Welcome to Celeb Look of the Week! An MR column wherein one member of our editorial team, once a week, waxes poetic about one recently worn celeb outfit they can’t stop thinking about. Leandra kicked things off with an ode to Alexa Chung’s February footwear, then Emma explored why she loves “Tribeca” Tracee Ellis Ross, and this week, Leandra pick comes with two looks for the price of one story.
Do you ever feel like your inner self and your outer self are at odds with each other? Do you ever ask yourself whether you feel like your inner self and outer self are at odds with each other only to learn that actually, they’re not, you are just a multi-dimensional person with habits and proclivities that run a gamut extensive enough to accommodate the parts of you that deeply respect the commitment of one Bunny MacDougal, who carries a namesake keychain and, like, Fran Lebowitz’s genuine disdain for youth culture and the gentrification of Greenwich Village?
I came across a photo from an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! from January where Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin were promoting a new season of Grace & Frankie, a Netflix show my mother-in-law has vehemently advised me against watching because I am more afraid of abandonment than any other mental-health demon. They were dressed in what I can describe best as the tension that currently informs my fashion sense. Sorry, I mean fAsHiOn SeNsE.
Here we have Fonda on my left, wearing a collier that catches the sparkle in her ears, poised to make itself known as the pre-eminent new jewelry trend of the coming seasons. Trust me on this one! Chandelier earrings, buh-bye. Big-ass studs, hello.
The one-two punch compliments her black crew neck sweater and the crisp red pants that cover her legs, underlining my ongoing pursuit of appearing more put together even though I have come to terms with and arrived at peace with the fact that I am as I am and that is not specifically put together. There’s an endearing quality about it, trust me! But that doesn’t mean I can’t look like I shower every day and prioritize moisturizing my legs. And nevermind her face, inclining me to say fuck the no-makeup makeup look — mascara is purportedly where it’s at! The hankering to meet and embody this identity captures the most aspirational parts of myself — the ones that married a Taurus who maintains so much self-respect and discipline and a straightforward approach to living a life unmarred by the vicissitudes of any other (life, that is) by simple nature of his disregard for anything that is not squarely in front of him.
But then, on the other end of the very same loveseat sits Lily Tomlin, dressed like she doesn’t moisturize because she lets other things take precedence. Things like discovering the perfect shade of beige suit to wear not with a button-down shirt but rather as fodder to accentuate a graphic T-shirt. Lest I disregard the sunglasses indoors, rose-colored to be sure — a testament to optimism at any cost rung up. And the straw shoes? What a thoughtful and novel alternative for sneakers, or sandals. I love this look. I love this person.
It’s me.
Photo via ABC/Randy Holmes of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”.
