Soo's Secrets

FAVORITE DESIGNER
“Tim Van Steenbergen, the designer I worked for in Antwerp. There are so many levels: decadent, beautiful, delicately structured.”

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
“A lady needs a classic trench coat.”

FAVORITE VINTAGE STORE
“I buy a lot of good stuff at Yellow Jacket [in Lake View]. I have small feet, and it has the best vintage shoes that are size six. I also love Tokio 7 in New York’s East Village.”

BEST TIP
“I don’t follow trends, but the one thing you have to follow is the cut of pants.”

STAPLE
“Cardigans are important when I’m working. I get hot and cold. It’s an emergency tactic. The cardigan has to be somewhat interesting for me to wear it. I love my Martin Margiela cardigan.”

FAVORITE MUSEUM
“Modenatie, the fashion museum at the Flanders Fashion Institute. I’ve had the chance to go to the library, which is so sacred you have to check your bag and put your phone away. The librarian wears gloves.”

FAVORITE ICONS
“Coco Chanel: utterly classy, first one to introduce black as a fashion color. Diana Vreeland: impeccably eccentric and chic sense of style. I love her quotation, ‘Too much good taste can be boring.’"

FASHION FAUX PAS
“A long brown-tone floral skirt in the early nineties—I looked like a 40-year-old stuck in a 15-year-old body. It did not work at all with my shortness.”

FAVORITE STORES
“Blake is educational; it’s where I go when I want to see the amazing garment I’ve seen in a magazine in 3D. Hejfina is always fun and exciting. I can be adventurous, and it’s easy to understand.”

Related:

Vintage Huntress

A Martin Margiela sweater with Soo’s bias-cut necklace.