NAUTICAL ELEMENTS @ Aux-Tales Live, Vol. 19
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Some of the best ways I’ve gotten to know Austin have started with me getting dressed.
When I moved here three years ago, I had been on a creative hiatus for a few years (life was life-ing!). But I made a promise to myself that once I got settled, I'd fully immerse myself into the surrounding arts ecosystem. Sometimes it’s a gallery I saw scrolling on social media, or a market tucked into a familiar neighborhood, or even a performance that caught my attention as I drove to brunch—or, this time, a DJ battle block party.
Aux-Tales Live: The Block Party, presented by Water Your Plants at Jo’s Coffee Downtown, offered exactly that: music, storytelling, art and community having a good time together. Djs Dragonn Queen and Stefon Osae went head to head for five minutes in three categories: House/Garage, Pharrell Universe, and Best Transition. Best two of three per crowd vote was crowned the champion. Stefon Osae ultimately took home the W, but everyone involved did an amazing job and we all had a really good time.
With that being said, lately I’ve been more cognizant to what happens when I allow curiosity to decide where I go and how I choose to express myself through my style. For this adventure, I leaned into nautical.
From Uniform to Fashion Language
Nautical is one of those aesthetics we recognize almost immediately. Navy and white. Breton stripes. Peacoats. Sailor collars. Bell-bottom trousers. Rope, anchors and splashes of red. But before many of those details became fashion shorthand for summers near the water, they belonged to working uniforms.
In The Style Thesaurus, Hannah Kane traces how practicality shaped much of what we now recognize as nautical dress. Peacoats were made for warmth and movement. Sailors wore loose bell-bottom trousers that could be rolled while wading through water. Even the familiar blue-and-white palette has roots in naval uniforms before designers and pop culture carried it elsewhere. Coco Chanel helped move the striped marinière into fashion. Yves Saint Laurent reinterpreted the peacoat. And Jean Paul Gaultier made the sailor one of his recurring visual signatures.
What began as utility eventually became something we expressed within our style. And I personally find that evolution extremely intriguing.
Following My Curiosity
There was a time when attending something alone in a city I was still learning would have required much more convincing. Now, I’m much more likely to think: Why not? That empowering shift has become one of the unexpected threads of inspiration for Style Notes.
Yes, I’m boldly documenting my clothes and outfits. I love and respect fashion deeply.
And although that can read as vain and obnoxious to some, that's not at all my intention. I’m documenting the looks and what happens when I follow my own interests without needing them to lead anywhere in particular or "make sense" to anyone else, but myself.
That courage has taken me into Austin’s galleries, bookstores, festivals, markets, screenings and many other beautiful creative spaces. Each one giving me another small glimpse of the people making things here—and another opportunity to participate rather than simply observe.
And a block party felt wonderfully uncomplicated in that way.
People gathered. Music blasted. Stories were exchanged. Somebody brought a friend. Somebody came alone. But for a few hours, a shared space became whatever we made of it. And there doesn’t have to be much more explanation than that.
Wearing Nautical (& Every Other Style) My Way
That same openness is how I approached my outfit of the day. A cute little blue and white striped romper, a vintage belt, and the cutest Queen of Hearts boots (I literally got stopped all day with people gagging over them, loved it!)
One of the most endearing things about this series has been curating each style, my way. Because once clothing leaves its original context, we get to decide what happens next. And that’s one of my favorite parts of fashion.
Nothing stays exactly where it started. And neither do we.
As a writer, I think about that often. I write about emotional inheritance, healing and becoming—about what we carry forward and what we choose to reinterpret for ourselves. Fashion gives me another language for exploring some of those same questions. And I know that’s why I keep getting dressed and going somewhere. I’m curious about what I’ll find. And more importantly, who I’ll be when I get there.
The Keesh Edit: Curiosity has taken me further than certainty ever could. Sometimes becoming looks less like having a destination and more giving yourself permission to see what catches your attention along the way.
SHOP THE LOOK
Until next time.
From My Bookshelf to Yours
The Style Thesaurus by Hannah Kane
One of the things I enjoy about studying different aesthetics is discovering the histories behind things I’ve seen countless times. The Style Thesaurus gives me another way to follow that curiosity—using fashion vocabulary as a starting point and deciding where I want to take it from there.
BEFORE YOU GO: Style Notes is where I explore personal style alongside the books, art, people and places that keep me curious. And if your curiosity includes resale, my ebook shares what I’ve learned through nearly a decade of Keesh À La Mode—from sourcing and pricing to presentation, shipping and developing an eye for what deserves another life.
How to Sell Your Closet and Everything In-between
