I was drawn to Garance Dore's blog because of the illustrations – those stylish girls with insouciant eyes and outfits to salivate over, rendered in inky lines and dabs of color. Being a fashion designer I've always wanted to illustrate like that, with a studied randomness punctuated with bold strokes, and finished off with the most glorious handwriting. I wish my penmanship was as French as that. I thought of Garance as a modern day David Downton, with girls looking like they just stepped out of their brownstones and onto their fabulous cafe lives on the East Village.
Her eye for style was evident in the street style snaps she posted, the luxury hidden in the undercurrent of neutral ensembles punctuated with the softest, most glorious sunlight. The girls on her blog looked like real girls with jobs, who smiled, had fun, had flaws, but were still for all intents and purposes, utterly divine. She espoused to me an aesthetic that was carefully curated and impossibly chic, but never too contrived. There was always that bit of being excited about things like a kid, but also approaching life with the clarity of a grown up. #Adulting at its finest, if you ask me.
The book itself is a great amalgamation of all the things we love about the blog. Equal parts fashion, beauty, lifestyle and love. She's a natural storyteller, able to go from lengthy narrations to snippets of thought. I myself didnt read the book in one sitting, it just felt natural leafing through it, and then delving into those that I was drawn too. Now with a bit of extra time on my hands, I've finally finished it, well most of it at least!
I loved how she explored the concept of personal style –of hers, and finding your own– in the book. It is what I'd call laid-back elegance, mixing Parisian femininity with New York downtown cool. Instead of focusing on seasonal trends, she encouraged women to build wardrobes, adding to it a few interesting pieces every season. Appreciating and cherishing quality, but being able to snap up the hottest pieces from Zara, you know those pieces that don't really quite look like they're from Zara. It's about knowing yourself and cultivating your own brand of elegance. Like any style book, there were a lot of bitsy tips like her go-to style essentials. But she also goes quite in depth in some parts, like when she thoroughly dissected the tuxedo, complete with sound bytes from Loulou de la Falaise and amusing anecdotes.
And on the topic of anecdotes, the one about the clutch was my favourite. She narrates a story of how on a night out in Paris, she gushes over a friend's buttery Hermes clutch. How very American of her, she thought. Her friend quiets her fashion hysteria with French nonchalance of the "this old thing" variety, and proceeds to be utterly composed. Well, until someone spills dark liquid on the clutch and no amount of composure could handle wine on white Hermes.
Right now my day bag was the first one I ever bought, with my fashion editor's salary all saved up. It's a gray YSL Downtown bag I got in Hong Kong, and christened Pebbles Perez (because it's gray, duh). Yes, at that time it was still YSL and not Saint Laurent. I loved that bag to death, but when I first got it, I loved it too much. It even got it's own chair in my room. Now, many years later, I don't feel like I have to be so precious with it, not that I care less, but because it was having no fun all stuck in my closet. One day my friend and I decided to do random things around town, and after I got my nails done, it rained. The umbrella was hopelessly stuck as I tried getting into the car, and my bag was getting a bit wet. He, a boy who is probably used to girls with designer bags, exclaimed, "Your bag!". But I wasn't too worried. I thought we should control our things, and not them controlling us from having a bit of spontaneus fun. That said, I would love a Chanel Boy bag, something from Anya Hindmarch with the emojis, and something impractical and blush pink wouldn't hurt either. Those, for a few months, might travel with its own dust bag.
On the topic of beauty, she writes, "Whatever is given to you on the day you're born, you are the one who decides who you will become, ever day. Beauty grows as we grow into ourselves." Women nowadays face extreme pressure to look a certain way – from the people we date, our jobs, our families and friends, and most often ourselves. But the concept of beauty should come from within. It's finding your own place in the world albeit with a lot of missteps and too pink blush or excessive glittering. Beauty is enhancing what you have, and finding the fun in experimentation. Whatever we define as beauty for ourselves should serve to liberate us and allow us to face the challenges of life head on. It's okay to be a bit natural with our looks, I suppose, but never lazy. Never lazy. The lazy girl never gets the guy.
Of course, a short tete a tete with my spirit animal Drew Barrymore, can't hurt either. There's also stuff in here for fans of girl boss Diane von Furstenburg, peak Parisienne Emmanuelle Alt, and forever cool girl Jenna Lyons.
Being the quintessential insider, it is such a treat to see the world though Garance's eyes. She's quite open about her journey, how in 2007 she was a freelancer who didn't quite have it all together, and how it gradually evolved to the front row life and powerhouse empire she has today. For bloggers, artists, entrepreneurs, or anyone involved in any form or measure of a start-up, it's seemingly never okay to talk about the negatives. We seem to all have a stiff upper lip when speaking about the journey, glossing over the struggles, and only talking about the successes when they come. Having someone of her caliber be so candid about her journey is a blessing and an inspiration. And the wonderful thing is that despite her success, she's always spoken with the same tone of voice – friendly, observant, and with her trademark self-deprecating humour. Her blog may be prettier now and professionally managed, but it's still got the same heart as when it first began.
Also, I do think she got to the top the good girl way. By working tenaciously hard, being sweet, having an astute point of view that was both confident and vulnerable, and also maybe being lucky and being at the right place at the right time. She's a big fan of the thank you note, which I think is quite classy. If we could all practice little bits of kindness and politeness along the way, I think it will all pay off in the end. Take it from the most helpful Editorial Assistant (that's Emily for you if you wanna go by Devil Wears Prada speak), it pays to be remembered as nice! If not just for the fact of actually being thought of as nice in this dog-eat-dog fashion world.
