144. Becky Malinsky | Light Bulb Moments

Summary

Podcast Summary: What We Wore – Episode 144: Becky Malinsky | Light Bulb Moments

Release Date: June 25, 2024
Host: Laura Vinroot Poole
Guest: Becky Malinsky

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1. Introduction and Background

In Episode 144 of "What We Wore," host Laura Vinroot Poole engages in an enlightening conversation with Becky Malinsky, the former Deputy Fashion Director of the Wall Street Journal. Becky has transitioned from a prominent role in fashion journalism to becoming a sought-after stylist and a beloved Substack writer. Her journey reflects a deep commitment to understanding and serving people through fashion, rather than merely focusing on trends.

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2. Early Life and Minnesota Roots

Becky Malinsky hails from Minnesota, a state that has profoundly shaped her identity and work ethic. She shares, “[00:43] My family has been in Minnesota for many generations...I grew up in Minnesota. I've lived here 20 years” (Becky Malinsky, [00:43]). Her upbringing in a tight-knit, hardworking community instilled in her the values of perseverance and a strong work ethic, which continue to influence her career today.

Reflecting on her childhood, Becky reminisces about the freedom she experienced: “I rode my bike to school in fourth grade with my best friend...I went sledding every single day after school with my neighbors” ([01:32]). This sense of community and authenticity fostered her ability to connect deeply with people, a trait that is central to her approach in both journalism and styling.

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3. Entry into Fashion and Initial Career Steps

Becky’s passion for fashion was evident from a young age. Despite her grandmother’s practical views on sewing, Becky taught herself to sew in seventh grade, a skill encouraged by her mother who suggested she explore fashion. This early interest led her to pursue internships in New York, starting with Cosmopolitan magazine in 2002. “[03:07]...I sort of taught myself to sew in seventh grade...So I sort of taught myself to sew in seventh grade,” Becky explains how her foundational skills and determination paved the way for her career in fashion journalism.

Moving to New York was a pivotal moment for Becky. She recounts her move: “I moved to New York. I had no job. I pounded the pavement...I would talk to anyone who would talk to me” ([06:19]). Her relentless pursuit led to an internship at Cosmopolitan, setting the stage for her ascent in the fashion media landscape.

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4. Career in Fashion Media: Lucky, GQ, Glamour, and the Wall Street Journal

Becky’s tenure at Lucky magazine was a significant chapter in her career. “[12:16]...Lucky magazine changed the way magazines spoke to readers. They were the first fashion magazine that talked to you like you were their friend” ([12:34]). She emphasizes Lucky’s innovative approach, likening it to “the Internet before the Internet” ([13:17]). Her role involved managing sample trafficking and developing relationships with magazine assistants, which eventually led to her securing a position at Lucky.

During a corporate reorganization at Lucky in 2008, Becky was transferred to GQ, where she handled demanding tasks such as traveling with numerous trunks and managing high-stress photo shoots. Despite the challenges, she found the experience exhilarating: “[16:12]...But also like, isn't this the best life?”

Her journey continued at Glamour, where she honed her editorial and writing skills. Becky credits her growth as a writer to her mentors at the Wall Street Journal: “[18:13]...she made me a better writer. The editor of the section too, was an unbelievable editor and writer.”

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5. Transition to Independent Styling and Writing

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes, prompting Becky to pivot from traditional fashion media to launching her own styling business and Substack newsletter. Inspired by podcasts discussing the new norms of office dressing, Becky identified a gap in helping people navigate their work wardrobes in a post-pandemic world. “[26:17]...light bulb moment. This is a business. I'm going to help people get dressed for work” ([26:17]).

She swiftly moved from her role at the Wall Street Journal to establish her styling business, focusing on helping individuals create professional wardrobes that align with their personal style. Becky launched her Substack simultaneously, aiming to run two businesses: a professional styling service and a personal newsletter. “[29:20]...It's a word of mouth business...the majority of my clients were not newsletter readers first.”

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6. Insights on the Fashion Media Landscape and Sustainability

Becky shares her perspectives on the evolving fashion media landscape, highlighting the challenges and future directions. “[13:44]...people are always like, well, you know, you could turn five things into a media brand...we're going to see things that are niche surviving” ([13:44]). She believes that niche publications focusing on trust and authenticity will thrive as larger media companies struggle to maintain relevance and resource allocation.

On sustainability, Becky underscores the importance of ethical consumption: “[23:37]...everything that you consume...the person who created it is earning a living wage” ([23:37]). She stresses the need for transparency and ethical practices in the fashion industry, reflecting her commitment to integrity from her time at the Wall Street Journal where strict ethics policies were paramount.

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7. Personal Reflections and Challenges

Balancing two businesses presents its own set of challenges for Becky. She discusses the difficulty of managing both her Substack newsletter and her styling business: “[34:07]...it's a lot to manage...delegating in a way that I haven't quite figured out yet” ([34:11]). Additionally, she touches on the challenges of remaining present as a parent while running her businesses: “[34:11]...being a present parent...you are the business.”

