September Is The January In Fashion
On the possibility inherent in a change of seasons.
I love Fall. For me, the turning of this particular season has always felt ripe with possibility and the potential for new beginnings. I’ve taken my above title from The September Issue, a documentary about Vogue that has inadvertently become a time capsule for the last moment when print magazines felt relevant and September issues were so thick you had to carry them like textbooks. One of my favorite moments in the film is when Candy Catts Price, a former Vogue accessories director, talks about the significance of the September issue to fashion: “September is the January in fashion…This is when I change…this is when I’m going to try to get back on those high heels, ‘cause that’s the look.” (The best part is her delivery and her enunciation; to fully do her justice, she really must be heard.) Sartorially speaking, Fall has always been my favorite season because we get to pull out our sweaters and boots and start layering; there is a feeling of “back to school” in the air with new product deliveries and fashion weeks that encourages a desire to add a few new pieces to one’s wardrobe.
I had been feeling somewhat uninspired and apathetic when it came to fashion lately, but now that I have determined that the seasons are changing, I began to get excited at the prospect of fashioning my Fall wardrobe. I have been digging into photos from the ‘80s and ‘90s for an unrelated project, plus I usually save any photos that jump out at me, so I have a good idea of my inspirations - that’s my current Fall moodboard above - but I am not yet clear on my specific hero items for this season. I often reference practicality with regard to my purchases, but the items that have served me best and are the most significant to me have always been those that elicit an immediate emotional response, irrespective of price or traditional notions of utility, and that is what I have yet to feel with any prospective Fall items. My platonic ideal of a wardrobe addition aligns perfectly with things I already own while also encouraging new perspectives on and potential for those items. Often these new pieces are ones I’ve already been considering that have the task of living up to all of the imaginary permutations and personal significance with which I have saddled them. All this to say that I’m not quite there yet this season and loath as I am to present an idea before it has fully crystalized, I am hoping that if I do what the newsletter promises and make a list of things I want to buy, it will help me to codify my shopping desires for this season. Typically I begin the process without a budget or much sense of reality - that comes later, when the bills have to be paid!
Item 1: The Comb
I am unabashedly a clothing gal. I have a more utilitarian approach to accessories: as I’ve said, I wear basically the same three pairs of boots all winter (and even if they’re not exactly the same, I have been told that the differences are minute and mostly visible only to me - to which I respond: amateur). Recently, though, I have found myself gravitating toward accessories and jewelry as the lynchpins of my outfits. This was a subject Yumi and I raised during our chat and I think for me it stems from the clothes that I am wearing most being somewhat cleaner and less fussy, although I am reluctant to use the word “fussy” to describe some of my older clothes that I still love and wear often. Overall I suppose that my aesthetic these days is dressier and less complicated than it may have looked in the past and lends itself well to larger, bolder accessories. From looking at my mood board, the genesis of the look is probably the shots of Tina Chow in her layered knits and oversized jewelry.
Enter: the comb. I don’t even remember when I first made the comb’s acquaintance as The Row doesn’t follow the traditional show cadence, but I know it has been living in my mind for at least nine months, likely longer. I have never before considered wearing a personal grooming item as jewelry, but I love how it is oversized and noticeable yet clean and chic at the same time. I mapped all of the rest of my fall essentials back to the comb without having even seen it in person: I’ve pictured it with simple crewneck knits, t-shirts, suit jackets and vests. Should the reality of the comb not live up to the idea, I do have a few backup options. In the vein of ordinary objects repurposed as jewelry, I think this keychain from The Row is a bit less weird than the comb but still unique and oversized. Lemaire’s castanets serve a functional purpose as well as elevating an everyday look: one side features a mirror - plus I assume they would come in handy during any flamenco-themed outing. There’s also this Lemaire flask which feels delightfully random. Lastly, I am still harboring thoughts of the old Céline alphabet necklace but have yet to find an “R,” and although my grandparents insisted on calling me “Becky” for my entire young life, I don’t feel enough affinity with the letter B to take that leap (those that do, go for it). For the moment, I will hang my hopes on the comb.
