034: ANNA THEROUX LING
lives in trucker hats and utilitarian basics.
Hi and welcome to this week’s Habiter. First, a big thank you to Erika for including me in a round-up of her favorite fashion substacks this week. I believe this is Habiter’s first mention on TikTok, and I feel like I’ve been splashed by the fountain of youth. Welcome, new subscribers! And if you haven’t already, you should check out Erika’s substack, Long Live. I spoke to her back in October about my little Cartier watch.
The shopping-related thoughts rolling around in my brain right now primarily have to do with bits and bobs that will get me through the impending cold. Recently, I gave myself permission to dislike the ubiquitous winter beanie (on myself, to be clear) so I’m pondering warm hats that feel more me and, ideally, work better with my curly hair. I like the idea of a furry or shearling hat. This one, or this one, would suit my personal taste, and I am drooling over this one from Toteme. I am also into forgoing a hat altogether and replacing it with a babushka-style wrapped scarf, ideally paired with chic sunglasses like these.
South of the head, and as an addendum to my last newsletter on going-out wear, I am thinking about soft, semi-sheer knits as a winter layering piece that will work well for evening and day. This one from Auralee is a strong option. So is this from Helmut Lang. Cos has a nice turtleneck right now too, less sheer than the others, and I like this one from AGolde.
For this week’s feature I spoke to my sweet friend, Anna Theroux Ling, about her wardrobe go-tos. Anna, who was born and raised in Japan, has a career trajectory typical of New York. She began as a prop stylist, before transitioning into modeling and art direction. In 2020 she founded Maruchi, a creative agency and community platform that connects multidisciplinary creatives with meaningful projects. I love Anna’s down-to-earth, fun, and functional personal style and I think you will too. Excerpts of our conversation below.
AL: I've been living in New York for 7 years now. I'm the creative director of Maruchi. I've come to this point via a very windy road. In the beginning of my career I was working on sets, doing set design, and being very active. So my utilitarian influence came from there, because I was actually using those clothes for that purpose. It’s comfortable. I also like that it's kind of genderless. And living in Brooklyn has a big influence (on my style). Everyone's dressed quite casually, but still intentionally. So (workwear) is a good basic, basic layer for me.
I'm still pretty active, in terms of being on the go. I still love being on set and getting down and dirty, but now that I’m modeling too, incorporating trends has become a part of my job. I still want to feel like myself, so I’m building on top of the utilitarian clothes and then adding a few trendy bits. Keeping it quite gender neutral is kind of my comfort zone. I love the balance of being feminine, but also masculine. I think that just comes with being in New York, and being an entrepreneurial type of person. I like to feel strong.
CH: Do you shop often or not very much?
AL: I love thrifting. I think thrifting is the key for building a more unique look on top of a good, solid base, which I find at places like Uniqlo or even the actual workwear shops. And then obviously good denim. I have a bunch of denim that my aunt gave me. She has a “jeans chest,” that's what she calls it, and it's literally decades worth of jeans from pre-pregnancy to post, from the 1970s to the 1990s. And I fit in her sizes, so I have a lot of cool pieces from there. If I am searching online for thrift, I like to search the designers of that time period and hunt from there. It's inspirational looking through the original designs that were popular at the time, doing a little bit of research.
CH: Where do you like to buy workwear clothes from?
AL: There's a local shop called Pops. Have you heard of that?
CH: No. What's it called?
AL: Pops, it’s a family run business in Greenpoint. They have all the Dickies and stuff, but they also have their own merch, which is kind of iconic. And then obviously Dave's is great. I also have a lot of Stussy, which was not intentional, but I would say they're very workwear-heavy in their designs and also have a unisex vibe. A lot of Uniqlo from the men's department and where else? I even have a thrifted Fire Department sweater. It's basically a black, collared, quarter-zip, and the collar is neon. I've had that for years. For the most part, it's all thrifted.
CH: Where do you like to thrift? Online? In New York?
AL: I cruise on Depop a lot. I think it's quite fun. And I did get a lot of my pieces from Japan.
CH: You’re from Japan, right?
AL: Yeah. There's amazing thrifting in Japan. It’s just such good quality. Everything is so well maintained.
CH: Did growing up in Japan influence your style at all?
AL: Yes. Oh my God. I would say I was a lot more experimental in Japan. I was such an art kid. Then I went to art school in England, so I had a lot of punk references, like Vivianne Westwood energy with the kilts, and I had dyed hair. But in Japan, I was a little more into girly, vintage, indie style. This was 2010, or something. I still had that feminine/masculine balance, if I was wearing a skirt I would wear combat boots with it, but I was a little bit more experimental, and maybe more youthful in terms of silhouettes, and colors as well. Now I gravitate towards primary colors. It's a pop of color, but the base is navy, black, tan or more muted colors.
CH: It's funny how where we live can really change how we dress.
AL: Yeah. Whenever I go back to Japan, I definitely do have to modify my style a little bit. Even dressing too masculine when you're a girl, it's a bit like… maybe in Tokyo it's fine, but where I'm from it's a little more conservative. Baggier things, they might not think it's as elegant or you should wear something more proper.
CH: Well, it's nice that you live somewhere where you're able to be a bit more free with how you express yourself, I guess.
AL: Yeah, totally. There's a chic, elegant-ness to New York fashion, which I really admire. But being a maker, studying art, doing sculpture, and being dirty all the time, wearing comfy clothes is my comfort zone. But I still love to play with my feminine side by accessorizing and stuff. I wear a lot of rings and earrings. I love nice shoes and a good handbag.
ANNA’S MOST WORN:
All my trucker hats, Savant Studio is the king!
Savant Studios $50, Carhartt $60, Dancer $70, Neighborhood $105$7290s-style baggy, straight jeans.
AGolde $230, Aritzia $110, Reformation $148, Slvrlake $290 This butter-color teddy jacket from Uniqlo looks high end and is so warm.
Uniqlo $30, COS $290, Tory Burch $370$185, Alex Mill $225
Chunky loafers.
Top row: Hereu $328, Proenza Schouler $895, G.H. Bass $185; Bottom Row: Everlane $195, Dr. Martens $ 150$120A simple, well-structured crew neck knit sweater. I like mens.
Second hand belts!
Dolce & Gabbana $210, Prada $225, Gucci $300, Loro Piana $210$189, Dries Van Noten $75
Plasticana $40
Thanks for reading this week! Until next Thursday. xxx