Instagram’s best-dressed have one thing in common: they each have a signature style item that they wear more often and better than anyone else. For one person, it could be a string bikini, worn on and off the beach. For another, it’s a standout hat or expertly layered jewelry. Whatever the piece may be, it’s their thing. With our column My Thing, we’re talking with those same experts about that one specific item they have made into their signature — and style unlike anyone else.
The ‘70s brought many trends that still swing today. Think: corduroy, high-waisted jeans, platforms, and arm jewelry. But while some jump on these fads for a season, for 20-year-old FIT student Brianna Jones, these are staples for her everyday look. From halter tops and gold-circle chain belts to oversized eyewear, Jones has fully embraced the decade with her retro style.
“I grew up watching Soul Train on YouTube, and I was so obsessed with it,” she tells Refinery29. So much so that last summer, she rounded up her closest friends to put together their own Soul Train-esque video for which the group showed up and showed out in their best groovy attire.
But while her style ranges from disco queen to Pam Grier-inspired — “I’m really into Blaxploitation films and the ‘70s in general,” she says — no outfit is complete without her afro. Whether she’s rocking her blonde wig (her alter ego “Coco Jones”) or her natural hair, it’s all about serving bad mama jama vibes.
“I [used to] always wear braids. I told myself I need to be comfortable wearing my afro because, hello, this is me. God made me like this, and people need to see it," she says. "The more I dressed up in '70s fashion, the more confident I felt in my afro.” Now she’s helping others do the same. “I saw you rocking your afro, and I decided to take my afro out,” is a common DM she gets from her 11,200 followers.
Naturally, she sources her looks, that range from brightly colored knitted vests to genuine '70s leather blazers, from vintage stores. From a young age, Jones’ mom introduced her to thrifting. Back then, the Brooklyn-based creative hated wearing “old and recycled” clothing but her perspective changed as she got older: “Going to the thrift store gives you the opportunity to make a whole life. You can wear one shirt one day and be a totally different person the next. It’s pretty cool and sustainable.” When she can’t find exactly what she wants, she uses her sewing skills to customize other clothes.
Now that she has her '70s style down, she is not looking to change her wardrobe anytime soon: “If you ever see me wearing skinny jeans instead of bell-bottoms just know the world is ending or it’s laundry week.”
Ahead, see how Jones styles her funky wardrobe.
‘70s styling 101: a short-sleeved top and flare jeans always make for a retro look.
Vibrant prints to quench your disco fever.
This halter top is serving Diana Ross in Mahogany.
Accessorize. And then accessorize again.This one-shoulder ring top and matching velour pants set are all you need for a night out.
Where’s the sign-up sheet to join this nifty group?
It’s the arm cuffs for us.
If Studio 54 were around today.
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When it comes to outerwear trends, one could say 2021 was the year of the shacket — and, apparently, the hybrid garment isn’t going anywhere as long as the Y2K aesthetic rages (against the machine) onwards into 2022. Part ’90s grunge and part “stole this from my ex” vibe, the shacket is the upper-body layer that works on its own as a slouchy button-up or as a mid-layer for these lingering winter days. And, if you’re going to invest in one shacket for the eventual transition into spring, you may as well make it the ultra best-selling FP One Scout Jacket from Free People.
The stats on this unassuming cult fave are astounding: A Free People rep told us the Scout Jacket sold out completely the first day it went live on the site, and since last year, it’s been restocked 26 times. It’s pulled in an impressive 4.4 out of 5 stars from a total of 230 reviews, including testimonials like, “I just ordered my third one! I love, love this jacket. It’s soft and goes with anything. You can dress it up or dress it down! It’s worth every penny” and “literally my favorite, go-to top! I wear over tshirts with leggings, I layer it over a dress, pair it with jeans, you can seriously dress it up or down. RESTOCK the color Azalea pleaseeeeeee, FP!!!!!!! <333.”
What’s in the topper’s secret sauce, you ask? Well, perhaps it’s the lived-in raw-hem look or the DIY vibe of the hand-dyed hues. Or maybe it’s the allover waffle-y texture or that coveted, insouciant fit, thanks to the dropped back hem. (The Scout Jacket is so oversized that nearly all reviews recommend you size down). All we know is that a perfect storm’s a-brewing. The icing on the cool-girl cake is the effortless Gigi Hadid pairing the laid-back top with sweatpants and a bucket hat, chic-ifying what could be considered a run-of-the-mill WFH outfit. (Though in Hadid’s work-from-Italy case, she wore this cozy number straight to the Milan airport last fall.)
I have three of these shirts and I’m waiting for a fourth to get here. Whenever they are dirty, I am lost and uninspired to wear anything else.
aamorrel, freepeople.com reviewer
Right now, the Scout Jacket is currently back in stock and available in 7 colors in limited sizes XS to XL — though it appears that some colors are already on their way to sell-out status again, so hurry and snag your top pick ASAP. Whether you wear this loosely buttoned-up over shorts for spring or pair it with your fave sweatpants for a staying-in weekend, we’re confident you’ll find myriad ways to style the slouchy layer — but, like, in a way that’s totally casual and understated.