Becky also reflects on her confidence and authenticity in her work, emphasizing the importance of serving real people with practical fashion advice: “[32:22]...knowing what you're good at...translating real fashion for real people” ([32:22]).

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8. Anecdotes and Personal Stories

Towards the end of the episode, Becky shares delightful personal anecdotes, offering a glimpse into her personality and fashion sensibilities. She recounts her prom experience with vivid detail: “[34:52]...I wore a strapless floor length column gown...with little mini seed bead, floral embroidery” ([35:04]). Additionally, her winter formal attire highlighted her unique style: “[35:27]...black lace with nude under...poof out circle skirt to the knee, black satin” ([35:27]). These stories illustrate her long-standing passion for fashion and her ability to blend personal style with professional expertise.

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Conclusion

Becky Malinsky’s journey from Minnesota to the heart of New York’s fashion media, and her subsequent transition to independent styling and writing, underscores a career driven by passion, integrity, and a deep understanding of people. Her insights into the changing landscape of fashion media and sustainability reflect her commitment to fostering trust and authenticity in the industry. As she continues to navigate the challenges of running her own businesses, Becky remains a beacon of inspiration for those looking to make meaningful impacts through fashion.

Notable Quotes:

• “She was the woman for the job.” – Laura Vinroot Poole ([00:05])
• “I felt like I had a real childhood. Like, I rode my bike to school in fourth grade with my best friend.” – Becky Malinsky ([01:32])
• “Lucky magazine changed the way magazines spoke to readers. They were the first fashion magazine that talked to you like you were their friend.” – Becky Malinsky ([12:34])
• “Being a present parent...you are the business.” – Becky Malinsky ([34:11])
• “This is the business. I'm quitting my job. And if I start this business, it has to be right now.” – Becky Malinsky ([27:53])

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For more insights and updates, follow Becky Malinsky on Substack and on Instagram @whatweworepodcast.

Transcript

[Becky Malinsky]

Foreign.

[Laura Vinrit]

I'm Laura Vinrit, Pool of capital, and this is what we wore. Becky Malinsky was the deputy fashion director of the Wall Street Journal, now stylist and beloved substack writer. As people began returning to work after the pandemic, she realized that no one knew how to get dressed, and she was the woman for the job. I fell in love with Becky's energy and conviction, and you will, too. Foreign. I'm talking to you from New York, but you're not from New York, are you? No.

[Becky Malinsky]

I grew up in Minnesota. I've lived here 20 years.

[Laura Vinrit]

How did y'all get to Minnesota?

[Becky Malinsky]

Oh, my God. My family has been in Minnesota for many generations, on both sides, actually. My mother is from a farming family who all immigrated in, like, the late 1800s, I would like to say. And my father's family is from Russia, Romania, and they all came in in, like, the 1910s, 20s. And honestly, I don't know how they settled in Minnesota.

[Laura Vinrit]

I mean, I think what happens is you go where you have a cousin or something, right?

[Becky Malinsky]

Totally. You go where you have a cousin.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah. Because you have no money and you have. You're like, well, we could stay in their house for, like, a month.

[Becky Malinsky]

Right. And, you know, it's cold. It reminds them of home. Everyone. I. I mean, I am from pale stuff. Shock all around. Yeah.

[Laura Vinrit]

So how do you think Minnesota shaped who you've become or who you are?

[Becky Malinsky]

Love Minnesota. I saw my. My son, who is 4. He's, you know, goes. He goes, are we gonna go on spring break again next year? I go, yeah, where do you want to go? He goes, I'd really like to go to Minnesota. And, you know, he just loves it there. He always, when are we moving to grandma's house? We can live. Oh, it's such a. Like, near and dear part of me, I'm so proud to be from Minnesota. I think it's a. You know, Minnesota nice is. It comes from something. People are generally warm, and there's community. I felt very protected from the world in a way that is maybe good, maybe bad, but I felt like I had a real childhood. Like, I rode my bike to school in fourth grade with my best friend. I. I went sledding every single day after school with my neighbors. And it was a freedom of childhood in a way that I don't think kids have that much anymore. And I don't know, you know, they probably don't have it that much anymore in Minnesota, too. It felt like an amazing place to be free and just sort of be who you are without a lot of external pressure. And at least that was my experience. And I come from very hard working stock. And I think that has helped me a lot along the way. And, you know, being a hard worker is part of my identity. And I don't know if that's part of being from Minnesota, being from my. That's how my grandma always was. That's how my mom is. It's something I'm proud of. And I think it really shapes my ability to see the world and to be able to just keep going.

[Laura Vinrit]

How are you introduced to fashion in Minnesota?

