Styled, Off Script is a podcast about personal style—how it evolves, what shapes it, and how it shows up in real life. Through candid conversations with stylists, insiders, and voices across fashion, we explore how we get dressed, what influences those choices, and why they matter.
New episodes drop every other Friday morning here and on Spotify.
Episode 1, I Have Nothing (To Wear)
We kick things off by unpacking what style really means to our hosts, Marge & Liz—longtime Dia employees—how it evolves, what influences it, and why it’s rarely just about clothes.
We also introduce our SOS Style Emergency segment, where we talk through real-life outfit dilemmas.
Each episode features candid, thoughtful conversations with stylists, insiders, and voices across fashion, exploring how we get dressed, what influences those choices, and why they matter.
🎧 Listen below, on Spotify, or read the full transcript further down this page.
🆘 Got a style dilemma?
We’re taking real SOS submissions for future episodes.
Whether you’re:
- packing for a trip
- stuck in a style rut
- navigating a wardrobe change
- or just not sure what to wear
Submit your own SOS request and we may feature it on the show!
This week’s SOS. inspired our latest Themed Box—where you choose the occasion, and our stylists build a 5-style wardrobe around it.
Scroll for the Full Episode 1 Transcript.
Marge: Okay, we're live.
Liz: My goodness, Marge. That was a battle just to get here.
Marge: Isn't that how it is though. It wouldn't be us if there wasn't some sort of funny tech moment to start this off.
Liz: I mean, what could be more authentic?
Marge: For those listening for the very first time, welcome to the Styled Off Script podcast. Our first version of this started in a moment where we started the conversation and then Liz froze on screen and then texted, “my computer just died.” And so, I know this is episode one—like Apple, if you're listening—
Liz: Please sponsor us.
M: Yeah, like, do you want to be a sponsor? That would be really, really cool. So yeah, I've literally closed every other app on my phone, on my computer, and we'll see how this goes.
L: And we apologize in advance if there's background noise. We'll work on that in the future.
M: You know, I think it's very important. I said this once to probably my therapist, but I really enjoy setting the bar low and then like blowing it out of the water. I think I probably also said this to like some leader or manager at the time. They didn't find that really a good thing, but like if we set the bar low, then you can only like do better than that. I think that's okay. And you learn how to protect your boundaries, which is very important.
Okay, so we have a podcast and that's insane because everybody else has a podcast. It's like mostly celebrities and like people that I follow on Instagram and not like real, real people. But we're real people.
And this podcast, Styled Off Script, is really a podcast where we're going to be talking about style the way that we experience it, the way people experience it. Where it's less about like what we're wearing and more about how it makes us feel—the emotions, the individual personality, what we love, what we don't love, what we're wearing to some place, but like why we chose to wear that.
And really want to get to know how—I’ve always loved having these conversations with friends. Literally, like I am the person that all my friends go to for style things. I know you are as well. Every group chat everywhere, they're like, “oh my God, you work in fashion, can you help me style this?” And I'm like, mm-hmm.
L: Same, same.
M: Yep, okay, I have opinions. And so we're really excited to take these conversations into a place that hopefully other people can join in. And so I think it'll start with us and we'll chat in this first episode about who we are, what we like, what we don't like, trends, maybe things that we're loving right now.
It is 82 degrees in New York and it is the middle of April.
L: Crazy. The world might be on fire. The world might really be on fire.
M: I mean, it may be—it may be. Yeah, I think that's a pretty good sign.
L: Marge, you said something the other day and it stuck with me. Like this is authentically how we spend part of our Fridays. Like we hop on Teams and chat about what we're wearing, why we're wearing it, what we're planning on wearing, you know, for whatever is coming up on the calendar, and sort of taking it out of just our one-on-one conversations and talking about it with other people, I think.
M: Literally. Yeah.
L: Why not? Like getting other opinions and picking other people's brains just feels very authentic to us. So I'm excited to do that more.
M: Yeah. And I mean, it's sort of what we, what we, what we do for livings, which is just kind of a wonderful meld of all of that. And so I guess like this is technically work, which is awesome. And so it doesn't ever really feel like work. And this idea definitely doesn't feel like work. It feels like a really fun way to like continue to have these conversations, to hopefully meet new people, learn what they are wearing, what their style is, and just have really fun conversations with my friend.
So I'm Marge. I should introduce myself. I am Marge. And I've actually been with Dia—it will be 11 years in May, which is absolutely insane, but wonderful. I am the girl with the Dia tattoo.
I now do like I've done a little bit of everything, um, but I've been wearing plus sizes for my entire adult life. And I've been working in the plus size industry, styling customers for probably 15 years. And now I get to handle all fun things, marketing and customers and all the things that I love to do and get to call it a job.
And then get to work with people like Liz.
L: And how lucky am I to get to work side by side with you? Which, can you believe we've been doing this together for going on five plus years? It's crazy. One day we'll tell the lore of how we met. But I feel like we have to save that. That can't—that's not an episode one conversation.
