Less Fashion Week, More Cool Clothes

No fashion reviews here, just some much-needed (aka: REFRESHING🥤) satin, denim, and mesh to help us get dressed this fall.

FOR REAL THIS TIME 🪩💃🏻🚨: It’s the last week to cash in on our super-duper summer special—annual Paid subs to A Tiny Apt. at 40% off (just $30😎). More thrifting, more mini makeover magic, more life lessons on doing a lot with a little. Get it while ya can❤️🔥

Back in the ‘90s, my favorite place to go and molest peruse clothes, was Bond Street. Daryl K and Katayone Adeli were literally like places of worship for me, especially since saving up to buy just ONE pair of straight-cut, low-waisted trousers every few months, usually in black, was a very big deal. Even then in my 20s I wore a lot of vintage. But T-shirts, tank-tops, jeans, silk camisoles, and very simple tailored blazers from both DK and KA, with maybe a Helmut Lang thing or two, were pretty much the foundation of my teeny closet.

While I love seeing the fashion contingency kneel at the square-toes of the ‘90s, the resurrection of trends from this time has been reminding me in a great way of how basic a high-functioning-but-STILL-extremely-cool wardrobe can be. I mean, I used to wear two pairs of shoes exclusively—lug-soled Gucci loafers and a pair of lug-soled leather Espace boots…both in black, everyday. Having less but better things that I really loved helped me to always appreciate a left-fielder coming into the mix, like maybe a vintage faux fur coat or lace baby-doll dress (both of which I would wear today). And most importantly, something the ‘90s always makes me think about, especially now as a person finding herself all over again in mid-life, was this emphasis on wearing clothes the way YOU want to wear them, like, say, a silk slip-dress with a vintage biker jacket from Canal Jeans (this video is🍌), or a ‘50s pearl-button cardigan with ancient oversized Levi’s (and basically everything else Drew/we wore in the ‘90s).

Documentation of my slip-dress section…from the ‘90s and all the other decades, too. Yep….a whole section.

So, that’s how I’ve been looking at fashion shows lately—with less of a critical eye and more of the heart of a shopper, someone possibly bored AF with everything we already own and yearning for a dose of beautifully cut things in GREAT swoon-ey fabrics to make our own and wear however we want for the next 15-20 years…or whenever the fashion industry proclaims they are “cool” again (whatever).

And so here’s a handful of looks/things I’m into from NYFW, cool stuff to consider/collect as you’re getting dressed in the weeks/months to come. And for fun, just imagine Diana Vreeland is here with us, too, “Satin! Why don’t you?”. More when all the insanely good things start rolling in from Paris and Milan…until then, may the mesh be with you💋. xxCb

Satin Things, Altuzarra—I loved this collection, but especially these pieces spotlighting really good silk-satin that always, always get better with age (as does the “Rosemary’s Baby” references). In particular the celadon green slides, bone-colored blazer (🤯!!), and the ruby-red satin opera coat, accompanied by serious HEART palpitations, people.

Photo: Giovanni Giannoni/WWD/Getty Images.

This look made me want to do three things: Find a bone-colored blazer ASAP, start layering my sheer vintage chiffon slip under other skirts, and start using my vintage box bags more often—even if they are a tiny pain in the ass to carry (their beauty/cuteness make up for it).

Can’t you see me in this red satin coat? Can’t you see YOU in this satin coat, too? Let’s all buy it…or something sort of like it.

Photo: Giovanni Giannoni/WWD/Getty Images.

If I only bought ONE thing this season, it might be these celery-colored satin shoes…I just love them and wish I could wear them with a pair of black Katayone Adeli trousers.

Mesh or Macrame Things…Over Other Things—I am generally a hardcore Proenza Schouler fan. The whole collection was quite beautiful in its simplicity, but these two looks really stood out—as both signature PS and also statement things that anyone can wear in a lot of different ways. I have a few crocheted and mesh dresses in my closet already, so I’m psyched to have more motivation to wear them…and maybe in some weird ways. Add this to your list if you don’t already have one….way more staple-worthy and reliable than you think.

Photo: Courtesy of Proenza Schouler.

Classic Denim Things, Helmut Lang—I am old enough to appreciate all the phases of Helmut Lang, especially the first one. It is not only a privilege to grow old(er) but to see collections like these change, have some bad times, and then good times again. Peter Do is newly leading HL into a new era, but it was clear to me from his first collection/show (watch it here) there was a noticeable reverence for that original expression of minimalism (spare, artful, and a little severe) that formed the earliest foundation of the brand.

These two looks got me excited about what Do is doing/will do next…not because they are so out there/ambitious but because they feel true to Helmut and the brand’s own unique building blocks of modernism. Also, the denim jumpsuit reminded me of a look Leandra Medine once wore, which made me even happier about adding this to my list of things to buy and wear in the weeks/months ahead.🍿

Photo: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.

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Some other fun things you might 💖 from the past few weeks of ATA…

🍁 The 7 Fall’iest Fall things you need to see/watch/know for the season (have you watched that doc YET??)

👑 Some thoughts on THAT Diana sweater & the everyday “things” that occasionally haunt us (and not always in a bad way)

🗝️ The must-see 11 Things I thrifted last month, some of which will be at my TAG SALE on 9/30 in Brooklyn. Flash sale right here for Paid Subscriber folks next week😎

📚 The 5 Standout Books in constant bedside rotation that you might definitely want to add to your tiny library, too