[Becky Malinsky]

I've always been very particular and opinionated about fashion and style. Even when I was a little kid, no one was allowed to dress me. I always had an opinion. My grandma, you know. Cause like, every grandma thinks their child is like the most beautiful, perfect person. Yeah, you're going to be a model. We're going to make you a child model. But will you wear the dress that they tell you? And I was like, no, I'm not going to. You know, Even at like 7 years old, when my grandmother thought I was going to be a model, it was my mother who told me that I should maybe pursue something in fashion. So I sort of taught myself to sew in seventh grade. Grandmother who is from, you know, depression era, very Grapes of Wrath, but you know, the northern Minnesota version, she had to sew all of their clothes. They used curtains, they made things work for years and years and years even, until she passed away, like reusing everything until it was disintegrated. And I wanted to learn to sew. And she just thought it was so ridiculous because it was. She was like, you can buy something in the store now for cheaper than what would take your own personal labor to make it. And I started sewing and she told me I was doing it all wrong. And she told me, the right way, here's going to be the right way, how to do it. And so she taught me how to sew. And from that. And I was so interested in it that my mom is the one who said, maybe you should think about doing something in fashion. Because for me, I was always going to be a doctor. My father was a doctor, my stepfather is a doctor. Everyone always told me, you're going to be a doctor. I was very academic. Like, I pursued my studies very rigorously from being very young, up and through college. And. And it was my mom who said, you know what? Actually, I think there's something here. Maybe you should look into it. And when I was in college I came to New York for college. Well, no, just in the summer. I had, okay, the University of Wisconsin. And weirdly my roommates were from New York and so they were going back home for the summer and they were like, you should come for the summer. And one of my roommates had an in who was a business major. She had an internship at Morgan Stanley. And she was like, I found a room in the NYU dorms, like come, come live in the NYU dorms for the summer. And so I said, oh yeah, sure, that sounds amazing. I literally had my garage sale of my parents basement. My mom said if you have a garage, you can sell all this stuff, you can take the money and go to New York. So I had a garage sale and I took all the money and I paid for the dorms in the summer to come to New York. I got an internship, Cosmopolitan magazine, this was in 2002. From there. Then the next summer I got another internship. And then when I moved back to New York, I just moved to New York. I had no job. I pounded the pavement. I would talk to anyone who would talk to me like, oh, my friend's mom works in book publishing. Talk to her, you know, and I would just take a million meetings and.

[Laura Vinrit]

And from the first moment, was it the fashion part of it or was it the New York part of it? I mean were you just.

[Becky Malinsky]

That's a good question actually because it always felt like home from the day I got here. I always knew like even now coming over the bridge, getting off the air, like coming from the airport, I'm like.

[Laura Vinrit]

Oh, what made you feel that you could make a living doing that? Like that you had, that you had authority to even say other than you were opinionated.

[Becky Malinsky]

Being young and stupid, you know, hard headed. It was never. That's what I mean. Like, you know, it's very. Youth is wasted on the young. Like it was never thought in my mind that this was not going to be it. Like it just had to work. I just, I mean now you think back and you think, oh my God, I can't believe I just did that. Could I imagine now just moving to a city and just knowing like I'm going to work really hard and get a job. And I was definitely stressed because I'm a high stress person for sure. But no, it was always just this is what it is and I'm going to get the job and I'm going to work so hard. You know, I had wanted a job in magazines and this is like heyday of magazines, you know.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah, like Were you a journalism major?

[Becky Malinsky]

So I was a journalism major. So I went to my first, you know, fashion major class because my one's like, oh, pursue fashion. I had a panic attack. I was like, oh, my God, I am majoring in sewing. What if sewing doesn't work out? Like, I can't. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. So I took a journalism 101 class. I fell in love. I had this, these internships at magazines. It felt like the synergy was there. I was like, oh, it introduced me to so many different paths and jobs that there were in fashion. Because in my head, coming from Minnesota, it's like, oh, if you want to work in fashion, you're going to be a fashion designer. You didn't even know that there were thousands of different types of jobs that you could have that are in that billion dollar world.

[Laura Vinrit]

Were you always a good writer? I mean, did that click automatically?

[Becky Malinsky]

No, I definitely don't think. I was always a great writer.

[Laura Vinrit]

When you got to Cosmopolitan, that summer internship and then you were going back for your senior year, did it make it clear that there were things that you needed to do better in order to come back and have a, a full job, you know, full time job when you graduated?

[Becky Malinsky]

I was so itchy and antsy to graduate and get out of there and start working that I would say I just sort of did what I had to do. It's the same thing as, you know, just coming to New York and knowing this is the only option. I remember I had to, because the journalism major at Wisconsin, it's a huge, it's like a 60,000 person campus. The journalism school only accepts 100 people per semester. It's very competitive and nobody gets in the first time they apply. And I already had started late because I was coming from another major, so I had to apply two times. So I had to take one class the summer after graduation to finish to like get the degree. And I came in and I was like, this is a strategy. You have to have sample trafficking and you have to do this and you. And I was like, I already know. And now thinking back, I'm like, oh my God. I didn't let anyone else have even one opinion. I was just like ready to go and ready to work.

[Laura Vinrit]

Was your dad, your doctor dad supportive of this path?

[Becky Malinsky]

Very supportive of me. Not very clear on what I was doing, but, you know, loved me, trust me, knows that I am very responsible. There was not a lot of checking in on me. I think, you know, there's more checking in on my sister for sure. But just because I was so obsessed with, like, the competitiveness of work, you know, I was like, I remember once my parents went on vacation. I had to stay at my aunt, uncle's and my aunt kind of sleeps late and I was going to be late for school and I was just like, I have not had one tardy the entire year. You were getting out of bed, get me to school.