M: That's crazy. Also—okay, okay. I think we should. Yeah, I think we have to tease them. It's not—but it still makes me laugh all the time because it's just very reflective of who we are and what built our friendship from the early days. And style was involved.
L: All the time. All the time. Yes. Yes. So I'm Liz. Yes—style was involved. Accessible style. Yes. So I'm Liz and I have been with Dia going on six years, which is crazy as well. Not quite Marge's level of crazy, but getting there. And I have been working in the style and fashion industry—goodness—a very long time in many different ways, over a decade.
My passion is definitely understanding the customer and developing relationships with customers and helping people to look and feel their very best and feel comfortable in their own skin and express themselves through their clothes.
And yeah, regardless of sort of shape, size, gender, age—I think that clothes are just another form of expression and individuality. I think we'll talk about this more, I'm sure, but clothes can be so intimidating for so many people and I've been there and lived through that. And I just—I think that I've found a way to really, you know—make clothes my own and sort of find a voice in the way I dress and I hope that I can help other people do that too. So that's what I really love to do.
M: And your style definitely speaks—like it speaks to that. Like I feel like your style is an extension of who—like truly knowing you—but your style is very reflective of that, which is really, really cool and fun to see and definitely challenges and inspires me.
Because I go through—there are some days, some moments—awesome, I feel great, everything is amazing. And then there are other moments and days where I'm like, I'm going to hide under my bed and I'm going to just grab whatever's here and we're just not going to talk about it. It's just like this is more of a function than anything else.
And it's always fun to have friends who—and I think the amazing thing about working where you work and working in fashion and style is being able to be inspired by so many different people.
L: 100%.
M: And truly, like, I have now lived in New York—it’s going to be like 15 years, which is absolutely insane. But I love that even just walking down the street, there's so many different styles and so many different ways to wear things and fashion and what people choose to wear.
Like yesterday, it was 85 degrees. I had to take my dog, Poppy, to the vet. And it was 85 degrees, it is the middle of April, and I was sweating profusely and didn't know what to wear. I brought out a linen shirt that I had from last summer because I was like, well, it's hot and I feel like anything else is gonna just stress me out and make me hot and bothered and I just couldn't do it.
And I wore it with my favorite wide leg crop jeans and Chucks and just was like, okay. It is what it is. I didn't even put on makeup. I threw my hair up in a clip and I was like, we look put together. We did not try, but we still feel good and we're going to be as cool as possible as the day goes on. But it's going to be about 35 degrees next week, so I'm not putting away my sweaters yet.
L: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's crazy. That's absolutely insane.
What do you think it was about what you wore yesterday that—even though it sounds pretty effortless—what do you think about it worked?
M: Yeah, I think like—I think having things in my closet that I know I'm gonna like, even on a bad day—and really building up a repertoire of items in my closet that like when I don't even want to think about it, I can just grab it and go.
And so when it's warmer weather, I also feel like in heat, my brain doesn't know how to compute. So more things stress me out, I get more anxious, I get overwhelmed, and I can't regulate. So finding clothes that I can just put on and like see you later is great.
I like a lot of things that are like big and flowy. Which is so—it’s funny thinking back saying that, like my favorite pair of jeans is a pair of wide leg crop denim because I was a skinny jean girl for decades.
And I put on a pair of skinny jeans a couple of weeks ago and then immediately took them off and was like, what am I doing?
L: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
M: What are—why am I doing this to myself? And I think there's obviously a time and a place for everything, and everybody has their own preferences, which is exciting—that hopefully we'll get to learn a lot more about that from a lot of different people.
But it just felt really easy. I love a button-up, like a lightweight shirt that I can either wear open or just throw on and see you later. It was really breezy, didn't cling to anything, didn't make me sweat any hotter than I was. So it was nice. It felt very easy breezy.
But do you have a closet like that? Do you have a couple of pieces like that?
L: Yeah. Yeah, I feel like just having—yeah, I feel like having a few go-to outfits that I just know I don't have to think about. And maybe it's not even outfits, but like pieces in my closet. I hate calling them pieces—that sounds so... I don’t know, pieces sound so elevated. I'm talking like cotton pants or a pair of jeans or an oversized t-shirt. But a few items in my closet that I can just put on and I know I'm going to be comfortable. I like the way they fit my body, and I can mix and match them with other things in my closet. Like go-to pieces that I can wear time and time again that make me feel good.
I do like to then, when I'm confident and in the right headspace, try on other things. But on a day like you're describing—where it's going to be hot and I don't have a lot of time and I don't want to put the effort in—those are days I don't want to try. And I just want to rely on the dependable pieces and keep it as simple as possible.
M: Yeah.
I think too, one of the bits of advice that I sort of learned through years of styling other folks—as well as, it's weird, I feel like I learned way more about my style styling other people than picking out clothes for myself—but really, it can be as simple as your go-to pair of jeans when you're feeling a little bit more like—
L: Totally. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
M: “Hey, you know what? I'm going to try something new.”
You don't have to jump from one pool to a totally different pool in terms of outfits or style aesthetics or whatever. It's not like, “hey, what you're wearing is bad, let's find something totally different.”
