Essays
I Am Happiest at a Friends and Family Sale
There’s booze, discounts, and the intangible feeling of belonging.
Losing Your Luggage Can Feel Like Losing Yourself
What goes into a suitcase is never just stuff.
Shopping Helped Me Reinvent Myself After Abuse
Following a violent relationship, I began rebuilding my life one shirt at a time.
The Beauty Rituals That Helped Me Through Post-Partum Depression
Maybe they’ll help you, too.
I Changed My Style Whenever I Dated Someone New
But it helped me figure out who I really wanted to be.
What It Really Costs to Start Your Own Clothing Line
The personal debt I currently have for Bluestockings Boutique is roughly $20,000 in loans and credit cards.
Can You Appropriate Your Own Culture?
Mixed race people often have to question if we will ever be "enough" for either side.
I Miss My Army Uniform
We all looked the same, but that left me free to figure out who I really was.
I Love Pictures of Real People on Clothing Sites
Forget models and mannequins — I’m into user-submitted photos of people who actually buy the clothes.
I Finally Found an Eyeliner Hack That Works for Me
After a lifetime of struggling with makeup.
My Failed Attempt at Illness-Chic
I wanted a way to grant my body and mind what I no longer believed they deserved: a pardon.
‘Jane the Virgin’ Is the Style Inspiration I Never Knew I Needed
After a lifetime of not really caring about how I dressed.
In Search of a Tailor Who Doesn’t Judge My Body
The relationship between people who wear plus-size clothes and people who tailor them can be fraught.
What to Wear at the End of Someone Else’s Life
The office dress code is a little different when you’re a death doula.
We All Have a Retail Flinch Point
It’s the moment when a purchase turns painful, and it varies more widely than you might expect.
Dressing for the Body I Want, Not the One I Have
There’s no perfect fit for me.
I Didn’t Know What to Wear to My Brother’s Funeral
It’s not like hiking or a trip to the beach; there’s no packing list.
I Hated My Hairline, So I Got a New One
Using a procedure traditionally meant for balding men.
The $20 Hair Dryer I’ve Had My Whole Adult Life
Thanks, Vidal Sassoon.
How Is a Professor Supposed to Dress?
All while navigating sexism, pay disparities, and Rate My Professor.
After a Storm, Self-Care Becomes Community Care
The soul-changing magic of a hot shower and your favorite body wash after 17 hours of evacuation traffic.
A Bathrobe Can Make You Feel Like You’re Home
It doesn’t have to be a boring thing you put on between showering and dressing.
I Was a Strict Evangelical, Until My Faith Unraveled
The pink sweater my grandmother once made me is a reminder of who I used to be.
I Didn’t Look Like a Heroin Addict
So I pretended — to myself and the world — that I wasn’t one.
The Particular Style of Summer Camp
A love letter to Rainbow flip-flops and shared dresses.
You Need Three Tote Bags, Max
It’s time to ditch the rest.
Bipolar Disorder Makes Me Want to Shop
It turns out to be a not-uncommon symptom.
Outfits I’ve Worn in Wildly Ridiculous Situations
What DO you wear to the office, then to see Bill Murray bartend, then to a cat wedding?
You Can’t Have a Bad Hair Day in a Hijab
Even though you can still have a bad hijab day.
Shopping for Boys’ Clothes Is So Boring
Why does it have to be that way?
I’m Not the Same as the Person I Play on TV
I thought I had to hide my real self in order to make it in the entertainment industry.
To Get Over a Breakup, Find a New Scent
It worked (sort of) for me.