How To Dress
Some hard-won style advice
The cool thing about fashion is also the annoying thing about fashion: there are no rules.
Every single fashion “rule” (“don’t mix brown and black!” “no white after labor day!” “no socks with sandals!”) is irrelevant and stupid. So it’s hard to find any guides, any rules of thumb about fashion and style.
This is why I was so enthralled by Amy Smilovic’s book The Creative Pragmatist. I couldn’t believe it- finally, some decent, generally-applicable, genuinely helpful advice that anyone can use to get dressed. Anyone!
This week is a bit of a break for me, so this is a shorter episode. But oh, is it rich. Think of it like a tiny makeover in your ears. This is some of the best fashion advice I’ve ever heard. Including:
How to stock your closet (like a chef stocks a pantry!)
How to tell what makes a good “basic” (it’s not what you think it is)
How to know when to experiment and branch out your style.
The second part of the episode includes two of my favorite tricks from The Creative Pragmatist:
“Big/Slim/Skin”- a tip about how to play with proportion
“One, Ton, or None” - an idea for how to use color
I was originally going to make this part of the Clueless Closet episode, but I figured why not just break it off and let it be its own thing, you know? Pass it along to someone who feels they need to refresh their style, or anyone who just wants some interesting fashion food for thought.
Thanks to Amy Smilovic, the founder and creative director of Tibi, for reaching out and for taking the time to chat. The app that I mentioned is called Indyx- it’s a handy little app for outfit tracking and style development, and it has a quiz to help you figure out your three adjectives. Here were mine:
Other Articles Of Interest
I am enjoying this Brazilian music mix very much
One of you should buy this lovely (uncharacteristically sedate!) Cinzia Ruggeri shirt for the summer. Who was Cinzia Ruggeri? She was bonkers
I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology MFA presentations- it was incredible to see such talent about to be launched into the fashion world. I’m convinced they’re all going to be stars, but if you want to get a jump start, cop a square bag by new graduate Tom Wen. They’re about $225 now and I reckon they won’t stay that way.
If you’re in New York, I’m going to moderate a panel at Tribeca Film Festival featuring some fantastic audio artists. Come on over.
Invite me and my boyfriend to your wedding:
See you in two weeks again. Thanks for the little break- I really needed it!
I ended up buying the book. (Ostensibly for both my daughter and I.) And listening to this episode a few times. It's such a good little nugget.
The book is hard work, coming up with the adjectives by yourself is rough, but so interesting (how often do we get to be this curious about ourselves: "what quotes do I like", "what are the items of clothing I truly loved and felt myself in and miss and reminisce about" etc.)
Anyway, by my lonesome I came up with Simple, Storied (not really a word per se but...) and Distinct. I feel so empowered now...
ps. @avery - please, please, please do not ever stop the show. (I tell everyone about it and just downloaded the Apple Podcasts app so I could write a review, and I'm a long-time Radiotopia supporter.)
This interview was exciting, then I price-checked the Creative Pragmatist book. 🙁