Left On Red
The title of Molly Fischer’s The Cut article about prairie dresses — “The Pleasure of Sitting Out a Trend” — sparked a Eureka moment. “Yessssss,” I nodded, as visions of the Balenciaga Triple S flooded my head. So, my tenth post (and every tenth post henceforth) shall be dedicated to the things I’m NOT into. After all, isn’t style knowing what you dislike, even more than knowing what you like?
Why’d you get that?:
EXHIBITIONIST CREAM LIPSTICK IN HOT 305 - COVERGIRL
Remember when I said I was overly susceptible to hype? After devouring Longreads’ roundup of articles exploring the history and connotations of red lipstick, I emerged with staunch conviction that I needed — needed! — a tube of classic crimson. I don’t know how I convinced myself that I’m the kinda girl who rocks a bold red when I own five identical muted nudes, but nevertheless, I ran to Target and snagged Covergirl’s Hot 305, which was as good as any, I supposed.
I took a deep breath, smeared it on, and… hated it. It looked clownish and bizarre, a garish gash that drained all the color out of my face. I didn’t look or feel like myself. Tellingly, I much preferred the subtle pink stain that remained on my lips afterwards. Lesson learned!
I’m upset with:
I thought these rain boots were so cool when I first saw them. LA was experiencing some uncharacteristically wet weather, and I was tired of trudging around in soaked canvas sneakers. They were from AliExpress (read: dirt cheap), which was good because I didn’t anticipate getting a ton of use out of them once the downpour subsided. Plus, the transparent shoe trend was at its peak, and I was buying into it big time.
Unfortunately, these boots gave me damp feet of a different sort. After just ten minutes of wear the thick, non-breathable rubber turned opaque, as the shoe became suffused with a dense fog of trapped perspiration. They’re high-maintenance too, because dirt and stains are incredibly conspicuous, and I do not possess the diligence required of regular polishing. I wore them thrice, then cut my losses.
On my skip list:
CROWD-PRINT WOOL SWEATER BEIGE/MULTI - ACNE STUDIOS
Look, I’d sell my soul for an Acne sweater — except for this one. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just…so…ugly? I thought the abstract blurs were flowers at first, but upon closer inspection they turned out to be people, which, like, doesn’t really up the appeal. The pattern is busy, the color is bland, the mock neck looks weird, the roll trim seems unnecessary. There was a time when I worshiped Acne and defended every out-there design as “avant-garde,” but I’ve gone through enough personal growth to comfortably proclaim that sometimes Acne really be off a bean.