024: Marlowe Granados & her Pucci collection

The authoress on her kaleidoscopic acquisitions

Many aspire to be a Party Girl, but few embody its essence. Marlowe Granados is the Party Girl. With a penchant for Pucci, armed with a profound intellectual capacity that ranges from De Quincey to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and just about always down for a night on the town, the delightfully witty writer, artist, and authoress of Happy Hour is how legends come to be.

Marlowe's repertoire of bylines include Harper's Bazaar, Interview Magazine, The Guardian, and The Cut. For four years, the writer helmed The Baffler's advice column, Designs for Living, and is currently working on her second novel. Granados isn't a rising star; hers has burned bright through the rise and fall of the It Girl, and in the party and literary scenes where today's names are forgotten tomorrow. After a whirlwind trip to New York, Marlowe, who is currently based in Toronto, took a moment to discuss her formidable collection of vintage Emilio Pucci and the importance of a bitchy heel.

Marlowe Granados at home in Pucci

In my mind, Pucci and Marlowe are synonymous. What was the first piece you bought by the Florentine designer?

That's such a compliment, thank you. My first purchase was a tiny Pucci handbag from a consignment store in 2017. It has patent orange sides and then a soft leather front and back with the famous print. I had always had a few vintage designer pieces, but around 2016 and 2017 was when I got really into the search. Ever since I was a teenager my wardrobe was always around 80% vintage. Searching for designer pieces became a bit of a fixation for me and I would usually fall asleep scrolling on eBay. My first Pucci piece also coincided with my tiny handbag obsession. I love having small handbags that fit absolutely nothing and this is still very much a key part of my style. 

You have a superb collection of Emilio Pucci clothes and accessories; what is it about the designer and the brand that you gravitate towards?

I think one of the things people know about me is that I love fun. I don't take myself very seriously and I think that's part of what I love about Pucci. Their signature silk jersey is slinky and sexy, while also having a bit of a laugh. The use of colour is something that I find beautiful and it puts me in a good mood. I've never been scared of prints, and if you wear enough of them they kind of turn into neutrals. Generally speaking, the designers I find myself returning to are all Italian. There's a visual language that I am naturally drawn to and feel some type of kinship with. Pucci reminds me of the sixties when things were moving and shaking. If you look up the old flight attendant uniforms they made for the now defunct airline Braniff International, you'll see what I mean. Sharon Tate and Marilyn Monroe were both buried in Pucci dresses, that adds some historical heft! 

Emilio Pucci for Braniff International, advertising strategy by Mary Wells Lawrence, who was considered to be the real Peggy Olson

Do you have a particular piece you'd never let go of?

Oh god, I don't even know now. I do have this little pink Pucci purse that I cannot fit absolutely anything in, but it's just so cute I can't bear to get rid of it. I love things that are beautiful and have no real use. Every time I wear it, my things fall out. It's one of those bags that you have to hold your phone in the other hand all night. 

Pucci is often associated with resort-wear, the fabric of glamorous escapes, but you have a remarkable knack for making it right at home in the city. What's your secret?

Honestly, I think it looks better in the city. The people who are in the know will often come up to me and say I love your Pucci. (Writing this out reminds me that one of my exes put a ban on me saying the words "Pucci Bag" because of one late night where I thought I lost mine.) I think it has something to do with what shoes you wear. It needs to be a bit of a bitchy heel to give it an edge. I like to do a wash of eyeshadow on my lids in a colour pulled from whatever print I'm wearing. 

For a long time I wore pink eye shadow with gold inner corners as my "going out" look. If you wear Pucci with a sandal and no defined eye makeup, it definitely makes you look like you stepped out of a cabana. I look at some of my pieces and go in the direction of Mod. I have a corduroy skirt that I always wear with knee-high boots. It reminds me of how the women in the 60s editorials wore their Pucci with go-go boots. 

Where do you typically source pieces from?

All over the place. I have saved searches on every re-sale website, auction place, Japanese websites. I am always interested in Pucci velvet, it's the hardest thing to find at a reasonable price point because I don't think they do it anymore. I will admit that I have seven Pucci bags... I used to have eight but I showed courage in letting one go. 

Veruschka wearing Pucci, photographed by Slim Aarons, 1966, (left), and by Henry Clarke for Vogue, June 1, 1965

Is there a specific Pucci image/moment that you adore?

A Slim Aarons photo of Veruschka playing limbo. This is what Pucci is for...to play in! 

Who are some other designers you admire and whose works you collect?

When I say these designers I'm usually talking 20+ year old pieces but Missoni, Moschino, Dolce (I know, I know), YSL Rive Gauche, Escada, Prada (like you, my favourite collections are from the early 2010s), 90's Miu Miu, Christian Lacroix, Courrèges, Valentino. A good dress solves everything. All of these designers use colour so well. 

Every time you share a picture of your outfit, I'm delighted by how you dress for living life. Who are some smart and stylish individuals you're inspired by? 

My tailor has some opinions about how I dress for life...I'm always going in there with undone seams! I just brought in a dress that ripped because I had to climb through a window. I also go hard on my shoes, my cobbler has to add new heel tips every year because I'm such a... Party girl. I love how Rachel Tashjian puts together an outfit, Vanna Youngstein, Joy Sauvage. Luckily I grew up in such a coterie of fashionable women, I look to the way my friends dress all the time. I love going out and hitting the pavement, each of us having such distinct styles. It takes years to form! Style is really an art. 

Marlowe’s cat Bruce shares his mother’s love of the Florentine designer

You're currently working on your second novel; how has this process been in contrast to your first?

I gave myself a bit of leeway after I heard someone say, "You spend your entire life up until your first novel is finished trying to write it." The second novel is always a little more experimental and about finding new ground. It feels a lot closer because the things I'm writing about aren't as far away as when I wrote Happy Hour. I like the challenge and the fun of it--my favourite part is the process. Everything that comes after is beyond me. Right now, it feels very intimate. I am older now, I have different themes I think about, but all still under the same umbrella of my style. 

Dear Marlowe, do you have any advice for writers anxious about embarking on their first novel or pitching a dream assignment? (Asking for a friend)

I am very bad at pitching, I usually just talk to the editor on the phone because I am much more associative than someone who can sit and dash out a couple of paragraphs with an argument already built in. If you want to write a novel, I have to say what my agent said when I was twenty-three, "Let me know when it's finished." You just have to get it out of you, don't worry about the other stuff. It's part of the adventure when it's just you and the text, don't think about the audience or market or anything. I think if you're authentically engaging with your work, the people who will get it will find it. 

Complete this sentence: Pucci is...to die for!

Until next time!