If you're interested in trying something new and different, pair it with something that you absolutely love. That way you're like—okay, well, this is a new top silhouette for me, or like pick your favorite jeans and try on a new top. I picked out a blouse, which is not something that I normally would go for, but paired with my favorite jeans and my favorite boots and my hair, whatever, I was like, “oh, this is actually really cute.”
And I still felt very much like myself, which I think made trying something new feel way less—like it didn’t feel as much pressure.
L: Yeah, that's a really good point. I was shopping with my mom a few weeks ago, and my mom is very short—petite, plus size petite—and she has historically always worn—it’s so hard—and she's historically always worn either a skinny jean, if she's worn jeans, or a tapered pant.
M: Mm, mine too. It’s so hard. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
L: And I was trying to encourage her to try—not a wide leg necessarily—but a straight leg pant. We were actually in a Chico’s, and they had these really cute sort of checkered pants. They would have been cropped on average height, but they were ankle length on her. They looked adorable—not tapered.
M: Yeah.
L: And we tried them with both a fitted top and an oversized top. The fitted top was just too much change for her all at once. But with the oversized top—which she would typically wear with a tapered pant or a skinny jean—and the straight leg, it was much more comfortable for her.
And she was able to take that leap. And my dad saw her and was like, “my God, you look so trendy,” because just that small change in silhouette was very exciting to see.
M: Yeah! And it's fun to think about the proportions, as it relates to size, as it relates to everything. For the earlier part of my career, I was lucky enough to work for Eileen Fisher, who is just so cool as it relates to really flowy fabrics, gorgeous quality, but also playing with proportions.
And I always sort of felt like, okay, well, you can do something big and voluminous on top, then you have to do something skinnier on the bottom. If you're going to go wider on the bottom, then you do skinnier on top. Like those are your two options. See you later.
And it really wasn’t until I saw the way you could do tapered on the bottom and tapered on the top, and then play with a cool layer, or really do volume and volume—
L: Yeah.
M: It wasn’t until I saw it on other people and really saw how the final look came together and how they wore it that I was like, oh, I could totally do that.
And without it feeling—I think there's this, I always said there's a difference between frumpy and—oh my God, what's the other word? I just lost it. You can be...slouchy, I think is the word. There’s a difference. And if you want to be frumpy, go right for it. But you can still look put together when you play with volume and when you play with different shapes of clothing.
I think it’s sometimes like putting the whole outfit together. Like sometimes I need to see it with the shoes to really be like, okay—yes.
L: Yeah, right. Totally. And a belt.
M: Yeah. Shoes—not what somebody else would wear, like a model in heels—but what shoes am I going to wear with this outfit? And can I play with it and actually be like, yeah, yeah, I would totally wear that. Really playing with it.
L: Yeah, totally.
What you brought up—the idea of if you wear loose on bottom, you have to wear tight on top, or vice versa—I think one of the things that I hope that we do in our business, and I know you said, we obviously work for a styling business, we run a styling business, is we help people rewrite some of these rules that they’ve been prescribed for so long.
M: Oooooh, yeah.
L: It’s not like throw everything out the window—but redefine some of these things. Because we get to start from scratch a little bit and figure out what works right for each individual person, and create our own sort of fashion framework that works for you.
And again, I know this is so cliché to say at this point, but it’s not like your body is wrong—it’s the clothes that are wrong. Or maybe neither is wrong. It’s just figuring out the formulas that work best for who you are, where you are in your life, and how you want to show up in the world right now. And that can change over time—and that’s okay. Nothing has to be forever.
M: That’s what I was just going to say. I think what’s really interesting is that if you’re of a certain age, you grew up with lots of trends, and whether you were on trend or off trend, you felt really tied to those rules. If you broke those rules, there was some sort of judgment.
I think what’s cool—like I see this in my niece, who’s now in early adulthood, which is insane—is that the rules are completely thrown out the window for her generation. And that’s awesome to see. But I also know my mom, who’s in her 80s, is just now starting to unravel some of those rules.
And I think as we think about who we are and how we show up, there are already so many rules in life. I don’t think personal style has to be one of them.
L: Mm-hmm. Totally. Right. Mm-hmm.
M: Life is hard enough. Giving ourselves more rules to follow—maybe as you get older, you realize you don’t actually have to follow them.
But also, some people like that structure. Like “wear this with this.” I think it was Geranimals back in the day. And if that works for you—go for it. If it doesn’t—also go for it.
Fashion and style are so unique. They should evolve. They should change. Just because you wore something one way one year, you can bring it back in a completely new way.
And I think that’s what’s really fun from a history perspective. Both of my parents worked in fashion and department stores in the 70s and 80s, so I feel like I was born for this job.
Even now, my dad—he’s in his 70s—is like, “what are the guys in Brooklyn wearing?” Like, “what are the cool kids wearing?” How can I incorporate that into my style?
