A rundown of notable contributions to Women in Clothes by some of our favorite writers and editors.
by Kaylen Ralph
Compiled by three editors and 639 contributors, Women in Clothes is a colossal collection that is to anthologies as Cher’s (from Clueless, duh?) remote control model is to closets. With notable contributions from tastemakers of the moment (as well as some iconic, longterm fashion icons), WIC is the kind of book you can bring to bed or put out on your coffee table. It can be opened at random or read straight through. For a book that is nearly 500 pages, its table of contents is remarkably short. A better roadmap for what you can find is the nine-page list of contributors and their bios. In this section at the back of the book, you might come across the name of your best friend (seriously) or your favorite New York Times columnist. Page numbers of contributors’ work are included, but the subject matter is a surprise. The tome is so large that looking for a specific author or piece of writing can feel like you’re rifling through your mom’s closet for a forgotten vintage gem (see “Mothers As Others,” a two part series in which children describe their mothers based on shared, intimate photographs from before they had children), or the bottom of your bag for one of your countless chapsticks (see the photo series of Jane Larkworthy’s collection of lip balms). Women “in” clothes does not begin to scratch the surface of how these women relate to items of clothing. Contributors are in clothing, yes, but they’re also smelling, destroying, tasting, staining and sharing clothing. These women share their clothes in order to model the stitches that hold their lives together. As New York Fashion Week commences in full force, the richness and accessibility of this collaborative collection is refreshing and exciting.
Read on for a rundown of the contributions from some of our favorite lady journos, writers and editors.
1. “If Nothing Else, I Have An Ethical Garter” by Mac McClelland
McClelland is known for her distinct brand of journalism, a no-holds-barred approach to covering topics that rattle cages and upturn the status quo of big business and politics. Her Q&A with WIC editor Sheila Heti offers an intimate yet blunt look (“…H&M, oh my god, I can’t even be in H&M. I feel like I’m having a heart attack in there.”) at where McClelland’s unwavering beliefs originated. As a teenager, she boycotted the Gap because of the abuses happening in overseas factories, offering context for the impetus behind such pieces as, “I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave.”
2. “A Perfect Peach” by Ruth Reichl
Before it folded in 2009, Gourmet magazine was under Reichl’s direction. She didn’t start out as the Editor-in-Chief of a major publication however, and in this Q&A, WIC editor Heidi Julavits gets behind-the-scenes details about the elaborate disguises Reichl relied on as the New York Times restaurant critic in the 1990s. Wigs like that deep wave lace front wig, body pads, cocktail suits and accessories—she went over the top to stay invisible.
3. “What I Wore to Fall in Love,” by Sarah Nicole Prickett
Adult Magazine darling Sarah Nicole Prickett reveals the story of how she met her husband. As she’s falling in love with Jesse, you’re falling in love with her clothes. A pair of bright silver Doc Martens, a black leather skirt she’s cut in half herself with scissors, “that was gorgeous and sultry…Now it’s slutty.” Her background as a style writer is apparent, but her ability to turn a professional and practiced eye on her own sartorial history is enchanting.
4. “Color Taxonomy,” by Tavi Gevinson
Gevinson has created a career so multi-faceted that it can make your head spin, and her list-cum-essay on color is refreshingly straight to the point. “Gray was made for nice sweaters and gross sweatpants, thus covering both ends of the Sunday-spent-at-home spectrum: productive lazy (tea, reading) and plain lazy (junk food, TV).” It’s also chock full of pop culture references that are as on point as they are genuinely descriptive. “(Blue) is hard to read as a word without hearing Beyonce crooning the name of her baby…” Ain’t that the truth. More so than Gevinson’s age, her references reveal a with-it attitude that has made Rookie , the magazine she started for and by teen girls, what it is today.
5. Lena Dunham’s “Survey”
It is interesting to read Dunham’s answers to WIC’s survey, a standardized list of questions also answered by the likes of Leopoldine Core and Young Kim, in light of her recent Emmy Awards wardrobe choice. Her Giambattista Valli skirt turned heads and opened mouths, especially paired with her new platinum blonde hairdo. Regardless of how you felt about her choice, her style was clear, and the distinction she defines between style and taste is a resonating moment in her WIC piece. “Style is a feeling that no one else could have put on what you’re wearing that day because it sprung forth from your unique neon mind,” she says. In the case of the 2014 Emmy’s, quite literally neon.
Kaylen Ralph is The Riveter’s co-founder and c0-Editor in Chief. You can find her on Twitter at @kaylenralph.
