The McDonald’s Happy Meal order heard ’round the world: You remember it well, don’t you? Jennifer Lawrence had just hit the 2013 Academy Awards red carpet, just a few hours before she’d take home the award for Best Actress. En route, sheathed in layers of Dior couture crinoline, she’d put in a fast-food order. “You have to remind them about ketchup!” she told reporters. While it was never confirmed whether Lawrence’s cheeseburger arrived in time, one thing was certain: No matter how glamorous or significant the occasion, a woman should never deny herself. It’s a New Age gospel that peels away at the impregnable facade that women are supposed to skimp rather than simply have a good time.
And when applied to date night, it seems only more apropos. What better way to loosen the grips of anxiety a date can cause than ordering the very thing you’ve been craving all day? Well, as my last few dates confirm, a supposedly picky fashion writer who happens to enjoy a bourbon and a T-bone steak certainly impresses. By upending frustratingly dismissive stereotypes that have harangued fashionable women for ages, it lets these unsuspecting gents know that I will not be fronting—which in my experience gives way to a great, fun dinner and an actual sense of honesty.
So take a few styling cues from Jennifer Lawrence, or models from Alexander Wang’s Spring 2016 ads that are chowing down with abandon, and enjoy the pleasures of couture and a cheeseburger. Let your burger-strap Apple Watch peek out from under your Vetements color-blocked leather coat when going out for a hot plate. A Seamless date-in just got sweeter with an Oreo cookie-emblazoned sweatshirt—or perhaps you’d prefer to slip into a Carven scalloped cami dress and a pair of shiny mules for your own extra-value meal. Style and an assuaged appetite are the perfect combo deal.
