I Love Your Outfit

Notes on appreciating fashion everywhere I go.

Have you ever walked by someone, looked at their outfit, and thought to yourself, ‘this person has so much style’? I ask because I have had that very conversation with myself one million times over. Especially this last week while I was on vacation, because, well ... I sought it out. Walking through a city I have never been to, I would scan the crowd looking for a great outfit and think, is this person a local? Or, did that pack in a suitcase waiting for the perfect moment to take it out and show silly onlookers like me? Who are they, and where did they get that dress or those shoes?

Doing it so often this last week made me look closely at what draws me to take a second glance at the person in front of me. What exactly makes me want to absorb the style exuding from an outfit of a complete stranger? Is it a brand name or a color? Perhaps it’s just something natural in a person who carries themselves and their clothing confidently with little conscious effort. And what’s the difference when I see something I wish to emulate versus something I admire?

Two people, in particular, gave me some insight. The first person wore an outfit I’d seen a million times before. A white blouse was tucked loosely into her fitted tan trousers. She had on white sneakers and no-show socks. Her blonde hair was pulled back into an elegant ponytail, revealing the “Celine” branding on her sunglasses. I turned to my husband and whispered, “chic.” It just came out of my mouth because this woman possessed all of the pieces needed for the quintessential 'chic' woman. My mind could transport her from the museum we were in front of to a house in the Hamptons or to lunch in Paris. This was a style I admired, certainly, but one I knew was not something I wanted to replicate. It’s simply not me, and if I tried to do it just because I know it looks great, it would probably look ridiculous.

The other person was the opposite. They had more personal touches with less tactful styling. There was a general coolness to the look. They wore a white patterned mini dress with a black bra underneath. With a glance, I guessed that the tall square-toed boots were from a brand called Miista. Her short brown bob was tucked underneath a brown and yellow silk handkerchief tied tightly in the back. She tucked a chunky black bag under her arm. Again, I turned to my husband and whispered, “so good.” This person I wanted to emulate in some small way. And admittedly, parts of the outfit elicited a small pang of jealousy. I would likely never wear a scarf on my head, but the boots and the dress, absolutely. I long to be that effortless. In fact, I know that I will be searching for the boots for months and keeping the dress in the back of my head every time I am in a thrift store.

There is no conclusion that I came to after processing my feelings about these outfits, other than to realize that the gratification I get from fashion is something I hope never goes away. And, to recognize that this exercise – looking at other people’s outfits, writing stories about them in my head – can be just that, an exercise in appreciation of clothing and the narratives they tell.

In other news, here's a little look at what I wore on vacation:

******************************************************************************

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.

You can preorder my book "Worn Out: How Our Clothes Cover Up Fashion's Sins" here.