"Are you seeking eccentric art teacher energy?" Or, a call to add joy and color to your sartorial aesthetic
The world is on fire, and this Strange Feathered Lady is getting crafty (and even louder)
Greetings from your resident Strange Feathered Lady. I’m back this week on a colorful, bedazzled soapbox, and I’m getting crafty. Two weeks ago, my best friend, Marley, sent this link to a group chat—a Substack post about a jewelry trend called “art teacher necklaces.”1 The text didn’t need an actual request, though Marley kindly asked the obvious anyway: can we please make our own art teacher necklaces??? We established quickly that we’d set aside some quality craft time on an upcoming trip. I ordered the supplies within five minutes of receiving the text. And, I made two prototypes within half an hour of receiving said supplies. Don’t threaten Millennial women with a good (re: friendship bracelet adjacent) time.
I should back up a few months. Since this past December, I have been making bag charms of the “art teacher” variety—meaning, they are a little kooky, very colorful, and extremely joyful. I’ve been wearing these bag charms for months without discrimination of what I attach them to. They dangle from any bag I’m carrying—from free-with-purchase canvas totes to my woven cross body Clare V to my very beat-up, ludicrously capacious2 Marc Jacobs bag. I’ve even attached one to my oversized jean jacket with a few brooches. Call it adultified bedazzling. Art teacher necklaces, I presumed, wouldn’t be that difficult of a pivot—Marley already wears the bag charm I gave to her as a choker.
Why am I pontificating on a glorified craft project? BECAUSE IT’S FUN AND COLORFUL AND MAKES ME FEEL JOY. And, also, the world is literally and figuratively on fire. While this isn’t a politics-focused Substack, I am a politically focused human—meaning, I pay attention, I’m scared, and I’m exhausted. This platform provides an outlet for me to stay sane, and bejeweling my outerwear and accessories is another effective means to channel rage, sadness, and frustration. Or, it’s simply a way to disassociate for a half hour, allowing my brain to rest.
I guess what I’m really after is finding the small, daily joys that put a smile on my face or provide some level of comfort or amusement. Gallivanting around town wearing my charmed items makes me feel like a walking, talking, humanized wind chime—jingle, jangle, who’s that Strange Feathered Lady a comin’ down the fiction aisle at the bookstore?
This new crafty hobby is also highlighting an element in my wardrobe that has slowly been disappearing: bright colors, loud prints, and interesting textures. I read an article years ago about how increased technology and brand trends were influencing the disappearance of color (!!!!). The takeaway of the article stayed with me, though I’m not sure where I read it. It might have been this particular New Yorker article, but if not, the gist was in the same vein—the idea that humans are exposed to less color today than in decades past.3
Did you know that “our screens paint from a depressingly small palette: most can only recreate about a third of all the colors that our eyes can perceive”?4 This makes me feel sad, and also really motivated to buy a Pantone color wheel. Between the amount of online shopping I do versus in-store shopping and general trends, like Clean Girl aesthetic, I wonder if I’ve quit perceiving color (or the need for color) in my wardrobe? Or, perhaps I’m just not focused on it.
Looking at my closet, you might think brands like The Row have been my sole source of inspiration. My black trouser game is strong, I own a dozen white tees and white button downs, and my go-to shoes are black or brown leather or a white sneaker. Where the hell is all the cerulean the fashion taste-makers chose for me in a marble-floored Manhattan high rise? Holy Miranda Priestly! Help this poor soul find her spring aesthetic before she defaults to florals! (Groundbreaking.)
Even though I do love Mary Kate and Ashley’s general vibe (cigarettes included), it’s not an all-encompassing representation of who I believe myself to be. I daydream in screaming color, and I obsess over bold and busy patterns. But, my default uniform at some point morphed into a rotation of one of those white tops,5 jeans, and a neutral (typically black) blazer.
