In this episode, I interview Lauren Sherman, one of the fashion industry’s most respected journalists. Lauren cut her teeth at Forbes, before moving on to publications such as Fashionista.com, Lucky magazine, and Business of Fashion, where she spent seven years as one of their chief correspondents. A few months ago, Lauren announced her departure from Business of Fashion, joining the newsletter platform Puck as their first fashion writer. Lauren now publishes a weekly Puck newsletter, Line Sheet, a mixture of industry analysis and piping hot tea. As a journalist, her beat is explaining how the business works - who is spending money where, and what it all means. She’s one of my favourite fashion writers and I continue to learn so much from her work. Whether you work in fashion or simply enjoy getting dressed, I can guarantee you’ll learn something from her too.
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On the piece that reminds her of her childhood: “I was very into the peak-Mickey Drexler era of Gap — say 1998, 1999 — as a teenager. The “Mellow Yellow” commercial was the basis of my entire wardrobe, and not much has changed. A couple of years ago, I really wanted a pair of low-rise greige corduroys, but instead of trying to find new ones I just bought an old Gap pair on Poshmark. They're perfect, and I still wear them with New Balance sneakers and Birkenstocks, just like I did in high school.”
The piece that reminds Lauren of her career: “I bought my Chanel bag in SoHo after a Bloody Mary-fuelled brunch down the street at Boqueria in 2010. (Maybe my last brunch ever?) It was my reward for landing a job at Fashionista. It cost something like $2,200 or $2,500, which I couldn't afford. (Now, the same style is around $8,000 on resale sites!) It really was my dream to live in NY, be a fashion editor, and own a Chanel bag, so I felt very much like I’d made it. I still use it!”
The piece that reminds Lauren of a high? “A double-breasted navy blazer bought at a Band of Outsiders sample sale in their old space on the Lower East Side circa 2012. I was able to skirt the line with my friend Sid (aka. Siduations) and it was such a satisfying purchase. It wasn't some seminal moment in my life - just a fun day.”
On the piece that reminds her of a great party: “Chantal Fernandez, my former colleague at Business of Fashion and the co-author of a book I'm writing about Victoria’s Secret, was one of those poor souls whose wedding was postponed at least once because of the pandemic. I had dreamed of wearing a particular dress from Loewe with giant white duchess satin sleeves, but it was very expensive and seemingly sold out in my size. Luckily, by the time the wedding actually happened, I found it on The RealReal for a quarter of the price, with tags! It also felt great to wear it to Chantal’s wedding because her mom is Spanish, and Loewe is that country’s greatest fashion house.”
For the piece that makes her feel a part of something, Lauren chose her red Puck cap. “First of all, I love the hat. It’s very good merch - and I wouldn’t wear it if it wasn’t! I do feel like a little bit of a company man, but it’s really nice!”
“The piece that makes me feel sexy? Ah, this one is hard for me! Most compliments I've gotten over the years are along the lines of this: I look the best when I'm dressed down, in a hoodie with my hair pulled into a bun. But when do I feel it? I guess the gold Sherman Field chain that my husband got me for our 10-year anniversary does the job. I do just feel confident and comfortable when I wear it, and that's what sexy is, right?”
Threads of the week
Visited California and spent most of the time by the pool in my favourite Lido bikini. Instead of a gratuitous swimwear selfie, here’s a pic of the other outfit I wore frequently on my trip. I got this dress in a market in Hong Kong for about 10 dollars about 10 years ago and I still wear it every summer. This photo was taken at midnight the night before my flight during a last-minute packing panic.
Loose Threads
Speaking of Business of Fashion, I really enjoyed this podcast episode with Alec Leach, author of ‘The World Is On Fire But We’re Still Buying Shoes’. He discusses how we can swap one night stand purchases for long term love.
On the topic of secondhand shopping, NEVERWORNS’ Liana Ava on masterminding ‘The Sale of The Century’ ie. the sale of hundreds of pieces from Chloe Sevigny, Lyn Yaeger and Sally Singer’s closets. Chloe herself was on hand to tell people where she’d worn things and what made them so special.
I’m looking forward to Campbell Addy’s new exhibition.
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A Thread about Lauren Sherman