Thrifting has its downsides. There, I said it. The main one, in my opinion, is that it introduces you to nice, expensive things at a completely affordable price point … but it offers no guarantee of supply. One recent example was a magazine I picked up at Value Village for 99 cents (plus tax). It wasn’t just a regular magazine, it was a special edition of French Vogue featuring the 2015 Spring/Summer collections (Paris, New York, Milan, London). The entire thing was basically a photo-book report on that season’s collections, and it was amazing. Minimal ads and text. Pages and pages of runway photos. I spent a blissful hour or two poring over it. And then I wanted to see more. Have never seen one of these magazines at the thrift store before, probably won’t again.
Do you know how much these magazines normally run?
$40CAD plus tax.
No joke.
I know, I know. Vogue has an online database of runway collections, free to access. Somehow, it’s not the same. I like having all the (physical) photos in front of me. And being a person with a decent chunk of disposable income, I went and scratched the itch; I bought the 2019-2020 Fall/Winter collections edition at Chapters. It was painful, but I managed to rationalize it. Still – dammit it, thrifting, for introducing me to yet another expensive habit.
All that being said, let’s get to the real point of this post.
For years, I did not look at runway collections, finding them irrelevant to my experiences as an average consumer in a non-major urban centre. As I have shifted my perspective on style recently – approaching it more as an art form/means of creative expression – I have begun to appreciate couture again. It’s a point of view. It might not be directly applicable or translatable to my real life needs, but it can inform the way in which I look at and use clothes. I am also reconsidering the idea of “inspo”. I’ve never been a huge fan of copying others’ outfits, but the process doesn’t have to be that literal. The best sources of inspirations are those which push me to see things from a fresh perspective, to ask myself “but what about this?”
I found flipping through the photos from the collections to be a great creativity-sparking exercise. At a high level, just seeing all the different silhouettes, styles, styling choices, colours, textures, and so on, made me feel inspired … not to go out and buy new things, but to go through my closet and try new things. Then there were dozens of outfits that I went to analyze more closely – things that caught my eye on a page, made me go “wow”. I looked at these and tried to break them down: what message/feeling did each look convey to me, what did I like about them, what elements would translate to my personal style, etc.
I thought it might be interesting to some of you if I ran
through an example. This is a more literal case than most, but that’s because Dries
Van Noten speaks my language, style-wise.
Let’s start at the beginning. What I loved about the original was the Bohemian-Adventurer flair, seemingly haphazardly assembled but with a keen eye to the overall harmony of the outfit. I loved the drama of the fur collar, and how the ornate top was juxtaposed with the other pieces, yet brought them together in a really cool, unexpected way. I liked the volume of the pants, and how the outfit retained its slim vertical lines despite all the layers. And somewhere in the mix, there is a kind of devil-may-care attitude that I would love to bring to my own life (even just a little).
As I said, my resulting “inspired by” look is a fairly close translation of the original. The pants have an interesting shape and volume, and the high waist works well with a cropped jacket, keeping the vertical lines. The waistband offered a good contrast with the bright print top, adding a bit of Bohemian flair. The top was probably the one item I would not normally have used in an outfit like this, were it not for the Dries inspiration. (I could see myself pairing these pants and jacket, because the proportions work so well). But I like it here. In fact, this outfit works equally well without the jacket, which I ended up taking off as the day got warmer.
The one thing I chose to forego from the inspo was the extra accessory. I think the necklace is a fabulous styling choice on the runway, but for my real life, the outfit was enough of a “statement” without anything like that.
I have been doing similar exercises as I come across runway looks that really speak to me, so let me know if you would be interested in more posts like this.
