Fashion Speak: Something Borrowed

Dressed, Glamour Magazine

SOMETHING BORROWED: n., pron. suhm-thing bor-rowed: An item from anyone's wardrobe other than your own that feels a thousand times better than anything you own, simply because it's not yours.

Who needs to wait for an overwrought frilly white dress and a host of embarrassing toasts to engage in a little borrowing? Just as dinner always tastes better when someone else is paying, clothes always feel better when they belong to someone else, don't you guys think?

In my years as a fashion editor and a stylist's assistant, I've been lucky enough to dip into some pretty unbelievable closets (ie, the Herve birthday dress--you didn't think the fashion gods bestowed a superfluous month's rent on me to blow on a party frock, did you?) and have found, without fail, that I'd rather wear someone else's clothes than my own any day. My sorority sisters and I had a few shirts that were without a rightful owner simply because they had passed hands so many times; my roommate loves to root around in my closet for stuff that feels very un-her, and I can't tell you how many times I've called a publicist before an event and politely begged them for a beautiful dress to wear. While I have plenty of pieces I'll keep forever, my favorite way to get dressed is in something I'll wear once and then move on--and what better way is there to do that than with something borrowed? No money changing hands, instant gratification realized.

Do you guys swap clothes with your girlfriends? Do you love wearing something new without having to pay for it? Whose wardrobe would you most want to raid, if you had your pick?

Go beyond borrowing from your friends and check out Bag, Borrow or Steal.

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