Wow. Yes. The idea that with a tailored white shirt and black short I could capture myself some Sophia-ness is so funny, and yet, I have chased this so many times. And it's just so very foundational to fashion marketing. So. Many. Khaite knit bras purchased. So we could feel like Katie, hailing a cab, off to wherever we imagine. Thank you.
Yes! People have always been influenced by trends (that's why we still talk about Dior's New Look etc) but I think the size of the fashion industry and the culture of "spend a bit of money and you can have it too" has really gotten to me in the last 5 years or so. It's like being yelled at.
An absolute banger of an article, Lin. I completely agree.
Style is so personal - something it's easy to lose sight of when so many fashion magazines are geared towards helping you buy a sense of identity. There's power in analysing and understanding why a certain person's style resonates with you and drawing influence from them, incorporating their look into your own collage of cultural interests and reference-points rather than trying (and inevitably failing) to mimic them exactly.
I also really like what you had to say about style not being an end-point. I think in my mind I did subconsciously have it frozen that way, which is strange because even thinking about it for a few seconds I've realised that of course it isn't - nothing about us is ever unchanging, so why would our style stop evolving with us?
Thank you! I could have gone on and on about why I like Sofia Coppola's style, because there are just endless layers of projection when it comes to our aspirations on a public figure. I think unpacking it all actually made me like her style more, even as I no longer really seek to dress like her in the literal sense.
Such a great piece of writing, with so much food for thought.
Great observations re: Sofia Coppola's style! I've been poring over some pretty old women's style guides recently to see how style discourse has changed over the last century. From what I gather, this idea that we can take a style muse and draft our personal style around someone famous and their style is a fairly new one. There's so much that we can learn from other people's style... but the consumerist focus leads to us looking at clothes as building blocks of an aspirational identity rather than an identity that is ours. Makes us easy targets for marketing tricks, for sure!
I love that idea that our style is always changing. I sometimes find myself fighting that because I long for something permanent, something that I can lean on. The trick is, I guess, that change is good in moderation, just like most things in life.
Thank you! I've been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and there are short snippets from fashion historians briefly talking about the various styles and trends of the last century and it's quite fascinating. It's a real rabbit hole, to dive into how we went from simply following trends and conforming (or rebelling) against social dress norms), to attaching our emotional selves to what we wear. I catch myself doing this more often than I would like...
Ah the Sophia bag! I also still feel a pang of want for it and what it signifies. And you're so right - stripped of its context and those signifiers, do I really still want it? Is it better than any of my other practical, stylish and well made leather bags?
Thank you! I’ve bought things in the past that were nice but also status symbols, and I don’t think it’s wrong or anything, but I think it was important for me to understand what I was signalling and whether it’s something I hold fast to… still working it out honestly.
Loved reading your article! Style is a totally different thing compared to fashion. Love learning and trying to figure out why I'm drawn to certain things. As I get older Style gets easier because I don't feel like I have to fit in everywhere I go. I dress for myself and how I feel.
Thank you! Yes I love the "learning" aspect of style too..unpacking why I liked Sofia Coppola's style actually made me appreciate aspects of it a lot more than when I was just trying to "get the look".
Just wanted to say I have thought about this piece COUNTless times in the last near-month since you published. Really hit the nail on the head with the point that we are trying to replicate something that can’t be replicated!! I want to emulate this person’s status and how they are responding to the world and responded to by the world, not just have the same shoe! that said, I have had better success with recreating outfits from my own wardrobe that have a similar mood/feeling rather than trying to actually recreate something completely faithfully with exact items - the items in my closet feel like me, so I can bring my own meaning, history, & identity to it, instead of trying and failing to capture the genuinely unattainable privilege and status of someone else.
thank you, i am glad this piece resonated...I was writing it as a reminder to myself as I too, can become obsessed with an image of something without questioning why, and so often my response was to keep shopping, and I am just feeling so over that.
Exploring the complicated nuisances of our clothing choices <- this is HARD and rewarding work. I am grateful for friends who also help me realize what they notice about my outfits, etc. Also you made me realize I need to read more Derek Guy, I really love his wisdom.
