Good afternoon, Wednesday. It's pouring and thundering outside and Khan and I are happy to be inside safe and sound. It's one of those days I'm grateful for a bit of free time. I'm enjoying it immensely.
So Fashion Week is upon us and it's hard not to think about, well, fashion. I occasionally find myself on Gwyneth Paltrow's site for rich suckers, Goop, from time to time, just to torture myself with just how not together I am compared to Gwyneth and her Goopites. Sigh.
But before there were fancy, overly aspirational to the point of hateful websites, there was just Gwyneth, who for me was at her coolest in the 90s, when she was dating Brad Pitt and hanging out with Winona.
Lately I've been thinking about Iris Apfel a whole lot too, who's really the polar opposite of Gwyneth but so very amazing. Gwyneth is a classic beauty, Iris has made it quite clear she is not. Gwyneth is the quintessential minimalist, while Iris is anything but. Gwyneth chooses accessories with an almost monastic eye, and Iris? Um, no. More is more when it comes to my beloved Iris. So how can I love them both so much? You know what's the best? We don't have to choose and how can be however we feel like being. Genius.
Because 90s Gwyneth epitomizes that brand of effortless American cool that so many of us seek on the regs. I've pulled some of my fav casual Gwyneth looks, though we all know she was so well known for her icons on the red carpet- from the maroon Tom Ford tux to the insanely beautiful pink Ralph Lauren at the Oscars. I didn't want to like her then, but I did. And sometimes, I think I still do.
And even though Gwyneth plays it very safe, she always looks cool, in a completely different way than Iris but equally confident and at ease. If you look back, it's easy to see these pieces existing right now in your closet- I see so many chic Brooklyn types donning clothes like this every day, and although for more maximalist types, it's a bit of a yawn, for me it's easy dressing that can go anywhere and have cred.
That's why young Gwyneth is today's muse- the Gwyneth before the kale, the Gwyneth before the overpriced e commerce, the Gwyneth before that infamous conscious uncoupling. I miss the 90s Gwyneth who smoke and drank and dated movies stars vs. rock stars vs. tech stars. Then again, who doesn't miss the 90s who came up during that time? It was so genius when it comes to style, and Gwyneth's place there as a style icon is more than well deserved.
Cause that's what's up this wanting to be maximal but way more minimal kind of Wednesday in New York Citay. Yours, in basic cool. Are you team Gwyneth or team Iris? Or are you somewhere in between like moi and not really willing to choose? XO