Their Sentimental Wardrobe, pt. 3, with Emma Hoareau
A journey from London to Paris, notes on thoughtful dressing and the allure of French style
Hello, and happy Sunday!
For those new here, last year I began a feature called Their Sentimental Wardrobe; a delve through the wardrobes and past lives of women I admire, and those that came before them. It’s a nostalgic look at clothes and their stories- away from algorithms and everything being new, and a celebration of the inspiration, memories and lives that already exist in our photo albums and drawers.
Where do we find our inspiration from? How much of it is quietly inherited? And if not, what can we take from the wardrobes and stylish women that have lived lives, just as colourful, before us?
(P.S if the whole of this newsletter doesn’t display on email, it’s because it’s a biggie! You can read the whole thing on your browser/desktop or on the Substack app)!
Today’s interview is with one of my favourite women online. Beauty writer, photographer and content creator, Emma Hoareau. When Emma posted some of her mum’s Jackie magazine covers online last year, I was in awe. They felt like a real window into a time gone by, and naturally the likeness they shared as mother and daughter was uncanny. Crayola-coloured clothing and powdery eyeshadow to one side, I knew I had to ask Emma to be part of this series. I was so curious as to how her mum, Juliet’s style has influenced hers over the years and how her creative upbringing- filled with painting, photography and growing up in Paris, has shaped her approach to finding beauty and femininity in a changing modern landscape- as well as the impact it has had on the way she dresses too.
Having followed Emma for years, both closely observing her flawless skincare recommendations, her thoughtful, refined style and the warmth and beauty of the world she so carefully documents, I was excited to pull out her family album and turn back time for a few hours on a rainy Wednesday afternoon…
Emma! Hello! First of all, can you tell me a bit about yourself and the people in the photos?
Sure, I’m Emma. I started a blog in 2009 when I was 19 where initially I started sharing my outfits. I was at uni, doing shoots for no reason, and having fun. I was also sharing photos that I loved taking when I was on holiday which was probably pre-Tumblr and Pinterest! So I would save photos from the internet and just didn’t know where to put them- so it was almost like I’d created my own hub to save them and group them together. It was like sharing my love of visuals, but also a bit more about myself and where I started sharing with the internet, I suppose. And I’ve done that now for 15 years!
From 2012, I then went into magazines and was a beauty editor, which got me really into skincare. In 2014, I moved to Sydney and carried on with my blog, working for a couple of magazines freelance and that’s where I got my first paid job. I then came back to London in 2016 and thought “I’ll just give this a go before I get a ‘real job!’” and 10 years later, it’s still my job.
My mum, Juliet, is the person in most of these photos. She was a model when she was younger and lots of these photos are from when she was probably around 14 to 18. I remember her telling me that one of her friends was the photographer and she would just rock up some mornings and be like “I need a model and we need to do it today- can you just put these clothes on!?”
The original content creators!
Literally! She did lots of Jackie covers and then she got signed and moved to France and then Paris in her early 20s, and that is where she met my dad. So my dad is French and my mum is English. She studied art as well at Beaux-Arts, so she was modelling on the side and then studying art and painting. She still paints today.
I feel like your career is almost a modern iteration of the thing she was doing- like it’s genetic and there’s this creative thread that just runs through.
I think that too. It’s so funny because I studied History of Art and love painting, not as a job, but that kind of creativeness. There’s one of the photos we were just looking at, of her taking a photo of herself in the mirror and I take that photo often. Not because I think, “oh, mum did this”- I took those photos from age 15, but I just so idolised that kind of fantasy of visuals and became really interested in it.
I think because she was an artist as well I have that interest around what you can look like and what things can look like too. Observing what you find beautiful and through my own photography work I’ve explored that, as well as the idea of what is beauty? Both as a visual without anyone in, but also in yourself- and how that changes too. I think that comes from her. Seeing that exploration in herself and then weirdly genetically absorbing it.
I think that’s a skill as well, especially in this age of algorithms and fast paced content, to be able to recognise what you see beauty in.
And that can change. I think now there’s a fear online of, ‘oh, but everyone else thinks this is cool’ or you know, worrying about your taste in the future. But that is life. Being sure in that moment and not trying to think ahead or think ‘will I like this in the future?’ The fun of it is that you probably won’t, and that’s great. Like ‘80s hairstyles! There were loads in the photos that looked great! Are we going to have them now? Probably not! I bet you they’ll come back around though. That kind of thing is so interesting.
I feel like we’re at a stage where we’re more resistant to that because we want to be timeless and ‘effortless’. This kind of conservative and neutral stance, where it kind of like strips those layers of character away.
I mean, I say that and I don’t wear any colour!
But I feel like you have such a strong taste and sense of self. I can see things, even in your home, and there’s a real sense of you. I don’t think you have to show that every day, because it’s not performative. You’re not stripping back to try and be ‘minimal’. There’s something quite relaxed and cool about that, I think. How has your mum inspired your style and approach to fashion? What about her clothes inspires you?
I think my mum is extremely elegant. Growing up, and she still is now, she’s very classic. She would wear prints, but I think, because she is ridiculously beautiful, she could kind of wear anything! I think she was held back in a sense, not restricted, but I think us growing up in Paris and her living in France, there is that side of it of where style is very much, ‘good jeans, a great blazer, a turtleneck’. She’d still wear great mini-skirts and had cool boots, but she very much invested in good pieces. And I think I took that on from her.
