Vested interest: Stylist/model knows how to make a favorite garment work
Reading Eagle, PA
Erin Wasson put together outfits for the Alexander Wang fall show.
By Emili Vesilind
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, CA -  Erin Wasson knows a thing or two about how to make a vest look cool. She’s been the stylist for the past two runway shows from Alexander Wang, a young New York designer making his mark with smart, moody sportswear.
For the fall show, Wasson threw a longer, unbuttoned vest over a baggy white T-shirt (teamed with skinny leather pants) and paired tight, buttoned-up vests with a black miniskirt and raggedy cutoff jeans. For spring, she teamed a boxy gray vest with a pair of bloomer-esque black shorts. In both shows, the structured pieces look effortless.
Wasson is also a big name in the modeling world and has walked the runways for Proenza Schouler, Ralph Lauren, Balenciaga and appeared in campaigns for mass-market biggies such as Victoria’s Secret and Maybelline. And she’s a girl-about-town in L.A. — she also lives in New York — and frequently pulls cute vests out of her own closets to hit the scene.
“I always thought of vests as a version of the cardigan,†she says, “another way to layer up your look.â€
Wasson favors a fuller-cut vest but doesn’t dismiss the mini-vest (one that looks two sizes too small and sometimes doesn’t button) sweeping Hollywood. Either way, the bottom of the vest should just about meet the waistline of a skirt or pant — or dip below it. The days of wearing a shrunken vest over a long, untucked T-shirt, a la Hilary Duff, are over.
“I think a vest looks better when you wear it with a V-neck,†Wasson says, “It shows off your collarbone and your cleavage, if you have it — which I don’t.â€
And forget about overpriced designer tees. Wasson is a fan of the Hanes T-shirts you buy in a three-pack to wear underneath (tuck them in if the vest is shorter). Roll up the sleeves and it looks like you’re not trying too hard.
