Monday Mood: Tomboy Style
Fashion pragmatism on the precipice of Phoebe Philo's return.
Hedi Slimane christened Instagram with Celine’s S/S ‘24 women’s runway over the weekend, a shotgun of bookish ensembles shot at The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, which is located across the street from the Celine Ateliers on Rue Vivienne. Dubbed “Tomboy,” the location choice and collection were close to home. A parade of waifs stomped through the famed French library in blazers, belts, ball caps, and a litany of clever leather jackets. (The music dork inside me was delighted at the soundtrack, an extended version of LCD Soundsystem’s “Too Much Love,” which I’ve added to the October playlist.)
As fashion iterates on 2023’s cacophonous “Quiet Luxury” moment, tomboy style feels like a natural progression. Many a writer clocked an undercurrent of “wearable fashion” and “real clothes for real life” on the runways last September. The line between masculine and feminine is growing delightfully murkier as more women’s collections embrace the pragmatism of men’s dressing, punctuated by a note of nakedness.
So, what does that look like in our everyday lives? I was walking through Brooklyn with shoe designer Emme Parsons last week, and we were recalling a period in fashion where everyone was teetering around on Louboutin stilettos and peep-toe platforms. Laughing, I asked, “What were we thinking, stashing our heels in our bags so we could walk?” Emme agreed that the lower, sturdier heels, loafers, and ballet flats currently being embraced by the fashion set are a welcome respite. That same boyish practicality carries on elsewhere — via clever riffs on the collared shirt, trench coat, or in the re-emergence of relaxed denim.
It’s worth mentioning that I wore Emme’s Danielle loafers (so named for designer Danielle Sherman, who we’ll get into more below) for the first time at the airport last week, which I realized as I climbed into my Uber en route may not have been the wisest choice — breaking in new shoes on a travel day = dumb. But they didn’t give me a single issue.
I had the opportunity to travel to Palm Beach with Goop last weekend as part of their 15th anniversary celebration. Even in a place as suspended in time as the 561 zip code, I noted women in the group opting far less for the constricting, splashy sun dresses of yore, instead embracing Bottega’s oversized collared shirts, Loewe logo tanks, Phoebe Philo-era Celine and Janessa Leone’s smart, minimalist curved-brim hats.
They weren’t asking for directions to Saks, either; they wanted tips on the cool vintage shops along Dixie Highway and the best time of year to pick through the famed Church Mouse thrift shop. Shopping at Gucci, they glossed over the rapacious logos and beelined straight for the Tom Ford-era horsebit chain shoulder bag. Net-a-Porter hosted a pop-up inside the Colony Hotel where we all stayed, and the items flying out weren’t the sparkly resort numbers you might expect — it was soft Mary Janes from The Row that went first.
After Palm Beach, I flew to equally preppy Charleston to co-host a Sherman Field jewelry trunk show with my friend Grace. “I truly think they’re the next big thing in jewelry,” Grace said — and I totally agree. Designer Danielle Sherman is humble, but she’s quietly rippled through your closet for years, even if you don’t know it, most notably as The Row's co-founder and original lead designer.
Sherman Field’s jewelry needs to be seen and held to be adequately appreciated. Its sheer heft conveys how substantive it is both in design and production. She creates her designs by hand in clay, then has them cast in metal through several revision processes until they are finally produced in solid 18k gold.
Danielle is mercilessly precise in everything she does and as chic as you’d expect her to be. Donning an easy black blazer by The Row and old Celine heels in a rich oxblood shade, it was easy to see how her sensibility translates into her jewelry (and why I was drawn to it before I met her or connected her to anything else). Again — boyish but feminine, easy, practical, and deeply “together” without feeling over-engineered.
(If you’re prone to dive down the rabbit hole, other brands that come to mind in this vein are Attersee, which just opened its first New York showroom, which I am excited to pop by this week, Carven, whose S/S 24 show was a standout you should look at, Tove, and Kallmeyer.)
If The Row’s outrageous prices offend your sensibilities, COS is ready with its A/W Atelier collection, with buildable tailored pieces to hash into your existing closet. The brand’s sphere point-toe pumps remind me of Tory Burch’s cool pierced mules, while this draped skirt hearkens to a more demure Prada. There’s even an old-fashioned scarf ring to be had. Mansur Gavriel’s new Everyday Cabas tote looks more than a little like The Row’s ubiquitous Park tote, but for under $800 instead of north of $2k. (You can always find a budget-conscious edit in our under $500 shop).
I expect the whole laddish thing to reach a fever pitch on October 30, when Phoebe Philo, who of late has felt like both a religion and apparition, releases her new eponymous line — rumored to be sold exclusively DTC through her website. If the teaser imagery is to be believed, we can expect what made “Old Celine” so talismanic: black leather, graphic jewelry, playful textures, and elegant takes on French girl sex appeal. Masculin, féminin.
Ed note: A special thank you to
at Gatekeeping for the fun feature this week! Substack really is a dream of a community. I love meeting and collaborating with all the fantastic writers here. Substack does an excellent job of supporting talent from within the platform — this piece on “the most exciting voices in fashion” rounded up some essential style newsletters you should be reading.