Friday Five ICON EDITION with the Ritchie Handlers'
It's Fashion Week, as if you didn't notice, and this week's Friday Five features Los Angeles-based style icons, Ben Lee and Vivian Ritchie Handler. Their name alone already wins marriage. The rest of us should just give up.
Ben Lee and Vivian have this inexplicable cool that seems infinite. Vivian, with her thick, blunt bangs and effortlessly dramatic stare, would have been a sensational star of silent film in the 1920s. Or maybe they would have been fixtures at Dom in the 1960s, with Ben Lee's connection to art palpable whether he's wearing briefs or a bowtie. It's like, if I hang out with them long enough, maybe I'll wake up fluent in Italian with a background in Expressionism? Let's hope.
What was the first outfit you truly loved?
Viv: Rachel Comey bubble dress! I've worn that thing so much, I've had to patch holes in it. I don't think Ben likes it though...it doesn't show off my "figure" (boobs.)
Ben Lee: I love Viv's boobs. I also loved a sticker tee I had when I was four years old. Remember those sticker-tees, with the thick iron-on graphics that would survive more washings than the actual garment? I had a gliterry one, with C-3PO and R2D2 on the front. Pair that with my purple Stubbies shorts and some penny loafers and I was good-to-go, age four through seven.
Which brand do you find the most timeless?
Viv: I love me some Henrik Vibskov....how he works with prints! And he's Danish! We love it! My definition of "timeless" in reference to fashion = materials that are lush or original and garments that are well-crafted.
Ben Lee: I generally grow tired of anything that's been in my closet for longer than a year, but hasn't Louis Vuitton been around since the middle ages? I've never actually owned anything by them, but I've seen both REALLY OLD people and the Beckham/Posh Spice children accessorized to the grills in LV, so there you go! TIMELESSNESS.
Who are you wearing RIGHT NOW?
Viv: Oh no. I should have answered this question on a day I wasn't rushing to get to work. Black stretch pants and a baggy sweater...I know, I know....I'm the height of fashion.
Ben Lee: I'm decked-out in acquisitions from our honeymoon in Copenhagen. A Wood Wood striped sweater, black skinny jeans from ACNE and black leather Repettos.
What inspires your confidence to be bold?
Viv: Ben Lee. That dude's down for whatever.
Ben Lee: Viv's boobs.
Viv's Current Jam: Sparks! The answer to this question is always Sparks.
