Photography Hedi Stanton
Styling Chelsea Zalopany
Story by Coco Gordon Moore
On Kayako: HOMMEGIRLS wool knit zip front hoodie; LORO PIANA shearling coat; DIESEL nylon bomber jacket and canvas pants.
ALAÏA nylon hooded bodysuit, lace skirt and wedge ankle boots.
I started watching Laguna Beach for the first time the other day. There’s an episode in season one where all the teens go to a Blink-182 concert. Lauren “LC” and her BFF Lo are the first to arrive at the show. They both wear black spaghetti strap dresses. They are looking “chic.” Kristin (the frenemy) and Stephen (the center of the love triangle between LC and Kristin) show up to the concert. Both in zip-up hoodies. Kristin pairs her hoodie with short shorts and Stephen with jeans. It’s 2004.
SAINT LAURENT by Anthony Vaccarello cotton top.
It’s 2004 and my lips are red and chapped. I’m smiling for a photo during “show and tell”.. I am wearing my dad’s very large navy blue hoodie with Gap bootcut jeans. The hoodie swallows me but doesn’t overpower me — just like any good hoodie should.
BALENCIAGA layered tracksuit jacket; MIU MIU shoes
I’m in 4th grade. I feel cool. I am not hot. It’s 4th grade but the feeling of wanting to be wanted, to be desired, to be attractive begins to creep in.
BURBERRY swan print top, check wool kilt, check wool pants and suede & shearling mules; HIGH SPORT hooded sweater; SANDY LIANG balaclava.
In a few years the hoodie will be sexy. From middle school onward it will be the mark of a cool girl. A girl walking around barefoot on Martha’s Vineyard. A girl who can hang with boys. For me the hoodie ended up being a cave, a place I could hide in. A shield.
HERMÈS BEAUTY Rouge Hermès Limited Edition Shiny lipstick in rouge abysse.
“Kristin wore, like, her PJ’s” says Lo to LC as Kristin and Stephen approach their seats that accidentally happen to be located next to the two girls (thank you MTV producers). The truth is Kristin’s hoodie and shorts outfit seems more appropriate for a Blink-182 concert than the black spaghetti strap dresses. Kristin wants to be cozy and comfy. But more importantly she looks good. She’s effortless. In choosing this casual outfit Kristin actually made her and Stephen’s outfits compliment each other. This ultimately made LC (and Lo by extension) upset. It wasn’t the hoodies’ fault or that they thought Kristin looked bad, it was that she had confidence in her chill comfy outfit and that the dream boy liked it.
FERRAGAMO cropped hoodie jacket, bodysuit and boots.
Sidenote: Whoever is not wearing a hoodie is jealous of the person who is.
PROENZA SCHOULER bouclé hoodie; stylist’s own tights; LORO PIANA lambskin ballet flat.
Ironically, LC is the one who is known as the fashionista in the group. On Laguna Beach, she gets taken to a fashion show, her friend Trey enlists her help for his own fashion show, she is the fashion friend. But all I see her wear is black dresses. Which is of course a classic of its own, but as I watch the show I think about how Kristin’s more girlish laid back looks could easily beseen on the street today. Her style never goes out of style.
SKY HIGH FARM construction graphic hoodie and vintage workwear jacket.
There have been times in my life where I have tried to make cute little dresses, all black sacks and minis my look. But all it ended up being was long legs and long arms jutting out of some weird outfit I bought from Urban Outfitters 2008. I always came back to the hoodie. I own an overflowing pile of them. My altar. There is security in a hoodie. There is an iconic look to a hoodie. Rockstars on tour, off-duty actors in Us Magazine, teens skating, teens depressed, Rihanna anytime she wears a hoodie. A hoodie is my cave and comfort. It’s when I feel the most sane, sexy and equally unwell.
COURRÈGES fleece hoodie, twill bootcut pants and vegan nappa leather boot
It’s odd that Kristin is expected to be done up for the Blink-182 concert. I mean I guess it is Laguna Beach, and rich kids and 2004. God, what I would do to be a California teenager in 2004. Bonfire on the beach, warm ocean breeze, hood up, sulking.
MIU MIU top, coat, jacket, shorts, belt and shoes.
November 2023