"I'm a Fashion Editor, but...": 6 Style Confessions from the Pros

published 23 March 2016

I hate wearing color.

"I try and try to wear bright colors, prints, and florals but never go through with it. All my friends encourage me to as well, but I just can't do it! It's funny too because I love to style with colors and prints but I never wear them myself." —Brittany Kozerski, senior market editor

It still takes me forever to get dressed in the morning.

"Implicit in being a fashion editor is being able to immediately see which pieces go together well and which don't, right? NOT SO. I think because I see too many options (oh, the possibilities!), I'm forever indecisive. Which means whether it's getting out the door in the morning, dressing for a weekend brunch date, or going out at night, I need to leave myself at least an hour just for settling on an outfit. Sometimes choosing a bag is a 20-minute ordeal in itself! What is wrong with me?! If I had that pared-down, perfectly curated closet I and so many other fashion editors I know dream about—trust me, despite what it looks like, most editors believe less is more rather than more is more—maybe things would be easier? Here's hoping!" —Carolina O'Neill, fashion writer

There are certain trends I refuse to get behind.

"While I'm a firm believer that adding shoes, bags, or jewelry to any outfit makes it feel current and intentional, part of having great style is knowing when not to force a trend that would look unnatural/awkward on you and just waiting for that fashion moment to pass. Which it always does. Like, I'm still going to wear ballet flats even if they're 'out' because they'll be back in within a year. But if you'd told me three years ago I'd be living in Vans and Supergas, I wouldn't have believed you." —Lauren Bernstein, senior editor of branded content

My closet is severely underdeveloped.

"Anyone got a Kalteen bar? Asking for my closet, which, as I anonymously confessed here, is so random and heavy on the weird and uncooperative/light on the basics and classics that I frequently have nothing to wear because everything's too memorable. Life would be so much easier if I were a minimalist Scandinavian." —Chelsea Peng, assistant editor

I hate shopping!

"I don't know if it's because we see everything seasons ahead, but I can't focus when I shop and end up just getting annoyed and not buying a thing. I dread going to Soho!" —Adrienne Faurote, fashion assistant

I don't know how to match my clothes.

"I come from a corporate background, so I wanted to mix things up since I'm in the fashion industry now. (I'm in my second week at MC.) After getting some polite 'what is she wearing?' looks from my new colleagues, I noticed that my OOTD did *not* match at all. Talk about a fashion disaster. This week I got it together. I think." —Tiffany Lackey, fashion assistant

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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.