Why the dulling down of my closet’s color palette? Is it truly due to the technological constraints? Lame. Is it the regression to the mean in branding choices? Yawn. Is it (and this is a curve ball) the fear of being dubbed “cheugy” by the youths? CRINGE!! I do have PTSD from the amount of chevron-patterned everything I owned in the early 2010s. But, why am I avoiding color and patterns now?? I fear the unsatisfying answer is some combination of all of the above. (If you have an answer, please share!)
Over the past couple of years, I’ve acquired an occasional piece of colorful joy, here and there: a pair of chocolate brown Farm Rio trousers with a colorful woven side panel and beaded tassels down the leg, a cute little neon yellow Staud convertible handbag, a plethora of colorful vintage silk scarves, and a pair of cherry red, crinkled patent leather Mary Jane flats. And, my obsessions list on The Real Real is a bona fide representation of ROYGBIV (but grown-up and only achievable with disposable income). I pepper some combination of all of these items into a day’s ‘fit, but I would be lying if I said my style was exceedingly colorful.
Nik and I have been re-watching Mad Men to unwind at the end of our work days. I love this show for many reasons, but this time around I’m mesmerized more particularly by the costume and set design. The amount of color and texture of the 1960s is inspiring. Joan in her bright sheath dresses adorned with brooches and sass, Betty in her patterned pleated skirts and red lip, Peggy in her sensible but still colorful working girl sets. Color me inspired!
So, can’t we all agree that more color = better? Or at least, more color usually = closer to Strange Feathered Lady status, which usually = a much more interesting experience? Then, doesn’t it follow that we should all agree to collectively encourage each other to wear our own versions of Strange Feathered Lady garb. Whatever the color palette. Whatever the jingle-jangle accessory choice. Whatever the hair color, the lip or eyeshadow shade, the size on the clothing tag, the amount of skin showing or not showing, or even whether that particular shade of blue is in your “season.”6 Whatever the choice: as long as it’s authentic to you, I solemnly swear to delight in what delights you. And, I encourage all of us to lean into each of our definitions of eccentric art teacher or Strange Feathered Lady, because WHY THE HELL NOT?!
For me, I solemnly swear I’m up to no good as I continue to edit, enhance, and explore my own style—more eccentric art teacher necklaces! More red dresses at work! More neon handbags! More blue nail polish! More joy and brightness and texture and jingle-jangling accessories! More more more!
On a related note, my rant on upping the ante on dressing for the female gaze is most definitely related to this conversation. Give it a read, if you haven’t already.
Becca Freeman is an author and co-host of the Bad on Paper podcast. Her Substack, Book Enthusiast, is a great follow.
“It’s monstrous, Greg. Gargantuan.” Succession fans in da house.
If you happen to know what article I’m referring to, please share! In trying to find the particular article I read, I stumbled upon a few more interesting articles. Here’s one from Print Magazine about how brands are shifting away from using color in their logos. Here’s another one on Inc.com about how the world is getting grayer.
Quoting the same New Yorker article linked above.
I own SO MANY white t-shirts. I am constantly in search of the best white tee, only to fuel my deeply held belief that one should have multiple perfect white tees—the slightly cropped one for your high waisted jeans and trousers, the sheer one to wear on a hot day or over a black bra, the cheap one from Target that you own multiples of for daily use, etc. I could go on and on because of course I have OPINIONS about something as simple as a white t-shirt.
As an autumn myself, blue is NEVER in my palette but I wear it anyway!
I turned to black, white and gray as my staple wardrobe color because I was tired. Too tired to think about matching colors, too tired to think about what goes with what, just too fucking tired. I'm still tired (the economy and politics are hard, am I right?) but this summer I bought a green sundress (that doesn't require a bra!!). I got so many compliments that I busted out of my mold and ordered an orange dress (again, NO BRA!!). And then a royal blue dress (and again, NO BRA!!). I
don't even know who I am anymore.
I'm starting to budge from my "absolutely not" position on all things art teacher, for example, this here is my new purse. https://www.bolgazaare.com/