Item 2: A Multifunctional Jacket. Or Skirt?
As my moodboard illustrates, I have been noodling on various jacket shapes for some time, but this is the item about which I feel the least settled. Having seen the above look from The Row last year, I was gravitating toward a jacket that I could also repurpose as a layering item, which means it ideally is a lighter weight but still sturdy fabric that can stand up to being tied about my waist. Unfortunately, after finally trying the jacket on last week, I learned that it only works on me when the arms are tied. I did a bit more research and realized that The Row actually showed it layered over another jacket and and as much as I love the look, that was not what I meant by “multi,” so, sadly, it was not to be. I have spent a lot of time perusing various sites and shops, trying on jackets, but have yet to find anything that sparks that emotional response that I’m craving. I find that trying to force something into my wardrobe is when I have the least success - in the same way that the word you are seeking always arrives after you have stopped searching for it, whenever I go shopping with the specific intention to buy, I almost never do. Thus, in the spirit of the possibility the season, I am going to pause on the jacket search and allow myself to be surprised.
After looking through all of my photos again, I am actually starting to feel like what I need is another pencil midi skirt. I am a pleated midi skirt enthusiast and have recently been drawn to more fitted silhouettes: I love how they make tees, tanks and knits feel dressy in such a simple way. Of course, I have already found multiple options including this gingham Prada one that skews more 50s and costume-y than is typical for me, but I am a fan of going with one’s gut in cases like this. Oh, and think how cute it will look with some new Fall shoes!
Step 3: Actual New Shoes
I am somewhat divided on how to direct my footwear selections this Fall. I unknowingly succumbed to the mesh flat trend this summer, which, although seemingly impractical, surprisingly were a solid footwear choice for me: I don’t love wearing sandals in the city and can’t really wear leather close to my skin in hot weather, so these shoes ended up being perfect. Now, however, I am considering extending my ballet shoe allegiance into the Fall and it feels uncomfortably close to when I wore ballet flats religiously (Kate Moss wore ballet flats and skinny jeans exclusively in the early aughts, so I too wore ballet flats and skinny jeans). My apprehension about ballet flats is that they can appear dainty or girly, but I am considering these flats from The Row as they feel less feminine for some reason. I am finding myself very drawn to the white - impractical? Sure. Necessary? Possibly. I originally drank the kool-aid on the Alaïa crystal flats but, thankfully, those are sold out, so no need to talk myself out of them.
The reason I am of two minds, however, is that I am also feeling the pull toward over the knee boots. This is another choice that has past associations for me: when I worked as an assistant buyer in shoes, over the knee boots had a major moment and so they feel slightly dated and possibly a little cheesy to me, but I do like the idea of the boot functioning as a sock or tight under a sheer or tailored midi skirt. To ensure the boots feel current, I would go for a flat option like these from Khaite or ones with a similar toe box but on a heel like these. Also, leave it to Yumi to plant the idea of the over the knee sock boot, perhaps the most impractical shoe ever invented but also maybe the most amazing.
A Working Conclusion
Here is where this exercise has brought me: the perfect sartorial connection cannot be forced. If you are feeling stuck and uninspired, take a break and let your mind wander. Allow yourself to return to what you already have and consider repurposing or reinterpreting those items. That process could help codify what you are looking for to supplement your existing wardrobe: sometimes a small addition can push you to reconsider much of what you already own. Regardless, it has helped to get me inspired again while I consider the possibility of that instant emotional response. And I’ve completely forgotten that much of this list is largely academic as we haven’t seen anything from Phoebe Philo’s collection yet (literally - no images, description, nothing except the logo), so I should really be saving all of the money I don’t have in the highly likely event that I want to buy everything she shows. That feels like the right place to leave this for now: breathlessly awaiting the return of Phoebe Philo and, of course, the arrival of my comb in the mail.