How This Entertainment Editor Gets Dressed
Teen Vogue's P. Claire Dodson on finding personal style and starting with socks.
"Recipe for an Outfit" is a monthly series where people break down how they get dressed to understand more about our relationship to clothes. *****************************************************************************
I grew up on Lisi Harrison’s The Clique series, so I’m well-practiced at sorting myself into fashion categories. I’ve always felt like a Claire (for obvious reasons) and also because I felt like an outsider in middle school, forever doomed to be looking in at other 12-year-olds who magically knew how to dress themselves, wishing that was me. I imitated the best I knew how: When a popular girl wore a black-tiered mini peasant skirt with a tie waist from Aeropostale, I begged my mom to splurge. I wore it to school, only for the girl to confront me and ask if I was copying her. There was no more mortifying insult at the time.
My reaction was to stop caring and prioritize comfort instead of style. It was in many ways a necessity born of being tall and plus size, too big for a juniors section at the time. So I picked up basketball shorts and the unfitted black pants I wore to bag groceries, rationalizing I wouldn’t have to change for work. These were usually paired with a colorful array of t-shirts gathered from extracurricular activities over the years, and, of course, a pair of Chacos with socks — ubiquitous at my East Tennessee high school. Before I graduated, however, a close friend and I went to New York to look at colleges, and she took me to a store that would change my fashion journey forever: the Times Square Forever 21.
Scalding bright lights and shiny fabric, and four floors of clothing I could actually afford. Best of all, hidden away at the bottom, an entire section of plus size fashion. I bought a pair of skin-tight denim jeggings and a strappy dress, and fashion suddenly became something it felt like I had control over. Through college in Tennessee and then moving to New York in 2015, my style shifted alongside the drops at Forever21.com and other fast fashion retail, which I bought with abandon.
As I’ve aged further into my twenties, the options for plus size women have grown marginally better, and as a result, my style has shifted. I’ve been trying to unlearn the things I thought were true as a teen, that covering my body was better (and safer) than showing it. Or, that I had to look like everyone else — whether that’s a popular sixth-grader or a put-together person at the office. I was recently rewatching season 3 of Stranger Things and the scene where Max takes Eleven to Starcourt Mall for the first time resonated with me. “How do I know… what I like?” Eleven asks, looking in the mirror. “You just try things on, until you find something that feels like you,” Max replies. Eleven is confused: “Like… me?”
I always wanted a unified aesthetic for myself, something that would make me look like a stylish yet unique person. That eternal tension between blending in effortlessly (which is difficult at 6’1” anyway) and standing out with bold choices I actually like. Somehow my style developed without me realizing it, composed of favorite silhouettes and signature items, a mix of comfort and classic and trendy — I try to buy less fast fashion now, but I do still love a trend.
Here’s my outfit recipe:
Start with a sock.
In the past year, all my outfits have begun with a search through my sock drawer. I love a fun sock. Every Christmas, I gift my sister a pair of socks and try to make them as outrageous as possible, and in later years, two pairs: one for fun, and one for the serious quality sock, the perfect length and thickness, basic with a twist. I like a combination of the two — I love athletic socks and baseball socks specifically, adding a preppy little stripe to any outfit. A recent favorite is a pair that I got from the Color Factory gift shop, with a colorful tic-tac pattern and yellow band, and they’re so stretchy and soft.
The bottom half
I wear a lot of black, for many reasons not limited to: I’m a really messy eater, I’m too tired to color-coordinate, I wanna dress like Jungkook. I used to wear black t-shirts and black jeans almost exclusively in my early 20s; now I have pared back somewhat, but I am still almost always going to be wearing black on the bottom. My go-to choices are a black pleated mini skater skirt from ASOS, loose black trousers from Eloquii, bike shorts, or a black jean (oscillating between straight, skinny, and flared depending on how Gen Z I’m trying to be).
The upper half
I don’t like to feel pinned in by a shirt — comfort is the highest priority, and I like oversized fits. White button down ala boyfriend shirt but it’s just mine. Long-sleeved sweaters in preppy styles. Silky pajama blouses.
A statement item or repeated motif
I love having a signature item for a season of life and wearing it a bunch of times, so all my photos from that time have a common motif when I look back at them later. Ah, the rainy months I wore a pink and white bomber jacket bought at the Target near my first job in New York; or the summer my dad died and I exclusively wore oversized t-shirt dresses and bike shorts; or the beloved pair of Docs printed with William Hogarth’s “A Rake’s Progress” painting, purchased on 14th street with someone who was the center of everything. Right now I’m into building a lucite ring collection, am obsessed with the little flowers and jewels inside a chunky ring. Also silk pajamas and seeing how far I can push nightwear into daywear before I scare myself off — a friend had a pajama themed birthday party at a bar and it was my favorite party costume theme ever. I want to wear quality elegant pajamas and drink Aperol spritzes and sit in booths at dive bars.
Chunky footwear only
I used to be so afraid of shoes that would make me taller – every inch counted when I was embarrassed about how tall I am. (Or worried people would have opinions about my giant size 12 feet.) But over the past five or so years, the chunkier, the better. I love Docs, I love a big sandal. I cannot walk in heels and do not want to learn, but give me the whole platform. The taller I am, the closer to god.
Finally, a fragrance
Last is perfume, sprayed every morning even if I’m just working at home. I love perfumes, especially little mini bottles. I love testing out new scents on a daily basis. Right now, I’m into Byredo Mojave Ghost, Replica’s By the Fireplace (which smells like a literal fireplace, wild) and this Ferragamo men’s fragrance I got from work. I get self conscious if I feel like I don’t smell amazing.
The assessment:
Writing this piece felt like having an existential crisis, and that’s how I felt staring in the mirror for years, dreaming of capsule wardrobes and color palettes and nicely filtered Instagram posts, and ending up with just me at the end. The feeling of being in a room full of people making it look so much easier than you do. But it’s not true, really. Everyone has their hang ups, and I’m tired of being controlled by mine. As I’m getting older, I’m trying to take more fashion risks and try things that I’m excited to wear even if it’s kinda scary. Massie Block would hate my clothes — but it’s Kuh-laire who changes Massie’s life forever.
Other outfit recipes to check out:
A VP Fashion Publicist Shares Her Outfit Recipe
Backstory Founder Callia Hargrove's Outfit Recipe
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Thank you for reading!!
This Stuff is a newsletter by me! fashion journalist, Alyssa Hardy. Three times a week, I unpack the ways our clothes impact the world through news, essays, interviews and more. Subscribe for free here and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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