You think Alessandro Michele was fishing for this job his whole life? The entire revival at Gucci is made possible by Elton John’s iconic wardrobe from his early career. Elton John maybe didn’t invent the concept of what he was wearing, but he certainly made the styling choices and the flair his own. Then Alessandro Michele came in and boldly woke up the boring Gucci giant and added about a million sequins and turned up the volume on the concept of kitsch and tackiness. It was incredible to watch — exciting even — to have someone so young step in and essentially fuck with the foundation of a pretty iconic fashion house. But that was literal ages ago. What’s next?
Now that Michele got to do the farewell tour, will Gucci continue to be an Elton John derivative forever? Profits are profits, I know that. But look at Pheobe Philo or Alber Elbaz. Or Marc Jacobs back in his heyday. They literally reinvented their fashion houses and their aesthetics by bravely going into the unknown and trying whatever they felt like with confidence because they too were confident. They were making choices, risky ones too, and then moving on to something new.
My thinking is that the kind of validation that comes with incredible profit margins, positive press and a literal tidal wave of regrams becomes addictive. Walking away and trying something new in uncharted waters begins to feel exhausting and incredibly risky.
Gucci
Red
Cheers to making an effort and wearing a monochrome easy outfit instead of the usual sweater and leggings to go out on the weekend.
Wearing:
Gucci skirt
ATP Atelier sandals
BOYY 24cm Karl bag
Céline sunglasses
We Get It Gucci, You're Weird. What Else Can You Do?
Remember when Gucci was refreshing and creative?
I felt like in 2015 and that first Allesandro collection walked the runway in Milan it was a long overdue stroke of Wes Anderson-esque genius that hit the fashion industry like a slap in the face and reminded privileged industry insiders that original style and against-the-grain styling used to be a thing. It was electrifying to see Allesando Michele's Instagram as a secret window into his crazy mind as he came up with more quirky looks each season. It all made sense, it was all wearable to a certain extent, and it successfully revamped and revived Gucci.
But then, Gucci became weirder, drunk on power and profits, and more strange, and more unrelatable. Given their insanely-priced accessories, and over-the-top looks and their fever-pitch popularity, I find myself ditching them all together and looking for more relatable fashion designers.
Fashion is a temperature gauge for how things are going in my life; the more uncertain the times, the safer my wardrobe seems to be. When things are swell, I dress up, I get more creative, and I spend more money on trendy items.
It's 2017 and I don't think a Gucci mentality is anywhere near my lifestyle. It's like an Alexander McQueen collection, except not even that beautiful. It's just extremely over-priced for something you can likely attain at a thrift store with about $5 in your pocket and the audacity to mix and match things like you don't give a fuck.
So I am asking what else you got, Gucci? It's like year three or four of this quirky look, and it's awesome that the entire industry loves you, but maybe you can push through this comfortable and profitable phase and come up with something innovative again — like a true creative genius would.
Collage by me using images by Vogue.com
Lion
I Am Part Of The Problem (Or, That Time I Bought Gucci Princetown Furry Loafers)
I talk a big game about being over the shine of new shit — this anti-consumerism stance is something I struggle with as a lover of fashion and a professional working in advertising. I also talk a big game about how wasteful and unbelievably shallow the fashion industry is. But even with these valid beliefs, I'm also more and more aware of my own hypocrisy as well.
Such hypocrisy was quietly evident on my social channels and then eventually here with a couple subtly posted shots of me wearing a certain new acquisition.
I am in continuing process of eliminating about 60% of my closet to get it down to the tried-and-true basics — favoring quality clothing that's been used before over fast fashion anything — so throughout this good positive effort what on Earth compelled me to get these Gucci Princetown furry loafers?
Was it that I was just itching to buy something as a way to reward myself for making such a substantial dent in my debt repayment? Perhaps. (Side note: this is so stupid, how we got into debt in the first place, etc.)
Was it that I just wanted something cool for me that fashion people would just get? Sadly, this may be true as well.
Was it that I loved the whole Hugh Hefner, rich dude in a robe appeal of them? Oddly yes. But as a person who claims to enjoy being a tomboy, I do admit that loafers are polarizing to say the least: of the few times I've worn my Gucci Princetown ridiculous "It" shoes I was mostly met with crazy judgmental looks from the fine grounded people of the Bay Area Those looks really tested my own personal resolve to wear whatever the fuck I want without caring about what anyone had to say about it. But I did start to wonder how far that personal resolve made sense if I had to constantly remind myself of it.
It was exhausting. Also, I don't think I was fully ever on board with two things:
1. The crazy aspect of literally walking on $1000. (Typing this is painful, trust me, proving there are no bounds to my rationalization techniques in the heat of a misguided shopping moment).
2. The kangaroo fur. While I don't actively own any fur coats, I sure own a lot of leather items, so I have no real place to be an activist for PETA here. But still, something just did not feel good about some poor kangaroo way the fuck in Australia having to perish to look this questionable in the name of fashion. It just felt unnecessary. (Did you know the fur in the furry loafers is also inside the shoe? It's like an expensive UGG).
So long story short I sold my Gucci loafers.
I sold them for about 80% of what I paid, thus recouping the majority of the cost.
