023: Ways of Wearing II
Starring Dries Van Noten's green dream of a skirt
In New York City, there are about three minutes in a year during which particular pieces in my closet can only then be worn: a Granny Smith-green bracelet sleeve nylon jacket that provides no warmth but looks terrific, for example, or a certain Dries Van Noten mid-weight cotton skirt embellished with cream sequin sunbursts, as I present to you today.
From Dries Van Noten's final spring womenswear collection, this skirt was a gift from my husband for my birthday – the pupil surpasses the teacher – way back in April, and since then, ideal conditions for wearing this skirt never presented itself, and also partially because, as I have demonstrated over and over again with my newsletters, I can be a bit mental. There is a certain climate denial I cannot subscribe to: if there is a moderate chill in the air, there are certain cottons I just can't do. Cotton is for summer, the tantalizing tail-end of spring, the last flirtation before fully committing to autumn, my broken brain tells me, a symbol of shirking the gloom of the cooler months. Yes, rationally I could wear a coat over it, but its structure, which makes it so special, and volume of Cristóbal Balenciaga proportions, would be weighed down, or I could wear it with tights, but who am I even kidding?
"I thought you were Miss Must Have Multiple Wears Through All Kinds of Weather," you're probably thinking, and I am! But, I do enjoy frivolity every now and then, and the moment there is even a hint of Ideal Conditions on the horizon, I will wear those silly clothes around the clock until they are on the verge of becoming embedded with an...aroma. To alleviate the monotony of wearing the same thing every single day, I consider the different ways of wearing. So last week, during the arrival of ominously pleasant late summer weather (it's a bit too nice, no?), out came this forest green dream. During the first blissful thirty-two seconds of summer, I found myself confined to my apartment, hopelessly sick for a month, and alas, the skirt could not have her rightful debut. But this time around, I would make it count!
I.
For it’s first outing of the season, I took the skirt to spend far too much money on treats for my cat, and to stock up on far too many treats for myself (books) at McNally Jackson. Worn just with the blank tank top (from Gap; fun fact I used to work at Gap and would always get placed in GapKids, where they would incessantly play Modern Love by David Bowie so much so that the mere intro of that song would make my head want to explode for years after) it just wasn’t giving. But paired with a recent secondhand acquisition from Poshmark, a bottle green plastic garland from Miu Miu’s Spring ‘03 collection, and we’re in business!
The clutch is from my very first trip to Italy, found in a small leather goods shop in Venice. It reminded me of this mermaid-hued Comme des Garçons wallet I had lusted after but didn’t have the funds for. This outfit makes me think of something one would have worn to have dinner at a heavenly and cheesy tropical resort in the late ‘50s, except it’s 2024 and the resort in question is New York Fake Plastic Concrete City.
An associate at the bookstore complimented my skirt, and because that makes her my new best friend (apologies to my forever best friend), I found it necessary to talk to her about the arrangement of the sequins on it. While it’s hard to tell in pictures, the height of the sequins incrementally increases as it approaches the center; the sequins themselves do not increase in thickness, and to achieve dimensionality, the tiny sequins are stacked one on top of the other. It reminds me of one scene in the Dries documentary, when the karigars in Kolkata are crafting painstakingly intricate embroideries and layering sequins without somehow adding bulk. The amount of work that undoubtedly went into achieving this effect makes me cherish it more.
II & III.
For some time, I had a very conventional way of wearing belts, that is, right at the very point where the tucked shirt meets the waistband. Slinging a belt any which way was not my forte. But, with this skirt, that old recipe just didn’t work, so I thought, to hell with convention! Would everything fall apart? No. It merely multiplied the possibilities.
The gold chain belt is from a old swimsuit, which maybe isn’t the most sensible thing to wear while swimming, but when reclining on a daybed, hungry for admiration? Certainly so! The paillette belt, which is serendipitously almost exactly the same colour as the sequins on the skirt is by Sara Lanzi, former mentee of one Rei Kawakubo. Earlier this summer, Lanzi announced that after twenty phenomenal years in the business of fashion, the brand is closing shop. Her clothes and accessories make me feel feminine and weird, the perfect balance of how I want to be in the way I dress.
IV & V.
Here I tackle the principles of “more is more” and “less is more”. To the left is what I’d wear to replenish my cat’s treats or to do Cute Daytime Things normal people do (I wouldn’t know). There are more elemental bits here, but because the accessories are a bit silly and childlike – a headband in the style of a vintage swim cap adorned with oversized fake flowers, sandals with too-big rhinestones on them – it keeps things light(hearted). Slightly restrained, bauble sandals replaced with satin slippers, and she’s ready to see the performance of Black Swan Lake.
VI & VII.
At first I thought this skirt would be a little tricky to style with different colours – as a teenager I religious wore my army-green cargo pants only with black t-shirts – but alas, I was mistaken. The greyish blue top is by Chanel, one of my first purchases from The Real Real back when the prices seemed suspiciously too good to be true and the mannequins were often outfitted in funny white petticoats. The gold shell top is from Miu Miu’s retro-kitsch Spring 2005 collection; I’ve recently been yearning for the shell and babydoll tops of the early aughts, perfected by Miuccia Prada and Marni’s Consuelo Castiglioni. That’s my idea Y2K. This look is ever so slightly outside of my comfort zone, but I enjoy it thoroughly. It seems subconsciously inspired by the girlishness of the Spring 2005 campaign, but also what my distraught mother wished I wore in lieu of my cargo pants, nineteen years too late!
Until next time!
LOVE that Sara Lanzi belt oh myyy
This skirt and the Sara Lanzi belt were made for each other!