Weekend Read: Editors as Fashion Icons

I've always been a firm believer that celebrities are the WORST people to look at for style advice. Sure, I read US Weekly, but these modern day "icons" are generally dressed by stylists and are less than original. So who to look at? My choice is the editors who get to experience the coolest fashions before anyone else. I think what sets them apart is that since they get to see the clothes come down the runway first, they get to decide what they actually like, wearing what they want instead of what someone tells them they should wear. The New York Times got the memo and has a great article in the Style section about this "editor as icon" theory. They're usually the ones being snapped by street style photographers and they're becoming more and more famous as the days go on. This is a great read for the weekend and an important reminder to set your sights away from the L.C.'s and Jen Aniston's of the world. If you want to find "real" style, developed in a unique and original way, turn your focus to magazine and digital editors who are really the ones at the forefront of style.

Like I've said before, magazines should talk with you and not at you. You need to be able to interpret trends for yourself, not just wear what others tell you to wear. It's an important distinction which I am glad this article makes. A few choice quotes to drive my point home...

The women photographed on those sites “are presenting fashion masterpieces,” Ms. Fung enthused, “and, for the most part, my job is to try and interpret their ideas for myself.”

Those people offer a glimpse of fashion that is “more authentic and eclectic than the fashion magazines,” said Ms. Chayot, 21, one that is “more obtainable for me.”

(photo: courtesy of the New York Times)