Cintra Wilson Goes Shopping: Light Under A Bushel Edition

Tomorrow's Thursday Styles sends Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson to Marni's new Upper East Side outpost, which is kind of like sending an ardent steak-lover to review a vegan raw food restaurant.
Of course, nobody is more aware of the incongruity than La Cintra herself, who describes her own personal style as "undead Moscow hooker". Remember, this is the woman who nearly became unhinged upon visiting the Dolce & Gabbana boutique.
Ever the sophisticate,however, our shopper understands the appeal of a wardrobe with a lower va-va-voom factor, citing Anne Hathaway as a Marni fan. Still, she remains uncharmed by designer Consuelo Castiglioni's latest efforts:

It would very difficult to make Anne Hathaway look unpretty, but Marni’s fall collection is ready to meet this challenge head-on. The runway looks are just starting to arrive, and, this season, Ms. Castiglioni seems to be reveling in the weird glitz-modern of early-1970s square: wonky plaids in lurid, oversaturated green; strange neck-concealing dickeys. My first thought: “First Lady Jan Brady.”

Ouch. Even better,

If Jackie Chan was in a screwball fight sequence that took place in a wealthy retirement community and he jumped down a Salvation Army donation chute, this is the stuff he would fly out wearing. It’s senile-fabulous: sporty, loud, intentionally clashing and slightly clownish. Much of it can and should be accessorized with white golf shoes and a Phyllis Diller wig.

Just when it seems that Marni is about to crumble under Cintra's scrutiny, she finds the boutique's saving grace, the shoes, "uncompromising craziness and all the raw sex that is sublimated in the clothing", and Marni escapes with only a few scratches.
Critical Shopper | Marni: That Sexy Stuff Won’t Fly Here By Cintra Wilson (NYTimes)
Marni 21 East 67th Street

Comments

[editor]

i love marni, and i think cintra's review actually helped crystalize why (don't think that's sad; it's not).
but i also looooooooooved cintra's writing.