Which is so wild to me—but also really cool. Is there any—whether it’s a celebrity or a TV show or a person in your life or anybody that inspires your style that you really find yourself drawn to? Or multiple different places or people?
L: That is so fun. Yeah. Goodness, it’s changed so much over time. I mean, the one constant who I’ve always said is my grandmother. My mom’s mom has always been my silent inspiration, which is hilarious to say because I think that my—well, okay. So she was like a very conservative dresser, and I do not think of myself as a conservative dresser. Not that, like, my tummy’s hanging out or my bust is hanging out in any way.
M: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. No. You’re very pulled to—you pull yourself together very, like, in a very—yeah, okay. I can see where that goes. Yeah.
L: Yeah. So that’s the way that—she was the quintessential, what do you call it, extra item person. Like, you know, she never just had two pieces. She always had the jacket or the neck scarf or the brooch or the belt or something.
M: Oh, my grandmother too. The brooch. Do you remember the brooch? Oh my gosh. Yep.
L: Um, I used to refer to her as the first lady because even if she was just walking the dog, she always had something extra. But at the same time, she was always happiest in her well-worn sweatpants and pilly sweatshirt, which is exactly what I want to be in all the time. Um, and so—
M: Yeah. My God, I love that. I love that my grandmother never wore pants until she was in her eighties. Like ever. And I remember being like, grandma, aren’t these comfortable? And she’s like, yeah.
L: No, no, no. Yeah, like my grandmother—we called her Nanny—and my Nanny, I mean, I could go, we should do a whole episode about our grandmothers, because my other grandmother also was like an extraordinary dresser, but like on the other extreme. There were lots of muumuus involved, which is also one of my—you know, like caftans make the world go round.
M: Oh, I love—yes, please. Yeah. Ugh. Dream.
L: But, um, so my Nanny was a huge influence for me, and actually when she passed away— I inherited a lot of her clothes, but there is this great scandal that happened where somebody who shall not be named—a family friend—may or may not have snuck into the house and taken quite a bit of her clothing, like her designer clothing. And it is like, yeah.
M: What? Oh my God.
L: Yeah, I will never ever get over it. But anyway, that’s a side. So she is definitely one of my—sort of the way she lived her life—when she was going out and she felt her very best, she was dressed to the nines. And then the second she got home, the first thing she did was take off every single thing that she was wearing, including her jewelry, her wedding ring, her watch, her everything, and put her sweats on. And so that was—that is—the way I like to live my life.
M: Yeah, that’s so me. That’s so me. Yeah. Yeah. Like, the second I get in the house, I’m like, okay, comfortable. I think especially because we work from home, you know, I could go work in an office if I wanted or whatever. I can have that life. But I very much leaned in to comfy clothes at home and comfy clothes out of home as well, but really prioritizing that comfy-comfiness.
I think what was tough growing up for—well, I guess now I’m inspired by so many different people and things. I have very cool New York friends that are very stylish from all over the world, and I’m just like, wow, how you put things together is just different than I’ve seen. One of my friends is obsessed with vintage dresses and just vintage clothes. Her closet is stunning.
L: Mm-hmm.
M: The fabrics and things that she plays around with are just so beautiful. And then I have other friends who just mix prints and are loud and casual in a way that I wouldn’t have ever seen where I grew up, where everybody wore the same thing all day every day.
But growing up, I think it was tough because I was always on the chubbier plus side, and I never really saw anybody like that portrayed—or if they were portrayed, it was never in a fashionable way, and even then it was in a shameful sort of way.
And then the reality was that there weren’t a whole lot of options. So you could either be like a pinup girl who is overly dressy in a 50s housewife, Tracy Turnblad sort of way, or you’re wearing like men’s boys’ clothes. And so, I don’t know. I think there got to be more options as I got older, and a lot more representation. My older sister, who—we’re not really sisters, but we’re just gonna let it go, okay? We don’t have the time.
L: Too much to explain.
M: Who will be a guest on a future episode because she has requested it. Her style was really cool. She’s 17 years older than I am, and I always loved how she put herself together in a way that was very chic and sophisticated, but also a little edgy and cool.
She always had cool stuff when she was in college and a young adult, and then she worked in retail—again, also not surprised that I’m in the fashion space—but she had to wear black every day for her work for probably 20 years. So finding fun and exciting ways to wear black every day is really hard.
And I feel like now there’s a resurgence, as I see it on Instagram, but the chunky necklaces of the early aughts—
L: Goodness. I had them all, all of them.
M: Like, had them all. We were big into big—like even I remember in high school being dressed up in jeans, like tailored jeans, and kitten heels, and a little top with a blazer and bangles and chunky necklace and all this stuff. Like I was going to high school, but then also gonna work at the Bank of America downtown after work.
L: Any high school student wearing a kitten heel? Why? I don’t know. I don’t. Please. Please. God. Wait.
M: But like my sister said, I was like, girl, where were we going? Like, and for what? Like why?
No, I feel like at some point we should also do an episode on our childhood style evolution or school photos because I was dressed like the quirky librarian for almost every photo. And it’s amazing. And now those photos are all over my house and it makes me so happy and they bring me so much joy. Absolutely.
