A girlfriend of mine sent me a link to a pair of shoes and wrote: “I’m walking that fine line of thinking these are weird but also I *need* them, you know?”
My response: “Girl, wear what makes you happy.”
On the downslope of this fourth decade of my life, I tell myself and my friends and my Magpie readers —
Wear the house slippers that make you feel slightly ridiculously like royalty,
The faded gray Virginia sweatshirt that still smells like your husband before he was your husband,
The tulle gown of your dreams (inspired by the infectiously happy photo of Aworo Mayowa above),
The tube socks that throw major Diana-exercising-in-1984 vibes (worn over leggings and pulled all the way up),
The feather trim caftan dress that makes your heart sing with frivolity,
The nap dress that makes you look pulled together but feel like you’re wearing pajamas, styled a la Nellie Diamond herself, with a black turtleneck leotard underneath, even when your husband calls it your “sister wife look” (aHEM),
The coordinated loungewear set that you will one day look back on and cringe at (“that was so 2020″),
The exaggerated collar you know you want to try to wear,
The Aran knit sweater that belonged to your grandfather,
The oversized flower studs that are on just the right side of overdone,
The Uggs you’ve been hiding in your closet that you secretly want to wear all the time,
The velvet bow headband that makes you feel like Brigitte Bardot,
The elaborate headpiece that might shock your friends,
The frilled and bejeweled cardigan that belongs to 1892,
The over-the-top sequined golden Saloni for an at-home celebration for two,
The cocktail ring you inherited from your aunt,
The Birks that, you think, aren’t even really your style,
The ultra-loud and borderline ridiculous Gucci cardigan,
The white bike shorts and denim shirt that make you feel, while pregnant, like Annie Banks in “Father of the Bride II,”
You do you // you do you // you do you.
I must cheesily bookend this post with a bit of script from an excellent 90s Western that Mr. Magpie and I re-watched recently, “Tombstone.” (Side bar: were the 90s not the golden era of action films? I find the ones nowadays are over-engineered and rendered totally ridiculous by CGI? Mr. Magpie and I always talk about how the animontronics achieved in “Jurassic Park” still supersede any of the computer-animated monsters and critters we’ve seen onscreen in the past few decades…)
Doc Holliday: What do you want, Wyatt?
Wyatt Earp: Just to live a normal life.
Doc Holliday: There is no normal life, there’s just life, ya live it.
And so I say again, mainly to myself and perhaps it will resonate with a few of you this morning, too — you do you // you do you // you do you.
P.S. A lot of the items listed above I own and wear to make myself happy. Also really filling my fashion cup at the moment: turtlenecks and chunky cardigans, my Birdie’s slides (just re-stocked again, RUN), a Ganni leopard maxi dress from a few seasons back that I love to wear around the house in the evenings (look for less with this), glossy red nails (<<I wear the “Rock the Runway” color and use this exact kit and the manicure really lasts!), and oversized ear muffs (these are also #goalz). Also pretty much anything from this post on dressing like a present.
P.P.S. Lots of good (chic!) bundling up options. I think I might invest in a Moncler coat next year — this one in the pink is at the top of my list.
P.P.P.S. As a corollary to this post: does anyone else feel like she has been running against the wind at certain times in their lives?