395
2. Another! This time more ornate. You can also find lots more here. Etsy, $263
3. Something more modern. Agmes, $680
4. And you can’t talk about silver bracelets without mentioning the iconic Elsa Peretti Bone Cuff. So beautiful. Tiffany, $1,475
5. You can’t really tell here, but Maria McManus’ shirts billow and cocoon really nicely in the back, creating a beautiful shape - similar to this photo. Maria McManus, $380
6. This is a satin, cotton blend - so it will have a nice sheen and be mega soft. It is the nicest shirt of all time. Charvet, $585
7. I also really love this one from TWP. The materials are heaven, and the cuts are beautiful. This is nice and billowy, with a pretty covered placket. I’d size up to get a really oversized, generous fit. TWP, $360
8. And to wear with it all? Some excellent navy pleat-front trousers. Keep it all tomboyish. J.Crew, $168
Then there’s also Eva Chen, my former boss, who wears her Apple watch seemingly every day. She even has a whole highlight reel about it on her IG. She takes a similar approach to Jillian, layering it in with other pieces of jewelry, but I really like how it looks here.
And you can barely see it here, but it sort of looks like it’s standing alone, and she’s wearing it with an otherwise very crisp and dressy look that feels if not vintage, then old world. The dress is by Attersee.
1. This dress is perfect. Attersee, $1,095
2. A less complicated version of a similarly romantic idea - feels very twirling in Provence to me. Most dresses like this have smocking in the back - this one does not, which I appreciate. J.Crew, $114
3. Again! very romantic, very pretty - this one has a nice rickrack detail in the skirt, and a super pretty tie detail in the back. La Ligne, $395
4. A cutie pie, and vintage-feeling seashell charm bracelet. The handmade feeling of this will nicely offset the techy watch. Brinker & Eliza, $218
5. Ditto here with the hand-knotted leather cord. I love cord jewelry, and it seems to be having a moment. Joie DiGiovanni, $375
6. And here too! Mixed pearls and chain - so pretty, feels handmade (because it is). Milamore, $1,120
7. There’s my girl! My beloved Fitbit. Fitbit, $99
8. And also, a nice romantic pair of minimalist sandals to tie the whole thing up. A.Emery, $170
And then there’s me. Struggling. Here I am though, trying on dresses at Maxfield the other day, and honestly, not being totally mortified with how it looks here.
It’s layered with my Sherman Field bracelet, which I wear every day, and a tennis bracelet from Ondyn, but I think the thing that I don’t hate here is….I wasn’t trying too hard to hide it.
Even I hate when the GRAND CONCLUSION is stop caring, but maybe the path to feeling less like a smart watch is ruining my outfit is to stop thinking it’s ruining my outfit. Just get over it. Like, maybe I’m the only one who even notices, and I’m too old to feel self conscious about something I find so useful. Right? In the other two cases too, there was no feeling of lipstick on a pig. It’s just like… this thing adds value to my life so I’m going to go with it. And thus, I will try to layer silver Victorian bangles, and I will try and dress like I bake baguettes from scratch, but at the end of the day making something feel cool starts with trying, TRYING, to feel cool regardless of whether or not you’re wearing something dorky.
1. The Jil Sander dress of my dreams, and the one I was trying on in that pic. It is so, so beautiful. I had to walk away though because it is $1,880
2. So this is white, and chiffon, but it does a similar thing as the Jil dress. It is gorgeous. Cos, $175
3. I love this one because you can wear it this way, with the high neck in front and scoop neck in back, or reverse, with scoop neck in front etc etc. Sir, $420
4. I don’t know anything about this brand, but evidently this silk tank dress is machine washable! It’s also very pretty. Quince, $80
5. My beloved Sherman Field bracelet. I wear it every single day. Sherman Field
6. I’ve been borrowing this Ondyn bracelet from my friends at Muse, and honestly I hope I never have to give it back. I love how the diamonds are different sizes. It’s just sparkly enough. Ondyn
7. And this is a necklace, but it has a similar-dish vibe, and would also look great with this outfit. Dorsey, $615
8. There she is again! Fitbit, $99
9. And finally, my Birkenstocks. I’ve been living in these - I love them so much. Birkenstock, $386
So there! I’m going to keep wearing mine, even if sometimes I feel weird about it. I hope you don’t feel weird about anything and you only ever feel happy and good.
Love, your friend,
Laurel
I totally relate to the need to have a device that tells perfect time at a glance and doesn't notify you of all the things. I feel like this is such an underrated feature set these days. For anyone else who feels that way but doesn't need all the data, I highly recommend a solar watch from Seiko or Citizen. They keep impeccable time and never need to be wound or get dead batteries.
I stopped wearing my apple watch but now I think I'll put it on and pretend it's a sparkly chic bangle because that's how you've made it now feel