I bought them, received them, immediately kind of regretted them. I wore them anyway to prove to myself that I was worth it, that I do like these a lot, but in the end it was just another pricey lesson for the realistic nature of most fashion items the industry is obsessed with.
Hospital smock or Dress?
When you wear a ruffled yet oversized Atlantique Ascoli dress that is so shapeless and plain that it looks kind of like a hospital smock, you kind of have to continue with the crazy theme by wearing shoes outside that seem to be made for the indoors only.
I just got back from Houston, the land of Beyoncé, shooting some stuff for HP. It was a pretty grueling shoot schedule, hence the radio silence here. But then at the airport on the way back to San Francisco I got a phone call that changed stuff up in my life — it's a pretty exciting development!
I'll be off celebrating this development, but in the meantime enjoy these photos I managed to edit while my mom was on the phone with my blabbermouth brother (sorry twin, you talk to much! jk I love you!).
Wearing
Atlantique Ascoli dress (purchased on sale years ago, thinking of making it a top)
Gucci Princetown loafers (yes, I know, I'm a stupid idiot who fell prey to Pinterest round ups oft his style, the sky is blue, etc, more on this later)
¡Queremos Bailar! We just want to dance!
If you think shimmying out of my jacket in too-tight vintage Levi's is silly, you should have seen the antics of me getting into them. Imagine a red-faced roly poly bug squirming around on the bed. Almost poetic in it's absurdity no? Anyway, vintage Levi's are definitely not for me. My ass is just too big, my penchant for wine is too great. I want to live! It's the same emotions as those people at the beginning of 'Selena' that just wanted to dance!
In Which I Confide in you My 2015 Disappointments, and 2016 Goals
Hi there. OMG it's #NYE don't you even know? I plan on hanging out at home after a lovely dinner with Nick at one of my all-time favorite East Bay restaurants, Desco. It's a cozy Italian place in downtown Oakland with lovely owners and servers working there, and a very talented chef that truly cares about creating clean and delicious dishes. If you're local, go to there!
NYE home plans go like this: I have exactly one bottle of champagne (Veuve Clicquot because why not it's #NYE), but unlike last year, and maybe even the year before, I shant be Instagramming much about anything about tonight. Instagram has become such a disappointing game this past year! Not to say there aren't super talented people I follow on there to inspire me, but there is also a seedy dark side that only comes out when you're scrolling past perfectly curated photos of unrealistic "real" lives that the disappointment really settles in. So you see, the disappointment isn't with Instagram the app, it's with myself. My full time job allows me to see the logistical business end of all of this, and knowing how un-spontaneous and highly coordinated it can be has kind of turned me off to playing the whole game myself. So I've resolved not to. I've lost "followers" ever since and I haven't given a single fuck.
Ok, let's get to it then. New year, new resolutions:
1. My credit card debt will die a horrible son-of-a-bitch death this year.
Student loans withstanding, I refuse not go into 2017 with any debt. I've dilly dallied around this for years. People who follow this blog since the early times will know this resolution all too well. But this year? The year I am 30? It's over. I really mean it. I've come up with a plan, with actual numbers this time and I know I can do it. I'm also selling most of my close on Depop and Tictail. So take a look if you're interested. Don't be shy and make me an offer if something catches your eye.
2. I will paint more because I love it.
Paintings has become one of my favorite things again. It has renewed my creativity and optimism if you can believe it, and it makes me genuinely happy to sit in front of my easel and just have at it with my acrylic. (I don't mess with oils because I frankly don't trust my clumsy and messy self with them still). I haven't painted this much since I was at Berkeley getting my Art major, and I've got so many ideas now. I resolve to share a little bit more of that here, too, and not only with Instagram, that ungrateful app. (JK, I don't care! Remember!)
3. I will put my phone down more.
I want to be present and available for my friends and family and I would love to travel more. This can only happen when I've successfully mastered the urge to capture these precious life moments with my stupid iPhone and commit to remember it all with my own two eyes and my brain.
That's it. Three things.
I don't know your goals, but if you have them, I wish you well, pal! Happy New Year!
Image: collage by me, photo by Pernille Teisbaek in Gucci
Behold, The Max Mara Teddy Bear Coat I Love & All Men Seem To Hate
I spent the entirety of my stay in New York wearing this coat and blank blank blank. The blank blank blank is because nothing else matters while wearing this teddy bear overcoat. All you see is a boxy silhouette and a hint of ankle and whatever shoe you're wearing, and that's perfectly fine with me. When it's winter and cold and you have decided to spend your long weekend walking around a chilly winter city sight seeing you don't really want to worry or care about "an outfit." This coat was outfit enough for me. And while I'm sure most men hated this coat (Nick sure does and does not hesitate to tell me when I ask) I did manage have some fans of the look, all female. Go figure. You just gotta do you, people. I don't really care what anyone thinks about it because I happen to love it. As I've mentioned before, this has been a dream coat of mine since the 90's. I found it used in a size US 8 (which let me tell you for an oversized coat translates to enormous). I took it to my favorite and most trusted tailor in SF (Sally at San Francisco Tailors is a pure unique genius) that worked wonders, literally rebuilt the entire coat for me, and now it's a dream piece. So go ahead haters, hate it.
Max Mara coat | Gucci loafers | Levi's jeans | Céline sunglasses | Chanel bag