STYLE CRUSH
You have to really think about it; you have to really care about it. V: I recently saw a photo of you wearing a flouncy tulle skirt, baseball shirt, and leopard print scarf on Pinterest. I immediately recognized you in that outfit from the White Party at the Alt Design Summit! N: The funniest thing about it is my good friend from Shabby Apple sent that white tulle skirt to me and I was like, “Oh, I don’t know, it doesn’t have any edge.” It was so girly and I was afraid I was going to be made fun of for it. I thought I needed to dress it down, so I found this Forever21 baseball shirt. My mom was like, “Natalie, you cannot be a baseball player and a ballerina!” So I stressed out and shopped, and shopped, and shopped, but I kept coming back to that baseball shirt. Then, I found this leopard-print couch fabric my mom had saved for ten years. I sewed it into a scarf and was like, “now it’s the perfect outfit.” It was right out of The Sound of Music, such a “how do you
solve a problem like Maria” moment. In a way it was the most effortless and painstaking outfit. V: Well it is so refreshing to see an outfit that manages to break out of the typical, high-maintenance realm of glamour but still clearly was. What is your take on looking glamorous? N: I don’t think it has anything to do with how much your outfit costs. There is a difference between something wearing you and you wearing something. Don’t try the newest trends if you don’t feel comfortable. That doesn’t make you less trendy but rather more elegant because you know yourself more and how to dress your body. V: This sense of soft and strong on Nat the Fat Rat seems to reveal an awareness that motherhood doesn’t mean losing yourself. N: I think it is so neat that blogs are this new wave of feminism. We can be moms, we can make dinner and our homes beautiful, and that does not limit us. That makes us more powerful and more influential, in a different way. It’s so fun that young moms are embracing their kids—not as accessories because I hate that! They’re pouring themselves into motherhood and at the same time finding themselves, and I think that is so cool. -JS VERILY MAGAZINE · TEASER 2012
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