The Clothes In Your Closet #021.5
Feat. her 1986 senior thesis project, thong heels, and that ruffled shirt
Monday I brought back What to Wear This Week with Susanna Moyer, an entrepreneurial creative director, business executive, and educator.
What to Wear This Week #04
What to Wear This Week—a series where I style women in their existing wardrobe—is back!, with the stylish, kind, and endlessly fascinating Susanna Moyer.
Among her many fashion roles, Susanna founded Global Fashion Mentorship to help start-ups and midsize brands on everything from branding to supply chain to consulting.
Susanna’s wardrobe is a lot like her work—multifaceted and storied. This week, we’ll continue with three outfits featuring thong heels (cc:
), a piece from her senior thesis project (!!), and one of her beautiful coats. My hope is that the looks inspire you to work the concepts into your wardrobe—these are ideas to riff on.The Patent Leather Jacket
This black patent leather Ralph Lauren jacket had such hanger appeal—meaning it looked real good in her closet. Designers think about this when they’re making clothes. I occasionally work at a fit model, and during fittings with thoughtful designers, they’ll discuss how to make a garment look better in-stores, without sacrificing the actual fit on the body. Unfortunately a lot of brand prioritize hanger appeal, which is why you may find yourself wondering why something doesn’t fit the way you thought it would when you take it off the rack.
Once Susanna tried the jacket on, I realized it would be a bit more challenging to style because the leather was so stiff. I wanted to lean into the boxy shape. I had her put on a couple different bottoms before going back to the wide leg jeans.
I wasn’t crazy about the jacket with these white pants, but looking at it now, I’m actually quite into it—something to revisit later, Susanna!
“How would it look if we paired the jacket with a dressy skirt? Something more formfitting on the bottom to juxtapose the boxy top?”
I was into it, but the look just wasn’t hitting because of the shoes. I didn’t want anything fancy, that would make the look too literal, BUT I was super into these bejeweled thong heels. They’re having a *moment*. I don’t like to buy a trend for trend’s shake, but, if you already have it in your closet…it’s fun to play around with. So I swapped the skirt. Back to the wide leg jeans.
I layered on this inky gray silk blouse—beautiful, but like the ruffles before, the fabric was too much. Let’s simplify.
This black Ralph Lauren camisole was perfect. Feels very “date night.”
I liked how Susanna’s hair naturally billowed out of the jacket when she put it on. I didn’t adjust it because I find the best styling details are those that occur through wear.
Then the burgundy bag with the black jacket and dark denim. Just added a little color, while keeping the tones in the same vibe. Burgundy is just a great for a bag or a shoe. Does the work of black, but adds a little something extra, without feeling cray.
The Statement Top
Now, the duchess silk satin top. Susanna’s senior thesis project.
Cut on the bias, you put it on like you would a smock (a very chic smock), and then wrap the ties around your neck. The back peeks open as you walk. Gawd. Lord all mighty. This was a beaut!!
Susanna sent me a sketch of it, photos of the 1986 Parsons catalog, and photos from Paris.
wow wow wow.
Susanna couldn’t find the pants she designed with the top, but told me they were wide legged. “Okay, let’s keep the dark jeans,” I said. Kinda like a more casual interpretation of the what I imagined the set to be.
Susanna hadn’t tried the top on in years. It was so special, seeing her light up in this piece. She credits fashion designer and illustrator Micheal Vollbracht for critiquing her project, saying “he was amazing.”
It was after completing her thesis, and at the advice of Calvin Klein, that Susanna moved to Paris and started her fashion career. There she met Dominique Silvi, a woman who had a haute couture studio, and who Susanna credits with helping her learn French.
“She’d invite me over to dinner on Sundays and insist we just speak French,” Susanna told me. Her pink and gold Charles Jourdan pumps—a gift from Dominique—were a lovely reference to the fuchsia top.
Then another pair of gold Babylone earrings—similar as the other ones styled, but these were suns—fitting, and the gold went perfectly with her coloring.
Lastly, this white beaded purse. It was her friend’s mother. The brightness just popped against the pants.
What a delightful outfit! The pieces have history, but the look still feels very of-the-moment. You could do something similar with an a-line minidress worn over pants.
The Striped Coat
Nearing the end of our time together, I went back to the first piece Susanna tried on. A coat from her 1996 collection. Italian fabric, made in NYC. Beautiful. I loved the sharpness of the shoulders and the rich buttons. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it initially, but after having gone through her wardrobe, I had it.
The coat! with the ruffles! and the cargo pants! Oh that blouse looked so nice under the coat. Just gave some great texture. I pulled the sleeves out a little and did some rolling of the sleeve, then a slight tuck of the shirt tail—a little in, a little out, but preferred the all out vibe.
Just gives that delicious lived in quality that I liked with the patent leather jacket.
I played around with shoes, trying these platform wedges—their appeal was the off-ness—and they worked with the cargo pants, but not with the rest of the outfit because they read too warm weather, so back to the Fendi pumps (and the burgundy bag) we went. And voila! This was my favorite outfit.
There’s a carefreeness to it, in the looseness of the ruffles and the casualness of the cargos, but the tailoring of the coat, the glossiness of the bag, and embellishments of the shoes pull it all together.
Finally, I gathered all the pieces and photographed them. This is one of my favorite parts of the process because there’s always an unexpected cohesiveness that arises. Something that stands out is the richness of the fabrics, the sparkle of the shoes.
Susanna’s styling got me thinking of legacy of our wardrobes.
In this age of purging our closets, then replenishing it again with things we might wear once before repeating the process, hers is a reminder of the reward that comes from building a collection of clothes over time, clothes that have meaning and bring joy—then breathing new life into them with styling.
Xx,
Robyn
If you’d like help styling the clothes you already own, shoot me an email. I’d love to chat.
thong heels for the win! but also the cargos...! love them.