[Laura Vinrit]

You graduated, you got. You had your marketing class and you moved straight to New York. And did you go back to Cosmopolitan?

[Becky Malinsky]

I did not. I didn't have a job. I knew I wanted to work in magazines. Just felt like, this is it, this is the job. I couldn't get a job in magazines right away. So I got a job as the marketing assistant at the cashmere company. Say spelled T S. Yes, I know around anymore.

[Laura Vinrit]

My wedding dress was say, oh my God.

[Becky Malinsky]

Really?

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah. Narciso did a collection for them.

[Becky Malinsky]

I remember.

[Laura Vinrit]

But that was a cool company.

[Becky Malinsky]

It was super cool. I mean, I only worked there a year, but we did like, they were investing so heavily in the company when I was there. We did like, the campaigns we shot were with the top models. They were with Joe McKenna and Alistair Lennon. And like, it was unbelievable what I was able to see at working at this cashmere brand for a year.

[Laura Vinrit]

That's interesting. I bet that was really helpful.

[Becky Malinsky]

Super helpful. Yeah. And I mean, I still knew. I was like, I have to get in. I have to get it to a magazine. And I remember the assistant position came up, the market assistant position came up at Lucky magazine. And I was like, I am going to get this job if this is the last thing I do.

[Laura Vinrit]

How at that time did you know things like that?

[Becky Malinsky]

I was the assistant in charge of all of the sample trafficking and all and the showroom. And my job would be to coordinate with the assistants at the magazines, right. And like, be in the showroom during like the mark the press day when the editors would come by. And I'm sure I was so obnoxious and like thinking like integrating myself a little too much, I would imagine. And I just made it my business to know everybody and get to know the assistants. And I would, you know, do you want. Do you want to get a drink after work to some of the assistants? So, you know, I just sort of tried to develop a network in that way. And yeah, one of the assistant at Lucky at the time, and Lucky at the time was like, yeah, everything place like pre. Pre E Commerce. I got to know her because, like, she covered the knitwear market. Because back in the day, your whole job could be denim hosiery. Yes.

[Laura Vinrit]

Literally leg wear.

[Becky Malinsky]

Yeah. Like we were. I was talking about that with a friend the other day. I was like, remember when my entire job was covering denim? And.

[Laura Vinrit]

So crazy.

[Becky Malinsky]

So crazy.

[Laura Vinrit]

And so you got the job?

[Becky Malinsky]

I got the job. I. When I tell you I stayed up all night. I made a presentation of all the trends for the next season. I told them they could keep it if they needed to use it in their trend reports.

[Laura Vinrit]

Was that something that you had been thinking about with say, or was it something you.

[Becky Malinsky]

I just felt like I needed to bring something extra. I needed to be extra.

[Laura Vinrit]

Was it right?

[Becky Malinsky]

I mean, they were obsessed. They were literally basically like, you're hired on the spot. They were like, can we keep this?

[Laura Vinrit]

For the younger listeners, do you mind sharing what you think was so special about Lucky magazine? I don't think younger listeners won't know what that is.

[Becky Malinsky]

Lucky magazine changed the way magazines spoke to readers. They were the first fashion magazine that talked to you like you were their friend. And they would explain everything in really fun terms of different pairing, of ways of pairing things. And this is before E commerce. So you would get the magazine in the mail and it would come with a page of stickers that said yes on them and you would tag all the things you liked and wanted to come back to. So it was basically a really well edited, like, catalog by your best friend.

[Laura Vinrit]

And the images were like, almost like thumbnails, you know, like the way that it almost was the Internet before the Internet. Right.

[Becky Malinsky]

Like it was the Internet before the Internet.

[Laura Vinrit]

It kind of was.

[Becky Malinsky]

It was in my heart. It is so heartbreaking to me that it is not the world's best E commerce site.

[Laura Vinrit]

Agreed.

[Becky Malinsky]

It should have been the world's best E commerce site. But the parent company just like didn't believe in the Internet at the time, which, you know, it was new so well.

[Laura Vinrit]

And speaking of, how do you think the fashion media landscape is going to continue to change over the next 10 years?

[Becky Malinsky]

That's a great question. I wish I could answer that question. I do think, you know, there'll be a few resources that survive. There will be a few publications that survive. It's going to be people being asked to do more with less, as has been the trajectory of the past 10 years. I think about this a lot in terms of people are always like, well, you know, you could turn five things into a media brand. And I'm like, but I don't know, I don't really want to turn it into a brand. Have we learned? So I do think, like, we're at a time right now where you're looking for trust in places where you feel like you have lost trust in sort of these bigger picture and bigger, bigger box companies. So I do think we're going to be looking for individuals that we can trust. I think a lot about this in terms of glamour, because I left Glamour before it was turned into only a website. But, like, the big problem with glamour then is that you can't be everything to everyone. And I think we're going to see things that are niche surviving because when you try to be everything to anyone, you set yourself up for failure because there's. That's too much and no one can be that. So. And that, I think was always a struggle for Glamour. It's like, how do you include everyone?