The same honesty she has talking about her rise to the top, she also applies to her love life. And as she narrates the lessons her dalliances have inevitably taught her, she speaks to all of us, for these are our stories as well. In bits and pieces we can all be broken and healed together, and that I feel is what life is all about.
I find the book equal parts eye candy and epiphany. Garance has a way of laying down #truths like no other. Social media has turned us fashion folk into perfectly edited versions of ourselves that it's nice to hear from another human experiencing life as it's meant to be, bumpy but exceedingly and stylishly beautiful.
P.S. I met her once at a talk she gave at the Fashion Institute of Technology for our Faces & Places in fashion class. I am super sure we have a photo together, but for the life of me I cannot find it. Let's settle for this autograph she gave me which I have on my NYC themed planner. Sorry I couldn't help plugging this giddy moment in!
The book itself is a great amalgamation of all the things we love about the blog. Equal parts fashion, beauty, lifestyle and love. She's a natural storyteller, able to go from lengthy narrations to snippets of thought. I myself didnt read the book in one sitting, it just felt natural leafing through it, and then delving into those that I was drawn too. Now with a bit of extra time on my hands, I've finally finished it, well most of it at least!
I loved how she explored the concept of personal style –of hers, and finding your own– in the book. It is what I'd call laid-back elegance, mixing Parisian femininity with New York downtown cool. Instead of focusing on seasonal trends, she encouraged women to build wardrobes, adding to it a few interesting pieces every season. Appreciating and cherishing quality, but being able to snap up the hottest pieces from Zara, you know those pieces that don't really quite look like they're from Zara. It's about knowing yourself and cultivating your own brand of elegance. Like any style book, there were a lot of bitsy tips like her go-to style essentials. But she also goes quite in depth in some parts, like when she thoroughly dissected the tuxedo, complete with sound bytes from Loulou de la Falaise and amusing anecdotes.
And on the topic of anecdotes, the one about the clutch was my favourite. She narrates a story of how on a night out in Paris, she gushes over a friend's buttery Hermes clutch. How very American of her, she thought. Her friend quiets her fashion hysteria with French nonchalance of the "this old thing" variety, and proceeds to be utterly composed. Well, until someone spills dark liquid on the clutch and no amount of composure could handle wine on white Hermes.
Right now my day bag was the first one I ever bought, with my fashion editor's salary all saved up. It's a gray YSL Downtown bag I got in Hong Kong, and christened Pebbles Perez (because it's gray, duh). Yes, at that time it was still YSL and not Saint Laurent. I loved that bag to death, but when I first got it, I loved it too much. It even got it's own chair in my room. Now, many years later, I don't feel like I have to be so precious with it, not that I care less, but because it was having no fun all stuck in my closet. One day my friend and I decided to do random things around town, and after I got my nails done, it rained. The umbrella was hopelessly stuck as I tried getting into the car, and my bag was getting a bit wet. He, a boy who is probably used to girls with designer bags, exclaimed, "Your bag!". But I wasn't too worried. I thought we should control our things, and not them controlling us from having a bit of spontaneus fun. That said, I would love a Chanel Boy bag, something from Anya Hindmarch with the emojis, and something impractical and blush pink wouldn't hurt either. Those, for a few months, might travel with its own dust bag.
Of course, a short tete a tete with my spirit animal Drew Barrymore, can't hurt either. There's also stuff in here for fans of girl boss Diane von Furstenburg, peak Parisienne Emmanuelle Alt, and forever cool girl Jenna Lyons.
Being the quintessential insider, it is such a treat to see the world though Garance's eyes. She's quite open about her journey, how in 2007 she was a freelancer who didn't quite have it all together, and how it gradually evolved to the front row life and powerhouse empire she has today. For bloggers, artists, entrepreneurs, or anyone involved in any form or measure of a start-up, it's seemingly never okay to talk about the negatives. We seem to all have a stiff upper lip when speaking about the journey, glossing over the struggles, and only talking about the successes when they come. Having someone of her caliber be so candid about her journey is a blessing and an inspiration. And the wonderful thing is that despite her success, she's always spoken with the same tone of voice – friendly, observant, and with her trademark self-deprecating humour. Her blog may be prettier now and professionally managed, but it's still got the same heart as when it first began.
Also, I do think she got to the top the good girl way. By working tenaciously hard, being sweet, having an astute point of view that was both confident and vulnerable, and also maybe being lucky and being at the right place at the right time. She's a big fan of the thank you note, which I think is quite classy. If we could all practice little bits of kindness and politeness along the way, I think it will all pay off in the end. Take it from the most helpful Editorial Assistant (that's Emily for you if you wanna go by Devil Wears Prada speak), it pays to be remembered as nice! If not just for the fact of actually being thought of as nice in this dog-eat-dog fashion world.
The same honesty she has talking about her rise to the top, she also applies to her love life. And as she narrates the lessons her dalliances have inevitably taught her, she speaks to all of us, for these are our stories as well. In bits and pieces we can all be broken and healed together, and that I feel is what life is all about.
I find the book equal parts eye candy and epiphany. Garance has a way of laying down #truths like no other. Social media has turned us fashion folk into perfectly edited versions of ourselves that it's nice to hear from another human experiencing life as it's meant to be, bumpy but exceedingly and stylishly beautiful.
P.S. I met her once at a talk she gave at the Fashion Institute of Technology for our Faces & Places in fashion class. I am super sure we have a photo together, but for the life of me I cannot find it. Let's settle for this autograph she gave me which I have on my NYC themed planner. Sorry I couldn't help plugging this giddy moment in!
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