206: Paris Fashion Week's front-facing camera

Everything I wore from beefy Jacquemus shoulders to emergency Baserange knits.

Prada Suede Blazer, $4,362 $8,100 / Banana Republic Luna Boyfriend Cashmere Polo, $150 / Uniqlo U Crew Neck T-Shirt, $15 / Tove Flor Midi Skirt, $385 / Ayllón Casilda Pouch, $196 / Rouje Abelia Sandals, $320 / Rosie Sugden Cashmere Bed Socks, $41 $55 / vintage goatskin gloves (similar, $15) / Corali Silver Collage Earrings, $640 / Ayllón Silver Sonia Ring, $135

Day 1, Look 1

After I bought this coat, a commenter asked me what my process was for deciding to invest in fashion—when there is no shortage of beautiful things that cost $1,000…$2,000…$5,000…what’s the quality that ultimately catalyzes a buy? I thought about it for a while and realized that whenever I had bought something that represented a “big purchase” relative to my finances at the time, it was always something slightly out of my comfort zone. There are a million blogs you could read about sensible clothes and looking “put together,” but my own approach deviates from those uniform models. I invest in things that cause me to lay down new tracks from my existing style into areas that are interesting but foreign, another way of saying I find constraints and limitations to be great inspirers.

I wore the Prada coat on day one of PFW, its challenging pink suede a reason to reach for a pair of chartreuse goatskin gloves and uplift an otherwise familiarly grayscale outfit.

Banana Republic Suede Trucker Jacket, $399 $500 / Banana Republic Luna Cropped Cashmere Polo, $200 / Mugler Balloon-Leg Pants (similar from Alaia, $1,530, similar from Toteme, $302 $480, or similar from Everlane, $98) / Mulberry Irish Swirl Tote Bag, $2,015 / The Row Mesh Sock Pumps (via eBay, $887 or in beige on The RealReal, $244) / my grandmother’s leather gloves (similar on eBay)

Day 2, Look 1

I didn’t realize until I unpacked, but I had unconsciously brought with me a few Banana Republic pieces I’d picked up at different points. I think there’s an instinct toward capsuling and sets, like I want to curate my own little collection every time I pack a suitcase, and it was nice to see how well two of those pieces—the cropped knit and cropped suede jacket—worked together proportionally in this look.

That knit plus an oversized cashmere I integrated in many looks throughout the week (including the above) were closely scrutinized when I stopped into Le Bon Marche and got to compare the sweater tied around my neck with the Khaite ones on the rack. Khaite’s heavier-weight knits are in another realm for sure, but its fine cashmeres were impossible to differentiate—Khaite’s were slightly thinner, intentionally so I imagine, but in terms of hand feel and integrity of the construction, I didn’t see any reason to shell out for a $1,500 sweater when a $150 one was of absolute equal quality and fit.

Vaillant Studio Faux Fur Puffer (similar from Yves Salomon, $790) / Uniqlo C Cotton Wide Pants, $50 / LoQ Camilla Heels (similar from Co, $595) / Fane Bra Bag, $610 / Sophie Buhai Silver Everyday Hoops, $225

Day 2, Look 2

A fun and outrageous coat loaned from Vaillant for the evening, which definitely pushed me outside of my usual rhythms, but that two friends comment on how I had “made it my own.” I think the integration into my style can be attributed to these Uniqlo pants from the latest Clare Waight Keller collaboration, a great butt-cleaving pair that’s under $50 and gels with highs and lows.

Cecilie Bahnsen Ubon Jacket, $1,235 / Cecilie Bahnsen Glenda Midi Skirt, $1,600 / The Row Mesh Sock Pumps (via eBay, $887 or in beige via The RealReal, $244) / Ayllón Casilda Pouch, $196

Day 3, Look 1

This look was loaned by Cecilie Bahnsen, whose show fell on this day. The originality and executive know-how that went into making these pieces was obvious from the moment I took them out of their (very on-brand, bow-tied) garment bag. But while some style perpendicularity can coax you out of too-worn grooves, I just felt too far removed from myself wearing it on the metro and chatting with the other showgoers. I swear I discover this anew every season, but while I’m so grateful to wear pieces from designers and support them at their big, expensive productions (for which dressing people in those things is part of the painstaking orchestra taking place!), I have got to remember that more than all that, I just want to feel like the me having the most fun.

Tove Yoonmi Wool Coat, $1,845 / Maryam Nassir Zadeh Apollo Vest, $186 $290 / Toteme Double-Pleated Trousers, $357 $510 / vintage Bottega Veneta Intrecciato Hobo Bag (via Vestiaire, $1,264) / LoQ Camilla Heels (similar from Co, $595) / Saint Classic Leather Belt, $160

Day 3, Look 2

For dinner and evening activities, I needed access to the most familiar parts of myself, as kind of a counter measure against straying so far earlier in the day. I assembled some of the most worn pieces in my wardrobe that I had packed—the MNZ vest from a previous feature, the Bottega bag and LoQ shoes with great CPUs from my year-end analysis, the Tove coat I wore throughout NYFW. I didn’t even wear earrings because I was feeling so called to the power of under-dressing.