But yeah, I think now I’m just inspired by so many other people’s style and seeing how people pair things and wear things that I already have in my... I think what’s cool is the relatability of not necessarily needing to go out and buy all new things, but finding new ways to wear things that I already love, maybe introducing something slightly new.
Like, I’m going to this event next week and I have a navy long satin maxi dress that I got a couple years ago for an event. But I just got, because of Dia, I just got in my recent box a linen suit jacket that’s a khaki sort of beige with a navy pinstripe.
L: It is amazing how you get more comfortable.
M: And I feel like it’ll look very chic, sort of styled together. And then in my head, I was like, yeah, this makes logical sense. I think I went into Pinterest and typed in “khaki linen blazer over satin dress” and found so many other people wearing and styling it that I’m like, okay. It’s like, she’s a stylist.
And so just seeing how other people style that look or style similar looks, I’m like—it’s kind of like a math equa—like my head sort of computes it like—and to say that I like math, I mean, we are known to be two data girlies. I’m just kidding. God. But like the math of it all, the putting things together in new ways, is fun.
L: Yeah, we’ve become data girls. True. You can talk about that in a future episode.
Something that you’re saying, though, is really standing out to me about what’s changed. Something that I’m really grateful for that’s changed in the way I think about my own personal fashion is that when I was growing up—and you said this too—I felt like I was trying to replicate or copy other people’s, and I could just never get it right. And no matter how hard I tried, I felt like I needed to be just like everyone else, and I could never get it right.
And now I find inspiration in other people around me. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. I love the way she’s doing that or he’s pulling that off or she’s rocking this part—just pieces of things that people are doing. It inspires me to try either things that I already have in new and different ways or to try new things in different ways. But I’m not trying to be something that I’m not or to copy something exactly.
And, you know, I use Pinterest too and TikTok and all of the things. I just feel like I’m doing it in such a different way than I was doing it before. And I feel so much more freedom and individuality in the way that I’m doing it now. And I just feel like that’s really exciting.
I hope that we inspire other people to do the same and to find their own sort of sense of self in the way that they can find inspiration from the things that we’re talking about and then dig into their own closets and do it their own way.
M: Yeah. To the T. Yep. Well, I think you sort of took the words right out of my mouth. I think the moments where I have outfits that really feel like me—which now feels way more often than it ever was before—those are the days that either I will share my outfit or I’ll go somewhere, and those are the days that people are like, “my God, I love your outfit. Where did you get this?” Or like, “how did—I would have never put this together.”
And so I think hopefully as we continue on in this—not just one episode podcast—we can share some of that. But also, I’m so excited to learn other people’s inspiration and be inspired by them. I’m hungry for all of the knowledge and excited to sort of see how we’re influenced by their style and just to find ways to play.
Like, it feels like dress-up. Now it’s to a point that it feels like dress-up. And for me, as a kid who played dress-up constantly, that was always really, really fun. And then it became so not fun for so long that now to have it be fun again, I’m like, okay, this is actually—
Like finding clothes and searching and putting it all together and trying. My mindset of even just trying on new clothes is so different from what it used to be because I try to convey that I’m just having fun. I don’t have to keep this item. This item is not going to be stuck in my closet forever. There are now way more options.
I mean, that could be a whole other conversation, but there are options and I don’t have to be stuck with this one thing. I can try it. If I don’t like it, I can style it a couple different ways. If I still don’t like it, see you later.
Like I can really play, and that feels really freeing. And breaking the rules is okay.
L: Mm-hmm. Exactly, totally.
M: Okay. Well, speaking of, I’m really excited because I came up with this crazy idea.
M: For an SOS style emergency. I want to call it a hotline, but it’s not a hotline—but it could be, maybe. Yeah. I’ll look into that. We’ll put producer Maloree on that. But basically, not really planned, but when coming up with a title of this, which fingers crossed, it funny enough became SOS, and I was like, wait a minute—years ago, I had this crazy idea late night on the subway, like coming home from something, and I wrote a note in my phone that was like, how cool would it be to be able to text or call or say like, “hey, I have this style emergency, I’m going blank,” or like “I’m going to this place and I don’t know what to wear,” or “I got invited to this and I don’t know what to wear,” or “I’m going on a date.”
You know, I’m doing all these different things and I don’t have the style expertise, or I want a second opinion, or I want somebody else to sort of help put me in that mindset. And yes, that’s technically what we do at work, but how cool would it be if it was just somebody that you knew, that you had a relationship with, or that could help share that knowledge. So I dusted out—I know.
L: It’s like opening up your chat, like your text message, right?
M: I know, I know. So the hope here is we have a form that we will share for folks to submit their SOS. And you can either remain anonymous, you can tell us who you are. If we choose you, we may give you a little something, something as a thank you for participating and being along for this ride.
I actually received a style emergency from a friend of mine recently, who is like the one who’s always asking me for style advice, and we have very similar styles. And so I thought it’d be a good one to sort of talk through.