I think getting older pays off! When I was 25 it felt like everyone dressed better than I did and had their style figured out but I'm turning 40 soon and it feels like, well I'm glad I took my time and I'm looking forward to how it'll keep evolving in the years to come. It really reduces that pressure to look a certain way and take the pedal off the urge to consume.
I love this so much. I’m passionate about clothes but new to accepting and valuing that and exploring what it means to let myself care deeply about what I wear even when no one will see me (while admitting it’s more fun if people do!). Thank you! Also… honestly I disliked Lost in Translation the first time. I was stuck at home in a small town and a very limited life bc of circumstances and I just wanted to punch SJ’s character for wasting what was right there. I… may have missed the point of the movie!!
Thank you! Re: Lost in Translation...yes I didn't really notice this the first time but her character really grated the second time for being so unaware! In some of her other film where the stakes were higher (Marie Antoinette trying to survive the French court, Johnny Marco in "Somewhere" trying to have a connection with his daughter, Priscilla Presley leaving her innocence behind), you can go along with the lack of deep character development, but "Lost in Translation" was so low stakes that you just want to shut off.
Having said that, I stood right next to Sofia Coppola a couple years ago at the Dior counter at Printemps in Paris. She was stunning: glossy chestnut hair, hardly a stitch of makeup except for a tinted lip balm and a swipe of mascara, short red fingernails, cropped jeans with cool boots, and a canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Like a total weirdo, I surreptitiously snapped a quick pic when I stepped away.
I rewatched Lost in Translation last summer to prep for a trip to Tokyo and agree with you: it didn’t age well.
Thank you for being here! I LOVE it when someone from the really old blog days appears. Re Sofia Coppola: I have no doubt she is super chic! I've heard other people who've encountered her in person say the same. The same jeans or Chanel jacket would not look the same on someone else and that fascinates me!
Wow. Yes. The idea that with a tailored white shirt and black short I could capture myself some Sophia-ness is so funny, and yet, I have chased this so many times. And it's just so very foundational to fashion marketing. So. Many. Khaite knit bras purchased. So we could feel like Katie, hailing a cab, off to wherever we imagine. Thank you.
Yes! People have always been influenced by trends (that's why we still talk about Dior's New Look etc) but I think the size of the fashion industry and the culture of "spend a bit of money and you can have it too" has really gotten to me in the last 5 years or so. It's like being yelled at.
An absolute banger of an article, Lin. I completely agree.
Style is so personal - something it's easy to lose sight of when so many fashion magazines are geared towards helping you buy a sense of identity. There's power in analysing and understanding why a certain person's style resonates with you and drawing influence from them, incorporating their look into your own collage of cultural interests and reference-points rather than trying (and inevitably failing) to mimic them exactly.
I also really like what you had to say about style not being an end-point. I think in my mind I did subconsciously have it frozen that way, which is strange because even thinking about it for a few seconds I've realised that of course it isn't - nothing about us is ever unchanging, so why would our style stop evolving with us?
Thank you! I could have gone on and on about why I like Sofia Coppola's style, because there are just endless layers of projection when it comes to our aspirations on a public figure. I think unpacking it all actually made me like her style more, even as I no longer really seek to dress like her in the literal sense.
Such a great piece of writing, with so much food for thought.
Great observations re: Sofia Coppola's style! I've been poring over some pretty old women's style guides recently to see how style discourse has changed over the last century. From what I gather, this idea that we can take a style muse and draft our personal style around someone famous and their style is a fairly new one. There's so much that we can learn from other people's style... but the consumerist focus leads to us looking at clothes as building blocks of an aspirational identity rather than an identity that is ours. Makes us easy targets for marketing tricks, for sure!
I love that idea that our style is always changing. I sometimes find myself fighting that because I long for something permanent, something that I can lean on. The trick is, I guess, that change is good in moderation, just like most things in life.
