#2: Getting dressed for my internet friends, the Fabric Fanciness Matrix, WTDW

Getting Dressed for my Internet Friends

For someone who wore a tulle skirt, black gumboots and a homemade patch that said “LOVE ISN’T REAL”  (🙄) to my grade ten Valentine’s Day dance, I actually really care what other people think of my outfits. But here's the catch: I've never cared what people in my direct vicinity thought of my outfits. (I grew up in a suburb where camo was a'plenty and trucker hats were the topper of choice. Good for them! Not for me!)

Instead, I'd amassed a cohort of fashionable celebrities and fictional characters I'd deemed my ~ imaginary fashion friends~, and who I imagined had given me the implicit permission to wear, well, whatever I wanted to. Claudia Kishi from the Babysitters Club always gave the ok for a crochet vest. Geri Halliwell taught me how to clash with confidence. I imagined Trisha Yearwood (whose music I never really vibed with but whose style I DEFINITELY did, after pinching the booklet from my parents’ CD and propping it up on my childhood dresser) giving the ok to go big or go home, so glittery were her bustiers and feathery were her bangs. These style icons gave me the armour to walk into school each day with confidence. I wasn't getting dressed for these people. I was getting dressed for CLAUDIA.

Me at 16. Note the double leopard print, just in case.

And here I am, nearly one year into a pandemic that's crushed the spirits of so many (myself included), still getting dressed for my imaginary fashion friends. Except now, they're not so imaginary. They're all of you.

This is the dream I had as a weird kid, whose outfits stuck out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of Hollister graphic tees, completely realized. And when I post my silly little stories, in my silly little outfits, on my way to exciting excursions like the grocery store or dog park (both of which I’m exceptionally overdressed for) and get a message from someone else who also loves giant red puffer jackets or leopard-print turtlenecks, it’s a validation of my innate eccentricities, my expression of self through clothing, that I hadn’t thought possible as a burgeoning suburban fashionista who was the recipient of more than a few snickers & side-eyes.

Say hello to my (imaginary) friends. Christian Vierig / Getty

That's the joy of getting dressed online right now. As many of us have shifted to working from home, we've become untethered from the side-eyes of carpool mates, in-office colleages and produce-aisle critics. We're free to dress how we've always wanted, cheered on by the chorus of an online community that doesn't care how practical our pink pumps are or how loud our sequined blazers are.

Even if a look is only captured momentarily by an ephemeral square amongst thousands of other tiny squares in the vast cosmos of the internet, even if the algorithm only shows it to a few, even if we take it off immediately and change back into our soft clothes, there’s joy there. These outfits we’re putting together, the sheer creativity and playfulness of them, is a visual milestone, a memory of doing something just for ourselves. Michelle-at-sixteen would be amazed at the possibilities. I guess Michelle-at-31 is too. :)

The Fabric Fanciness Matrix: Playing with Opposition in Fabric Choice

Every fabric substrate has certain inherent qualities built in: linen’s organic crossweave lends itself to elastic-waisted casual wear, cotton’s crisp characteristics make a cut-up button-up, and knits were made for lounging. 

It’s fun to lean in to these qualities, and a great way to learn about how fabric behaves, moves and wears. But let me tell ya, it’s even more fun to push against them. Wearing finished garments that have been made up in oppositional ways to the fabric’s given qualities give your outfits instant tension. Tension is that high/low, push/pull, je-ne-sais-quoi that turns your outfits into LOOKS and not just well-matching collections of separates. 

I have Strong Thoughts (see very scientific graph above) about these inherent qualities and how to play with these fabrics to up the tension by leaning in to their oppositional qualities. You may not agree. But alas, just as a bit of tension is what makes an outfit great, a bit of tension just might make a newsletter great too. ;) 

A simple rule of thumb? If a fabric has inherently casual qualities (nubby texture, loose weave, natural fibres), try using it in garments that have slightly fancier features. If a fabric has inherently fancy qualities (drape, sheen, sparkle!, tulle!), try it in a shape or garment that’s a bit more casual. 