And the goal being: we’ll read these out loud, we’ll share sort of what the situation is, and then between the two of us—either separately or together—we will share some styling suggestions or sort of help solve that style emergency.
And it could be like, there could be a way for folks to shop the style emergency if that sort of feels natural. Or like we do themed boxes at Dia, which is something that I come up with based on different themes and things. I’m like, it could be really cool to have a themed box for someone’s style emergency.
So I’m sure if somebody is going through—the other thing about doing this whole thing, conversation, podcast, whatever, is that I think for so long, many of us, myself—I’ll speak for myself—felt very like I couldn’t have these conversations. Like people would either not take me seriously because of my size or because of an experience or whatever. Or people just weren’t having these conversations out loud.
It was stuff that you would text your friend or have with your closest group, like, “hey, can you help style me for this?” Or “I don’t really know how to wear this,” or like, “what do you—how do you feel?”
The hope here is that we can be a little bit louder and a little bit more out in the open and talk through some of that stuff because every style emergency that y’all have had, we’ve probably also had and know the struggle of like, God, what am I going to wear?
So I’m excited to sort of kick this off. And my friend said that we could use her scenario for this first one. But we will drop a link so that folks can submit in the description below. You can also check it out on our website. And I think the website should be dia.com/sos. And that should take you right to the form to fill out so that you can submit your style emergency.
But I’m gonna get into reading this. Me too. Okay.
L: I’m so excited!
M: They say: I am headed upstate for Memorial Day weekend, which is crazy that it’s right around the corner, with my partner and a group of their friends, not mine. Some I haven’t met before. It’s a long weekend at a lake house, so we’ll be spending a lot of time outside—walking, hiking, in parentheses, ew—hanging by the lake, campfires, all those things.
Because we’re traveling by train from the city, I can only bring a carry-on and maybe a purse. I know, brutal. But also, I know this struggle. I do a lot of travel by train, and a lot of—because I also insist on bringing my dog everywhere I go. It’s like, okay, how do I pack for the both of us in small ways?
But she goes, “I want to be able to bring enough options without being that girl who is the overpacker.”
L: Mm. Yeah. Right.
M: Which I feel that. I’m mostly looking for casual, comfortable, but want to really still feel put together so I don’t look sloppy. And want maybe one dressier option, but again, don’t have a lot of space to bring things. I’m pretty simple, don’t wear a lot of bold colors or anything too, too loud, but I still want my outfits to feel like—
L: You. Hmm.
M: Interesting, or like what everybody else is going to be wearing.
So, and then I know her—she’s in her late 30s, really likes casual, she does well with a “wear this with this, and then you can wear this,” like this one thing with another thing and another thing, and sort of how do you put it all together.
So that is the first SOS style emergency for us to solve.
L: Okay. All right. I got this. This is my jam. Okay.
M: Okay, okay, you got this. Yep. You're an expert. Like truly, you win the awards for packing, and we're not even gonna go into your kids’ camping packing situation because—
L: Please no. That makes me break out in hives. That’s why I’m like, this is my jam. Okay, so here’s—I’m gonna start with a maxi dress. Because dress up, dress down, wear multiple ways. She could even travel in the maxi dress because basically what I like about a maxi dress is, especially if it’s warm when she’s—
M: Yeah, you can do the short, long weekend.
L: Who knows, I mean, you said it was 85 degrees right now, right? Like, Memorial Day, we could be schvitzing, you know. She’s ready—let’s just say she arrives and it’s like time for cocktails already. She’s ready to party, but she’ll be comfortable on the train as well.
And if I was doing this, I don’t know her quote-unquote style, but like, obviously there’s an array of maxi dresses out there. So it’s easy to find one that fits your aesthetic. But for me, thinking upstate, I would go the nap dress approach. But she could also go sort of the more vacation, you know—
M: Oooo. If somebody is new to the nap dress trend, because I know we’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t know—yeah. Can you explain what makes that different than another dress?
L: Yes. Yes, you want me? Sure.
So, nap dress—I would describe, first of all, they’re bra-friendly. That’s probably the headline, right? So I would describe it as ruching on top, wide strap, then sleeveless, and then tiered on the bottom, and usually maxi or long midi length. And patterned, typically patterned, but not bright colors. Not typically, you know, vacation style, not Mediterranean themes, but more subtle pattern.
M: Yeah, I love that. Yep. I love—I was really unsure about the tiered. I live in maxi dresses all spring and summer because they’re cool and just easy to wear. But I wasn’t sure—I thought that tiered approach would be a little bit too feminine for my typical style. But it actually really helps the—it’s one of those things that’s more function.
L: Mm-hmm. Thank you. Yeah. Sure.
M: Which I didn’t realize is also the beauty of fashion and pattern making and design, is that the tiers really help the weight of the fabric flow, where in non-tiered maxi dresses, oftentimes the fabric will cling in certain ways or feel easier to stick to your legs or feel straight or too parachutey, where the tiers sort of pull the weight down and catch it so that it flows out away from your body versus tighter to your body. Ooh, love that.
