One of my favorite luxuries in life is Bergdorf Goodman’s; I mostly love their shoe department but I’ve been known to find a thing or two on the clothing  racks. (And one of my best memories unfolds in their dressing room filled with Valentino, Zac Posen and Donna Karan.) With the occasional purchase here and there (which are few and far between I must admit) I’ve wound up on their mailing list. Today’s mail was “Whos’ New & Now.” Obviously referring to the hot new designers I was eager to open the letter. “Shop our latest names to know” it read with a list that made me choke on my macchiato: Thakoon, Jason Wu, Jil Sander, Madison Marcus…

Now, these are all gorgously delightful designers, but far from “new.” I’ve been wearing Thakoon since 2004 and Wu since 2006 and I’d hardly broadcast someone that’s been showing their collections for four years as a “new” designer. I know that 4-6 years isn’t a decade, and pales in comparison to Chanel’s longevity, but I expected more from Bergdorf’s. I wanted a name of someone I haven’t already discovered; I’d settle for someone I just uncovered a year ago.

But this is my fashion MO. I don’t need a store to dictate my style and although I love looking through their glossy pages, I never look to magazines to tell me what’s chic. I think it becomes burdensome to care too much what other people say about your clothes. Like what you like. Wear what makes you feel confident, and if you make a fashion faux pas (like the hideous Kurt Cobain inspired cardigan I wore throughout  jr. high) so what. We learn from our mistakes. Not everyone has the money to walk into a boutique and drop $20,000, some of us have to be creative and take risks and it’s honestly more fun that way. You get to create art out of art…it’s a win win.

Lately, I’ve been really into Rick Owens, Christian Cota, vintage Halston and Kiki De Montparnasse, and it never mattered to me if they were on any “lists” or whether they’re in Harper’s Bazaar or Bergdorf’s (although by now most of them have been recognized by at least one if not all of those), I can recognize talent in an instant and quickly covet the beautiful artworks they create. In fact, I’d be missing out on a lot if my fashion life was dictacted by celebrities, buyers and editors. It’s an adverture to seek out the young and the restless…