Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud

Fashion Neurosis by Bella Freud is the best podcast I’ve listened to in years. Each episode feels like a free therapy session for the guest, as well as the listener. Bella has a very soothing English accent lends itself well to her therapist role where her guests even lay down on her sofa, a nod to her great-grandfather Sigmund Freud. The biggest takeaways from this show is that most of our fashion neuroses are a result of our childhood traumas (lack of money, feeling unsafe, shame) and that fashion is armor, as Bella mentions a few times. It reminds me of Bill Cunningham’s famous quote, "Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life". The best guests so far, in my opinion, are entrepreneur Trinny Woodall, former footballer Eric Cantona, and model Kate Moss. I felt like their episodes really resonated with me and I hope she continues with more British and European guests. I hope the underconsumption crowd who love to vilify anyone who loves fashion stops to listen so they understand that shopping isn’t always just about buying new clothes.

Great new podcast! Bella Freud is both interesting, engaging, and unexpectedly self-effacing. The guests are wonderfully curated. It was brilliant move to debut with Rick Owens. Importantly, this podcast makes me feel like I can shed my shame over loving clothes so much.

A question like, “What is the first garment you had to have?” — might be met with a description of that item, and the follow-up will be a gentle coo and a “yesss”. Some of the guests are very focused on their personal style, and then Courteney Cox will say that her favorite outfit is something her stylist picked out that still doesn’t feel like something she would ever pick for herself. The show is a bit odd, and as Mick would say, “flatter-flatter-flatter”, but then I don’t have the dinero to shop at Bella’s. Anyway, it’s gentle listening, and Bella seems kind.