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I first fell for writer and brand strategist Erika Veurink when I stumbled upon her funny, opinionated Instagram reels about style. “Would someone in a J.Crew catalogue in the year 1993 wear this?” she has famously asked. “If the answer is no, don’t put it on.” Her affect is hilariously deadpan, yet she’s an utter delight. I also hope to one day love anything as much as she loves button-downs. Here, Erika shares five outfits she wore in a week…
Shirt: Frank & Eileen. Sweater: babaà. Shorts: made from Erika’s wedding dress. Bag: grocery store in Paris. Shoes: Sperry. Bracelet: Dorsey. Pointer finger ring: Silent Opus. Wedding rings: Ceremony and Spur Jewelry.
“These shorts were made with leftover material from my wedding dress — you can see the lace detail at the bottom. My wedding dress was from eBay but I reworked it with Bode, a tailor shop on the Lower East Side; and then they made these shorts. I always love wearing them.”
“I found this bag seven years ago at a grocer in Paris — one of those little shops that has cloth napkins and canned beans. They had a stack of baskets outside, so I grabbed one.”
Dress: Local Woman. Shirt and bag: vintage. Shoes: Rothy’s.
“I’m 6’2″, so I’ve always had a tough time finding clothes. When I was younger, I shopped in the boys’ section, since that was my style and the clothes fit me – and I got made fun of. Now it feels like poetic justice to be a grown up who still wears boys’ clothes but people aren’t mean to me anymore! My friend sent me a link to this soccer jersey; I love stripes, and this felt like a new way to wear them.”
“Strangers talk to me about my height four or five times a week. ‘Do you play basketball?’ ‘Do you model?’ ‘How tall are you?’ I’ll be at a thrift store in Delaware, and someone will just walk up and say, ‘Wow, you’re so tall.’ For a while, especially when I was a teenager, it was like, Don’t f*cking look at me! It bothers me less now — I’ve become more eye-roll-y than angry — but my message to the world would be, don’t talk about other people’s bodies. That’s probably a good place to start.”
“Rothy’s black flats are my most-worn shoe. They work with all my outfits, and I can walk 15,000 steps. With shoes, I’m comfort over everything else — I feel like that’s a New York thing. And I love that you can throw them in the washing machine.”
Shirt: Argent. Pants: vintage. Hat: The Odeon. Hoops: Rowan. Bag: Margot. Shoes: Salomon.
“I can’t buy jeans off the rack, ever. I have a 36″ inseam. Even a ‘tall’ jean is usually only a 32″. I found these vintage pants for $3 — they had an unfinished hem, which is a real tip for the tall girls. Search for ‘unfinished hem’ on eBay, or look for the longest pants sticking out at the bottom of the rack at a thrift store. Often they’ll be like a 40″ hem, so you can bring them to a tailor to get them hemmed.”
“I love restaurant merch. This hat is from Odeon four years ago, so it’s nicely broken in. And my bag is from the Fort Greene restaurant Margot, which is whatever you need it to be. I’ve had some insane gossip sessions at their cozy bar, and I’ve thrown dinner parties upstairs, which feels like a living room, and I’ve gone on date nights with my husband, where it feels sexy and Scandi. I’m also wearing Salomon sneakers, which are so comfortable. I’m a little late to the party but happy to be here.”
Dress: Chava. Bracelet: Dorsey. Boots: Naturalizer, similar. Bag: Mark Cross.
“For style icons, Jenna Lyons meant so much to me when I was growing up, because she was tall and worked at J.Crew, a brand I could afford and find in Iowa. Some of her outfits are seared into my brain forever. I love Katharine Hepburn for a cool, irreverent menswear look. And I copy Paul Newman’s and Tom Selleck’s outfits all the time because we have similar frames.”
“My dad died when I was 15. I was so sad and destabilized, but I realized I could go to Goodwill and try on anything and be anyone. Fashion brought me great comfort. After that, I was like, I have to go to New York and work in fashion.”
“I got these boots for $15 from eBay, but they’re actually Naturalizer. I wore them to my first fashion week show ever. I was very nervous because I knew everyone else would be wearing designer. But then someone took a street-style photo of me, and I was so chuffed that these little Naturalizer boots from eBay made it at fashion week.”
Shirt: J.Crew, similar. Shorts: vintage. Sunglasses: Ookioh. Purse: Parker Thatch, similar. Shoes: G.H.Bass. Socks: Adidas.
“This is a deeply, deeply EV outfit: a colorful nylon short with a button-down. My younger brother and I bought these matching J. Crew shirts when I was a senior in high school, right before I left for New York. We found them on sale for $30. I was like, these are our we’ll-always-be-together shirts, and it’s still one of my favorites.”
“I love a retro gym class everything, so I found these Adidas socks and wear them all the time with sneakers. They come in a three pack.”
“I have this feeling or doctrine that personal style should become a little bit boring. Mastery comes through repetition. We’re so used to consuming all the time, and seeing TikTokers wear these wild outfits. But when you find what works for you, there’s almost this deep breath, like I don’t have to discover anything else. It’s a relief and it should be.”
Thank you, Erika! We adore you. Follow her on Instagram or Substack, if you’d like.
P.S. More women share their weeks of outfits, including a pastor and book editor.
(Photos by Yumi Matsuo for Cup of Jo.)
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