[Laura Vinrit]

And so literally straight to Lucky. And what was that like? And what was your job there?

[Becky Malinsky]

I was the assistant to the market director and her markets were. She covered European markets and American designer.

[Laura Vinrit]

Great.

[Becky Malinsky]

And so, you know, I met all of those assistants and, you know, those are people now running marketing departments for some of these luxury houses that I'm still working with. And so some people, we've been working together 20 years at this point.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Becky Malinsky]

I just, like, kind of kept working. And then I worked at Lucky in 2008 when McKinsey came in to, like, reorg the company, basically all assistants were let go. The only brand that was allowed to keep their assistance was gq. And because I was like a star assistant at the company, I got transferred to GQ and I became the assistant.

[Laura Vinrit]

Well, that must have been completely different. Was it? I mean, from the start, completely different? Yeah.

[Becky Malinsky]

I loved it, though.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah.

[Becky Malinsky]

I mean, it was definitely the hardest, physically hardest job I ever had because we were, you know, it was the days of, like traveling with 30 trunks and, you know, and I remember once I was literally steaming a suit in a cornfield in, like, Louisiana, and like on the phone with one of the other editor, a book to travel for the next shoot. And I was like, oh, my God, what is my life? What?

[Laura Vinrit]

But also like, isn't this the best life?

[Becky Malinsky]

I mean, it was.

[Laura Vinrit]

So what is my life? And thank God. This is my. That's so cool.

[Becky Malinsky]

Yeah.

[Laura Vinrit]

So the styling part came with it. I mean, and did that. Was that a natural fit for you automatically?

[Becky Malinsky]

Natural fit? This is what I felt like. This is the job. This is what. I love this. I love putting things together. I'm so opinionated. I Love finding things like the mix of it all. That was it to me. I thought, I'm okay. I'm going to be a stylist. That's what this is. I never had second thought in my head that writing was going to be a part of what I did. I was still always really into newspapers because of my training, you know, in college, we had to subscribe to three newspapers. I still, you know, was getting a print newspaper was still something that was really important to me. It was the time when they were building out tea and Sun. I loved Sunday styles and WSJ. WSJ is later forming. But tea was so important to me. So I was always like, I love this, but if a job ever came up in a newspaper, oh my God.

[Laura Vinrit]

And so.

[Becky Malinsky]

And so it did.

[Laura Vinrit]

Wall Street Journal.

[Becky Malinsky]

Yes.

[Laura Vinrit]

And were you doing the same thing when you got there?

[Becky Malinsky]

It was a very small team at off duty. So it was the. The weekend supplement. And they had one editor who was in charge of all of the copy of assigning the writers of getting it fit into the section. And then my job was all of the market, all of the shoots, all of the creative ideas to make the shoots. So the production. I sort of did all the visual components because it was sort of a. A tag team. Because it's such a small team, you had a lot of opportunity to do other things if you wanted to. So I started writing small things and then would get the opportunity to write bigger things. And the job was busy enough as it was. There wasn't a ton of time to write. But when you're at a newspaper, the focus is great stories.

[Laura Vinrit]

And did it happen quickly?

[Becky Malinsky]

Yeah, pretty quickly. I had a really amazing relationship with the woman who hired me, who was the fashion director at the time. We were very close. Who was that meanle mystery?

[Laura Vinrit]

Oh, I love meanle.

[Becky Malinsky]

We're still very close. She's so awesome. She's so smart. She made me a better writer. The editor of the section too, was an unbelievable editor and writer. And so I feel extremely lucky and grateful that they were the two who were. I work. So that's. I think what made me a good writer is the two of them.

[Laura Vinrit]

But was that sort of the time when you started to think about, like, what really is important for people? Like, how does fashion really relate to people's lives?

[Becky Malinsky]

I think that is the ethos of off duty. So ever since I started there in 2015, the question was always why? So I remember my first meeting with my editor, who is not a fashion person. He's A newspaper person. And I was like, okay, we're gonna do this story on sheer. And sheer is the trend for falls. When Prada did all those sheer overlays with Pa and he was like, okay, but why? And like, how are women supposed to be wearing this? And when was the last time sheer was popular? And how is it different now than it was then? And like. And I was like, all good questions. And I will get back to. That's like 20. Give me 20 minutes. And that was the first time anyone had. Because I'd only ever worked at fashion magazines because. So I came from Glamour. We didn't talk about that, but I had worked at Glamour for many years after GQ and doing the same thing. Doing the same thing. I was the market editor. I was the editor for American and British markets.

[Laura Vinrit]

Wow.

[Becky Malinsky]

I had always been at a place where fashion was the point of the job. Like, was full point. It was why you were picking up the magazine. It was why we were here doing the job. And then I moved into a place where fashion is a very small part, but something people are interested in, in a small, very small part of the company and not the main part of the company. I didn't intuit that right away.

[Laura Vinrit]

How long did it take to get that?

[Becky Malinsky]

Yeah, it took a while.

