Style That Works
a solid foundation of fashion references for the year ahead
I lied. What you’re about to see are fashion images that are not new to me. They have been influential in my wardrobe world building for a long time, not only in this new year. It’s just that I’m finally accepting that references deserve to inspire and I need to be better at sharing them. Also, they’re not new references and they’ve definitely been influential to many long before I could write. So they’re not really possible to gatekeep anyway.
This year, however, I am more consciously considering these projects as a base for what I’m wearing. If I must buy clothes in 2025, they will not be new unless they’re investments with intention after a lot of research. Truthfully, I am just finding more reason to spend time deep diving on eBay and vinted and rummage through racks of secondhand things. I’d like to call it a gentle introduction to practicing delayed gratification.
You’re probably here to see the references so here’s the last bit of context needed. Though I like an editorial, outrageous fashion image every now and then, what I really love is the every day stuff. The images where clothes are attainable and maybe even in my wardrobe already. I like when they’re well styled on a model running around the city of course, but it’s even better when they’re pictured on people with other kinds of jobs. I might be naive in believing that none of the people pictured below are professional models, but let me live in my gullible cloud. I like it there.
I have a pretty typical 9-5 job and, apparently, so do a lot of the people in these images. And that’s the TL;DR of why they are my foundations of fashion on a payroll this year. It’s likely they’ll always be my basis for dressing, employed or otherwise. Happy viewing.
REAL LIFE BY STEVEN MEISEL, VOGUE ITALIA, 1998
It’s likely you’ll recognise these if you’re interested in fashion, photography, late ‘90s womenswear or Pinterest. A few of these images do the rounds on Instagram mood board accounts every year. And it makes complete sense why. For one thing, they’re shot by Steven Meisel1 and that should be enough said. The outfits feel honest and timeless in their simplicity and lack of branding. The flash photography emphasises that realness and the images have such a lived-in-ness about them. These women dress well and that’s the least of it. The bit we’re not seeing - the work and the play - is the intrigue that expands beyond the four corners of each picture and I love that. That’s what I want it to feel like when I pass through someone else’s day-to-day on my commute, or at my desk, or in the line for a cup of coffee. And I want to look this good doing it.
You can view the whole spread on the incredible resource that is Scanned Fashion World. Special mention also goes to the makeup looks and the desk spaces.
UNTITLED 99-02 BY STEPHEN PANHANS, 1999
I’m a little unsure if I can share this one without ethical worry but when viewed on his site this project downloads as a PDF automatically. So these will be screenshots of specific favourites as this is a very large project and you should go and view the whole thing including the related essay by Ariane Beyn. Find your favourites.
I learned about this Panhans work on
’s Neverworns conversation with Mellány Sánchez. It is an episode that I have listened to many times and will continue to because something new stands out to me each time in both life as research and life as style. I’ve mentioned it on substack before and I doubt this will be the last time. Their discussion of this work is valuable learning and I recommend you go listen to it.I’m not sure there is much to unpack from these images for you that you can’t already infer. But if I had to, I’d mention that similar to Meisel’s girls, the working lives of women are momentarily held in each still. I want to ask these women questions about their outfit decisions, though I’m sure they were actually effortless, and then what they’re up to at the weekend in hopes they’ll invite me along. There is something to note of fashion in the late 1990s in every image so it exists somewhat as a study whilst also attesting to the cyclical nature of fashion. I would happily wear each one of these outfits this week. Clearly I enjoy a roll-neck, clean-line silhouette. The shoes are also fantastic in these images and you may notice more fabulous heel shapes in the larger body of work.
The accompanying essay discusses more the viewpoint of Panhans in it’s voyeurism, as well as lack thereof, and the connection between place and woman in relation to sales, marketing and the nature of brands at the time. It’s a very insightful read and useful context for the images. But for now I am focusing on the fashion and will be cross-referencing with my wardrobe as I pick outfits worthy of a commute, a desk and a coffee queue.
I could write for hours on these images and this subject in general so I think this a good sign to stop here. I hope this was interesting to you even if it’s not to your personal taste. If you have your own foundations of inspiration for anything this year I’d love to hear/see them!
I said it in my substack below, real life scenarios are where you will find real life dressing. This is just a small but fundamental part of the umbrella that all of my favourite things live under. More style-based content will be coming soon.
Thank you for reading. See you soon.
I LOVE HIS WORK. It makes me want to take photos 24/7.