“I think I kind of see it [dressing] as a way of expressing yourself, but it doesn’t have to be very expressive. It doesn’t have to be something super crazy- which has its place for some people- but I think of it like actually showing yourself and who you are, and that kind of thoughtfulness.” - Emma
I’ll admit, I haven’t based my whole style on her. I wasn’t like, “I want to dress like mum!” But I think now, especially with how I look and how I wear my hair, completely unconsciously, I’m like, “oh my god, that’s what mum did”. I think it was absorbed through what I grew up in and makes me feel comfortable.
She wears lots of dresses and my sister wears lots of dresses, and I think my sister almost took the more ‘feminine’ side. I think I dress in a feminine way, but my clothes aren’t girly. But I do think I’m inherently very girly. So for me, if I dressed girly, it feels too much- it’s like I have to have the balance. Plus, I think because I have an hourglass body, whereas my mum was much more up and down, it’s too easily sexualised as well. There’s a safety in having had hips and boobs since I was super young, and being a gymnast and wearing tight little leotards, that I remember very much being aware of going through puberty and how that affected how I saw myself, even though I was doing a sport.
In a way it’s like what we said about what is beauty- what is it to be ‘girly’? Obviously, societally, there are things that are ‘girlier’ than others, but it kind of makes you reframe femininity.
It’s really interesting how that makes you reclaim your femininity in a way that is connected to clothing but in a way that you have agency over. And our clothing is so connected to our bodies. Especially as women, we might wear a baggy jumper when we’re a bit more bloated because comfort is even so different throughout the month. For me, my body is feminine, but my clothes don’t have to be, so there’s an equilibrium.
When you look at your mum, what similarities do you see- if any?
We love a jean. We love a trouser. Because my mum was a lecturer as well, she had this kind of office work lecturer vibe, which I love. Pressed trousers with the seam. A blazer and hair up, very serious! But then she also had an arty side where she’d just wear a big shirt for the weekend with her apron literally with paint all over it and some random trousers. And I think that was her outside persona to work, and I think I see a similarity there.
The similarities are also those basic good pieces like a good jumper, a well cut coat and things that fit your body that you can wear again and again in different colours and in different seasons- but it’s the same core look essentially.
How would you describe your personal style? Where do you find inspiration today?
I would say maybe I’m quite French? I like to stick to basics and I’m definitely a denim girl. I’ve tried to do other trousers, I’ve really given it a go! But I always end up in jeans, and I’ve accepted that I probably have like 40+ pairs. Whenever I say to my husband “oh I’m just ordering these jeans…”, he’s like, “you do not need jeans”! But they’re so different!
I also like loads of pieces that I can mix and match, and I think that’s why I tend to not have lots of really different colours and don’t really wear pattern. Currently in this weather, I love a good boot too. I’m kind of playing a bit more with accessorising and playing more with hair now that my hair is longer. Genuinely, the difference that changes to an outfit! I saw a Substack recently and someone was like, ‘do your hair before you decide what you wear’ and I thought that was so clever. Thinking of things like that- accessories and even your hair dictating the rest of the outfit or the cut of the jumper, is a really nice thing to play with and find that fun in.
And personally, my fun is in my hair and my makeup. I’d much rather put on 5 different colour lips to see which one goes with my jumper than like 5 different colour jumpers. And it’s within your inner box, which is nice because sometimes you can feel too much like “I could wear anything!!” but I know I’m going to end up in jeans and a knit anyway, so I’d rather have those parameters. But my fun is that I could wear that with ballet pumps with my hair looking great and a bare face, or with a trainer and I’m in full makeup to find the balance each time. That’s completely different to me. I feel completely different. That’s what comes through in your clothes, always. It’s how you feel. Someone could be putting on something that is ‘cool’, but they feel weird and so they look weird.
I think it shows that when you intrinsically know the things that light you up when you get dressed, everything else just falls into place.
Because you could probably put the ‘cool’ thing on and it would look good. But you would be like, “who is this”? Because it’s not representative of who you are, or you feel like you’re dressing up as someone rather than showing who you are.
Exactly! Back to your mum. Have your thoughts on how she’s dressed changed as you’ve grown up?
I definitely look at photos of my mum now and think like “Fuck! That’s a really good ‘fit! I really like that!” I think there’s being of a similar age to what they were in photos that completely changes your perspective. I didn’t used to think much of it and there was a separation from it. Whereas I can see now why you would go back to those pieces, or why you’d invest in a really good coat. I get that now. Because in winter, the coat is the outfit. I remember my mum going to Whistles and Toast and being like “find the coat!” And now I get it.
Do you remember the point where you started appreciating her style? Was there an age where you thought of your mum in a fashion sense?
I think probably in the past 5 years actually. I think having seen these photos of her in the past few years, like that one where she’s got a blue cap on with like a tight top and some cream trousers, I was like “oh my God, I would wear that now!” and can see her through an adult light, like if I saw someone wearing that now, I’d be like, “fuck yeah!” Whereas when I was younger, I didn’t acknowledge it, it was just my mum.
I think it gets to a point, with time and perspective, you start separating those two things. You’re like, “oh, they were thinking about what they were putting on, and I’m thinking about what I wanted for dinner.”
Right. But when you’re younger, you don’t really think about those people like that- you’re so in the fold it’s hard to look at it objectively, but now there’s that separation from it.
It’s so true! Thank you so much Emma.
P.S If you’d like to read previous interviews you can do here:
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