Women in Clothes Read online

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  Copyright © 2014 by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, Leanne Shapton

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  Blue Rider Press is a registered trademark and its colophon is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC

  ISBN 978-0-698-18982-9

  Some names of individuals have been changed.

  Version_1

  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  Clothing Garden

  Questions

  SURVEYS

  Leopoldine Core

  Lena Dunham

  Sherwin Tjia

  Milena Rosa

  Young Kim

  Souvankham Thammavongsa

  Tryntje Kramer

  CONVERSATIONS

  You Don’t Know What I Deal With – Alesia & Fatima & Aurelia & Ramou from the podcast BLACK GIRLS TALKING

  I’m Always on the Floor and Working – Mona Kowalska & Heidi Julavits & Ceridwen Morris

  Your Jewelry Is Your Stomach – Kiran Desai & Heidi Julavits

  Maybe a Lot of People Don’t Do This – Ly Ky Tran as told to Heidi Julavits

  Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries – Makiko Yamamoto & Stephanie Comilang

  It’s This Mystery, Isn’t It? – Juliet Jacques & Sheila Heti

  Four women at a clothing swap – Christine Muhlke & Kerry Diamond & Heidi Julavits & Leanne Shapton

  Anyone Can Look Cool – Kim Gordon & Christopher Bollen

  A Schmatte Looks Good – Dina Goldstein & Jonathan Goldstein

  You’re Never Going to Get That Money Back – Juliet Landau-Pope as told to Sheila Heti

  I Always Liked the Pearl Snap – Nikki Hausler as told to Mary Mann

  If Nothing Else, I Have an Ethical Garter – Mac McClelland & Sheila Heti

  The Surfer Is Nothing Without the Wave – Alexander Nagel & Sheila Heti

  I Didn’t Buy the Baby Any Clothing – Semi Chellas & Sheila Heti

  1989 – Cath Le Couteur as told to Heidi Julavits

  If You Like It, I Like It More – Talita & Ben

  Billionaire Clients – Ida Liu & Heidi Julavits

  Clothes on the Ground – Julia Wallace & Kuch Naren & Sophal & Vantha & Leap

  Flower X – Leslie Vosshall & Heidi Julavits

  Oh My God, Who Wears That? – Jagoda Wardach & Sheila Heti

  I Had a Little Pegboard – Cindy Sherman & Molly Ringwald

  You Really Are the Most Disagreeable Girl – Lucy Birley & Leanne Shapton

  Put On a Tux and Go – Monica Bill Barnes & Anna Bass & Leanne Shapton & Heidi Julavits

  The Pantsuit Rotation – Alex Wagner & Leanne Shapton

  An Older Woman Going Through Her Closet – Pamela Baguley as told to Leanne Shapton

  A Perfect Peach – Ruth Reichl & Heidi Julavits

  A brief conversation about dressing – Sheila Heti & Leanne Shapton

  The Wetsuit Is Not Fashion – Renate Stauss as told to Heidi Julavits

  The Dress Goes over Your Head – Michele Oka Doner & Francesca Marciano

  It’s a Good Fleece – Kerry Barber as told to Sheila Heti

  You’re Lying with Your Face – Amy Rose Spiegel & Mary Mann

  Gentle, Conservative Styles – Monika Chhy & Anna Clare Spelman & Jennifer Liebschutz

  An Outfit for a Turtle – Thando Lobese & Heidi Julavits

  The Delirium of Desire – Miranda Purves & Leanne Shapton

  I’m Not a Fucking D – Helen King & Sheila Heti

  A French Girl Hoeing – Barbara Damrosch & Eliot Coleman & Heidi Julavits

  The Factory Collapsed – Reba Sikder & Sara Ziff & Kalpona Akter

  The Eight-Year Dress – Nellie Davis & Kate Shepherd

  POEMS

  Textile Names I

  whatever closeness – Mira Gonzalez

  Textile Names II

  Textile Names III

  PROJECTS

  Mothers as Others Part 1

  A Map of My Floor – Leanne Shapton

  Ring Cycle

  Yes?

