Stephanie LaCavaWriter

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"I’ve tried to fit into a certain mold, we all have at one point, and it just never works."

[Ed. Note: Stephanie LaCava is a translator and writer working in New York and Paris. Her pieces can be seen in Vogue, T, and The Paris Review, and her first book, "An Extraordinary Theory of Objects" is being published by Harper Collins this December.]

"I grew up between Westchester, New York and Le Vesinet, France, which is a suburb about one hour outside of Paris. I spent the really transformative and important years of my life in France. We lived in this town that was really far away from my school and far away from other English-speaking children, so I was by myself a lot, alone with my books, and going to museums.

I always felt very strange growing up. I was a redhead my whole life and I wanted to be blonde no matter how many people said to me, “you have the best hair.” The only thing I really could control was how I dressed. I also had a uniform at school. It was almost like having to style an editorial with a really specific edit, "How can I make this work for me?". It was the moment of Mary-Jane’s and little Angora sweaters, so we would all wear them with knee high socks, little blue kilts and a white t-shirt. I always wore a ribbon around my neck, which I still do. My style now is still so nineties, just because that was when my sensibility was shaped. To me the pinnacle of what was cool was grunge.

Today, everyone thinks that I have all these outfits, but it’s not true. The other day I was wearing this Balenciaga silk dress and my husband said to me, “You know you can’t wear that every single day, right?” [laughs] I’m not a fussy person; I will get ready in five seconds. I will wear the same dress every single day until it’s dirty if I like it and I’m comfortable in it.

I think it’s really important to have something that’s a signature. I always wear a black ribbon around my neck. It’s something I’ve done since I was younger. It was easy to do and inexpensive. It’s something that was kind of cool, and it always looks good against pale skin.

My upcoming book, “An Extraordinary Theory of Objects“ is a hybrid of memoir, literary essays, and an encyclopedia, in a way. We all have our ways to get through life. Mine was finding these weird things, these objects to collect. I was very particular about my surroundings; it was something to control. I could find old ribbon and tie it in my hair. That’s how my style evolved. I’ve tried to fit into a certain mold, we all have at one point, and it just never works. Now, I know what I am most comfortable with." -- Stephanie LaCava to Shop Ghost

Stephanie LaCava photographed in SoHo by Stevie Dance.