Cork-based content creator Tara Marzuki tells the tales behind her best-loved buys …
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Tales From My Wardrobe, a style series that explores the wardrobes of THE GLOSS community, is a love letter to the pieces we reach for again and again, the hard-earned investment purchases that make us smile with each wear and the items that supercede mere ‘clothing’ to carry memories and foster emotional connection.
In this instalment, we speak to Tara Marzuki (Instagram @tarmarz), the content creator who, after nearly a decade living in Brooklyn, has returned to her native Cork. Whether she’s posting outfits on Instagram, vlogging on YouTube or updating her independent fashion brand Lover’s Sunday, her style is instantly chic and recognisable as her own. Here, Marzuki shares her love of unique trainers, how she buys jewellery to mark life’s important chapters, plus the vintage hot-spots in New York that are always on her must-visit list.
My favourite piece that I own right now is a chocolate brown Sómas Studio bag which I have styled with this trench coat, above. I’ve been really missing a feminine, elegant touch to my outfits and I love everything about this bag – the structure, how it sits on my shoulder even with a big coat like this and the fact it’s from an Irish business. My style is quite tomboyish day-to-day so it’s nice to bring some feminine balance and I find I can wear it with most of my outfits, either casually or for dressing up.
I think this Anne Klein trench coat, above, is also one of my favourite items in my wardrobe and, in my eyes a bargain considering what a good coat costs these days. And to think I left it at the store, went home, and then went back for it the next day because I couldn’t stop thinking about it! I think it was the equivalent of €50 and I got it in one of my favourite vintage shops, Awoke Vintage in Brooklyn. I’m guessing it’s from the 90s – I love The X Files and it has shoulder pads that give me Mulder and Scully vibes that I’m happy to lean into!
The jewellery that’s important to me are those items that I purchased on the other side of a particularly tough life event or chapter in life. I think of them as little bookmarks in my life that remind me of how far I’ve come and all the seemingly impossible things I’ve achieved. The gold necklace, pictured above, I purchased from one of my photography clients after making ends meet after my first year living in NYC – I’m sure I had beans on toast for the rest of the month but I never had anything with diamonds in it before and it felt so grown-up (it was heavily discounted in a sale and I also got a bit of a staff discount!). The bracelet, pictured above, is a vintage Navajo silversmith piece (designed for wear outside of the Navajo community) from the 70s that I purchased after I completed my QHHT Hypnosis course. I deal with the concept of past lives a lot through that work, so something that was of the past seemed fitting. The ring, pictured above, is the latest addition: it’s a vintage piece from Berlin, more than likely made in the 60s or 70s. It marks the latest chapter of my life: moving back to Ireland after eight years away.
My most recent purchase was a pair of Adidas Samba sneakers. I tend not to hop onto trend items right away, I think I’ve trained myself to do that, but I’ve been eyeing them for more than two years now and I’m glad I finally bit the bullet and bought them. I don’t over indulge in shoes or bags so generally these purchases are very considered. I have a very curated collection of sneakers and, to be fair, they are all on heavy rotation since I love to dress comfortably. Comfort equals confidence most of the time for me.
The piece I wish I wore more is this beautiful vintage houndstooth jacket, pictured above. I found it in a vintage shop in Brooklyn – it fits me like a glove, even on the hanger it’s cut to perfection. The vibrant colours make me so happy too and even though it doesn’t get much wear I will never get rid of it. I wish I had more opportunities to wear it but I haven’t been gravitating towards blazers as much for the last while.
I don’t lust after things the way I used too. I am partial to an impulse shop more than I am to think about things for a long time. However, I do have a rather healthy list of vintage Thierry Mugler pieces from the 80s and 90s on some secondhand sites that I would love to own. It’s the kind of purchase that would be very special to me as the fashion house is the one that inspires me most. My favourite vintage stores are on the Lower East Side and in Brooklyn in New York. I’m not as good at thrifting when there’s too much stuff so I like that these shops carefully curate their vintage edits. A lot of my favourite pieces are found this way and I love that the chance of somebody else having the exact same item as you is much slimmer. I hate that I care about that but I love it at the same time – I like to think it’s a trait I’ve taken from New Yorkers.
The least fashionable item I own that I wear on repeat is a perfect lazy day crew-neck jumper from my own small brand Lover’s Sunday. The concept was born out of my innate ability to romanticise just about everything in my life; what I’m doing, who I’m seeing and, generally, trying to see the beauty in everyday life. It washes so well and I love the red-on-red embroidery, it cheers me up even when I’m working from home.
My most hardworking accessories are my hoops! They carry my entire face – I don’t recognise myself without them and I feel like people know them to be part of me.
The piece that paid for itself in cost-per-wear? I don’t like to use that formula as an excuse to splurge, but for me it’s always going to be sneakers when it comes to cost-per-wear. I always end up paying €200-€300 for mine, as I like to get colour-ways that are limited or a bit harder to find. I watch out for collaborations with brands I like, for example these New Balance 993 trainers, pictured above, are a common style but the colour-way is one they released in limited quantities. It’s a collaboration with a store in NYC called Aimé Leon Dore which is a bit of an institution for style in the city.
Another item is my Jaded London button-up top, pictured below. It wasn’t dreadfully expensive but the colours and pattern really make me happy. When in doubt, I pretty much wear this on every night out. I love to dance and I go to see quite a few DJ sets so it’s the perfect thing to wear – it’s my ‘good time’ top that has seen just as much wear as my basics!
You can follow Tara on Instagram (@tarmarz) here. Got a wardrobe worth sharing? Send us your tales and imagery to digital@thegloss.ie.
