Part of the reason fashion is so complicated to love is its inextricable link with vanity—to put time and energy into it is to walk a tight-rope with your self-respect. Do you get dressed to honor, express, or delight in yourself, or to fit into someone else’s idea of worthiness? Do your clothes enable you to be present and engaged or do they push... See more

I’m extremely wary of the cult of contemporary self-making, and the fact that it’s become an expected part of life in the attention economy for middle-class workers.

From the college essay – the first time many of us are required to tell a selling story of ourselves in the service of social capital – to the dating website to Twitter or Instagram,... See more

We live in an era where personal style is increasingly indistinguishable from brand strategy. The aesthetic codes that once belonged to subcultures, regions, or craftspeople have been flattened into algorithms—optimized for compatibility, trend velocity, and frictionless aspiration. When everything looks good, originality becomes the only risk... See more