Wearing Nothing New – Passionate Fashion TED Talk with Designer Jessi Arrington

By dreamfleur • August 2011

This TED Talk from a few months back featuring designer Jessi Arrington is so creative and quirky. Jessi is a self-proclaimed “color-loving…outfit-obsessed Brooklyn designer” who is determined to feed her love for passion only by shopping secondhand at flea markets and thrift stores. She also photographs and blogs a different “colorful, crazy outfit for every single occasion.” I love her care-free take on fashion to express herself, and how she doesn’t take her outfits or herself too seriously (which she shows in one of her tips: “Embrace your inner child. Sometimes people tell me that I look like I’m playing dress-up, or that I remind them of their seven year-old. I like to smile and say, ‘Thank you.’)

Visit Jessica’s blog to learn more about her take on the TED talk and her passion for fashion, used and unique.

” Jessi Arrington packed nothing for TED but 7 pairs of undies, buying the rest of her clothes in thrift stores around LA. It’s a meditation on conscious consumption — wrapped in a rainbow of color and creativity.”

From Jessi’s TED Talk
“…Confidence is key. If you think you look good in something, you almost certainly do. And if you don’t think you look good in something, you’re also probably right. I grew up with a mom who taught me this day-in and day-out. But it wasn’t until I turned 30 that I really got what this meant. And I’m going to break it down for you for just a second. If you believe you’re a beautiful person inside and out, there is no look that you can’t pull off. So there is no excuse for any of us here in this audience. We should be able to rock anything we want to rock.

“…Developing your own unique personal style is a really great way to tell the world something about you without having to say a word. It’s been proven to me time and time again as people have walked up to me this week simply because of what I’m wearing. And we’ve had great conversations…”

“So obviously this is not all going to fit back in my tiny suitcase. So before I go home to Brooklyn, I’m going to donate everything back. Because the lesson I’m trying to learn myself this week is that it’s okay to let go. I don’t need to get emotionally attached to these things, because around the corner, there is always going to be another crazy, colorful, shiny outfit just waiting for me, if I put a little love in my heart and look.” – Jessi Arrington

More About Jessi

Jessi Arrington is a founder and owner of WORKSHOP, a designer firm in Brooklyn. Her favorite color is rainbow and her default answer is YES. She’s taught Design Fundamentals at Touro College and given guest lectures at NYU; she’s a board member of AIGA/NY. Before co-founding WORKSHOP, she carried out branding for Brooklyn Brewery, Tomato Records and Lion Brand Yarn under the direction of Milton Glaser. She makes a hobby of wearing nothing new (except undies).
She blogs at LuckySoAndSo.com about design, consumption and color.