Thank you! I've been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and there are short snippets from fashion historians briefly talking about the various styles and trends of the last century and it's quite fascinating. It's a real rabbit hole, to dive into how we went from simply following trends and conforming (or rebelling) against social dress norms), to attaching our emotional selves to what we wear. I catch myself doing this more often than I would like...
Ah the Sophia bag! I also still feel a pang of want for it and what it signifies. And you're so right - stripped of its context and those signifiers, do I really still want it? Is it better than any of my other practical, stylish and well made leather bags?
Another great read, Lin. Lots to think about.
Thank you! I’ve bought things in the past that were nice but also status symbols, and I don’t think it’s wrong or anything, but I think it was important for me to understand what I was signalling and whether it’s something I hold fast to… still working it out honestly.
Loved reading your article! Style is a totally different thing compared to fashion. Love learning and trying to figure out why I'm drawn to certain things. As I get older Style gets easier because I don't feel like I have to fit in everywhere I go. I dress for myself and how I feel.
Thank you! Yes I love the "learning" aspect of style too..unpacking why I liked Sofia Coppola's style actually made me appreciate aspects of it a lot more than when I was just trying to "get the look".
Just wanted to say I have thought about this piece COUNTless times in the last near-month since you published. Really hit the nail on the head with the point that we are trying to replicate something that can’t be replicated!! I want to emulate this person’s status and how they are responding to the world and responded to by the world, not just have the same shoe! that said, I have had better success with recreating outfits from my own wardrobe that have a similar mood/feeling rather than trying to actually recreate something completely faithfully with exact items - the items in my closet feel like me, so I can bring my own meaning, history, & identity to it, instead of trying and failing to capture the genuinely unattainable privilege and status of someone else.
thank you, i am glad this piece resonated...I was writing it as a reminder to myself as I too, can become obsessed with an image of something without questioning why, and so often my response was to keep shopping, and I am just feeling so over that.
This is a great article Lin!
Exploring the complicated nuisances of our clothing choices <- this is HARD and rewarding work. I am grateful for friends who also help me realize what they notice about my outfits, etc. Also you made me realize I need to read more Derek Guy, I really love his wisdom.
I think getting older pays off! When I was 25 it felt like everyone dressed better than I did and had their style figured out but I'm turning 40 soon and it feels like, well I'm glad I took my time and I'm looking forward to how it'll keep evolving in the years to come. It really reduces that pressure to look a certain way and take the pedal off the urge to consume.
I love this so much. I’m passionate about clothes but new to accepting and valuing that and exploring what it means to let myself care deeply about what I wear even when no one will see me (while admitting it’s more fun if people do!). Thank you! Also… honestly I disliked Lost in Translation the first time. I was stuck at home in a small town and a very limited life bc of circumstances and I just wanted to punch SJ’s character for wasting what was right there. I… may have missed the point of the movie!!
Thank you! Re: Lost in Translation...yes I didn't really notice this the first time but her character really grated the second time for being so unaware! In some of her other film where the stakes were higher (Marie Antoinette trying to survive the French court, Johnny Marco in "Somewhere" trying to have a connection with his daughter, Priscilla Presley leaving her innocence behind), you can go along with the lack of deep character development, but "Lost in Translation" was so low stakes that you just want to shut off.
Having said that, I stood right next to Sofia Coppola a couple years ago at the Dior counter at Printemps in Paris. She was stunning: glossy chestnut hair, hardly a stitch of makeup except for a tinted lip balm and a swipe of mascara, short red fingernails, cropped jeans with cool boots, and a canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Like a total weirdo, I surreptitiously snapped a quick pic when I stepped away.
I rewatched Lost in Translation last summer to prep for a trip to Tokyo and agree with you: it didn’t age well.
Thank you for being here! I LOVE it when someone from the really old blog days appears. Re Sofia Coppola: I have no doubt she is super chic! I've heard other people who've encountered her in person say the same. The same jeans or Chanel jacket would not look the same on someone else and that fascinates me!
Omg, I used to read your blog 11, 12 years ago. How nice to find you here!