JILL'S MEETING WITH SIMON DOONAN

Last week, I got to meet and interview the writer/fashionista/media personality/creative ambassador of Barneys, Simon Doonan, for the signing of his newest book The Asylum at their Chicago store. Simon's love of life and creativity pours onto his insightful reoccurring column on Slate, where his recent piece on growing old and dressing "appropriate" had been on my brain (read it here). It came out at the perfect time, since I just got done stressing over my birthday. The night of I was ripping apart my closet to try and find something to wear when I thought...

At what age should I let my love of sequins go?

The first thing I did when approaching Simon was bring up that article. I really loved how he spun GQ's claim that he dresses too young for his age into a fresh outlook on growing older. "Dressing age-inappropriately is, so they say, in poor taste, and it’s vulgar. This is exactly why I celebrate it." Who makes up these rules, anyway?

The Asylum

Simon was friendly, as we chatted about his appearance on Conan, moobs, and how we both admire older women with funky hair and cat-eye glasses. His impressive industry experience and sense of humor have me eagerly looking forward to the next rainy day at home, when I can curl up and get lost in The Asylum. He is one of those people that you can sit and listen to for hours, and he's even better on paper (or computer/kindle screen... whichever you prefer). And if you must know, he wore a very vibrant floral shirt paired with eccentric socks that would never receive GQ's approval. And wore it better than any 20-year-old could.

When I left Barneys I felt silly that I even thought there was an age limit on wearing sequins. When is the right age to give them up? Never.

At least by Simon Doonan's standards, and that's good enough for me.

x Jill