[Laura Vinrit]

And that's interesting.

[Becky Malinsky]

The first time someone ever questioned why sheer, why sheer, why polka dots?

[Laura Vinrit]

You know, what does it even mean?

[Becky Malinsky]

And I had answer that. And you had to be able to explain why that mattered or why why should I care? Why should people care? And that was such a mind shift for me. And that is actually what I think made me the writer I am today is because I'm now able to start with that for every story. Why do people care? Like, why should they care? People are so busy, you know, I was at the doctor with my kid all morning. Now I have. I have this. I have a client fitting this afternoon. Why should people care enough to stop and read what I'm going to write?

[Laura Vinrit]

You were already writing sort of with that mindset at Wall Street Journal. Yes, on Substack. I mean, you're such a beautiful writer and it's such a completely different voice, I guess. I mean, speaking in the first person is just so completely different than anything you've done in your career other than we like this. We think this is, you know, what people should be wearing. How did you shift into that?

[Becky Malinsky]

I always like to say I'm doing the same thing on a different platform because it does feel like that it is a bit more Personal in that it is just me. At the end of the day, there's nothing. Layers of opinions and approvals and that can be good and bad, you know, not having someone to bounce things off of. I actually tried to be careful not to do too much first person. And I make sure that I bring the reader in and bring in anecdotes that maybe aren't me as well. I do think people relate more to the casualness of the first person and you know, the similarities in being a working parent and you know, have a lot on your plate. So I do think that is important. But I also try to keep it balanced because I definitely get first person fatigue reading from other people and I don't want people to have that from me too. And I think not writing in the first person actually is a. A dying skill.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I mean, because. Because what are the platforms for it really?

[Becky Malinsky]

Yeah, exactly. There's very few. And towards the end of my time at Wall Street Journal it was getting harder and harder for us to find people who can write long form stories that are reported out because the need to push out content on these sites is like much shorter. People we had to. I mean, I was not even the editor and the like editor focused on writing. And it would be my job to work with the writers, to be like, here are suggestions of people you should interview and maybe here are some questions and you know, people. It's really a dying skill, sadly, because there's no outlet for it.

[Laura Vinrit]

It's such a big part of my day. Weirdly, I'm such a reader, always have been. But I was thinking today, like, what was. I mean, I've read tons and tons of magazines before and books and obviously. But I mean, other than blogs, I guess, like, is there anything comparable to this?

[Becky Malinsky]

I don't know if right now there is anything comparable. I think we're at like a really interesting crossroads of what the future of, I guess, media is and what media means and which is a bit strange because I think a lot of the long form stuff is paid for and done by brands. Like you see Dior has a big beautiful magazine coming out, you know, quarterly, and Loewe does these photo journals. And so it's very interesting, you know, but that's all of course, funded by a brand. And you just see these big, big media entities just struggling to have the resources to do the quality work that they need to do. So it's tricky and I definitely don't know the answer.

[Laura Vinrit]

Somebody said, like, what is the one thing that you really need to know about sustainability. And she said it was Vanessa Barboni from Another Tomorrow. And she said you need to know that everything that you consume, everything that you wear, buy, eat, listen to, read. The person who created it is earning a living wage. And I'm such a proud payer on Substack. And I'm really like. And I really decide I'm actually not going to pay that person. I don't really like his writing that much, but I love these 10 or 15. I mean, it's just interesting.

[Becky Malinsky]

That's so fascinating. Yeah, I think a lot about this in terms of. I feel very grateful to my time at the Journal because we, for many reasons, but we had very, very strict ethics policies and we had to training in it twice a year. It wasn't like you take this course when you start and then you know how we do stuff here. It was, here's a refresher course. Here are different ways that people can try to infiltrate that. Here are opportunities. Here are different scenarios and ways for you to combat it. And I actually worked in this framework during the rise of social media, during the rise of influencers, during a huge shift in fashion media, in like, you know, now like LVMH can pay for a cover look. To be protected from that and to see that feels so important to who I am and what my newsletter is. And the idea that the reader is smart and no one wants to feel duped and that, that's so important to me. And I don't. And not everyone has that training. And we're now losing the reading resources to give people that training. And that's something that's scary for me.

[Laura Vinrit]

Did you start to moonlight doing this or.

[Becky Malinsky]

Oh, no.

[Laura Vinrit]

Are you. Are you allowed to do that?

[Becky Malinsky]

No, you're not? I mean, again, they had really strict ethics policies. Who couldn't conclude anywhere else. When people wanted to write a book, it had to go through a whole approval process. It was really interesting. I remember like, you know, when brands were starting to have their own blogs and newsletters, they would ask if I would be on it. That was never approved. You know, could never participate in any sort of brand media, anything like that. I actually left for a completely different reason. I left in the summer of 2022 as the world was really starting to open up and as Covid restrictions were ending. I was listening to a lot of podcasts at the time. I was going back to the office, I was spending a lot of time on the subway, and I was just in a real podcast mindset. Still love them, but I don't commute anymore.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah, right.

