How Being a Middle Child Shaped Issa Rae’s Style
The New York Times
The actress prefers attire with “symmetry” and avoids flashy clothes. Plus: vintage Ralph Lauren and the sudden end of a cult brand.
“I just like things to be balanced, to be even on both sides,” Issa Rae said on a call this month. “Being a middle child, right in the middle of five, I always wanted things to be fair.”
This desire for balance has informed her personal style. Ms. Rae, 39, an actress and producer in Los Angeles, gravitates toward attire that gives her a sense of “symmetry,” she said, and doesn’t put too much thought into getting dressed. She avoids “extravagant, showy clothes,” she added, and feels most comfortable in casual pieces like jeans and Converse sneakers.
When she wants to look more glamorous, she turns to jewelry.
“Jewelry is my dress-up,” said Ms. Rae, who had her big break as the creator and star of the HBO series “Insecure.”
“I remember one of my first beauty compliments my mom gave me was that I have nice décolletage,” she continued. “So now I like having a necklace there to accentuate it. It makes me feel beautiful.”
Ms. Rae’s taste in jewelry is reflected in the collection of accessories she recently developed with Cast, a brand in the Bay Area. The pieces have simple, linear shapes that meld with her uncomplicated approach to style. Some are inlaid with lab-grown diamond and onyx accents that make them sparkle. Prices start at $250 for sterling silver hoops and creep past $5,000 for jewelry made with 14-karat gold.