  The Outfit in the Photograph I

  Thirty-six Women – Miranda July

  A Map of My Floor – Heidi Julavits

  Stylus – Micah Lexier

  Stains – Leanne Shapton

  Posturing – Zosia Mamet & Leanne Shapton

  How to Dress in This New World – Margaux Williamson

  This Person Is a Robot – Leslie Vosshall

  The Outfit in the Photograph II

  My Outfits – Thessaly La Force

  Bag Dance – Leanne Shapton & Heidi Julavits

  What I Spent – Emily Stokes

  Plastic Baskets – Josh Blackwell

  Shopping Trails – Kate Ryan

  Mothers as Others Part 2

  De Moeders – Ruth van Beek

  Color Taxonomy – Tavi Gevinson

  Fixes – Rachel Perry Welty

  Ow ow ow ow – Katherine Bernard

  The Outfit in the Photograph III

  Warp & Weft Nos. 1–6 – Karin Schaefer

  A Map of My Floor – Sheila Heti

  The Outfit in the Photograph IV

  ON DRESSING

  Good Morning – Elif Batuman

  Staying Home – Rose Waldman

  Magical – Sadie Stein

  Let One Dream Come True – Katie Kitamura

  Survey Diary no. 1 – Mary Mann

  What I Wore to Fall in Love – Sarah Nicole Prickett

  Calamity – Renee Gladman

  I Do Care About Your Party – Umm Adam

  Survey Answered with Phrases from My Diary – Sheila Heti

  The Pink Purse – Emily Gould

  Mother, Daughter, Mustache – Christen Clifford

  I Refused – Mansoura Ez Eldin

  I Stopped by the Store Every Day – Ida Hattemer-Higgins

  At the Checkpoint – Shani Boianjiu

  The Mom Coat – Amy Fusselman

  Too Much of Me – Vedrana Rudan

  Survey Diary no. 2 – Mary Mann

  Filthy White Daisies – Christa Parravani

  Lost Mittens – Heidi Julavits

  Summer Diary – Heidi Julavits

  A “Muff Dog” – Gilda Haber

  Covet Diary – Leanne Shapton

  Seams, Hems, Pleats, Darts – Lisa Cohen

  Nothing – Lisa Robertson

  SURVEYS

  Women Looking at Women

  Breasts

  Mandates of Place

  How does makeup fit into all this for you?

  Economics of Style

  I feel most attractive when

  I feel most attractive when

  Advice and Tips

  What’s the situation with your hair?

  What do you wear every day?

  Dress for Success

  Color

  Worn

  Unintentional

  Modest and Naked

  First conscious of what you were wearing?

  Protection

  Handmade

  40s

  Pl
ease describe your mind

  Shopping

  Balm

  Sisters

  First “investment item”?

  Men Looking at Women

  Do you consider yourself photogenic?

  Strangers

  Gut Feeling

  Glamour

  I feel most attractive when

  Smell

  Daughters and Sons

  I feel most attractive when

  Closets

  Please describe your body

  Messages

  Style as Character

  More Advice and Tips

  Do you ever wish you were a man?

