subscribe to Style Like URachel Lena Esterline | stylist and costume designer
“The number one thing that I've learned recently from one of my dear friends is that we're all mirrors. If you want negativity, ask for it. If you want rad things to come to your life, invite it.” Rachel L. Esterline
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Rachel grew up in Portland, OR and now lives in San Francisco. She is a wardrobe stylist and costume designer for television and film, part of the design team at Harputs OWN, and an entrepreneur/partner at American Apocalypse. Vintage Leopard Stole and Sunglasses -
“I'm the wear-tester for Harputs OWN. I get every new piece that comes out first, so that we can test the fabric. I wear everything to death." Harputs OWN Black Square Vest -
Rachel on her favorite accessory, spats: "I wear them every single day. I believe that I single-handedly made these particular ones cool again, because I see everyone in San Francisco wearing them now. Even my best friends are breaking down and getting them." Vintage Leather Spats and Leopard Heels -
Vintage Elizabethan Plaid Short-Sleeved Jacket -
After college and before settling in San Francisco, Rachel lived in New York City for several years. -
On her cross-country move from Portland to New York: “I was at college in Eugene, Oregon studying accounting, and I was engaged. I just freaked out. My boyfriend was in a fraternity, and I just realized it wasn't me. I called my parents and said, 'I can't do this. I need to move to New York.'" Lace Bib from Goodwill, Harputs OWN Square Vest and Assymetrical Layering Piece with crinoline worn underneath, Vintage Leather Spats and Gray Heels -
On living in New York: “It just opened my eyes to life and seeing real people in their careers who were like-minded, which I had never found before.” -
Vintage Blouse and Fur Vest from a friend -
“When I came back from New York, I started working with children. I taught art and dance to kids one-and-a-half to three-years-old. [These kids] knew nothing, they were like kittens, they were just playing with shit for the first time. Watching them, watching them create something, blew my mind.” -
On her own favorite teacher: "I was really fortunate to study with a gentleman named Mark Smith. He went to Cooper Union in the late '70s, which I think is when art was still original. He was the nicest and most gentle teacher I ever had." Bless Suma Jumpsuit, Vintage Silver Bracelet, Gray Heels, and Leather Spats -
“A lot of people don't [speak my language]. I'm pretty opinionated.” -
Rachel on her experience in fashion school: “I'm the first kid in class to raise my hand and say 'No, actually that's not true, this is how it actually happened, and not because I read up on it or because I know anything about fashion, just because the knowledge is innately there." Harputs OWN Convertible Jacket -
Vintage Plaid Jacket was a gift from Diana Motto (a fashion designer for period films and a vintage expert) -
“[When I walk down the street], I get a lot of 'she's a crazy bitch' stares, but I don't really mind it. I actually kind of feed off it. I like being different and when people want to know what's going on.” Dress from Goodwill -
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"My biggest mistake while cleaning out [my mother's] closet is that I threw away some of her best pieces. I kick myself all the time [for it]." Vintage Leopard Stole -
Rachel lines up her shoes in a "heel hut" with the back of the heels touching the front so that she can see how soon they need to go to "the doctor." She just took about forty pairs, which she could finally afford. -
"I want to wear [my clothes] until they die and be done with them. I do wear all my clothes out, and shoes until they break." Harputs OWN Aysmmetrical Black Sheer Dress, Vintage Heels -
"I mix a lot of Goodwill finds with really nice pieces and shoes. I don't usually like to pay my bills, but I like to trade." Hanky Panky Crinoline, Vintage Leather Spats -
"I'm thirty, and I think I've reached an age where I've just started understanding the reasons why things have happened in my life, and understanding the beauty of who I am today." -
"Forgiving is one of the most painful things in life. Understand and really try to be present with people." -
“I'm all too honest. That's kind of my tag line - really mean or really nice, but always honest.” Harpets OWN Black Square Vest, Knit Tank Top, Vintage Leather Spats -
Rachel's favorite StyleLikeU subject is Chase Cohl. "Can I tell you my least favorite?" -
On styling: "There's no rhyme or reason to putting things together. It's all about mood or feeling." -
"I didn't realize until four years into styling, but that's what I love to do - organize, and fuck with things and make them better." Jean Paul Gaultier Shoes -
Bless Pants, Fremont Shirt from Fairfax Flea Market, Stone Martens from Alameda Flea Market, Vivienne Westwood Belt -
Rachel's cat, Baby Jesus -
"I am constantly inspired by the motivation I see in others to leave their mark on the world." Vintage Chanel Skirt, H&M Tights, Pedro Garcia Boots, Vest from a friend, Vintage Spats, Detache Shirt -