[Becky Malinsky]

So it's not like it's as big of a part of my day. Every single podcast I listened to was talking about the new norms of office dressing and that nobody knows how to get dressed. And everyone has these full closets and they're looking at. They don't know what to wear. And I mean, this was on like news podcasts. I remember explicitly a conversation they were having on the Harvard Women at Work podcast. I was like, oh, my God, light bulb moment. This is a business. I'm going to help people get dressed for work and I'm going to launch this styling business and I'm not going to do weddings and I'm not going to do bar mitzvahs and I'm only going to help women well, and I have some male clients. I'm only going to help people figure out their work uniform so that they don't have to spend time on this in the morning and that they can feel great. And everybody is public facing in this weird way now because they're on Zoom and they're on panels and there's everyone wants video. And it just came over me. I was like, this is it. This is the business.

[Laura Vinrit]

And I think the other part about it was that I think the world expected, and especially fashion or designers expected people to just come back and wear that same closet exactly what they had worn before. And you're just like, you're not really wearing that again, are you? Like, because it's like acting like you didn't go through the last two years, you know, like it didn't happen and.

[Becky Malinsky]

People got nervous of being too overdressed and. But then they were, you know, and you remember, like every article was about sweatpants and how are people gonna give up their sweatpants. And then it was all sparkly crop tops and like things were going so wild, bananas.

[Laura Vinrit]

Oh, my God, it was so crazy.

[Becky Malinsky]

It was so crazy. And I just, I don't know why, I just knew. I was like, this is the business. I'm quitting my job. And if I start this business, it has to be right now. The moment is hot. And I quit my job and I didn't even tell my mom. I remember talking on the phone with my mom. I was like, oh, yeah, And I quit my job. And what? You know, I think I thought about it for maybe a week or two before I did it because I was like, I love my job. I could do this job for the rest of my life. But, like, I'm too young to die with newspapers, you know, so there was a little bit of that of like, what is the future beyond media? I definitely, I'm not going to pretend that I didn't think about that at all all. But I think that merged with like, this is the time to do this work. And I'm really good at this type of. I was like, this is what I do best. Like, I'm the oldest living market editor at this point and I know what's out there. And like, this is it.

[Laura Vinrit]

Did your colleagues think you were crazy?

[Becky Malinsky]

Some, yes. A lot thought I was crazy. And a lot of friends, you know, I had a very secure job. Like everyone's like, your job of like all these jobs at the magazine is like the most secure job. What are you doing? And I just like knew it in my heart of hearts. I don't know how I just knew it. And I, yeah, I left. I wasn't even going to say anything. And you know, all my friends who worked in pr, they were like, no, you're going to like have a portrait taken and you're going to put it on Instagram and you're going to say, I'm launching this business. And I was like, oh, okay, yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

[Laura Vinrit]

And so when you launched it, did it launch with Substack?

[Becky Malinsky]

I launched it at the same time just because I wanted to have something for me and then something for all of these other people. But the reason I love my job was to launch this professional styling business, which is still a huge business for me. So I'm now. But with the newsletter, I'm basically running two businesses.

[Laura Vinrit]

Does writing the sub stack, obviously it feeds the styling business. I mean, I'm sure people say like, oh my God, I love what you did last week.

[Becky Malinsky]

And you would be surprised. Actually, I think most of my clients are clients before and then they find out I have a newsletter and they're like, I want to be on that now. There are a few more coming from the newsletter, but I would say the majority of my clients were not newsletter readers first. It's a very word of mouth business. So I work, I was working with two different executives at a commercial real estate company. And you know, then they have someone has a friend or the company has someone else they want me to work on. And you sort of infiltrate groups of friends almost. I work with a few different groups of friends.

[Laura Vinrit]

Well, I was going to ask that. So when you started though, did you. Were you totally sure that you had I mean, I know you knew all the market editors, but were you sure that you had enough contacts to do this?

[Becky Malinsky]

No, I was not all. And I was like, I have no idea how I'm going to get clients. Well, I'll start the newsletter and then, you know, something will work out, you know, and it's going to be slow at first. And, you know, I had a long talk with my husband and I was like, it's going to be, you know, my goal is to make like this much this month and.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah, right.

[Becky Malinsky]

And he was very supportive. Thankfully, it actually took off so insanely fast because I think it was a service that once people realized existed they wanted, was just about feeling better and working faster in your personal style and people recognizing that that's such an important part of work and their work identities. Now.

[Laura Vinrit]

I don't think we ever really heard that from media, from magazines especially. Like, it would be like, look like a boss and like, you know, a full Prada head to toe. You know, you're like, really?

[Becky Malinsky]

And then look like a boss and wear a pencil skirt.

[Laura Vinrit]

Yeah, you're just like, what?

