INSTITUTE FEAT. RAG AND BONE

This year was not a good one when it came to the amount of books I read, because it wasn’t many! But, I’m proud of the ones I did finish, one of them being Stephen King’s The Institute. The book follows the story of Luke Ellis, a telekinesis kid who gets kidnapped by well, that’s right — the Institute. There, he meets a lot of children in his situation (both TK’s, aka telekinesis kids and TP’s, telepathic kids), but they’re basically all held captive by the individuals who run tests on them seemingly all day every day. Oh, and they also (spoiler alert) killed Luke’s parents when they took him, among other unethical things, and while I won’t give much more away, let’s just say it’s a really cool story of kids coming together to fight back at the system they’re put in. It’s a nice reflection of life, and how we, too, have to fight the systems in place to make progress and most importantly, grow. Especially all things unethical and things that take away our freedom, exactly what the Institute did to King’s extraordinary platoon.

Fighting against the system comes in all shapes and forms, fashion included. I’ve always felt my best when I’m expressing myself in an outfit that subtly goes against the current trends. While this look reflects the popular corset style of the recent 2021 and 2022 years, I was particularly drawn to this particular floral lace sleeve top because it’s a little more modest, Victorian and theatrical than a lot of the other corset tops out there. It’s against the grain, but still nods to the what’s in style. Next, I paired it with my staple black Rag & Bone jeans (aka prob my favorite pair of denim I own), and this Nasty Gal Fur Coat which I can’t get enough of. I finished it off with my new favorite Mod&Jo ‘A’ Pendant, and a thick velvet headband. Also, can’t forget some oval sunnies.

“To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth strength, gives, in your weakness, strength unto your foe.”

[Richard II. 2.3]

Cheers, xx - A. Martine

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