Laundry Room but Make it Fashion

Trying to find interesting places to create a fashion moment during this global health crisis has been particularly challenging, especially as a NYC fashion blogger. Finding the right headspace and mindset to CREATE has been difficult. It’s hard to feel creative and inspired when the world is so chaotic.

I received an announcement that Eloquii was releasing a rainbow collection for Pride, and I was so excited about this little ensemble! I’ve been really liking the idea of short-set suits lately, and this rainbow version seemed not only extremely me, but a great way to show my support for Pride. I love how the colors make an immediate punch, and decided right away that this was the perfect look to execute my laundry from shoot idea! I have been wanting to try a laundromat shoot ever since I saw the FW18 Balmain collection featuring the incredible model Duckie Thot, looking fierce and beyond fabulous at a laundromat. I’ve been looking for a way to pay homage to this incredible shoot, but I haven’t been able to find the best way to do it. I got this fabulous rainbow suit right away, and then when I couldn’t figure out how to style it, promptly sunk back into my quarantine coma.

One of my original NYC requirements was an in-unit washer dryer. It’s one of those things that we DC-apartment dwellers radically take for granted. I haven’t had a communal laundry room since I was in college, and after one rude discovery of a boy removing my underwear from the dryer (the timer had beeped literally 5 minutes beforehand), I never used the dorm laundry again. (I would save my laundry up to take home from UMD to NJ, and when I ran out of clean underpants I would simply purchase more). Yes. I’m bougie like that. With NYC apartment hunting, I quickly learned that you need to SIGNIFICANTLY pare down your requirements and start pushing them into the “would be nice” pile. We ended up in a beautiful apartment, but with a communal laundry room. I have been terrified to try to do a photoshoot up there, because, new neighbors, do I want to be the crazy girl taking photos in the laundry room while it is jam packed? Settling in, I have learned that the laundry room is rarely used, so I just needed to find the right time to make use of it.

Having been locked down for quite some time, with very little to do (I’m a meeting and event planner, so COVID has essentially put my entire industry on pause), I spent a great deal of time watching Netflix and simply existing. After a few months of doing exceedingly little, I happened to purchase the most delicious pair of Jeffrey Campbell embellished heels and suddenly remembered my rainbow Eloquii suit that had been waiting for me to find the right pair of shoes. Eureka! Inspiration suddenly struck. It’s so nice to finally feel motivated, so I glammed up, carted my ring light upstairs, went back for an extension chord, lol, and thrust a camera into Nate’s hands. WE RIDE AGAIN. He is not thrilled being back in the saddle as a husband of Instagram, but we had a lot of fun creating this shoot.

PROTIP: If you climb into a laundry cart, just understand that you potentially could get stuck. I’m not SAYING that it happened to me, cough cough, but just that it is a very real possibility. Also, if your building has cameras in the laundry room, you may get some very odd stares from your doormen following said photo shoot, and particularly following said getting stuck in a laundry cart. Who’s a glamorous NYC fashion blogger? THIS GIRL.

I hope you are all able to find the ability to do something creative and fun. I’m so glad I was able to find my inspiration and put this together! I may not be Duckie Thot, but I hope I paid a solid homage to her brilliance!

Xoxo, Mary

Outfit Details:

Shorts: Eloquii

Blazer: Eloquii

Top: Petersyn (Similar)

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Bag: Balenciaga

Headband: Lele Sadoughi

Earrings: Loren Hope

Necklace: Loren Hope (older)