Lauren Collins’s Fashion Proust Questionnaire
The author and New Yorker staff writer on butterfly-shaped sunglasses
I’ve been a crazed fan of author and New Yorker staff writer Lauren Collins’s writing for years. So you can imagine my excitement when Emma Knight and I persuaded her to come on Fanfare, and, after she’d hosted an impressive imaginary dinner party for Edith Wharton, somehow convinced her to be our friend.
She has now shown equal grace in accepting to do The Fashion Proust Questionnaire. Of course, it’s a goodie.
Lauren began contributing to The New Yorker in 2003 and has been a staff writer since 2008. In 2015, she moved to Paris and has covered mainly French stories —with her ultimate shrewd-if-bemused, insider-outsider’s eye— ever since. Her subject matter ranges from the refugee crisis to French elections to the unfair treatment of French Kevins. She is, I feel, responsible for the unexpected return of the buffet. Sometimes Lauren graces the fashion world with her pen too: last year, for example, she was the only person to make any sense of Demna. She has even thrown up on Donatella Versace. Or adjacent to her anyway, with, she exclusively confirms, “some ambient spittle”.
I was first made aware of the Donatella incident while reading Lauren’s memoir When In French: Love In A Second Language, a hilarious account of falling in love with her husband Olivier despite their cultural and linguistic differences. Lauren’s forthcoming book, about a massacre and coup d’état perpetrated by white supremacists in her North Carolina hometown, takes on a heavier subject but will no-doubt be equally fascinating (and thoroughly-researched: the scale and scope of cultural anecdotes and historical tidbits in When in French are pretty breathtaking.)
In the meantime, I recommend checking out her newly-revived newsletter Lettre Recommandée right here on Substack.
And, of course, her Fashion Proust Questionnaire:
What is your idea of a perfect outfit?
It's probably going to involve a blazer, short shorts, and flat, pointy, white shoes. Some combination or overrepresentation of denim and navy blue. Butterfly-shaped sunglasses. (How come nobody says "a sunglass," like "a pant"?) Or...same sunglasses...same short shorts...but a glass of wine, some oysters, one-shouldered black swimsuit, and and a soft blue broadcloth buttondown with the inevitable wet-boob splotch soaking through? This is veering more into perfect day than perfect outfit territory, but I'm not sure it's possible to untangle the two.
What is your greatest fashion fear?
Niche: My hair blending into a furry collar. Like a Margiela wig coat gone wrong.
General: Outsides and insides not matching up.
What, in hindsight, is the worst outfit you’ve ever worn?
I hated one bridesmaid dress so much that I left it hanging in the hotel room closet, like the opposite of stealing a robe. Hopefully someone out there is feeling like a queen in a strapless fuschia taffeta frock.
What is the worst outfit you’ve ever seen on someone else?
Does the "Kid For Sale" t-shirt my parents put on my brother back in the day count? Certainly not worst worst, but Brigitte Macron and Nicolas Ghesquière's recent matching jean jackets struck me as kinda odd.
Which living person’s style do you most admire?
A handful: Christina Barba, Linda Nipay, Lila Byock, Penny Martin, Happy Menocal, Sutanya Dacres, Ajiri Aki, Lindsey Tramuta, Irene Kim, Fanny Boucher, Zoey Poll, Mariana Van Zeller, Zadie Smith, Dolly Parton, a male politician too embarrassing to name, three separate strangers who live on my block. I love almost everything Ayo Edebiri wears. I love almost nothing Camilla Parker Bowles wears. I admire them both because they seem to have an abiding sense of self that radiates through the lewk.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Importing "hand sunscreen" from the U.S. and still using Microsoft Word.
What is your current state of mind with regards to the fashion industry?
Attracted (emotional), repelled (ecological).
What do you consider the most overrated style virtue?
References to Talitha Getty.
On what occasion do you lie about someone’s outfit?
In descending order of honesty: to my mom (never), to my most stylish BFFs (sparingly), to family and friends who might not look amazing but are giving it their best shot (profligately).
What is the quality you like most in a man’s outfit?
I have a weakness for a guy in a tie. The tie is figurative. But yes to a grown-up vibe.
What is the quality you like most in a woman’s outfit?
Authority. Ease–not to be confused with effortlessness. I like effort. Ironed shirts. Sharp haircuts. An ankle peeking out of a perfect hem.
Which fashion trend do you most despise?
Capsule wardrobes in neutrals, especially off-white. Insulting prices. Cut-outs in the wrong places. The hegemony of middle parts.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse when describing fashion?
"On sale."
Which designer’s talent would you most like to have?
Demna - for being able to speak so engagingly and precisely about his own work.
If you could change one thing about your wardrobe, what would it be?
Better underwear.
What do you consider your greatest career achievement, career-wise (so far!)
Learning French in my thirties, well enough to be able to work in it. Sticking with my second book for the seven years it took to research and write the manuscript.
If you were to die and come back as a fashion item, what would it be?
The YSL splatter paint dress that I've coveted since 2008. Anything with grommets, rugby stripes, or broderie anglaise.
Where on earth do you get the most style inspiration?
IRL! People-watching is my only hobby. But also from newsletters like this one, not gonna lie.
What is your most treasured possession?
My kids' baby clothes. My books. Sentimental jewelry. A silver platter monogrammed with my mother's initials, which also happen to be mine. Still mourning a Makoto Kagoshima dish that a dear friend gave us as a wedding gift (crashed from a bookshelf and broke into a billion pieces). A pale green Ginori mug with the perfect lip and handle that I drink tea out of every morning.
What do you consider the lowest depth of fashion rock-bottom (ie. Karl’s sweatpants)
Nude pumps.
What is your favourite fashion-related occupation?
Who are your favourite fashion writers?
Judith Thurman, Hilary Mantel, Anita Brookner, Rachel Seville Tashjian Wise, Alexander Fury, Nikki Ogunnaike, Hamish Bowles, Iracema Trevisan (on the chat), Tiya Miles (a stretch to call her a fashion writer, but she changed the way I think about material culture).
Who is your style hero in fiction?
Let's go with memoir–the young, provincial Edna O'Brien in "Country Girl," lusting for "dinner gowns in banana cream, coatees embroidered with pearls and diamonds, black musquash stoles, and whitener for 'Milady's teeth.'" (And, in the novel version, daring salmon-colored nails and sinful black drawers.)
What would you like to wear to your own funeral?
Tailoring.
God this was good. Ordering her book!
Yes to liking men with a grown-up vibe. We women have allowed the little-boy look to go on for too long. Down with Bermuda shorts at every turn. Down with allowing jeans and t-shirts at black tie events to be tolerated as charming whimsy.