Lyn Slater despaired as she looked through the racks and racks of gorgeous clothing in her New York City house one evening.
Slater, 66, a former social worker turned social internet sun. At the age of 61, she had begun documenting her tone on the site Accidental Icon. Her sloppy, twisted Yohji Yamamoto suits, her smooth black jack, and pervasive shades gave her a crazy hauteur and hordes of fans. There are 770, 000 Instagram fans for her, including @iconaccidental. She was visited by manufacturers in Paris and London to show off their runways and launch fragrances. Brands gave her presents in every hue of the rainbow, including garments, jackets, and purses. She appeared in Kate Spade and Valentino’s activities.
However, at that very instant, Slater had a burning desire to “take all those clothes apart, piece by piece,” and go to her sewing equipment.
Slater, 70, told The Washington Post,” I was lost.
The anxiety that comes with the realization that your clothes no longer provide you or the people you’ve become is something that many women have experienced.
According to Slater,” I view my clothing as materials that I use to express a specific personality and function.” Her ensembles reveal her desires, thoughts, and heart. She said,” Having what I wear be clear with who I am makes me feel like a whole people.” She no longer felt completely herself when she began letting companies control what she put on her figure.
That has changed. Slater describes herself as a “reformed influence” today. She has relocated from Manhattan to an old home in Peekskill, New York, and has culled her attire. — and exchanged her custom slacks for antique Gap overalls and velvet pajama tops. She has n’t shared #sponcon in two years. She writes, chases her two younger children, and spends her days gardening.
Her first book,” How to Be Old,” was published on Tuesday by Penguin Random House and explores both aging, creativity, style, and personality. It’s a combination of a memoir and a guide to “living bravely” and finding a stylish design that will allow you to do so.
Slater wants visitors to be aware that this is a fascinating method rather than a sad one. She said,” I have all the ages I’ve ever been drawn upon in [in ] thinking about what I might want to wear or even what I might want to do right now at this age. That’s how I come to the conclusion that getting older is an antioxidant process rather than a nonlinear method, as many people might perceive it. Never a loss, either. It’s a pleasure.
Reuse, recycle, and recycle
Slater said,” The clothes that I wore on my weblog and Instagram were very real to me at first,” she continued. ” I had them. They were a part of my clothing. They were my choice. But I never felt any personal link to many of the clothing I started wearing as a [paid]influencer.
Therefore, in 2020, a epidemic broke out while Slater was attempting to determine her future course of action. Slater and her companion, Calvin Lom, 66, made the decision to relocate to the area to get closer to Slater’s daughter and younger children. However, Slater inspected her bedroom. ” I had six containers of clothing when I moved.” … I’m then down to two.
Some of her used items were sold for store credit on resale websites, so she would n’t ever want to buy anything new if she ever felt the urge to shop. Items she gave to a lady in her community who recycles worn-out clothing to give it new career. Additionally, she gave five boxes to a neighbor who holds weekly sales of designer clothing at bargain prices.
Manifest modify through clothing
Slater is not a man to reversing her circumstances. She said,” I have always been a reinventor.” ” I do n’t find change as upsetting or disorienting as some people might.”
In Westchester County, New York, Slater was raised working group. Her home moved usually as a child. She claimed that she attended four primary schools between the age of 7 and 9.
You ca n’t always control it, she said, but it made me realize that change is a normal part of life. And that is where your strength actually lies: How are you going to react when it occurs?
A method for Slater to deal with change is through clothing, which can even manifest it. She created outfits that resemble the characters in novels like” Little Women” and” The Key Garden.” She said,” My relation to attire is really not about style.” It’s actually about dressing up more like a costume.
Accept who you are now.
She wore traditional fits as a young family and social worker with a target on child security. Eventually, she transitioned to off-kilter black and white ensembles by avant-garde Asian designers like Yamamoto or Comme des Garçons while living in New York City and subsequently adopted chic and off-kilter sneakers and overalls as a university teacher.
She would use a seam ripper to reevaluate not just her own property but also every aspect of her life ( at least metaphorically ) while she was teaching at Fordham University and taking classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology at the age of 60.
She cited a quote from the artist and former fashion designer Helmut Lang, who is a hero:” I do n’t like to throw things away, but I also have the ability to end chapters of my life.”
She continued,” I really identify with that.” ” When I first started Accidental Icon, my first advice to people was to dress in out. And a part of that is realizing that our inner selves are very flexible and can evolve and change with time.
Three terms will help you determine your style.
For the” Nowadays” show, Slater was just asked to type three people. She typically declines these opportunities, saying that she can simply design herself, but she consented to assist these guests in identifying their own styles.
She said,” I told them about how I dressed in up.” She prompted each of the women to come up with three adjectives that best define who they are right now. Or, an alternative: who they might want to be and what they might need people to perceive when they gaze upon you. Therefore, they would have this list handy when they would go shopping or go through their closets at house. Do these three points about me say this about me? were they asked each piece of clothing they picked up.
Slater described the experience as” only amazing.” The women all returned and said,” I never had a style. I believe I have a design and a way to know how to get clothing right away.
What title did Slater choose to use at this time to describe herself: mother, author, and group worker. She said,” When I wear a cotton shirt and pants, I am all those people. And as a 70-year-old artist ready to embark on her first book trip?
There will be this high expectation that I’ll wear anything opulent and crazy, she said. In a way, it’s entertaining to consider how to present who I am now in an authentic and real manner.