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 Brett Heyman, the mind behind handbags-as-conversation-pieces label Edie Parker as she walks (literally) from work to her children’s school to events and more. Though she’s admittedly a uniform girl, Heyman loves an in-your-face statement piece, which she then styles with jeans and practical footwear.
Look 1: Out to Dinner
Photos: Christina Stoever
“I wear this dress a lot. It's Christopher Esber. I really like silk. It obviously takes a cue from that Donna Karen Great Expectations moment with Gwyneth Paltrow. I feel like that's one of the greatest, iconic film looks ever. Green is my favorite color; I only know this because my kids are constantly like 'What's your favorite color?' So I've had to settle on green. The silhouette is easy. It's a very pretty day dress, but I think it's really easy to dress it up. The dress is genius. It has a bias cut side zip and then the button-down so you can wear it tucked in totally, or you can wear it so it looks like two pieces. It has a lot of different ways that can be styled.
Those shoes are Rochas shoes and I've had them forever. I don't buy a lot of new shoes because I feel like I'm least interested in shoes. Especially with a colorful outfit, I'm always pairing a colorful shoe with it. It's mood-lifting for me. I always joke that life is so serious, so your accessories shouldn't have to be. I just think pink and green are really pretty together, but most shoes I think would look good [with this dress].”
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Look 2: Walking to Work
Photos: Christina Stoever
“Those khaki pants are old Phoebe [Philo] Celine. I bought them in the boutique and they're the kind of pants that would never end up in my RealReal pile. I love them. They are good for every season. They fit perfectly. They look cute with heels, sneakers, whatever. So I wore that to work and you'll notice I have my favorite Tom Sachs Nikes on. That was a day where I walked downtown to the office and I could walk for an hour in them. The button down is Nili Lotan. And I have that Edie Parker Bodega bag with it. This outfit is my perfect work outfit. It's comfortable. I can walk everywhere. I can go to lunch. I can just be a very happy New Yorker in that.”
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Look 3: Heading to Lunch
Photo: Christina Stoever
“That’s a vintage Dolce [& Gabbana] jacket (I bought it 100 years ago) with vintage Levi's from Etsy and a tank. [The shoes are] Prada. I always like a bedazzled moment. [The bag is] an old Edie Parker printed tote that I love. It has an acrylic handle—a classic. It fits everything.”
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Look 4: Off to a Fashion Event
Photos: Christina Stoever
“The black and yellow dress is also old Celine. I like a long-sleeve dress. Those are the only new shoes that I've bought recently. I had Louboutin shoes on with that because they were rainbow and fun and chunky. I was going to Miami and I felt like I needed a Miami shoe. That's our Edie Parker slice bag. It has an acrylic banana handle with a nylon body. I obviously like my handbags to have some sort of conversational element. It's a good way to meet people.”
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Look 5: Post-Work Cocktails
Photo: Christina Stoever
“I bought this skirt this past year. It's Loewe, but I love it because it looks like an old Junya [Watanabe] skirt I sold and always regretted it. I'm obsessed with it and I've worn it to everything—Paris, my friend's birthday party. It's the kind of clothing piece that really makes me happy. That Mickey Mouse tee is vintage that I've literally had since high school and wear all the time. I had the sweatshirt too, and my daughter stole it from me. So I have to guard the T-shirt with my life. I'm also wearing old Celine orange shoes with that because again, I feel like once you look insane, you should just pile it on. This was a day look for me, but [I wore] it to cocktails.”
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Notes on Style:
How would you describe your sense of style?
“I would say it's both classic and eclectic. Most days, I'm in vintage Levi's and a solid sweater, or a T-shirt. But when I’m shopping, I'm buying the wackiest, weirdest things. Maybe that's hyperbolic, but [I'm buying] things that are vintage, things that feel really special. I have a uniform, but if I'm going to buy something it's going to make me happy.”
So you would call yourself a uniform person?
“I think so. If I really had to think about it, yes. Even though my closet is organized and I have more than my uniform in it, I'll look to wear a cute skirt, put on a cute dress, and then ultimately I go right down to my jeans.”
What factors do your ensembles need to satisfy your lifestyle?
“That's a great follow-up because as I'm saying this to you, I'm thinking that the reason that I ultimately go to my uniform is because I live in New York. I will walk from tip to top of the island of New York City. I walk through the park every day. I'm trying to get to school at least once a day to see a child and I'm walking there. Our office is downtown. I live uptown. I will walk there and that's an hour so ultimately my outfits have to look cute with sneakers or sometimes flat boots. I have a lot of skirts that I like that are knee- or calf-length, but I don't like how they look with sneakers so I end up not wearing them.”
Are there any designers or particular eras of vintage that really satisfy your aesthetic desires?
“I like embellishment. I like a sequin. I like a rhinestone. I like a feather. I think all that is fun with a sweatshirt, a T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. Women's magazines would have made you believe that going day to night was a real issue that was going to come up and so far it hasn't. But I feel like half of my clothes are very evening and then the rest are very casual daytime and I think I like [mixing them]. Every decade has that moment where some designer did a wacky collection or there's a disco moment or there are some embellishments. That's what I look to more than any specific designer or decade.”
In terms of your hair and beauty routine, what does that look like on a regular basis?
“Minimal, very natural. I have wavy hair so I do nothing to it. I just try to blow out the front so it's not insane. But I wear minimal makeup. I feel like I'm getting to an age where I could really step it up, but I don't do much.”
