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Alexia Chandon-Piazza

1. When do you feel at your most attractive?

It doesn’t depend on something I’m wearing, if it’s new or old, if I’m wearing make-up or not, or if I slept well or enough, although it might influence it. It’s something in my mind that switches, for reasons I have yet to discover. Probably related to the amount of sunlight.

2. Do you notice women on the street? If so, what sort of women do you tend to notice or admire?

I think it has to do with harmony. When the way someone looks is in harmony with who they are, they do not try to be someone else.

3. What are some things you admire about how other women present themselves?

Confidence.

5. What are some shopping rules you wouldn’t necessarily recommend to others but which you follow?

If I hesitate, I shouldn’t buy it. If it doesn’t fit perfectly, I shouldn’t buy it. If it can’t last more than one season, I shouldn’t buy it. If it can’t go in the washing machine, I shouldn’t buy it. If it needs to be ironed, I shouldn’t buy it. I also break my rules sometimes.

8. Do you have a unified way of approaching your life, work, relationships, finances, chores, etc.? Please explain.

Kindness and simplicity. A work in progress.

9. Are there any clothing (or related) items that you have in multiple? Why do you think you keep buying this thing?

I keep buying shoes. I keep looking for the perfect, comfortable, minimal, and versatile shoe. Both my mother and my grandmother, who raised me, have an immense collection of shoes. I remember putting on my mother’s high heels suede boots, posing in front of the mirror and walking around in that clumsy stride of little girls who want to grow up faster.

13. Have you stolen, borrowed or adapted any dressing ideas or actual items from friends or family?

I am constantly inspired by people around me, although we dress differently and have different bodies. Sometimes it is small details, a colour, or the shape of a neckline.

14. Was there a point in your life when your style changed dramatically? What happened?

When I finished high school I went to Oxford for one year. There I learned not to care for other people’s gaze, because there no one cares for how you dress, and thus experimented a lot. When I came back to France I was shocked at how normalised people’s dress were, and in parallel, realised I owned too many clothes. I got rid of most of my wardrobe and tried buying less, better, and worrying less about how I look.

15. Is there anything political about the way you dress?

Everyone wants to control how women look and dress, so I can either let go of this style idea completely, or use it as a tool to make me feel good. I prefer the latter.

16. Please describe your body.

I am short and skinny.

17. Please describe your mind.

It works in layers.

21. With whom do you talk about clothes?

My best friend, my mum.

27. Can you recall some times when you have dressed a particular way to calm yourself or gain a sense of control over a situation that scared you?

When I was a child, every year before going back to school I would carefully plan how I'd be dressed for the first day. I still do that, even though I don't go to school anymore.

31. Many people say they want to feel “comfortable,” or that they admire people who seem “confident.” What do these words really mean to you?

Being comfortable is being able to do every movement I want to make, freely, not feeling constricted in my clothes, not feeling itchy, things like that. Confidence is about occupying the right amount of space in the world, not too little, not too much.

37. What is your process getting dressed in the morning? What are you considering?

The things I will do, the places I will go, the way I feel. Then I try to dress accordingly.

49. What is an archetypal outfit for you; one that you could have happily worn at any point in your life? What do you like about it?

Loose tshirt, jeans, sneakers. I like that I don't need to think about it.

59. Are there any dressing rules you’d want to convey to other women?

Never. Ever. This would go against my political beliefs, who am I to decide how other women should dress ?

64. Can you describe in a basic way what you own, clothing and jewelry-wise?

Loose tshirts, basic sweatshirts, dark jeans, jackets (blazer, spencer, denim, perfecto, parka, etc.), sneakers, wedged boots and wedged sandals, gold hoops in various sizes.

65. What is your favorite piece of clothing or jewelry that you own?

Two rings my grandmother gave me. I never wear them. One of them is a band with 2 swans engraved and was passed onto my great-grandmother by a friend of the family.

79. How does how you dress play into your ambitions for yourself?

I want to dress well on an everyday basis to feel good with myself, and be pleasant to others.

81. Is there an article of clothing, a piece of make-up, or an accessory that you carry with you or wear every day?

My prescription glasses.

83. Do you remember the first time you were conscious of what you were wearing? Can you describe this moment and what it was about?

I think I was 4 years old. My mum had bought me shiny black shoes and I wanted to wear them the day after, to go to school. She said I shouldn’t wear patent leather shoes to school and I asked « Why do we have nice shoes if we can’t wear them when we feel like it ? »

What’s your birth date? 
Where were you born and where do you live now?

I was born in 1988 and I live in France.

What kind of work do you do?

I am a pluridisciplinary artist and actress. I also study to become an art-therapist.

Please say anything you like about yourself that might put this survey into some sort of context.

I often wished I'd go in the street and ask women about how they are dressed this day, how they chose their clothes, why they bought them, etc. So I was happy to see that this curiosity was shared by others too !

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