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In today’s edition of What I Wore This Week, Sarah Spellings shares her past five days—a collection of layered looks, backward cardigans, Rachel Comey, and cowboy boots.
I’m not a stylist. I love clothes, but I don’t have that artistic inner voice that says, “oh you know what? This dress would look great with an upside-down, inside-out t-shirt layered underneath it.” (I’m assuming that’s the inner monologue of a stylist.) Instead, I generally rely on solid pieces that do the work for me. I’ve written before that my ideal aesthetic is “wayward West Texas art collector,” and that means I rely on a closet of well-selected, sculptural, or whimsical pieces in neutral colors that I know I’ll wear again and again.
But every now and then, I get the itch to try and experiment with my clothes, to push the boundaries of what I’m comfortable with just a little bit. This happened to me on Sunday evening. Lying in bed watching the cast of Succession panic in their neat little suits, I had the sudden urge to wear a metallic Rachel Comey wrap dress to work the next day. The silver, gold, bronze, and green dress is one of my favorites (I actually have two dresses in this silhouette) and I’m on a mission to wear it more often. The outfit I settled on was one that was stuck in my head for a while, and I decided that evening to just go for it—all week long. So come along with me for a week’s worth of outfits where I tried to flex my styling muscles.
Monday
I’m always a little frenetic on Monday mornings, getting prepared for my busiest day of the week. The to-do list I’ve forgotten about over the weekend races to the forefront of my mind and often this results in me reaching for my most comfortable-yet-put-together outfits. But not this week! Guided by my Sunday night visit from the muse (or fever dream?) I wore my Rachel Comey metallic wrap dress and tried to tone it down with hiking boots, a sweater worn like a cape over my shoulders, and a claw clip. I think I successfully toned it down from an 8 on the fancy scale to a 6. Business casual? Not for most offices. But it’s Vogue!
Tuesday
My knit maxi skirt has languished in my closet for a few years, but this winter, I’ve been drawn to it once more. I thought it would look chic with a sweater (the same one I wore over my shoulders yesterday, made from recycled cashmere) and a belt that’s functionally useless, but does create a waist. Perhaps inspired by Taylor Swift, I wore red lipstick and a tight bun.
Wednesday
I tracked down a vintage Hermès mushroom scarf on eBay early this year and honestly have been a bit stumped on how to wear it in a way that doesn’t age me 20 years. I thought the shrooms would make it feel a bit more youthful, and they do, but it still doesn’t exactly make me feel like I’m 26. For my birthday in May, I wore it as a Y2K tube top. It was a hit, but not going to work in November. I decided to lean into the rich mom aesthetic of it all, and tie the scarf in a kind of Western way around my neck with my hair tucked into the scarf. With white wide-leg jeans, a polo neck sweater, and—crucially—a Zabar’s cap, I look like I’m going to drop off my toddlers Persephone and Hugo at their Aspen ski school. Ideal!
Thursday
Another item I’m on a mission to make more casual: my fringe Rachel Comey skirt. True story, I bought this skirt on sale with the idea that I would save it for my rehearsal dinner (my wedding isn’t until April 2023; when I clicked “add to cart,” the date hadn’t even been set). My fiancé predicted that I would not be able to save it for an entire year and a half. He was right, and since I’ve already worn it once, I’m trying to get as much wear out of it as possible. Cream is a neutral, after all.
Now for my favorite styling trick: a backward cardigan. I think it looks much more elegant and I love the buttons running down the back. It’s the perfect styling hack for the mildly adventurous. With the fringe skirt and cowboy boots on, I was ready to go.
Friday
When all else fails, I return to this Mara Hoffman sweater. The wide neckline and sculptural sleeves never fail to make me feel elegant—neither does the Dilara Findikoglu Boleyn necklace. I know this may be surprising after my entirely colorless week of outfits, but I’ve always had an aversion to pairing black and brown together. Wasn’t that one of the old “fashion don’ts,” right next to “match your bag to your shoes?” Well, screw that. This buttery Michael Kors-era Celine knee-length skirt was made to go with my black Mara Hoffman sweater. For a bit of texture, I paired the leather skirt with a pony-hair Maryam Nassir Zadeh bag (both the skirt and bag were found on The RealReal). After a week of really trying to style my outfits, this didn’t feel so far out of my comfort zone. Now, we wait to see what the muse will tell me to wear next Monday.
