‘I don’t think I wore crochet at Coachella once,’ laughs Natalie Suarez – the NYC super-blogger and model behind Natalie Off Duty when we catch up with her for a chat about her grunge-infused bohemian aesthetic. At the centre of a very stylish network – boyfriend, Jordan Adoni co-founded the shoe line Modern Vice, whilst her sister, Dylana, also has her own successful blog – Natalie describes her style as ‘eclectic’.
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‘I guess I do give off a bohemian vibe, but my style is a mix,’ Natalie notes. ‘I hate to follow trends, so I guess I’ve been pretty rebellious to that whole minimalist sports luxe look that everyone seems to be doing. I like to live life in bright colours!’ she says. ‘True style to me is Mick Jagger and Keith Richards – they had killer rock-’n’-roll style, so eclectic, colourful, and I love how their clothes were lived in – Janis Joplin with the crazy rose-coloured sunglasses and long messy hair, Jane Birkin for her super simple looks. I try and be a bit of all of them.’
For this week's Debrief Dissects, let's see how Natalie does just that.
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Find your unique accessory
‘I have about 20 different hats. I just love a hat as a fun, easy accessory. I’m known for my vintage wide brim – it’s rounded and it’s honestly so hard to find anything similar.’
Appreciate a game-changing lipstick
If you’re going to rock a high octane wardrobe with tons of jewellery, it’s best to get your beauty looks down to pay – and possibly avoid any mad coloured eyeshadows, too. Natalie knows the science of this all too well. ‘I’m into either a nice matte red lip and a clean face, or a swipe of black liner and a rosy lip. Simple.’
Look to printed, wide cut trousers this Autumm
We were already a fan of the tartan (NB: tartan = plaid in America) palazzo pant – just ask blogger Tine, or check out of our recent lunchtime buy – and as Natalie’s show, they elevate an otherwise pretty standard look: white jumper, black leather jacket and skate shoes. ‘Plaid defines fall! I love it – and I love mixing different kinds of plaids, too. I have two pairs of plaid trousers that I wear constantly.’
Coachella has not killed fringe. OK?
‘I love fringe and crochet, but I go for quality, vintage pieces. I love vintage shopping and regularly hit up What Goes Around Comes Around for luxe vintage exploring.’ Great for fringe, crochet and ’70s-by-way-of-’90s flares is Free People – who have opened a bricks-and-mortar store in London today and are also available online. Natalie’s a huge fan of FP, having worked with them ‘for a long time. I started modelling for them years ago and continiuing to work with them throughout my career.’
Clash your colours. Hard.
A tomato red paisley and star-print blouse with burnt orange crushed velvet lace-up shorts is not for the faint hearted – but it’s a riotously brilliant outfit. Try a bright paisley blouse with some lace-up shorts – and keep one eye on the vintage section for anything burnt orange.
Shoes are the corner-stone of an outfit – amirite?
Lucky for Natalie that her boyfriend's a shoe dude then, huh? ‘I’ve worked with Modern Vice for about two years co-designing the JETT collection of over 15 styles with my boyfriend and sister. I love wearing his shoes. They just feel good and they go with everything I wear.’ Some block heel loafers are softened with a polkadot dress and ankle socks, but we’ve really got out eye on that Jeff Koons x H&M handbag, which came out earlier this year – but, sadly, only in the US.
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Pictures: Natalieoffduty.com
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.