The Devil Couldn't Reach Me So...
He gave me expensive taste on a budget... Anti-Capsule Dressing + Personal Style, 10 answers from my Ask Me Anything sticker, and 5 Selfish Delights from my wishlist.
Anti-Capsule Dressing
By definition, a capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing and accessories that can be mixed and matched to create many different outfits. The goal is to have a few key items that are versatile and can be worn for many occasions. By this definition, I’ve achieved a capsule wardrobe of sorts (minus the few key items part). Societally, capsule dressing has been widely interpreted as filling your closet with basics in classic silhouettes, in an array of neutral colors (*yawn*).
The last few years have been bleak fashion-wise. Frustrated by the lack of personal style, the influx of copycat dressing and core culture, and generally lackluster products on the market from a merchandising perspective, I started leaning into the most unusual pieces in my closet in a subconscious defense of lost self-expression.
For good reads on the death of trend and personal style, I recommend Untidy Up by The Relevancy Read and On the Fashion Internet by Wardrobe Thirteen.
The Spring-Summer runways kicked off a renaissance of fun in Fashion—hallelujah! My personal favorites continue to be MW Moschino SS25, Marc Jacobs FW24, MW JW Anderson SS25, WW Coach SS25, and WW Prada SS25 (which I disliked at first but now love).
Finally inspired, I started sharing my most unconventional pieces online in an Anti-Capsule Collection series, which was well received. I feel like I’ve finally found my corner of the internet.
My ethos for dressing has always been happiness. I dress for myself and no one else. I must have a visceral, heart-dropping moment to buy something on the spot, if not I’ll stew over a purchase for weeks or months on end. I love an unusual statement piece, wearing something that no one else will have (or sometimes understand). As a result, I have a colorful closet full of pieces that I wholeheartedly love and somehow all work together. I can wax poetic on the topic, but dressing this way makes me feel the most confident. A statement piece is the best conversation starter there ever was. I appreciate how an unconventional piece says something about the wearer without them ever having to say something themselves. I live for an up-down or a double-take. A compliment from a well-dressed stranger. Call it dopamine dressing, call it whatever you want, but I’m pretty sure it’s just personal style.
A final note on personal style- I am not saying anti-capsule dressing is the end all, be all. Quite the opposite. Experiment. Find what works for you. Buy with your heart, not your head, and wear what you love with confidence, and it will work. What works for me, shouldn’t entirely work for you.
Ask Me Anything
10 more answers from my Ask Me Anything sticker.
FMK 3 items in your closet?
F: Really into a Skant right now (Skant= Skirt + Pant). It’s not something I can own more than one of (famous last words), but there are so many variations of it that I like: see here, here, and here. The silhouette feels like something I’ll have forever, regardless of popularity or trend.
M: A button-down with a twist. My closet is 50% unique button-downs and I wouldn’t have it any other way. (See this Shelf for a selection of Anti-Capsule button-downs I can’t stop thinking about). Hot Tip: If you’re looking for a great button-down with no bells & whistles, check out the Men’s suiting department and thank me later.
K: Slip dresses. Love the idea of them: simple elegance, they just look foul on me, and “simple elegance” isn’t exactly on brand for me anyway hahaha. Also.. the Destree set.. you know which one I’m talking about. I love the jacket and will never get rid of the pants, but I think it's cooler styled with something unconventional like low-slung cargos. I’ll probably put the suit on ice for a bit and bring it back out in a few years.
Rapid fire who you are! How old are you? How many siblings do you have? Where do you live?
Just turned 26 (Capricorn- not an astrology girl, but my friends claim I am VERY aligned with my star sign.) I’m one of four, a middle child but also a twin so not sure that middle child syndrome applies to me. Born and raised in NY, and have lived in the WV for 4 years now.
Just moved to NYC- how do you afford life? Dinners, shopping, traveling, etc? It’s tough out here!
