Looking At The 'Look Book'
Every week, the Strategist section of New York magazine features the Look Book, in which they flag down a completely random New Yorker and talk to them about their personal style. This week, they've grabbed "modern-day gypsy" and artist Agathe Snow. How and why they choose these people, we don't know. In order to better understand the Look Book, Alexis The Intern took to the "streets" for reader input. After the jump, The Black Table's Eric Gillin, Fleshbot Intern Matt Schneier, and Nylon's Danielle Nussbaum analyze Agathe's nuanced style.
Eric Gillin, editor-in-chief, The Black Table
How would you help Agathe — if, that is, you think she needs help — without interfering with her personal style?
She needs to go all the way with this. I think Agathe is copping out with the tan scarf. That's far too much color for her — it brings out a smidge of color in her cheeks. If she's going for the whole severe Bertold Brecht look, she might want to shave her head, try some pancake makeup and wear Deep Woods Off as perfume. I'd also recommend carrying a scythe.
Agatha mentions listening to Pearl Jam as her exposure to pop culture. How else can we (slowly and carefully) expose her to the "mainstream"?
I vehemently oppose mainstreaming Agathe. You see, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by Euro-friendly art people with a taste for spooky black clothes. Who else is gonna do it? Gawker? Defamer? She has more responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for her anti-mainstream clothing and you curse her style. You have that luxury. Her existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to most Earthlings, probably saves lives. Deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you don't want her looking that way — you NEED her looking that way. She uses words like Marxian-Cubist-Post-Modernist Food Orgy. She uses those words as the backbone of a life spent traveling between Europe and America. You use them as a punchline.
Do you respect her brash disregard for looking good?
I don't respect it so much as I love, respect and fear it. When your name is Agathe Snow, it's almost a given that you have to dress like a witch and wear loads of black doily dresses and look like an extra from The Village. She's just destined to assume that look and I support it 1,000%. Honestly, do you really want this person to hit up the Old Navy for orange pants, neon scarves and yellow rain boots? Leave her be. That said, I'm slightly mystified by the mention of the "hood" she bought at SSUR Plus. Did she just buy the hood? Is there any shirt to go with the hood? Or is this some kind of Head Dickie fabric scrap to cover your ears?
Matthew Schneier, Fleshbot intern, Skinny Gourmet
How would you help Agathe — if, that is, you think she needs help — without interfering with her personal style?
At this point, Agathe needs a little interference in her personal style. Shtetl-chic is totally sixty years and two fascist administrations ago. We've got to lose the babushka and the guilt-trip-ready hand on her heart. At this point, bitch looks like Strega Nona. A little color also wouldn't hurt.
Agatha mentions listening to Pearl Jam as her exposure to pop culture. How else can we (slowly and carefully) expose her to the "mainstream"?
Agathe's on the right step with the Pearl Jam. She's not a hopeless case, just misguided. I think a Drew Barrymore/Never Been Kissed approach could have hilarious but ultimately profound and sexy results.
Do you respect her brash disregard for looking good?
I respect her commitment to furthering negative stereotypes about people for whom "art" is a euphemism for "minimum wage in the food-service industry."
Danielle Nussbaum, entertainment editor, Nylon
How would you help Agathe — if, that is, you think she needs help — without interfering with her personal style?
Considering the current controversy in Russia, I strongly feel that Agathe is dressed perfectly as the charcoal-clad cousin of the Narnian White Witch. You never know when a major oil exporter is going to go belly up and land on the old auction block so you should be prepared. I would, however, gladly give her some of my rations coupons so she could get some extra Turkish Delight. It's COLD in Moscow this time of year. Eh, comrade?
Agatha mentions listening to Pearl Jam as her exposure to pop culture. How else can we (slowly and carefully) expose her to the "mainstream"?
Two words: Bunk Mix. Agathe needs to rely on a little thing I like to call "camp magic," the perfect compilation: some Cat Stevens, some Lindsay Lohan, some James Taylor, some Hilary Duff, some Strokes, some Michael Jackson, some show tunes from Rent, some Joni Mitchell, some 'N Sync. Either that or retain PMK or The Dart Group. Nobody does mainstream like the right publicist.
Do you respect her brash disregard for looking good?
Looking bad IS looking good. It's good to be bad about looking good. And sometimes you're just so bad that it makes you look good, and um, LOOK, it's EDDIE VEDDER!
