If Indiana Jones was a woman, who kept her whip on the pulse of the latest fashion trends, she would be thrill-seeking in this rokh two-piece set.
Sure, I’m not an archaeology professor on-duty and a world-wandering treasure hunter off-duty, but a broadcast journalist based in California’s capital city has her own set of adventures turning over stones—instead of running away from them.
I have waded through shin-deep mud in the foothills, after a mudslide 200 feet wide, from historic rainfall hit a home in The Foothills (thankfully no one was injured). I’ve reported live from a levee from one county to the next. And then there’s that time my photographer and I adventured up an extremely steep road into the mountains, to tour a man’s house that had been without power for days, after unrelenting storms. Back-to-back rainfall and snow have meant trip after trip to the Sierra, and multiple live shots for my Sacramento station, our sister station in San Francisco, and even national news outlets. My job as a journalist is rarely glamorous, but it is beyond important to keep audiences informed.
On-camera, I try to express myself through style while remaining practical for the environment and without taking away from the subject matter of what I’m reporting about. I find that my clothes can tell a louder story in my spare time. Those hours are mine, to weave together a narrative of words and wardrobe: This one, has to do with some precious “cargo:” Utility fashion.
You have probably spotted utilitarian fashion in all the latest street style round ups, or on spring/summer runway. From oversized garment compartments front and center at Miu Miu, to new takes on the aughts-era low-slinging cargo pants at Coperni and Fendi, it’s clear that the pockets are running deep in the literal sense, as inflation hits figurative pockets hard.
Fashion tends to be cultural commentary in that way in the form of clothing, but in reverse the culture can also shape the fashion. As we were approaching the Great Recession, I distinctly remember green cargo pants as the superhero uniform for world-saving cartoon character Kim Possible and the go-to bottoms for celebrities featured in glossy magazines I would read in line at the supermarket. The utilitarian trends genesis goes back further, to the Great Depression in the United States and then government rationing of clothing during World War II.
The first three Indiana Jones movies are set during this time, and while his fedora may be the most impressionable part of his look, Jones’ utilitarian uniform is what remains timeless as people dawn similar styles now.
With ongoing war in Ukraine, the continued efforts of the Women Life Freedom Movement in Iran, and rising costs here at home, it seems that the fashion world is favoring utilitarian style and “quiet luxury” over maximalism. Pieces can still be conversational in more hushed tones. This asymmetrical skirt and jacket combo with tortoise shell buttons is a prime example of that. One sleeve is cuffed with an exposed brand tag, while the other fans out in a bell shape, so I decided to put a black opera glove on that arm, while keeping the other bare. I matched the one gauntlet with these black suede over-the-knee boots that have served me well for years and held the Burberry clutch I’ve owned since the last time this cargo trend resurfaced.
Keeping it Krischic,
Kristin Vartan
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Keeping it Krischic 