When I was seventeen years old, I shot a commercial for a face wash product that ended up doing pretty well (I’ll dig it out of my video archives someday; I guarantee that those of you who were teenagers in the ’90s will both remember it and remember being vaguely annoyed by it, because the thing played a lot).
Anyway, as a sort of celebration for booking that commercial I decided to do something I’d never done before: buy a really special piece of clothing that didn’t come from somewhere like the Salvation Army (my go-to shopping destination for most of high school). My mom and I went down to DKNY on West Broadway and I bought the most beautiful sweater I’d ever seen: it was a light camel color, cashmere, with an enormous cowl-neck and extra-long sleeves. For something like ten years, that sweater was what I put on whenever I wanted to feel casually elegant and sort of ‘Oh, this old thing?’, like I’d just stepped out of a Nora Ephron movie set in the Hamptons or something.
All of this is to say that I have a big soft spot for DKNY, and so the chance to work with the brand in such an involved, collaborative way was more than a little bit exciting.
On Monday, I spent a few hours exploring the collection, mixing and matching until I had put together six looks that I thought were perfect for summertime events ranging from a picnic in the park to a weekend getaway to an impromptu dinner party…
And then on Friday, it all came together in an epic photo shoot that also included a series of videos in which I offered tips on everything from what to wear to what to pack to what to serve at these warm-weather events.
More behind-the-scenes shots:
I wore a couple of different looks over the course of the day, but this blue DKNY dress (paired with a tousled ballerina bun; we’ll talk how-to soon) was my favorite.
Loved these sweet, summery dresses.
This spring tote is completely perfect – the color, the size, everything – and kind of seems like a must-own, no?
The site will be live in May; I can’t wait to show you the results.