P.S. by Plum Sykes

Hello, darlings!

I’m beyond excited to be launching my latest writing effort – which I’d describe as my live style notebook - here on Substack. I’ve titled it P.S. by Plum Sykes, partly because those are my initials, and partly because this is a place for me to record my ‘postscripts’, or the delicious and funny extras that make life fun, chic and interesting in a world that isn’t always those things.

If you are an American Vogue reader, you may know me as a contributor and writer to the magazine. If you love funny novels, I’ve authored a few of those, too, the most recent being Wives Like Us. When I started as a fashion writer at Vogue in the late 1990s, we devoted pages and pages to analysing the personal style of chic women. Whether the subject was a dazzling waitress at Balthazar or a bombshell starlet on Broadway, the common denominator was extraordinary fashion sense. I spent much of my time finding people with exceptional taste to photograph and write about. I learned a lot about how to put clothes together, whether it was from the editors at the magazine or the glamorous women I reported on.

It all seeped into my subconscious, informing my own aesthetic and eventually forming the basis for my novels, starting with Bergdorf Blondes. Like many of my Vogue stories, this book was as much about the girl in the dress as the dress: both had to be as glamorous and amusing as the other if I was going to write about them. (What was the point in being dressed in an Oscar de la Renta or Giambattista Valli ball gown if you were no fun, after all?)

I adore glamour and the sprinkling of fairy dust it somehow scatters over us all, lifting our spirits when life gets tough, and that’s why I love writing about fashion. But make no mistake, my definition of fashion isn’t limited to clothes: as my career has evolved, I’ve come to believe that being truly fashionable is about having a complete aesthetic and intellectual vision of life. The books you read, the flowers you arrange, the scent you wear, the podcast you listen to, the linens on your bed, the wallpaper in your house – all these things are as much a part of fashion as the handbag you carry or the party dress you wear.

For a long time, I’ve wanted to find a way to share my taste and style more widely, as I love helping my friends with tips. If someone asks me where I found something – whether it’s a pair of jeans, a wonderful bag, or a chic tablecloth - I’ll give them every detail. Some people find this odd, as they hate being ‘copied,’ but I’m completely the opposite - I feel flattered if someone wants what I have, and even more than that, I love to help a friend with fashion if they are struggling. I seem to have an eye for fabulous things, whether that’s a pair of navy pants that look like they’re from Chanel but are in fact under $150 (that post is coming soon, BTW) or for the place to get an Alexandre-level blow-out for 35 Euros in Paris (yes, there is one, and that’s coming, too). I hope you enjoy my search for the high-low chic in life.

XOXO,

Plum

P.S. To those of you who have been waiting here patiently, my humble apologies for the long wait, and my grateful thanks. My first story drops on Tuesday.