Would love to see more posts like this! I have always enjoyed Vogue, but have had a hard time translating the designers vision into everyday wear outside of color combination, texture, or genre. I look forward to seeing your interpretations
That’s what mostly inspired me: colours, textures, proportions. It just gets me thinking about and looking at my clothes in new ways.
me too- sometimes the designer version just seems fantasy land. I agree with your point about attitude
ps completely unrelated, but since your post on brutalist jewellery I’ve kept half an eye out on the UK ebay site, and some unsigned Anita Silverstein has come up (from the USA but if she’d post here I’m assuming she’d do Canada). Not quite sure if that’s your jam but I thought I’d mention it in case.
Thanks for the heads up. I wasn’t familiar with that designer but I’m keeping my eye out now.
This is a really interesting post. I’d love to see more like this. I love looking at runway fashion but can never seem to translate the looks into everyday life.
I’m not sure I’ve got the process nailed down or anything, but I’m having fun experimenting 🙂
Yes please – more of this! The runway looks seem so unattainable and I can’t figure out how that’s supposed to translate to my every day life. And I love the idea of shopping your closet too.
The thrill of new clothes is all fun and good, but there’s something very satisfying about looking at your closet and seeing possibilities not shortcomings. That’s the mindset I’m trying to focus on because, let’s face it, I have no shortage of clothes.
I would love more posts like this. I take a lot of inspiration from how you juxtapose pattern, silhouette and color in a way thats personality driven. High fashion sees clothes as a form of art curation, love to see how that can translate to an accessible, professional look for women.
Thank you! I’m all about curation right now (with all my many many collections, haha) so I’m glad that you guys bear with my posts on this topic.
All your post topics are good! I have paid full price for the French Vogue Collections magazine a few times. It provided hours of enjoyment! Worth every penny. Sadly, they closed the Barnes & Noble in my city years ago.
Oh man, that sucks! I was actually surprised that my local chain bookstore had it, it seems like a niche product. But hours of fun, as you said!
Yes, please. Interesting to see how your love of colors and prints translates into your evolved style.
I will always love colour, but I’m definitely using it on different ways now when it comes to clothes. I’ve found other avenues of expressing my love of colour, like my crafts projects. Still, my wardrobe will never be 100% black. Can’t do it 😛
Yes! More, please. I’m always looking for ways to rethink the clothes I already have.
Same here!
Yes, since junior high I followed the fashion magazines and was disappointed that the clothes I saw there didn’t make their way to my real world. Being able to see your process will be great.
PS once I wore what I saw in the magazines for class election day-didn’t get elected. Only one other girl in my school wore culottes that year too.
Thanks, Holly! I sometimes wish that my real life could accommodate couture fashion (even assuming my bank account could) but alas. However, I have made a commitment to wear interesting (to me) outfits every day, even on the most mundane occasions.
I don’t know if you’ve ever considered it, but I think you’d be a great fit to write as a guest writer for Man Repeller. Next time they have open calls I would so suggest you write in!
Thank you! I don’t think I’m nearly cool enough for Man Repeller, and I wouldn’t even know where to start, but I’m gonna hoard this compliment even if it’s undeserved 🙂
Yes, definitely – love what you have done here!
Thank you, Emily!
I love your translation of couture style to everyday life. In a way I look at many of your outfits as inspiration and try to adapt it to my life so this post made me smile.
Wow, that’s a huge compliment, thank you! Kinda worried I won’t live up to it, haha!
I would love to see your inspirations and how you translate them into your wardrobe.
Alyssa Beltempo does this regularly on her youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU8ssMY0rZQtCgWVwQNpmUA. She sees looks, analyzes the elements, and then does her best to re-create with her own clothes. That analysis of the elements–why do you like this look? what drew you in?–has been helpful to me. Her her goal is to NOT buy, but to work with what she already has. She also thrifts…
Thank you for the recc, I will have to check out her channel.
Love this post and I’ve enjoyed seeing your style experiments on your Instagram! This is a very striking outfit. (And I’ve also been enjoying your jewelry choices on Instagram.)
Thank you! I’m obsessed with jewelry ATM, so leaning into that a lot 🙂