A Martha Stewart Style Retrospective

I once lied during a job interview and plagiarized Carrie Bradshaw’s inane claim that Vogue fed her more than food. I said that I “grew up browsing its pages” before I could even read and that it was how my mother and I bonded.

What I actually grew up on was Martha Stewart Magazine. What fed me was its library of recipes as cooked by my mom, and what bonded us was a mutual appreciation of creative halloween costumes and aspirational craft.

In his book Don’t Get Too Comfortable, David Rakoff wrote that he loves Martha Stewart because, “she advocates mastery and competence over purchase. Martha Stewart has taught scores of people — and I’ll go out on a limb here and call them women — the value of doing things for themselves.”

That’s a feminist message right there.

Unlike Rakoff and my own mother, I do not enjoy the art of the DIY. A turban I can handle, but my patience is limited when it comes to festooning jars with sprigs of holly. Still, I take pride in the notion that you need no man to use a hammer. Strip the wood yourself. Change the lightbulb. Caulk to your heart’s content.

I also appreciate that Martha Stewart can laugh at herself.

But what’s so funny about my love of Martha is that it took me a while to consider her style. If only I’d realized sooner that her affinity for the basics, pearls without irony, cable knits, button downs, khakis – hey Leandra! and Snoop Dogg offers just as much inspiration for one’s wardrobe as the pages of ye old fashion bible.

Which is why today we celebrate the look of Martha in a slideshow.

Every so often I wonder a la Bradshaw: had I told the truth, would Anna have given me the job? But things happen for a reason. I’m here, after all. To quote Martha Stewart herself, “It’s a good thing.”

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