And they’re usually out of something lighter, like a cotton or a poplin, a linen. Yeah.
L: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Yep. Great for airflow. Cotton, yeah.
I would say the theme for this vacation, this packing adventure, is cotton and linen. So cotton fabrication for this dress. And then she’s also gonna take with her a cotton sweater. And I’m thinking pullover. If she prefers cardigan, that’s fine. But in my head this is a cotton pullover, which is—and we might talk about this later—but that’s a trend that we saw last summer.
I mean, I had never really owned a summer sweater before last summer. But I think it’s more of an East Coast—I’m West Coast, Marge is East Coast—and because our nights don’t get cool on the West Coast the way they do on the East Coast. And that’s a great piece, and she’ll make great use out of that.
So a cotton sweater, which means that she can transform her—
M: Yep. Yep. I love that.
L: Dress into a skirt if she wants for another look at another time. So that’s two pieces. And again, I don’t know what she’s packing versus what she’s wearing on the train, but that—and then I am, this is going to be controversial, Marge, so I hope you’re ready—but I’m actually not going to have her bring a true jean. I am going to have her bring—I know, I know, I’m—
M: I love that. It’s a great option. Ugh. But I get it, Memorial Day could go a lot of different ways for weather, so I trust.
L: Yeah, so I don’t love a true denim for travel, especially in the summer. So I’m going to have her bring either—and I’m also not going to bring linen—I’m going to have her bring one of these cotton pants, wide-leg cotton pants. Not linen, but it can be like Tencel, which is sort of similar to a rayon. It doesn’t wrinkle as much as a linen. Yeah.
M: So hot. Oooooh, yep. I was just going to say, it’s a lot. I love a linen pant in the summer or linen short or linen anything, but doing as much traveling as I do, unless you’re bringing a handheld steamer—and who’s got the time? That’s a great—yeah.
L: Yeah. Exactly. Right, right. It’s a little bit heavier also.
And if she wants a jean alternative, they’ve got a ton. You know, maybe she brings a blue. But it’s like a tie waist and she can easily dress it up, dress it down. She can wear it with the cotton sweater, she’s going to bring a linen button-down that she can wear it with as well, or she can wear it with a simple white tee. So easy.
M: That’s great. Yeah. That’s a great call. Or over a bathing suit, like a linen—I live in a super oversized white Oxford in the summer. A, because you can wear it with a million different options, but also because it’s a great swim cover-up. If you want an option that still feels put together, that’s great.
L: Or over a bathing suit. Exactly. Exactly, exactly.
Then she’s gonna bring a matching sweatsuit set because she’s gonna be hanging out at night by the fire.
M: Uh-huh. Yep. A cute sweatshirt. Would you do the sweatshirt and the pullover sweater? Okay.
L: I would, because I think the pullover sweater—we don’t want that to smell like fire. We want to keep that nicer for if they go out to dinner or whatever. And then she’ll bring a pair of cutoff shorts. Like that can be—
M: That’s true. Oh, so smart. Yep.
Love. I’m team shorts. Like, I don’t think this is controversial, but I have always been team shorts. I will always be team shorts. Yeah, like I have legs, they’re gonna be out, it’s hot. I understand that there’s a lot of people that don’t like shorts. That’s totally fine. I am team shorts all the way, especially those shorts with a cute cotton pullover sweater for a nice night. I do a lot of that.
L: No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. That’s why you’re keeping that sweater not smelling like fire.
M: Yep. Yep. Absolutely.
L: And then a bathing suit and a hat. And the hat is of your choosing. Are you bringing a sun hat or are you bringing a baseball cap?
Now the optional item, and this is weather-dependent, is are you bringing a denim jacket? So I’m bringing a denim jacket, and if I have to wear it on the train, I’ll wear it on the train. But because you’re not bringing jeans, you can wear that denim jacket with everything. You can wear it over the nap dress, you can wear it with the linen pants, you can wear it with the sweatsuit if you need to when you’re hanging out outside. Exactly, exactly. So my denim jacket is my summer layer that I wear all the time, and I think that’s what I’m packing.
M: Oof. Ooh, okay. Yep, over the white Oxford with shorts. Yep. Yep. I love that. Yep.
Yeah, I think all I would—because I am the one that—I would do exactly that, and then I always toss in one more thing because I’m the girl that will spill something inevitably. If not by the time I’ve got there, it’s likely the first thing I do when I arrive.
But yeah, I will probably throw a boxy t-shirt, like a white t-shirt, a black t-shirt, maybe a striped shirt, either short sleeve or sleeveless, something that I can pair with the denim shorts to go out and about.
And then I’m—I don’t know, depending on the weather—I would probably also toss in a pair of like jersey sweatshorts because if I’m—my brain goes, well, if I’m gonna stand in the lake or whatever, I may not want to wear my... Like in the morning, as I’m drinking coffee and I’m standing by the water and we’re waxing poetic about where we are in our relationship, I want to be cute and comfy but still be able to keep my legs in the water.
