A month or so ago, during Paris Fashion Week, I texted a friend to see what he thought of the Celine show. “Spectacular,” he said. “So many gestural nuances.”
Since then, I’ve been thinking about that phrase. “Gestural” really succinctly and accurately describes so much of what turns me on in fashion. It’s anti-perfectionist, fully personalized, natural, and has the human touch. It feels, not the opposite of, but in opposition to the pre-packaged tastefulness of quiet luxury. There’s something sloppy here, something messy and wrong and delicious that makes it compelling.
These little details, the rolled cuff, the slightly frizzy hair, the tied belts and scarves, the layers and posture: this is what makes something individual and unique and personal. These are the touches that make your style look innate and truly effortless. These are the things that feel authentic and individualistic, and that I think you look at and think…man that’s cool.
The whole idea is that your clothes should be worn, they should be worn-in (but not worn-out), and in putting them all together artfully, it becomes less about what you’re wearing than how you’re wearing it. It’s one thing to say “get a little sloppy!” and another to actually understand how to pull it all together. And there are a few ground rules before I walk through how to actually put all the layers and elements together.
Ok, actually just two things: the first is that your clothes should fit properly. There’s a difference between oversized and simply too big and form fitted and too small. If something is oversized, it should still fit in the shoulders. If it’s fitted, it shouldn’t ride up when you move. Right?
The second, is that your things should be in essentially good condition. Not stained or torn or pilled if it’s a knit. Ok, so here we go—there’s a lot more information in the video, and it’s cute, but here’s a photo step by step along with credits for what I’m wearing in the video.
STEP 1: I’m going with the most basic, fundamental outfit of all time for me. I meant to show how this looked before I styled the button down, but I didn’t manage to. However, nothing simpler than jeans and a button down! These are my favorite jeans, my Wranglers - mine are the pre-washed indigo, but I’ve worn them for years to get them to look like this- (I also love this pair from Madewell and the sizing is easier to figure out), and my favorite all time button down from Comme Si in Grecian Blue. I wrote a whole newsletter on styling a button down, but in a nutshell, you want to roll up the sleeves, unbutton the shirt from the waistband of your pants down, and then unbutton the top few buttons. That opens it all up and makes it feel personal.
STEP 2: Then, shoes. I wanted to wear sneakers here because they’re the most basic fundamental thing there is, and sure, these are Dries and snake print, but the silhouette is a classic vintage style (these Nikes are also great). But the point here is that the pant hem is high, and the silhouette of the shoe is low, so consider your ankle! If you’re going to show your ankles, great! If you want socks, think about the socks. This outfit would look very different with red socks, or black, yellow or white. You can kind of play it out in your head, but the most important thing for me is the texture. I like socks that have texture - these are kind of random ribbed cotton socks, but I love these - and I like to wear them scrunched down a little. The human touch! The ease!
