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How to Master Day-to-Night Style, According to Goop’s Fashion Director

Ali Pew on her highly-cultivated uniform and perfecting "minimalism with a twist."

Style Diaries
How to Master Day-to-Night Style, According to Goop’s Fashion Director
Photo: Courtesy of Ali Pew

Welcome to Style Diaries, a series where we research the physical manifestations of our closet tours IRL. We're asking friends and tastemakers to show us what they're *actually* wearing during the week and to provide a little insight into their thoughts on the current state of fashion. This week, we follow Goop’s fashion director Ali Pew. A uniform connoisseur and self-proclaimed “minimalist with a twist,” Pew's approach to style is mathematical in nature: the perfect balance between masculine and feminine.

Look 1: Great Basics

Photos: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“This is a very standard office look, but I could also wear this to a shoot or dinner. For G. Label at Goop, we make these really great simple basics. This one is a few years old and it serves as a real base for my wardrobe. [The tank is] slim and feminine with the scoop-neck and it gives me a waist. Then, I have the wide-leg pant. I'll throw on a jacket if it's chilly or if I have a dinner and then add a smaller bag. This is a chunkier sandal so I probably would change my shoe if I was going to an event.”

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Conner Culottes

G. Label
$495

Look 2: Utility Meets Femininity

Photo: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“This is a pretty masculine outfit. I love the utility detail on the belt, but the shirt has a puff sleeve so that's more feminine. And if I do wear any color, I usually will add it in an accessory. This is one of my go-to bags. I think the pop of color is so nice with all of my very pared-back neutrals.”

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Utility Skirt

Victoria Beckham
$780 $312

Perriand Mini

Métier
$1750

Look 3: The Perfect Investment Piece

Photo: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“I love a menswear shirt—anything menswear-[inspired] I really love. I like combining this with a more fluid skirt. This skirt is super old Marni—I bet it's 10 years old. When I went back to my closet after a year of not wearing anything [during the pandemic], I gravitated towards stuff that's super old. It goes to show that if you invest in things that you truly love, they last forever. This is one of those skirts. I like the mix of black with the light blue-and-white stripe. Then I'm a huge Loewe bag person.”

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Look 4: Mixing Silhouettes

Photos: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“For shoots, I always wear a skirt or a pant with a slim tank. Then I'll throw a sweater over my shoulders or something. I always wear Birkenstocks or something really comfortable since I'm standing on cement all day. I also am a double bag person. I like to have a small bag and then a big bag for my laptop or a jacket or whatever. They work together and can go inside one another.”

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Medium Big Bag

Celine
$1800 $1620

Arizona Soft Footbed

Birkenstock
$110

Look 5: Balancing Masculine and Feminine (Again)

Photo: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“These Jil Sander shorts are a super heavy, structured fabric but you can really cinch in the waist with the tie. The top is G. Label. I love the masculine [shorts] with their oversized fit and then this little ruffle detailing on the shirt. I think it is such a good juxtaposition. Those shoes are Totême. They're like a new iteration on a Birkenstock.”

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Look 6: A Real Collector’s Item

Photos: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“This jacket is old Daniel Lee from his first collection at Bottega Veneta. When Phoebe Philo left, I was really sad because I wore a lot of old Céline. But then Daniel [Lee] went to Bottega [Veneta] and I fell in love with his first collection. Bottega is so expensive so I was like, okay, I can buy one piece. This was the piece I bought. It’s a true collector's piece. It's so structured and the fabric is unbelievable. It has this really kind of harsh shoulder that's very cool. Then the gold buttons just make it so classic. I wear this jacket a lot over stuff for events or as a top buttoned all the way up. The pants are Jil Sander. They’re almost like a tux pant—it looks like a cumberbund. I have this G. label knit tank that I bet I wear at least twice a week. That sounds terrible, but I have two of them and I wear them all the time.”

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Look 7: The Wear-Everywhere Dress

Photo: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“This is something I would take to pilates then throw on to wear to the office. It's a five-second outfit. The fabric is super easy and it’s great for in-between L.A. days when it's 50 degrees in the morning and hot in the day. This dress is one of those solid wear-any-day-of-the-week pieces. I can throw it on and I don't even have to think about it. It has a little bungee cord, which is super cute because it gives you a waist. It has a rounded sleeve—a bit of a cooler take on the puff sleeve. I take this on trips a lot because it's just so easy. We came out with a jewelry line one year ago. It was like five pieces—really small, but the perfect basics. I wear that link bracelet and that chain necklace everyday. You'll never see me without [them] on.”

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Look 8: The Wildcard

Photo: Courtesy of Ali Pew

“This look is a curveball. Every once in a while, there's an event where you feel like dressing up. I also have a hard time finding a balance with that because I'm such a uniform person. One easy [approach] for me is playing with a little bit of color in accessories, but keeping with the silhouettes I would wear every day. I normally wear this khaki tone. The dress has a loose shape that hangs nicely. I felt cool and modern, but also a tad feminine. Then the red bag [elevated it from] my everyday outfits. When you wear so many neutrals, texture plays such a big role. I’m always mixing silk with cashmere or cotton poplin with leather. This bag is a little velvet so I thought it mixed well with the cotton dress.”

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Notes on Style:

How would you describe your personal style? What are the sorts of outfits you're actually wearing on a day-to-day basis?

“I'm a major uniform person. I wear different iterations of the same outfit. I definitely would describe myself as a minimalist with a twist. I'm not extreme, like even if I could afford it, I would never only wear The Row. I like a little more shape, something a little bit sculptural. And I like to have one little [aspect] that's a bit more feminine. I like minimalism as a base, and then to build on it with something that either has an interesting silhouette or some sort of feminine touch.”

What does the classic Ali Pew uniform look like?

“It's probably either an A-line skirt or a wide leg pant with a slim knit, or flip it. Then it's a menswear button down with a pant that feels a little more feminine and interesting.”

What are the factors that go into your process of getting dressed every day? Are you going into the office? What sorts of things do you do?

“We're in the office two days a week. But between shoots (and prep and wrap for shoots), I'm in the office quite a bit. Oftentimes, I'm going to an appointment in the middle of the day or I have an event at night. I'm not a big overthinker. So I try to dress for day, but with something I could transition into the night. Maybe I put a statement jacket over my outfit or I wear a sweater then I switch it to a tank for night. And I never wear heels. Like I literally don't own a pair of heels. I have different iterations of flats. I have a chunkier flat for day. Then if I have a dinner at night, I'll put on a slimmer, strappier flat or something. I try to make sure my outfit can bounce from a shoot to the office to home to an event. Everything should feel semi-transferable.”

As someone who works in fashion and consumes so much fashion content, do you feel that it helps you to be put together and dressed every day?

“I think for me, it's about feeling like myself. If I ever put on something that I don't feel great in—if my outfit doesn't feel like me, or it feels too trendy—then I don't feel confident. And I don't feel like I am in the right headspace. Clothes are such a big part of who I am that it reflects the way I feel and then reflects my work and my life and everything like that.”

What would your complimentary hair and makeup routine look like on a regular basis?

“I often go straight from pilates to the office. So I'll get up and shower then go to pilates. It's a pretty low-impact workout so I will literally put my hair back—I don't wear makeup—and I just go. Sometimes I'll grab mascara or a tinted moisturizer if I have something at night, but my hair and makeup routine is very, very minimal.”

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