I took the style test challenge, and won.

but then, that all depends on how one defines winning…..

Here’s what I love about being an individual. You and I are free to do and like different things.

So no judgement here with what I’m going to share. This simply “is what it is”, to me. If you feel the same, you feel the same. If you don’t, you don’t. And if you were on the fence, you now have more perspective - or intelligence - depending on how you look at things.

I’ll layout what I’m going to share by taking you through my rabbit hole - basically my version of deductive thinking:

I just returned from Austin Texas, and was reminded again how much I love Allen Boots ((here). I love it that when you’re checking out and you’re asked who helped you, they point to a board behind the register with their employees pictures on it. And you’re forgiven if you don’t recognize the sales associate, because odds are the picture is from the 80s when they first started working there. What I love about Allen’s is there “fuck it we’ll just say it” attitude, with signage outside on their windows reminding the customer who professes “I love Austin because it’s weird and authentically Austin” that the brands to their left and to their right are anything but weird and authentic - at least by their form of measurement.

And it made me think……

When I was shopping at Allen, I was determined to buy something. And I was wondering how it would stand up to a “taste test.” I mean, had you blacked out the labels and given me the super well priced VC Dollar branded boot on the right, would I have believed it to be the same or better???

And it reminded me of…..

The 1980’s, the Pepsi taste test challenge. A blind taste test where Pepsi confirmed that people did indeed prefer their taste over Coke. As a result, Coke “realized” that people preferred the sweeter taste of Pepsi. And they launched “new Coke” as a result. And it failed - so hard it’s a case study for marketers. The lesson? People weren’t buying Coke blindfolded. Their eyes were open, and it was always about much more than just the sugar count and Coca-Cola learned that the hard way.

And it made me think, what is a boot? The leather, the design, the quality. For certain. But at some point, many of those things get very close - if this were statistics we’d say that the difference is materially insignificant. And that may be. But what is significant, TO ME, are the other factors. Because when I put on the Allen boot, I’m putting on the family that created it, the pictures behind the check out counter, the lore that can not be generated by a social media agency crafting heritage from scratch. All of this informs how something “tastes.” In fact, I think it answers the very question “do you have good taste?” In this respect, I think my taste is excellent.

Take my necklace here…

Can you guess where it’s from? Jil Sander? A dupe from COS? A super-duper-dupe from SHEIN? Or from a woman in Cabo, Mexico? Every time I wear this necklace I love it. Yes, it’s beautiful- I was drawn to it, that was the must. But the “tangible intangibles”, that woman who sold it to me, that weekend of sun with my husband, are what make this impossible to put to a blind taste test.

Funny thing….

It’s also why I loved the country song I heard the other day ——- until I learned it was AI generated. Once I knew this, my love turned to hate (yes, a strong word, but it’s kind of apt). Instead of hearing a deft hand at playing, a passion for communicating words and meaning, and an image of someone plying away at their craft, I just heard the tones of someone tapping a keyboard with prompts like “make it sound like Chris Stapleton with a mix of Chris Isaac’s….”

Life is not a blind taste test.

Things physically feel better, sound better, taste better when you know the story behind them. The idea that you’ve been “influenced” is not a dirty word, in this respect. I fell in love this past week at Jacques Marie Mage’s (here) new store in Austin. The associates in their slim black blazers and cowboy hats, the custom boots that adorned the walls, the preciseness of elevating the best of Texas but imbibing it with their unique California/Parisian point of view. I didn’t need a new pair of sunglasses, but I wasn’t leaving without the ones I selected from Jose- who looked straight out of Landman but hardly in costume. In a blind taste test, I’d like to think I would have still chosen the ones I did. Sure. But would it have assured me the experience and personal warmth I feel with each wear? Hardly.

The through line for what it means to seek the real isn’t gate kept in the guardrails of high price points. I double down here, human is the new luxury. In who makes it, or who sells it. Which is why I appreciate my designer earrings I just purchased - but from Sherri McMullen, (here)not from a giant vendor on line, and certainly not by a duper. I wore them for New Year’s Eve. I also googled “vintage cluster 1980s earrings” and found some amazing ones on eBay by individual vintage sellers - more humans.

Happy New Year, I give my self 2 more days to sign off like this. Then upward and onward.