LaTonya Yvette Staubs
Stylist and Writer
Brooklyn, New York
Tell us about this outfit.
I got the red dress for a couple of dollars at a thrift store. I usually wear it almost like a duster that buttons. I lean toward things that are dramatic, where you only need that thing and you can kind of understyle it. The shoes are probably Marc Fisher. The jewelry is all vintage or the kind of thing people sell on the street.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I like to be a different person every day. I’m always juggling different things like mom or writer or stylist. The fun thing about fashion and style is the ability to use it as art and become whoever you want to become.
How has motherhood changed your style?
Being a mom definitely plays a huge part in what I wear because I have to be comfortable. That doesn’t mean sweat pants and sneakers – comfort is being comfortable with myself.
Where do you seek out your fashion inspiration?
I people watch a lot. I’ll go to a park or sit on my stoop or even on the train. That’s the beauty of New York: I see different people from different places wearing different things every day.
How does being born and raised in Brooklyn affect your style?
Where we are from Brooklyn, we didn’t even go into the city. You just hung out in your neighborhood. People would put all this effort into their style. My mom would take hours getting dressed for the day. It was so fascinating and so beautiful, but everyone did it! That planted itself in my head. Whatever our life situation, I always had my clothes. That’s part of style for me, to be able to get dressed up not only as a creative act, but also almost as armor. It’s this insistence that I’m going to have joy in this every single day.
Snag LaTonya’s easygoing style with her simple, staple picks:
GIVE A DAMN T-SHIRT, $45, THEDEEPENDCLUB.COM
LIMITLESS HOOP EARRINGS, $54, ANTHROPOLOGIE.COM
GAIA’S ARK BAG IN THE NATURAL, $128-$138, CULTGAIA.COM
BRAIDED HIGH CLOGS IN WARM YELLOW, $209, SWEDISHHASBEENS.COM
CONVERSE BREAKPOINT OX METALLIC SNEAKERS, $69, ASOS.COM
BY MIRIAM MOSHER
PHOTOGRAPHED BY SEHER SIKANDAR
This article originally appeared in the August/September 2017 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!
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