  Fathers

  I feel most attractive when

  Lost

  COLLECTIONS

  Luise Stauss’s over-the-knee socks

  Tania van Spyk’s dress sets part I

  Claudia Dey’s fedoras

  Lydia Burkhalter’s gray sweatshirts

  Odette Henderson’s raincoats

  Kate Ryan’s tote bags

  Dorothy Platt’s wrap skirts

  Kristin Anthony’s bracelets

  Lisa Naftolin’s swimsuits

  Amy Rose Spiegel’s false eyelashes

  Annie McDonald’s clogs

  Andrea Walker’s floral-print shirts

  Joyce Wall’s lipstick blots

  Veronica Manchester’s earplugs

  Mae Pang’s safety pins

  Sheila Heti’s nail polish

  Delia Marcus’s friendship bracelets

  Tift Merritt’s handmade guitar straps

  Pavia Rosati’s cashmere sweaters

  Sheila O’Shea’s hand-me-downs

  Gwen Smith’s concert T-shirts

  Heidi Julavits’s striped shirts

  Julia Leach’s jean jackets

  Sadie Stein’s brassieres

  Miranda Purves’s shirts with Peter Pan collars

  Jemima Truman’s spare buttons

  Lisa Przystup’s marled socks

  Bay Garnett’s leopard-print tops

  Benedicte Pinset’s white canvas sneakers

  Amy Pinkham’s bobby pins

  Melinda Andrade’s aviator sunglasses

  Tara Washington’s knitted hats

  Kristin Gore’s gum

  Gina Rico’s hairbrushes and combs

  Emily Shur’s prescription eyeglasses

  Molly Murray’s vintage three-inch heels

  Mary Mann’s floss sticks

  Heather O’Donnell’s Catholic jewelry

  Charlotte Yoshimura’s navy blazers

  Heidi Sopinka’s Levi’s

  Christine Muhlke’s identical dresses

  Melissa Walsh’s scrubs

  Alicia Meier’s blotting papers

  Lorna Shapton’s tsinelas

  Sarah Brubacher’s handmade dresses

  Jane Larkworthy’s lip balms

  Paula Black’s hair elastics

  Mitzi Angel’s unworn necklaces

  Jenny Schily’s cigarettes

  Kim Bost’s tights

  Rachel Hurn’s stolen boyfriend shirts

  Constance Stern’s black cotton underwear

  Ivory Simms’s aprons

  Aria Sloss’s white nightgowns

  Marlene Barber’s furs

  Senami d’Almeida’s digital wristwatches

  Tania van Spyk’s dress sets part II

  Leanne Shapton’s white trousers

  WEAR AREAS

  Gintare Parulyte

  Rivka Galchen

  Ana Bunčić

  Jinnie Lee

  Aditi Sadeqa Rao

  Jill Margo

  Anna Backman Rogers

  Margo Jefferson

  Alicia Bernlohr

  Annika Wahlström

  Lithe Sebesta

  COMPLIMENTS

  Watch – Kate Ryan

  Dress – Starlee Kine

  Jeans – Starlee Kine

  Glasses – Mary Mann

  Bra – Lisa Naftolin

  Scarf – Sheila Heti

  Wallet – Kate Ryan

  Coat – Leanne Shapton

  Skirt – Starlee Kine

  Acknowledgments

  Contributors

  About the Authors

  Clothing pattern paintings – Emily Hass

  COLLECTION

  LUISE STAUSS’s over-the-knee socks

  INTRODUCTION

  CLOTHING GARDEN

  JANUARY 8, 2014

  Skype meeting. Leanne and Heidi are in Leanne’s studio in New York. Sheila is in her apartment in Toronto. Leanne has recently cut her hair.

  SHEILA: Oh my god, look at your hair!

  LEANNE: I know. (laughs)

  SHEILA: I love it, I love it! It’s so good.

  LEANNE: Are you wearing fur?

  SHEILA: No, I’m wearing a throw.

  HEIDI: I have no new hair to share, no new hair. Sheila, are you growing your bangs out?

  SHEILA: Not intentionally.

  LEANNE: This is how our book should start: Hi, are you growing your bangs out? What are you wearing, are you wearing fur? We’re like a bunch of chickens squawking at each other!

  SHEILA: You look like Peter Pan.

  HEIDI: Have you ever had short hair like this before?

  LEANNE: Not this short. Well, when I was ten.

  HEIDI: Yeah, that’s the last time I had short hair, too. Sheila, have you ever had short-short, pixie-short, boy-short, hair?

  SHEILA: Yeah, in high school I had like concentration-camp short. That’s what my mother called it.

  HEIDI: Oh my god.

  LEANNE: So wait, in terms of how we want to write the introduction, I like the essays we wrote a year ago when we first started thinking about the book. I think we should just rewrite those to some degree. And I also like your idea, Sheila, of talking about what’s happened to us since we began the project.

