What is Taste, Anyway?
Does it come from confidence, curiosity, freedom? I have ideas, but I asked some lady friends who’ve got taste in spades. Here’s what they said...
So, a few months ago, I’m in an Etsy wormhole. I’d originally been searching for “vintage Hawaiian beer t-shirts” (yeah, I know, niche, I don’t even drink Hawaiian beer) but then stumbled upon a peach t-shirt covered in cartoon gophers wearing Santa hats (obviously). These fine fellows were accompanied by the only possible text: “GOPHER IT.” Guys, I became consumed. It was urgent that I pay $100 for this t-shirt that probably sold for $9.99 in 1989. It made me laugh so hard. And I would wear it with a tweed blazer and my favorite new Kallmeyer baggy jeans.
Last fall, I was in Paris at the shows and made my pilgrimage to Merci, the brilliantly edited fashion and homewares store in the Marais. There is a whole universe of chic things in there, but I immediately alighted on a t-shirt with a drawing of Will Smith in a Breton shirt, beret and holding a baguette. Of course, it was called, “The French Prince of Bel Air.” (The brand, by the way, is called Unfortunate Portraits). Yet again, I LOL’ed. I bought the t-shirt and wore it to lunch at L’Avenue, where one is traditionally surrounded by Dior-clad ladies clacking their Dior bags. And it was good.
Anyway, it made me think about taste, what’s been imprinted on us about “good taste,” and how, ideally, we find our own way. I think I have decent taste, having been exposed to Many Nice Things throughout my career in magazines and now, as I’ve gotten older, having greater understanding of what I enjoy and what makes me feel comfortable. Basically, I like a wide leg “stridey” (not a word, I made it up) trouser, a patterned shirt and a blazer. (At home, it’s indigenous art, great ceramics, and some popping flowers). I also love a laugh, so if I can find that on a t-shirt, all the better.
A great many ladies, schooled in the more traditional fashion arts, might think my silly tees don’t demonstrate taste at all. But I think taste comes from security. Knowing exactly who you are. “You get security through knowledge,” says my dear friend and Cool French Lady, Caroline de Maigret. “The more you know, the more you don’t give a fuck.”
She ain’t wrong. “I think taste is about freedom,” says #MeToo founder and exceptional print wearer, Tarana Burke. And every woman has their own journey to that (ideal) point. “I wore hand-me-downs from my mom’s co-workers and my aunt when I was younger,” she remembers. “So, I found myself in work clothes like tailored pants and silk blouses in the 8th grade. In high school, people would say, ‘Damn, you going to a job interview?!’ and laugh. But I learned the value of cuts and fabrics and quality.” Tarana’s first “I got this” purchase was, “a camel cashmere coat. I saved my money and went to a sample sale and paid $400 for a $1500 coat. I was so proud.”
Mega actress Julianna Margulies, who is as cool as the tailoring she wears on the regular says, “I think it’s all about finding the right fit for your body. For example: I bought my son a black pleather jacket from H&M when he was 11. He grew out of it in three months. I was about to give it away and then I tried it on. Fit me like a glove. It’s my favorite jacket and people ask me if it’s Chanel! Nope, cost me $19:99 in the boys section! Pair it with some gorgeous wide leg pants and you’re good to go.”
Stylist Elissa Santisi, whose jeans and blazer heavy wardrobe I would raid should she ever flee the country, says, “When I first moved to New York I saw a cool girl wearing a brown leather disco bag on a silk cord from Marc Cross. Marc Cross wasn’t happening at the time, but I had to have it. I used my tax return money to buy it and a bunch of my sister’s friends who all went to Parsons commented on it.” She laughs, “I felt seen.” Now, Elissa’s more likely to buy Dries Van Noten dark denim baggy jeans: “So good,” she says. (This is fashion speak for I AM ENRAPTURED).
For Caroline, the magic happened (as it so often does) in college. “When I was 19, on first day at university, I remember I wanted to create a style for the new me. For new people,” she says. “I got dressed in my older brother’s clothes - a white shirt and his loose trousers, adding a big belt so they wouldn’t fall. Everyone said how cool I looked...” Something sank in. “I had nailed something. I had found clothes that matched my body and face but my personality too.”
Caroline still dresses in a version of this today – always the best, perfectly worn-in jeans, a boyish shirt, and sneakers. But she also has other things to think about: “Feeding myself with books, movies and exhibitions nourished my eye with possibilities. The more you learn, the more you can play around.”
Model and Liyabrairie founder Liya Kebede, who wears sweaters in a way that would make a sheep feel blessed, says, “Taste is complex. I was picturing what taste would look like and what came to me is a dot that keeps getting smaller and smaller.” A zeroing in, of sorts? “It means you are finally understanding how you are supposed to appreciate things.” But that comes after reconciling/rejecting all the things you’ve been told is right. “You’re expanding in one way but shrinking in another.”
See, science!
But that beautiful expansion is the point: the broader life you live, the freer you will feel. “I’m not tied to people’s judgements and ideas,” Tarana says. Actress Noma Dumezweni, thee coolest lady who I met late last year (and just banged out a gorgeous Roland Van Der Kemp velvet number at the premiere of The Little Mermaid), says, “Dressing is a form of creativity for me. I’ll play with the jigsaw of clothes I have until ‘today’s’ version clicks, and I don’t think about it. Then my taste is happy.”
“I mix colors and patterns and shapes because I feel really free,” Tarana says. “I sit with my clothes, then pull the thing that makes me smile or twirl the most.”
Or, as Caroline adds, Frenching it perfectly, “Our body remembers the emotion of beauty it created.”
This may not refer to my gophers, but you get it.
Below, some things that are MY TASTE, designer Daniella Kallmeyer’s take and yes, baby's first paywall.
Next week I will do an AMA for paid folks, because one, I have opinions, and two, I’m barely a month in here and really appreciate your support. Bless y’all!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Laura’s Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.