[Becky Malinsky]

I've always been a people. Like, it's always been the people first. And Wall Street Journal kind of helped me hone that in that, like, knowing what you're. You're good at. And, you know, like, I am good at figuring out how to translate real fashion for real people. And like, I'm never going to be the stylist, like, shooting Comme des Garcon, rolling around on the beach, and it's like the most beautiful avant garde shoot you've ever seen. And it's going to go in the British Museum, you know, and, you know, maybe there was a time when I was, oh, I'm never going to be the fashion director of W Magazine, you know, and like, that was heartbreaking to me. And. But being able to sort of sit, take a step back and recognize what you're good at. And like, I was like, the service is what I'm good at. Like, this is what helping people and translating this and making it work is what I am actually able to contribute. And that was very eye opening for me, sort of quitting my job, figuring this all out. Like, okay, no, this is what I do.

[Laura Vinrit]

It's interesting because I think it was just like that that whole era of magazines was not about serving people. It didn't feel like. I mean, I say that from being almost 30 years a store in North Carolina, and I. And it was always really frustrating to me because I was actually Selling clothes. And I would, you know, you would read magazines and you'd be like, okay, that's not actually really a real thing.

[Becky Malinsky]

You know, I remember my first client and she was. I was hired by this company and they were promoting, they were promoting someone and they gave her a budget to hire someone to help because, you know, she's going to have to be really public facing. And I thought it was going to be so easy. I was like, oh, yeah, I know everything out there. This is going to be so easy. But finding the thing that is, you know, you're 40, great body, you don't want to look old, you're not going to wear ruffles. That middle ground of like looking professional, looking in charge, but looking like you have a point of view, is it. It has made me look at fashion in such a different way and interact with designers in such a different way of, like, real people are going to have to wear this and buy this. So, like, where are the tops? Like, where are the tops?

[Laura Vinrit]

Your writing is so inspiring. All the girls in the store who work with me, they all follow it and they all, we all talk about it. I mean, it's really. And it's really inspiring for them to be able to talk to their clients as. And to say, like, just put a sock with it, you know, like, you know, and the person's like, really? Can you do that? And you're like, yeah, Becky. I mean, oh, it's such a thing. I mean, it really is so helpful. And it's almost like what I always wished magazines had been, you know, that to give us license to be able to, like, be human and do, I mean, look amazing, but also, like, be realistic at the same time.

[Becky Malinsky]

Oh, my gosh, I'm so glad to hear that.

[Laura Vinrit]

What's your biggest challenge right now?

[Becky Malinsky]

It's just a lot. I mean, it's a lot to manage. You know, I'm managing basically two different companies because the substack is a business now. And managing my other business, which is very personal, you know, I work with people. It's. People are always like, well, are you going to hire someone? I'm like, but people aren't hiring me to have someone else's opinion on what they should wear. So, you know, it's sort of learning how to run your own business and delegate in a way that I haven't quite figured out yet. And then being a present parent, like, what we're all dealing with is, you know, being able to be there for our kids when you have to get back on Every night after bedtime. Because you are the business.

[Laura Vinrit]

What did you wear to prom?

[Becky Malinsky]

I think it was Nicole Miller.

[Laura Vinrit]

Nice.

[Becky Malinsky]

I'm gonna give you two answers, actually, because I wore a dress to prom and then to my winter formal, which I think was revolutionary.

[Laura Vinrit]

Okay, okay.

[Becky Malinsky]

So to prom I wore a Nicole Miller or was it a Betsy Johnson? I can't remember. But it was a strapless floor length column gown. And it was black. It was like thick stripes, so black on the top and then white and then black and then white.

[Laura Vinrit]

How gorgeous.

[Becky Malinsky]

Low hip down, it was black. And then between on each seam was little mini seed bead, floral embroidery.

[Laura Vinrit]

Ooh.

[Becky Malinsky]

Thought it was amazing.

[Laura Vinrit]

It is amazing.

[Becky Malinsky]

And then. But to winter formal, I wore abs. Alan Schwartz. It was lace on the top, black lace with nude under. And then it had like a cumberbun. And then it had from the low waist, like a poof out circle skirt to the knee, black satin, like a duchess satin. And this was a time that you did not wear anything other than floor length to a formal.

[Laura Vinrit]

Nice.

[Becky Malinsky]

People were. Can you see her? Like, like, I could see them talking, whispering. But I felt like I was. I didn't care. I was like, I'm the best dressed here. And they're just whispering because they're jealous. And like, I was confident in this dress I still think is one of the most beautiful things. But I just like remember it being so outrageous.

[Laura Vinrit]

I love it. And jewelry or shoes. You remember that? Or hair, anything.

[Becky Malinsky]

I didn't wear any jewelry. I don't think with the winter formal to prom, I wore this little. It was almost like a Victorian. It has like a fuchsia floral, like with a patina, like little choker.

[Laura Vinrit]

Those are. Those are really good. We've heard some doozies, but those are both very beautiful. And it sounds like you actually would wear them now.

[Becky Malinsky]

Yeah. I wonder if I'd fit.

[Laura Vinrit]

Thank you, Becky, so, so much. I really appreciate it.

[Becky Malinsky]

Thank you so much.

[Laura Vinrit]

What We Wore is produced by Capitol and Balto Creative Media. The original song Someone so Enchanting was composed and performed by Britt Drazda. Please follow us on Instagram hatweworepodcast for additional content and show updates. Queencitypodcastnetwork.com.