  HEIDI: So why don’t we, right now, ask each other questions that we can use as connective tissue in the intro? So I might say, Sheila, how did you get dressed this morning, what did you think about that’s different from what you might have thought about eight months ago?

  SHEILA: Well, I didn’t really get dressed.

  SHEILA Until this year, I never put much thought into clothes. I bought my silk 1930s ivory-colored wedding dress in about half an hour, made impatient by the task. I wore black shoes that hardly matched, but which were in my closet already.

  What changed to make me more interested in dressing? I suppose it was that (a few years after my divorce) I began living with a man who cares a lot about dressing and clothes. I had never, up close, seen what that looks like. I’d always assumed the well-dressed just happened to be that way—not that it was an area of life that people excelled in because they applied thought, attention, and care to it. Living with my boyfriend, I began to see that dressing was like everything else: those who dress well do so because they spend some time thinking about it.

  Clothes and style became more interesting to me. For someone who is fascinated by how people relate to one another, it’s hard to overlook personal style as a way we speak to the world. One day I just decided, Today is the day I’m going to figure out how to dress. I biked to a bookstore—one of those very big bookstores—and went to the section where there were fashion and style books, looking for one that would tell me what women thought about as they shopped and dressed. But there was nothing like that. There were books about Audrey Hepburn and books filled with pictures from Vogue, but nothing that felt useful to me at all. I thought, I’ll have to make this a project. I decided to begin by asking some of the women I knew the very questions I’d hoped to find answered in a book.

  FROM: Sheila Heti

  DATE: Sun, Apr 8, 2012, AT 1:00PM

  SUBJECT: fashion survey

  TO: Heidi Julavits

  Hey Heidi, I might write a little piece about women’s fashion and I was wondering if I could bug you (as a fashionable lady!) to fill out my survey. Please answer a
s many times and in as much detail as possible to each question listed (if you’re interested!). xo Sheila

  ps: I was partly inspired to think about dressing after reading your latest novel. Also, I’m not sure if the q’s are exactly right.

  QUESTION 1 What are some dressing rules that you have for yourself, that you wouldn’t recommend to other people necessarily, but which you follow?

  QUESTION 2 What are some dressing or clothing rules that you think every woman should follow?

  QUESTION 3 What are the shopping habits you follow? Ex: are you always looking? do you only look for particular items when you need them? do you shop online? do you save up for great pieces?

  QUESTION 4 Which people from culture, past and present, do you admire or have you admired, fashion-wise? Are there any people you took as models who you tried to emulate, even if only in details, not the whole?

  QUESTION 5 Are you a fan of certain brands and labels, and if so, what are they?

  QUESTION 6 What is dressing about, for you? What are you trying to do or achieve when you dress up?

  FROM: Heidi Julavits

  DATE: Sun, Apr 8, 2012, at 7:45PM

  SUBJECT: Re: fashion survey

  TO: Sheila Heti

  hey sheila! sorry i’ve been on west coast and not online—but i LOVE these questions!!!! maybe you and i should write a women’s fashion book that isn’t stupid like all women’s fashion books. i was just reading in three cities and believe me, i gave questions like this way too much thought—actually packed a whole suitcase and wore the same outfit for two days, and on the third i wore a dress i bought in seattle, which was white and see-through (muslin, basically), and i hadn’t brought any white underthings, just black, and the store woman suggested that i “own it,” so i did, and wore the dress with very visible black underwear to a reading and i kind of liked that the people in the audience might think that they knew something about me that i didn’t know about myself.

  On Fri, Apr 20, 2012, at 7:38PM, Sheila Heti wrote:

  I think this could be a great book collaboration! I was trying to find a smart women’s fashion philosophy (philosophy of style) book this weekend, and not one! I love your black-underwear story. I’ve added some more questions. Are we missing anything? Do you think any should be cut?

  QUESTION 7 How does makeup fit into all this for you?

  QUESTION 8 What’s the situation with your hair?

  QUESTION 9 Describe what you’re wearing on your body and face, and how your hair is done, right this moment.