In a column for the Financial Times published on Friday fashion-retail platform executive Lauren Santo Domingo reflects on her eclectic taste, personal style icons, and foundational career advice from Vera Wang.
Santo Domingo explains that she prefers a varied mix of established designers, discovery labels, and archival pieces rather than relying on a single style signifier. She notes a current desire for levity and fun within fashion, contrasting it with a bleak outside world, and shares that she enjoys dressing up most at night.
- Santo Domingo traces her fashion roots back to her early days as a Vogue assistant when she tracked down young designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.
- She shares eclectic personal preferences ranging from Etsy witchcraft spells and vintage books to a lifelong obsession with finding good butter.
- Recalling a piece of advice received from Vera Wang in 1999 or 2000, she emphasizes the mandate to avoid being boring.
Reflecting on her career path, Santo Domingo recalls tracking down Proenza Schouler co-founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez as a Vogue assistant after Anna Wintour asked her boss to find them.
“Hi, it's Lauren from Vogue. Anna Wintour would like to see you.” said Santo Domingo, recalling how she tracked down Proenza Schouler co-founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez as a Vogue assistant after Anna Wintour asked her boss to find them, noting that watching their growth and their subsequent work at Loewe has been particularly exciting.
Outside of her retail work at Moda Operandi, Santo Domingo maintains a series of personal rituals. She describes her morning coffee as a wellness practice and shares a collection of Japanese calligraphy boxes given to her as gifts.
Lauren Santo Domingo, recalling advice she received from Vera Wang at a Vogue party when Santo Domingo was a junior assistant, said she was given permission to enjoy herself and was told not to try so hard, to be herself, and that she was much more interesting just being who she is. She added that she kind of lives by that, saying don’t be boring and don’t be weird.
Discussing her recent reading habits, Santo Domingo highlights Patrick Radden Keefe’s book London Falling, praising its unflinching look at wealth and criminality. Her style icons lean toward classic American figures like Deeda Blair, Babe Paley, and the more offbeat Nan Kempner.
| Category | Detail | Source Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Recent Book | London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe | Financial Times |
| Beauty Staple | Alaïa Paris eau de parfum | Financial Times |
| Wedding Band | Gold Tiffany wedding band (married in 2008) | Financial Times |
Santo Domingo identifies Tod’s Point in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, as the place that means the most to her, contrasting its natural solitude with the urban independence her own children experience in New York City.