Ideas to zhuzh up:

Hemp / Silk Noil: Anything tailored with sharp design lines will create a great contrast with the nubby, organic texture shared by hemp and silk noil. Button up shirt with a big frilly collar!  Fitted blazer with all the fixins! Two-piece suit! Pleated shorts! Bright, vibrant colours in these fabrics will also create a great contrast with the fabric’s organic texture. 

Knits: The definition of relaxed, you’ll need to work overtime to build in a bit of oppositional tension into most knits. Start by thinking in terms of interesting shapes, add-ons and asymmetry. A bit of ruching here, a stepped hem there. (Tibi are the masters of this, if you’re looking for inspiration!) Anything additional you can add to your knit garments will add visual interest, too! Think drawstrings, trim, elastic, etc. Choosing knit fabrics with an interesting texture or kinda-weird element to them will have this quality already built in.

Linen: Hardware! Hardware! Hardware! Linen is a shapeshifter, starting the day off pressed & sharp and becoming softer and more relaxed as the day goes on. Create contrast with features that will hold their angularity, even as the rest of the garment softens: a self-fabric belt with a big gold buckle, sharp knife pleats in an A-line skirt, or gold buttons down a flax-coloured shirtdress. 

Cotton: Here is where big frilled collars, puff sleeves and interesting tucks & twists really shine. Mixing cotton fabric with these elements brings immediate irony, and these elements give cotton a larger-than-life quality that plays against its tailored reputation. There’s an inherent humour, a bit of sweet irony, in a big frill done in structured, khaki twill, or a poofy sleeve in a chilled-out cotton gauze. 

Ideas to chill out:

Wool: Bringing elements of sportswear into your wool garments chills out this finer fabric instantly. I love a car coat in wool with big oversized pockets, or an oversized hoodie (drawstrings, kangaroo pocket and all) in a boiled wool or even a thick suiting. A pair of elastic-ankled joggers in a fine wool will keep you chill & comfy while keeping your look far out of pajama territory. 

Drapey fabrics: A boxy woven t-shirt or cocoon dress in Tencel is a revelation. Anything that leans away from frills or fiddly bits will give your fancier fabrics instant opposition & tension. A tent-like caftan in a sandwashed Tencel will give you “coolest human at the BBQ” credentials, promise. (Both literally and figuratively.)

Ultra-fancy fabrics: There’s nothing I love more than an organza boxy tee, or simple gathered skirt in a sheer tulle. Playing with classic shapes in wild, glittery fabrics not only gives an amazing amount of tension, but will also extend the wearability of your pieces: dress ‘em up, dress ‘em down, dress ‘em all around. 

WDTW (Why Does This Work?) #2: The Infamous New Balance / Aime Leon Dore Ad

1. Hi / Lo: The sweater! The hat! The sneakers! How does this look steer far away from schleppy? Smart little touches of luxury. See how the gold buttons shine alongside the bold broaches? The coat itself, smartly tailored to look, well, not tailored at all, brings it all together. 

2. Colour: We’re basically working with two tones here: neutrals and a deep, rich, forest green. The focal point, however? It’s all about the shoes. (And, I mean, this is an ad for shoes so it does check out.)

3. Details: The flash of the ankles here is perfect, and lends visual interest and a line break to the column created by the coat. Plus, it’s designed to make you LOOK at the shoes, the punctuation mark of this perfect outfit. Consider if she’d swapped this mesh bag for a canvas tote: suddenly we’re rushing through the checkout vs. squeezing all the tomatoes on a Sunday afternoon, looking for a perfectly-ripe unicorn. The mesh tote says she doesn’t care who sees her stuff. She’s PROUD of her stuff. And I think that’s cool.

4. THE COAT: This deserves its own bullet point. Slouchy in the right places, with an armscye low enough and sleeves big enough for a bulky sweater. The shawl collar and raglan sleeves make it casual, the buttons, fine wool and welts turn it back up. It says “my live-in boyfriend is a barrister and I borrowed this from him”. It says “yeah I might get some mustard on this from my deli sandwich but c’est la vie”. It says “there’s definitely a few old dog treats, a crumpled business card AND a Dior lipstick” in these pockets.

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