How to Dress Like You Have a Mind of Your Own
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“There’s nothing wrong with trying out different versions of yourself,” says Lori Hirshleifer, the fourth-generation co-owner of Hirshleifers, her family’s 114-year-old luxury fashion emporium on Long Island. “But we need to slow down and think about what we really love.”
That has felt like an impossible task lately. Somewhere between stealth wealth and all the bows, we seem to have lost the plot—and maybe even a bit of ourselves. For the past few seasons Americans have had to endure the onslaught of one shallow TikTok trend after another, delivered in a digital vacuum devoid of any real context. It has left a lot of women—especially those with spending power who are interested in making smart wardrobe choices—feeling unseen, undervalued, and underwhelmed.
"This increased need for constant newness has resulted in this frenzied world of micro-trends," says Sean Spellman, chief creative officer of Mark Cross (and the man behind the recent revival of the 180-year-old heritage brand). "It shouldn't be about instant gratification but about curating a collection of intentional, well-made, timeless pieces that will still serve you in 20 years time."
Even designers haven’t been immune to the forces of the algorithm. “For a long time it seemed like those two things—TikTok trends and what is actually happening on the runway—were totally divorced,” says Rachel Tashjian, a fashion writer at the Washington Post. “And then it was interesting to watch social media dominate what was important in fashion, though a lot of designers were unwilling to admit that. It was a depressing way to play with the identity exploration that fashion uniquely allows.”
Are you ready for the good news? The pendulum appears to be reversing course. “There is a general fatigue with content,” Tashjian says, on the part of designer and consumer alike. “People are tired of not having that deeper relationship with things that they’re looking at—and that’s what they’re searching for now.”
Never was this more apparent than during the spring and fall collections. On runways from New York to Paris, designers seemed ready to free themselves from the tyranny of social. Intelligent dressing was back on the mood board—at last, fashion for the woman with a mind of her own.
There was Thom Browne, who presented a philosophical ode to Edgar Allan Poe, and Prabal Gurung, who took a more literal approach by enlisting a cadre of chic intellectuelles (Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, Westworld creator Lisa Joy) as models. In Paris, at the Row, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen forbade photos, instead supplying their attendees with notebooks to encourage deeper, less filtered contemplation. Miuccia Prada, whose own wardrobe is breathlessly covered by the Instagram account What Miuccia Wore (64,500 followers and growing), showed a Miu Miu collection anchored by the conceit of girlishness, described as “a universal idiom expressive of the strength of rebellion, a spirit of freedom and individuality, one attribute of a richer whole.”
And then there was Dries Van Noten, who dedicated his show to “The Woman Who Dares to Cut Her Own Fringe,” the iconoclast who knows how to exercise her freedom of choice. It would turn out to be a poignant—and pointed—swan song for the visionary Belgian, who announced his retirement a month later.
“My takeaway from the runways was, to put it bluntly, ‘Wear a cool hat, get a personality,’ ”says Tashjian, who also writes the newsletter Opulent Tips. “It was very much about self-expression.” How do these lessons translate IRL—and in our wardrobes?
“People with real style stay true to their own DNA,” says Brian Bolke, founder of the Conservatory, a sprawling retail emporium in Dallas’s Highland Park Village beloved by the city’s grandes dames for its curated selection, including Michael Kors, Jil Sander, and Azzedine Alaïa. “My clients here are truly unapologetic. They buy what they love, they wear what they love, and they dress for themselves.”
In other words, it’s about cultivating originality, which is hardly a groundbreaking concept. Women have been doing it since time immemorial, or at least shopping accordingly since the dawn of department stores in 19th-century Paris. It has just been a while since that customer was catered to by the industry at large. Once upon a time, she might have shopped at Barneys New York (RIP).
“The women I see who are the most fulfilled and having the most fun are those wearing clothes that reflect all the interests they have in their lives,” says Faisal Hasan, a stylist at Bergdorf Goodman. It’s simple, really: Dressing as if you have a mind of your own requires that you, well, have a mind of your own.
Prada shoes ($995), prada.com
Johanna Ortiz skirt ($695), johannaortiz.com Cartier Baignoire watch ($12,900), cartier.com Bottega Veneta Andiamo bag ($4,800), bottegaveneta.com
Top of page: Sanoe Camille tale jacket ($795), sanoe-collection.com; Bally Plume leather moccasins ($990), bally.com; Mark Cross Romy clutch ($1,890), markcross.com; Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, fifth edition ($1,650), argosybooks.com.
This story appears in the May 2024 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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