Meet the Blogger: Hannah Swank

A case could be made for any era in fashion being the most exciting, most innovative or most important, though I would argue strongly in favor of the present. Through Styled by Marc Nolan, I hope to make my case many times over as I showcase the wild landscape of the fashion industry, give an inside peek into the world of Marc Nolan and give sartorial confidence to readers in Chicago and far beyond.

I’ve always loved fashion. I can still remember the first issue of Vogue I ever bought and how I felt when I flipped through its glossy pages – so far from that world of glamour and luxury sitting on my bedroom floor in Topeka, Kansas, yet so immensely inspired by the clothes and the painstaking detail involved in making, modeling, styling, photographing and writing about them.

While women’s fashion was my first love, in growing up with a twin brother, I’ve had a deeper connection to men’s fashion than most. I always had someone right there asking style advice, not asking advice yet still receiving it and letting me raid his closet. My love of men’s fashion grew as I got older and started reading magazines like Esquire and GQ while boyfriends took the place of fashion guinea pig.

In college at the University of Kansas, I became editor-in-chief of a fashion, art and culture magazine where I could find style, beauty and inspiration in the everyday. When I studied abroad in Paris – a city so steeped in culture and history, with some of the chicest citizens in the world – I was even better able to find daily inspiration. And when I interned with Badgley Mischka during Paris Fashion Week surrounded by haute couture, ready-to-wear and resort collections, there was no turning back – my love of fashion was solidified.

I’m of the belief that fashion should be fun, and taking risks can lead to some of the greatest realizations in personal style – or at the very least, make for a good story. I also believe that money can’t buy style and luxury doesn’t always equal expense. Luckily for me, Marc Nolan is a brand that values quality and knows it can be done without a massive markup. In writing the Styled by Marc Nolan blog, I’ll be exploring creativity in fashion, finding inspiration daily, and sharing it all with you.

To tell you a bit more about myself and to have some fun while doing so, I answered 35 questions from the questionnaire written by French writer Marcel Proust. Here we go…

What is your idea of perfect happiness? A warm bed, a good book and red wine

What is your greatest fear? Birds

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Being bad with names

What is the trait you most deplore in others? Intolerance and insincerity

Which living person do you most admire? Rihanna in the street holding a glass of wine

What is your greatest extravagance? A long list of vices

What is your current state of mind? Occupied

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Contentment

On what occasion do you lie? Scathing honesty is my M.O.

What do you most dislike about your appearance? Something I read once and try to remember always is, “There is not enough time for hating yourself. Too many things to make. Go.”

Which living person do you most despise? Not a fan of anyone who eats my leftovers without asking

What is the quality you most like in a man? Intelligence, humor and kindness

What is the quality you most like in a woman? Unabashed self-expression

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? A few of the four-lettered variety – worst of all, “like”

What or who is the greatest love of your life? Chipotle

When and where were you happiest? Morocco, 2015

Which talent would you most like to have? Multilingualism

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My aversion to exercise

What do you consider your greatest achievement? Being asked for fashion advice by authority figures

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? Karl Lagerfeld’s cat

Where would you most like to live? Paris, again and always

What is your most treasured possession? Blackout curtains

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Jogging

What is your favorite occupation? Arbiter of taste

What is your most marked characteristic? Sarcasm

What do you most value in your friends? Wanting to be together and be alone in equal measure

Who are your favorite writers? Toni Morrison, David Sedaris, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Who is your hero of fiction? Linda Belcher

Which historical figure do you most identify with? Posh Spice

Who are your heroes in real life? Marnie the Dog

What are your favorite names? Barnes & Noble

What is it that you most dislike? Bananas

What is your greatest regret? That I never saw David Bowie perform live

How would you like to die? With a drink in hand and a cleared Google search history

What is your motto? “Dream big and sleep late.”

 

Now, to try to prove that I’m not terribly pretentious, here’s a starter pack meme about me.

Keep up with me on Instagram and Twitter @hannahinfurs and of course keep up with @marcnolanshoes where I'll also be posting.

Thanks for indulging my narcissism and for reading Styled by Marc Nolan. There’s much more to come.

-Hannah