Was asked this about twenty times so in the spirit of full transparency, by the skin of my teeth! And that's with essentially two full-time jobs. Money comes in, money goes out. Saving is a joke and NYC rent is highway robbery, but I also don’t limit myself at all (working on it.) My 9-5 pays for basic living necessities and TikTok pays for the fun stuff: MTK sharehouse, traveling, shopping spend, special dinners, etc. On that note… read below…
What is your current job? Do you plan to stay for a while or do your own thing one day?
Trend Forecasting (see my last stack for the full answer and follow our weekly newsletter .) Also, content creation which accidentally became a side hustle is becoming less and less like a side hustle and more like a round-the-clock gig by the day. That being said, I’m sitting tight, I love my current work set-up and enjoy having the stability, firm schedule, and benefits that a 9-5 provides. As far as doing my own thing one day (not sure what that would be), never say never.
I relate to your style SO much! Could you do bride-to-be stuff? I would love your take on bridal wear.
Weddings are so personal and I strongly believe that bridalwear is heavily impacted by the wedding destination, time of year, venue, events planned, and overall vibe you’re trying to curate. My opinion of traditional weddings vs. new wave weddings changes daily, but I don’t foresee myself shopping traditional bridalwear apart from the actual dress (maybe) regardless of what I do. We’ll see. I’d like to be able to re-wear my wedding wardrobe down the line. These Chopova Lowena earrings came across my desk recently and if I were in the market, I’d snag them.
How to style your bedroom combining your feminine x bf’s masculine styles?
Going to do an apartment tour on my TikTok soon and dedicate an entire Substack article to it, AD style of course. I’m thinking mid/late-February when decorating is officially done and FW craziness has died down, stay tuned!
Favorite NYC Influencer / Who Influences You?
Hmm, this is surprisingly hard for me to answer, fashion-wise I’m not sure that I’m easily influenced by any one person. I get different things from different people. That being said:
5 of my Favorite Follows and How They Influence Me:
Denna (Strictly The Good Stuff ) influences me weekly- to travel the world, to try a new restaurant, to shop a new brand, etc. If you’re not following Strictly The Good Stuff on substack you’re missing out.
Allie DePinto influences me to get my butt in the gym. She makes working out look genuinely fun and I kind of have FOMO when I wake up and see that she’s already riding an endorphin high from a morning workout. Sigh. I also save every single one of her take-out recs.
Michal Kurtis influences me to work on my wordsmithing. Is anything cooler than being clever? I think not. Scroll her IG captions.
Soco influences me to be unabashedly myself on the internet. Kudos to her.
Last, but not most certainly not least, Hadley Greene, Livy Duncan, and Courtney Grow all have that effortless cool factor that makes me green with envy. All must follows, end of story.
I have so many more I want to share, should this be a weekly thing??
Best burger in NYC?
Had to answer this, the only question asked by a male! Here’s my breakdown:
Best Burger Overall: Red Hook Tavern, sit at the bar.
Best Steakhouse Burger: Minetta Tavern
Best Backyard Burger: Corner Bistro
Best Fast-Food Burger: Smacking Burger
What’s your red flag?
I don’t listen to music. Bizarre behavior, I know.
Absolute favorite brand list?
If you wanted to know the answer to this question from last week, here ya go! There are so many more brands to include, but I’ll be keeping those to myself for right now...
JW Anderson
Dries Van Noten
Loewe
Tibi
Rabanne
Marni
Margiela
Sacai
Coperni
Magda Butrym
Selfish Delights: Wishlist Edition
JW Anderson Cake Purse Wanted to gift this to myself for my birthday but did no buy January.
Golf Le Fleur Sweater Saw this at a random boutique in Paris, not sure why I didn’t get it. MAJOR REGRET.
Moschino Button-Down My boss wore this to work a few weeks ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Love this one too.
Merci Wooden Clutch I think this wooden clutch is beyond cool.
Pink Push Button heels. Kicking myself for not getting these when they were still available!
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As always,
If you’re not going to be nice, at least be funny,
Maggie