Andre' Leon Talley at FIT

Fear is Not an Option” – Andre’ Leon Talley
Guest Post by Mary 'Coco' Assenmacher

Vogue’s own Andre’ Leon Talley was the guest speaker at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Thursday evening serving up thoughts on personal style, etiquette and grace while being interviewed by Valerie Steele. Not to be upstaged by the PETA protesters outside FIT, in regard to Mr. Talley’s penchant for wearing fur, he made his regal entrance in a Karl Lagerfeld Couture ‘Tiepolo Red’ McFarland cape and embracing his own essence of ‘high and low’ brow fashion, paired it with a crystal-adorned NAACP t-shirt created by Harlem’s own Gerald Matthews. Andre’ spoke of his Grandmother, his dear friend and mentor Diana Vreeland and of designers Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen to which Andre’ stated of the former, ‘we’ve lost a poet – a master of romanticism’. Especially interesting was the idea that clothes are a ‘code of correctness and appropriateness’, an idea Mr. Tally shares equally with Ms. Vreeland. Apparently Ms. Vreeland also felt that polish was a particular code of discipline, therefore prompting Andre’ to spray shellac his own set of Louis Vuitton luggage. Polish indeed. “Personal style comes from within”, he reminded everyone in the audience. He championed new designers with the ideals of “always live your dreams” and “never give up on your dreams”. Finally, we were left with these words of inspiration; “Fashion is a multifaceted stone.”… “Whatever you put on is fabulous, because it came from your own fantasy”.
Mary (Coco) Assenmacher spends her nights as a cardiothoracic surgery nurse practitioner in New York City, with her free time spent both printmaking as well as living and breathing fashion. "Fashion inspires me to do anything I want to do".

have designer bag...will travel

So living and working in New York City means riding the subway is a reality of my daily existence. Although I consider myself professionably successful, I prefer to be fashionally frugal, which means opting to to walk most of the time from my very convenient 5th Avenue crib.

I suspect most New Yorkers have the prototypical cab addiction — as necessary to survival as their Grande-Skinny-Caramel-Macch-Double-Shot-Espresso running through their veins. Those who have really made it (think: expense account) have personal drivers or, at minimum, a car service ride to cruise around town.

Being content as a subway sojourner, I’m left to observe my fellow travelers, specifically the real vs. fake designer bag toters. The reality of the real designer bag market is that they are essentially ‘affordable luxury’ starting at a tempting $300. My personal definition of luxury is to have something unique that is not on the arms of a thousand others. But seriously, if you can afford to spend $2,000 on a bag, shouldn’t you be able to afford to be above ground in a towncar? I’m of the old-school philosophy that you do not spend what you do not have. So, are they dropping $2K on credit? Are they scraping every last dime to have a Speedy? Are they gifts of ‘benefit boyfriends’?

As for the fly girls who are carrying fake louis vuitton bags dressed in H&M…who do you think you are kidding? Go buy yourself something unique this weekend — that reflects who you really are or aspire to be. It can be a vintage, it can be new…. but if it’s fake, ask yourself: "Why Am I Buying This?" And if your current purse doesn’t allow for expenditures , trade a former fave with a close friend. Won’t cost you a dime but you’ll appreciate it so much more!