But I think that’s it. And those are things that are very easy to toss in, to roll up, and also can mix and match with everything else, like layered under the Oxford. There’s just so much that you could do. But that also describes a lot of my current wardrobe.
I do do a lot of these have-to-pack-in-a-small-carry-on-and-head-out-the-door weekends and have options to wear. And especially these long weekends, you don’t know if there’s a washer-dryer or what your options are, but that’s the right amount that you still feel like—
The other thing is, I like to have the options when I get there to decide what I want to wear and not be so stuck into this outfit, this outfit, this outfit. That feels stressful.
L: What am I missing? Mm-hmm. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. That’s a point. Yeah. So much mix and matching. Exactly. Exactly.
Yeah, yeah, that would feel stressful to me too. And most likely, like let’s be real, I’m probably gonna buy something when I’m up there. Because I’m gonna go to a consignment store or a gift shop, I’m gonna get a big sweatshirt or I’m gonna get something up there, so I want to have a little room too.
M: Oh yeah, yeah, a cute gift shop. Yeah, yep. Yep. Yep. Yeah. I may also steal his sweatshirt. Like, I don’t know. You never know. You want all the options. I love that. That’s great. Fantastic.
Okay. Well, that was actually really fun. Okay, so if you are interested in us styling your SOS style emergency, whether it’s for a legit, like, hey, we have this thing coming up or—
L: Right. Right. Right. Right.
Okay, well that was fun. Okay, I can’t wait for the next one.
M: If you want just style advice, we’re happy to give that too. It doesn’t have to be super, like, five-alarm fire. It can just be like, “hey, I don’t know what to wear to work,” or “I want to refresh,” or “I want something new and different,” or whatever.
Let us—let us style you. I guess that feels maybe so, so basic, but like, if you’re interested, we’re here and happy to help.
Okay, so we are ready to wrap this up. The last question I want to ask before we close is—is there one outfit, and I think this is going to be how we end every episode, if that’s okay with you, as we ask guests, because our answers may not change, but I think our guest answers would be different—but is there one outfit that you would wear forever?
L: Mm-hmm. Ooh.
My goodness. I mean, sort of yes, because—well, only because my best friend, I’ve had the same best friend since first grade, shout out Courtney. And she recently sent me a picture of the two of us, and I’m wearing something that literally would be my favorite outfit today too. So—
M: I know. That was so fast! Thank you. Okay.
L: It’s the perfect pair of cutoff shorts, which are hard to find. Let’s be—you know, I mean, it has to be, it’s not like any pair of cutoff shorts. It’s like the pair of cutoff shorts, the perfect oversized, perfectly worn-in graphic tee, and a wrist full of bracelets.
M: Yep, truly. Yeah, that is very you today.
L: And in fifth grade, apparently, was me then too. So that is an outfit I would wear forever. How about you?
M: Oh my God. I love that. I love that.
I have this dress in multiple different styles, but it is—and it’s sort of weird as somebody that doesn’t wear a lot of dresses necessarily—but I think it would be this black... well, okay. You can’t judge that it’s a black dress because of course it is. I do live in New York and I have a brand to uphold.
I will say New Yorkers are nice. That’s the one thing I would just like to put on the record. New Yorkers are nice. We got your back.
L: Was gonna say, I don’t think of you that way.
M: But I think it would be this black maxi button-up dress that has full sleeves, but like tabs so you can roll up the sleeves and tab the sleeves. And it has functioning buttons from neck to the bottom. It has side slits to like about the knee on either side, and it has pockets, and it has like a fabric belt.
But every time I wear it, I get compliments on it from people. Not that that matters. I love how I feel in this dress. I can wear it anywhere. It’s truly packed in every suitcase I pack. Just in case. I bought a second one to live up at my parents’ house, just in case, because there have been moments where I haven’t been able to go out and buy—like, yes, I have one that’s sleeveless.
L: Yeah. Cute. Amazing. Was gonna say, do you have a backup?
M: It is just so easy. It’s super lightweight, so it’s amazing in the summer, but also does so well in the winter and cooler months. You can layer under things, you can layer over things, you can button all the buttons, you can unbutton all of the buttons, you can literally dress it up, dress it down. I’ve worn it every different way, and I would buy another in a heartbeat, and I just feel so effortlessly put together. And it’s one item.
It’s only one thing. I don’t have to think about anything else. I can just put it on and I instantly feel good. And I’m like, okay, great. And so that would be my one thing.
L: Ugh, that’s so nice. I love that. I love that.
M: Well, it is coming down to the end of where we’re at. This is Styled Off Script. You can listen to us on Spotify. You can also listen to us on dia.com. Please submit your SOS style emergencies. Give us a like, a comment—I don’t know, what else are people supposed to do these days? Share. If you have friends who want to listen, that would be great.
If you want to come on and have a conversation about your style, let us know. And we’ve already teased a lot of things we want to talk about going forward. I think in the re-listen, we’ll have to build out what’s coming next, but we have some awesome conversations planned for the future and we look forward to chatting with you all there.
L: Yeah. See you next time.