Lauren Manoogian Double Knit Trench, $475 $950 / Toteme Cropped Straight-Leg Trousers, $264 $440 / Fane Bra Bag, $610 / Jamie Haller Penny Loafers, $565 / The Paris Review Baseball Cap, $35 / Erede Hinged Hoops, $3,600

Day 4, Look 1

Still a bit sore from the performance of dressing, I again leaned on proven pieces for a day of appointments. This is actually almost exactly what I wore on my flight on the way in, as well as when I walked to and from yoga during the week (swapping out sweats and leggings for a comfortably tailored pant). The hat became the unlikely MVP throughout Paris’ unrelenting rain, but I did feel like a proper dork at least one time for wearing a Paris Review hat while in Paris…

The Row Xhefri Hat, $620 / Studio Nicholson Denali Coat, $915 / Maryam Nassir Zadeh Apollo Vest, $186 $290 / Toteme Double-Pleated Trousers, $357 $510 / Uniqlo U Crew Neck T-Shirt, $15 / Saint Classic Leather Belt, $160 / The Row Mesh Sock Pumps (via eBay, $887 or in beige via The RealReal, $244) / Fane Bra Bag, $610 / Corali Silver Collage Earrings, $640 / Colorful Standard Organic Cotton Socks, $14

Day 5, Look 1

There is something magical that happens the second time you wear something. I bought The Row’s Xhefri hat just days before NYFW and found myself lint rolling it several weeks later for a day of shows and a forecast that looked relatively dry. I’m such a victim of put-all-of-your-shopping-on-at-once styling that confuses novelty for quality, but when that new car smell of an item starts to wear off, I feel like I can can more clearly understand its role in my wardrobe. I can still observe myself being precious with this hat (pairing it with long coats, little heels, feminine accessories), but that veil is starting to lift and I’m now imagining more casual and masculine ways to incorporate it.

Tove Yoonmi Wool Coat, $1,845 / vintage Bottega Veneta Intrecciato Hobo Bag (via Vestiaire, $1,264) / Toteme Double-Pleated Trousers, $357 $510 / Jamie Haller Penny Loafers, $565 / The Paris Review Baseball Cap, $35

Day 6, Look 1

More Paris rain: A core outfit-component remix necessary for cutting through the conditions and getting the work that I was there to do done.

Studio Nicholson Denali Coat, $915 / Baserange Rim Sweater, $365 / Aeron Constant Gauze-Effect Cardigan, $267 / Tove Flor Midi Skirt, $385 / Maison Margiela Tabi Ballet Flats, $790 / Fane Bra Bag, $610

Day 7, Look 1

I promise I’m going to stop going on about the weather except to say that the temperatures in Paris were extremely deceiving during an entire week of checking the weather app—what I should have been doing was looking at the dew point, which took into account humidity and better suggested what number I should have been dressing for. On an appointments day, I thought I could get away with a few light layers—this lovely Aeron knit whose texture I wanted to show off, plus the slip-like Tove skirt and Studio Nicholson trench—but was miserably cold after my first meeting of the day. I made a second pit stop at Le Bon Marche and bought this Baserange knit that not only warmed me right up, but also made the outfit 10x more interesting, frankly. The power of the third and fourth neutral is being continuously impressed upon me.

Jacquemus ‘Le Robe Ovado’ Blazer, $1,485 / Vaillant Lace Rib-Knit Skirt, $219 $549 / Ayllón Casilda Pouch, $196 / The Row Mesh Sock Pumps (via eBay, $887 or in beige via The RealReal, $244)

Day 7, Look 2

This Jacquemus jacket from the brand’s Les Sculptures collection was a wishlist item of mine from before arriving in Paris and, in keeping with the homework

Liana Satenstein

gave me, took me less than three minutes from trying it on in the Avenue Montaigne boutique to decide to buy. I think going from the recent experience of wearing clothing that felt very foreign on my body to putting this on and feeling like it was made for me is restoring the brain-gut connection Liana and I talked about in our

NEVERWORNS

episode (“be less analytical and more emotional” was her overarching advice).

The Vaillant skirt I paired it with (and the tiny blue foil miniskirt layered underneath, visible as a flash of light when I moved), created satisfying textural contrast, like what Phoebe Philo sets forth with those hairy-looking pants and blazers from the latest and earlier collections. Paris may be a happily all-black fashion city, but the tension between the knit and woven made this more playful to me than the typical goth composition.

Lauren Manoogian Double Knit Trench, $475 $950 / vintage Levi’s 501s (similar on eBay) / Maison Margiela Tabi Ballet Flats, $790 / Fane Bra Bag, $610 / Warby Parker Gifford in Polished Silver, $145

Day 8, Look 1

We made it! Me to the end of fashion month, and you to the end of this newsletter. The prescription glasses I’ve been cultivating a private character around were released onto the public for an afternoon. Media can be so boring around glasses (Chinese delivery-ordering girlfriend in messy bun), so I welcome the Miu Miu-fication of bifocals as a reawakened styling device, like The Row and Alaia have done for hats.

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