Rachel's least favorite thing about fashion: "Ego, name dropping, and insecurity. They are all manifestations of the fear that people allow to drive them." -
"I say, 'Just do it.' Lose the bullshit." Vintage Plaid Jacket was a gift from Diana Motto (a fashion designer for period films and a vintage expert), Comme des Garcons Shirt, Black Tube Top Dress from Goodwill worn as a Skirt -
"I'd like to work with Carmen Cuba at some point, as she's been a real source of inspiration to me in my career." -
"I'd rather dress in costume. I'm dying to be a witch.” Forever 21 Lace Dress, Helmut Lang Knit Dress worn underneath, Vintage Leopard Stole and Spats -
Rachel's favorite place to travel: "To the city outskirts, and it doesn't matter which city it is. I like to go Goodwill hunting. I also adore Costa Rica. It's warm, beautiful, eighty-degree weather, and the only fashion is oversized mesh tanks." -
Bless Sumo Jumpsuit, Vintage Gray Heels and Spats -
"With fashion, you don't have to necessarily know anything about the industry or know what's 'in' to be successful as a designer/stylist. It is an environment where I can completely trust my eye and my instincts and be celebrated for that." -
"I really admire Vivienne Westwood. I was actually fortunate enough to go to the opening at the M.H. de Young for her exhibit, and I sat there and smoked cigarettes with her for an hour and just listened to her talk shit with her big red eyebrows drawn on. I was so impressed. She fucking gets it. A lot of people don't get it." -
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"I'm just kind of a voice within the [Harput's] team. I studied fine arts and then I went to fashion school, during my time there I just didn't believe that you needed five years to know what to do or know what you like." Harputs OWN Convertible Jacket, -
"You can't train an eye. I'll never be a Parson's robot. I'm myself. I studied for nine years, I'm not a doctor, and I'm fucking killing it." -
"[What I love about my work] is that I get to meet new people all of the time - randoms, crazies, people who end up being really good friends. It's a constant new network, and I really enjoy that." Fremont Shirt from Fairfax Flea Market, Stone Martens from Alameda Flea Market -
“It's fucking brilliant. Goodwill is the best place in the world.” -
“I am a Gemini and Cancer, on the cusp of magic. So I feel like this is my crazy side [left spat] and this is my straight side [right spat]. They're very fitting. And what's nice about it is that it wasn't a planned pick. When you buy spats like this, they just come in a pair together.” -
“I'm channeling a Salem witch and Japanese gothic. I just want to wear big, weird dresses all the time with lots of lace, lots of volume, heavy skirts." Lace Bib from Goodwill, Harputs OWN Square Vest and Assymetrical Layering Piece with crinoline worn underneath, Vintage Leather Spats and Gray Heels -
"[I'd like to] push myself to new heights in the fashion industry. I've conquered San Francisco and I'm considering entering a new market, quite possibly New York in the near future." -
"You'll never hear me say stuff like, ['Oh, poor me']. I've gained positive things from my experiences.” Bless Pants, Fremont Shirt from Fairfax Flea Market, Stone Martens from Alameda Flea Market, Vivienne Westwood Belt
“I would rather dress in a costume,” says Rachel, and I find her wide-open enthusiasm for self-expression intoxicating. She is a stream of innate creative consciousness and is refreshingly unattached to any of the typical trappings associated with fashion, like keeping up with or even knowing who’s who, or buying into the credo that you need years of school (or any classroom experience) to train your eye. Rather, Rachel sticks confidently to her moods and intuitions in all things she does, including dressing, and is drawn to the other “random crazies” whom she loves, “the few that do speak [her] language.” She says that she is “too honest. That’s kind of my tag line. I’m the first kid in class to raise my hand and say, ‘No, actually that’s not true, this is how it happened.’” Currently, her craze is channeling Salem witch and Japanese gothic, with “big weird dresses that have lots of volume, layered with lace and heavy skirts.” And maybe iconic at this point are her ultra-authentic military spats that she wears every day – they turn all shoes and ensembles into theater. A Gemini and Cancer “on the cusp of magic,” Rachel has two sides that she feels are reflected in her spats. The left one is “distressed” (her “crazy” side), and the right is “pristine” (her straight side). Altogether, Rachel has a huge heart and very generous nature, and after seeing my enthusiasm for these spats, she went out of her way to get me a pair. Obsessive about her work, there is no distinction between it and life, for her. Combine this drive with her huge spirit, and in my opinion (just as she said about one of her own idols, Vivienne Westwood), Rachel just “fucking gets it.”
If you like Rachel, you might also enjoy Lauren Boyle and Leo Cerezo.
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