You never want something until you can’t have it. So, each week in The Sell-Out, we’re getting the scoop from your favorite retailers on what’s selling like crazy. Watch this space to find out what everyone’s buying, sign up for waitlists, and keep tabs on restocks.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy or click on something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
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Anna Sorokin — better known as “Anna Delvey” — made half of New York City think she was a German billionaire heiress by dressing up in Alaïa dresses and Celine sunglasses. Elizabeth Holmes modeled her style after Steve Jobs to charm investors, politicians, and technocrats into believing she could revolutionize the healthcare industry. Even as society can see through these famous grifters — and their crimes — years later, it’s still tempting to admire their style. After all, it takes a lot of work to dress the part.
“It is like putting on a costume, particularly for female con artists,” says journalist Jessica Pressler, who wrote the New York Magazine articles that inspired the Netflix series Inventing Anna, of which she is also a producer, and the 2019 movie Hustlers, starring Jennifer Lopez.
“Women are judged to such a huge extent by our exteriors; what you wear is kind of who you are and the details matter,” she says. As a firsthand witness of these personas, Pressler says that “the clothes were their act.”
The key to a successful scam lies in how much a grifter can get others to take them seriously. That often leads to parallels between the ways high-profile scammers get dressed. For example, Pressler says that both Sorokin and the Hustlers women often wore black to up their credibility: “Anna would tend to wear these black little baby doll dresses by Alaïa, and with the Hustlers girls, it was the same; they said they had to tone it down on their dates and that’s why they wore black.”
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes also capitalized on black to transform herself from Stanford University dropout to Silicon Valley entrepreneur. “The fact that she felt like she wouldn’t be taken seriously really pushed Elizabeth to kind of mimic Steve Jobs’ turtleneck and it was truly to appear like she had no time to focus on shopping but rather Theranos and its success,” says Claire Parkinson, the costume designer for the upcoming Hulu series The Dropout, out on March 3, based on Holmes’ story.
Parkinson used Holmes’ uniform as a starting point for her work on the series. “The first thing I did with Amanda Seyfried in our fitting was try on the black turtleneck, so she could feel like she knew who the character was becoming,” she recalls.
To highlight Holmes’ evolution, Parkinson created a sharp contrast between the character’s college uniform and her CEO persona, diving into Y2K fashion that was not particularly stylish, including Abercrombie and American Eagle hoodies, for the early years, and later, sourcing designer garments from The RealReal for Holmes’ pre-turtleneck years.
“Within the script and the story, there is a time where she is getting more successful with Theranos and she meets a character, who’s a real person and a designer for the first Apple iPhone, and she really was kind of this catalyst to Elizabeth to take her wardrobe seriously,” says Parkinson. The costume designer used this moment in the series to establish the transformation of Holmes’ character.
For Lyn Paolo, the costume designer for Inventing Anna, the transformation happened in reverse, as audiences first meet Anna in her glory days — scamming New York City’s elite and her not-so-loaded group of friends out of thousands of dollars, allegedly to start an arts foundation and fund her lavish lifestyle — and later, learn how her house of cards fell, landing her in prison. Viewers get to see Sorokin shapeshift from her glitzy persona into an innocent-looking young woman with sober-toned dresses and black choker necklace in the courtroom during her 2019 trial. “People thought of Anna as an amazing fashionista,” says Paolo, who also worked on Scandal. “The coverage she got, even for what she wore in court, was fascinating.”
“What’s fascinating in the show is that you get to see like 10 different Annas based on different people’s stories,” Paolo adds. “Because she isolated herself with a group of friends each time, they all thought it was something new and fresh, but we see her wearing the same things over and over.”
It’s this consistency, says Pressler, that allows scammers like Sorokin and Holmes to distract people from their actions. “They understood that there were certain different kinds of people that dress a certain way, and that’s a really intelligent move,” she adds.
Dressing the part can also make you look like you belong. Kari Ferrell, also known as “the hipster grifter,” represents another example of this approach. In the late 2000s, Ferrell preyed upon Williamsburg’s skinny jean-clad hipsters, scamming them out of their money and lying her way into a job at Vice. (Vice Media Group is Refinery29’s parent company.) She got the part because she already looked she belonged. Years after The Observer’s Doree Shafrir wrote about her grift, Ferrell’s distinctive look remained a popular Halloween costume in New York City’s party scene. All it required was a fake chest tattoo, a pair of American Apparel leggings, rectangle-shaped black glasses, and a tube top.
A similar case happened in the mid-2010s when Elizabeth Holmes became an icon of the girlboss generation. In 2015, she received the “Entrepreneur of the Year” prize at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards, wearing an all-black two-piece suit with matching pumps. That same year, she appeared on the covers of The New York Times Style Magazine, Inc., and Forbes clad in a similar suit, paired with her signature black turtleneck.
“She was clearly a mimic,” says Parkinson, referring to her style’s similarity to that of other powerful female entrepreneurs of the era, including Nasty Gal’s Sophia Amoruso, Glossier’s Emily Weiss, and The Wing’s Audrey Gelman. Holmes was able to climb to Forbes’ list thanks largely to the persona she built — one she constructed in part on the basis of a closet full of 100 turtlenecks.
While Holmes, Sorokin, and Ferrell committed real-life fraud and have all been found guilty, Pressler says their scamming uniforms reveal a larger reality about our culture in general. “It’s not just them; we’re all doing this,” she says, referring to the ways people create personas through style. “Everybody is kind of dressing the part — they were just dressing for the jobs they wanted.”
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