time to mature

item0.rendition.slideshowVertical.kirsten-dunst-favorite-things
Lucky magazine

I saw this issue of Lucky a few days ago when I was getting my hair trimmed. Kirsten Dunst look a little artificial on the cover and in her editorial, but this particular picture of the stuff she loves and has worn in grabbed at me - it's nice to see a celebrity feature where you see their beat-up stuff. It feels a little more real, and reminds me that the best things in my closet are the oldest or most well-used things. A little like this nice tumblr called It's Worn where people submit pictures of things that look better with age.

And Kirsten, in her own words about the stuff featured in the picture:

“This is Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton. It’s simple and doesn’t have too many tchotchkes; I like that it has no hardware. I use it every day. I’m not kidding: Every. Single. Day.”

“Whenever I’m getting my nails done, I bring a bottle of Chanel. They make the prettiest colors.”

“This is called Passage to Hell. It’s an addictive smell, very spicy and womanly. I usually wear it at night. And I guess I wear it pretty often, because it’s totally empty.”

“I’ve had these A.P.C. shoes for two years and I’ve already had them refinished. I wear them all the time—with dresses, with jeans. They’re really comfortable.”

“I don’t relate to happy poetry. This book is incredibly honest. What can you say that doesn’t sound ridiculously pretentious? She’s fucking Patti Smith.”

“This William Eggleston photograph reminds me of The Virgin Suicides. It’s beautiful.”

“My best friend Molly took me to Disneyland for my birthday last year and I got this [Disney button].”


Picture from lucky magazine

Comments

Jennifer said…
I don't know. These items seem very young to me. I have pieces that are 7-10 years old and I would not call them well-worn yet. This photo/arrangment is more intimate than a polyvore-type collage of her "must-haves" etc. like magazines often patch to a celeb piece, so I can understand why it felt more legitimate to you, but I'm not ready to hand out any medals to someone who has kept a very new leather bag, which comes slouchy so it still looks brand new, or a pair of leather shoes for 2 years so far.

Re. your reply to comments in the previous post, I would venture that Guiness and Yaeger are expressing themselves. I would not credit them with more than that without knowing them, and I would not discredit someone else for their chosen costume without more knowledge either. I suppose to Guiness we can tack on, based on her behaviour, that she is fond of the celebrity that her appearance "earns" her - though apart from getting dressed, I'm unclear on what her accomplishments are. Lynn can write, and shop, and hoard, and her chosen appearance has some rebellion in it along the lines of, if you can't join 'em, pave your own road. That's fine but it doesn't make her costume, to me, any more or less authentic than someone else dressing for a fictitious narrative. I do like it all. I see carbon copy dressers all day, displaying herd mentality and dressing with no poetry. Those are the ones that bore me and are invisible. I guess that is the thing, for me, people are either invisible or visible. If someone does something that makes them visible, charming, inspiring or stimulating, I think that's nice.
lin said…
editor: Hahah, as someone whose clothes are about on average 3-4 years old and whose oldest item of still-worn clothing is just 7 years old, I guess 2 years feels like a milestone to me. My own shoes never last that long. But I get where you're coming from - this feels "legitimately worn in" because it's in comparison to what we usually see in magazines.

I must have gotten that impression about Daphne Guinness when I read a piece about her interest in medieval armour and I always saw that in her style thereafter.

I think for me, I feel that sometimes I'm seeing herd mentality in an outfit that could be called interesting. For instance, I feel that way about Lady Gaga. You wouldn't call her outfits uninteresting but something is lacking for me. That said, there is definitely no universal, "correct" way to interpret what we see. The more I think about this, the more subjective I realise this all is...
Amanda said…
For some reason, I love all the things that Kirsten Dunst wears, but she strikes me as someone with absolutely no personality or anything interesting to say which in my opinion matters more than the clothing you wear. She always seems perpetually stoned.
hannah-rose said…
I've always kind of liked kirsten dunst... her style has always had cross-roads with my own, probably because I've made it that way haha. At the moment I'm quite fond of those APC boots and, of course, the sofia coppola for lv bag. Although it must be a little weird to wear a bag designed by a friend..

x
Ammu said…
Reading this I can imagine how influenced Dunst was by Sofia Coppola - from the bag to the Eggleston picture. It's sweet. And of course, Ms Coppola is very stylish so it's hardly surprising.
The oldest thing in my closet is a pair of gold and diamond studs made for my mom when she was born - close to 60 years old now. And it remains my favourite piece of jewelry.
lin said…
Amanda: I like (but don't love) her style, or maybe her stylists, haha, I don't know. I haven't quite thought about what she has to say in interviews, I actually haven't read many profiles of her...my interest in her is a passing admiration.

hannah-rose: I've read somewhere that Sofia Coppola lent her a dress for her prom - I think Kirsten Dunst is quite the Sofia Coppola disciple.

Ammu: I agree.

Those earrings, how incredible is it to have something like that. It makes me think of my things, and wonder what among them I will keep for 60 years and give it to someone I love..
Ammu said…
Your Chanel bag for sure - god only knows how much they will sell that for in 60 years ;)
The earrings are lovely. I actually feel much more attached to my jewelry than to any other items, I think because so much of it is heirloom, passed down generations.
Anonymous said…
Lin, thank you for posting this feature. I am not surprised to read her mention of the SC bag and those A.P.C boots. They are well-made and classic items and can definitely stand the test of time.

great post!
Lindsay K said…
I always love seeing what others treasure. There's something nice about items that endure. I get excited to think about the items that I love wearing and will pass along to someone special one day.
I think these days and given how much the quality of things has fallen, 2 years is actually not such a short time . Then I guess it's all relative. I have been trying to optimize my wardrobe while drastically cutting down on shopping and have realized that sadly very few of my more recent purchases have withstood the test of time.

I think KD has a quirky style and even though she does look stoned/spaced out I prefer her space "outness" to the homogenous glossy polish of many Hollywood actresses, who all seem to use the same plastic surgeon.

I like how personal this layout it, yet given that both the boots and the bag are still on sale, you always wonder whether there could be some product placement thing going on. Knowing how media uses bloggers I have almost stopped trusting anything featured in magazines as personal suggestion.
lin said…
Ammu: A Chanel bag seems like a sure investment when you consider how my bonds are doing, haha.

justeileen: That bag is so lovely and classic...how are you enjoying yours?

Lindsay K: Yep it is nice seeing used things in magazines for a change.

t by bubble: I'm always happy to note when I have an item of clothing that is still in regular rotation past the 2 year mark, and I hope that as I settle into my wardrobe and shop less that number inches up further.

As for Lucky magazine...I guess as much as I got a personal vibe from the layout, you're right in being cynical about magazines these days! At least I haven't been tempted to click through and shop yet, which I hope means that I'm not THAT susceptible to clever marketing...
Andrew M said…
Thanks for the mention

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