3 Questions
An extended interview with Simon Doonan
Personally Stylish
As creative director for Barneys New York, Simon Doonan brings his wild and fashionable ideas to life. In Eccentric Glamour, his fourth book, the part-time Palm Beacher celebrates the quirky and fabulous, while offering advice to the challenged, all with his trademark sauciness.
Peter Serling, 2008
PBI: What inspired you to do this book?
DOONAN: We live in an era of transformation and makeovers, and I was becoming increasingly alarmed at what women were transforming themselves into. It’s time to remind women that the key to personal style is developing an individual voice. That little bit of eccentricity or idiosyncrasy sets you apart from other people and makes you memorable.
What do your clothes say about you?
My clothing tells you exactly what you’re gonna get—a fashion-obsessed, middle-aged homosexual who still thinks he’s living in mid-’60s Carnaby Street. I’m an open book.
Is fashion fun?
I think people do have fun with fashion. My theory is: If it doesn’t enhance your life in a positive, fun way, it’s just not worth the money. Designer clothes are expensive. You should be shrieking all the way out of the store after buying them and having a great time.
What advice can you offer about personal style?
If you’re having a crisis with your wardrobe, the best thing you can do is take your work clothes and give them to Goodwill. Then take your party clothes and special occasion things, and that’s what you wear. Like that nifty black dress for cocktails—wear it to work! Everyone loves a glamorous eccentric. When Iris Apfel walks into a room, everyone wants to see what she’s wearing. Glamorous eccentrics sort of light up the room.
What are some of your fun things?
Instead of wearing a suit, I often wear a velvet jacket by Thom Browne. I have them in different colors. And I wear them with a Liberty print shirt. These are very classically tailored pieces, but they’re done in very unusual fabrics.
Can fashion train wrecks be saved?
The people who are called train wrecks, I usually like what they are wearing. … Too much perfection is very off-putting. Some of these red-carpet celebs are so worried about what people are going to say about them that they’ve become monuments to perfection, and ultimately are not very endearing. The only thing I criticize is conformity and a lack of eccentricity. … Dressing down is a crime against humanity. Everything else, I’m kind of up for it.
What are celebs afraid of?
If you wear a nifty outfit, a Lacroix couture or Balenciaga, something interesting and new, you’re going to end up on that page in the tabloids where they make fun of you. We need more celebrities that don’t care, that are just happy to express themselves and don’t mind being called out in those pages. If I were a celebrity, I would take delight in ending up on that page.
How do you and partner Jonathan Adler spend your time here in Palm Beach?
It’s a nice balance between frantic working and socializing and plunging into the sea as often as possible.
