Despite all of the jokes hurled at Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, both for their individual personas, as well as their brand, I really like The Row. Speaking one step further, I think that if I was ever to find myself spending an afternoon with either of these uncommonly private celebrities, I would discover that I liked their personalities, too; perhaps Mary-Kate’s creative and tilted extroversion a bit more so than Ashley’s practical coolness. I will point out that the odds of this ever occurring are so far in the negatives, that this statement will never be proven, but you get a sense for these things. Game recognizes game. Chill recognizes chill. Whatever offbeat category the sisters are lumped into, I probably am as well. Speaking of lumping, on several occasions my mind wandered to thoughts of past interviews where the twins mentioned their disappointment at having to fight the idea that they are incomplete when taken separately, as if their identities were nothing more than their shared twinship. To have to face the obstacle of reminding others that you are a whole human being on your own is a phenomenon that sounds like absolute hell, and I have no desire to further fuel the other side, however this is about their brand. The Row is their mutually shared baby, and because of this, there will be occasions within this piece where I refer to the Olsen’s collectively. Do not come for my neck, Internet, this is about their fashion label.

LONG LIVE MINIMALISTIC MODERNITY

I think The Row is going to be around forever, and I am just fine with that. As fashion trends continue to recycle and evolve, minimalism remains. It was minimalism that caught the attention and adoration of the public in the 1980’s with Japanese designers like Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, and Yohji Yamamoto. It was minimalism that dominated the 90’s through American powerhouses like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, and the early 2000’s with creators like Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo who aided in giving The Row a thriving community of deconstructionists to establish itself in.

Founded in 2006, this luxury fashion brand prided itself on the aesthetic of de-branding, leaving the canvas bare, if you will, and it is because of this that, we, as fashion inclined consumers, will keep coming back. Trendy is fun, sure, but it is rarely practical for the working woman. I am still scratching my brain to think of an environment where low-rise, bedazzled denims and dip-dyed bustier tops are appropriate…the food court of a mall? The movies? In both cases, the wearer is under the age of eighteen. Media moguls may accept the pass that they are given, but the majority of us do not fit under this category (and I’ve never been happier not to). Give us simple pieces that beg to be worn and worn again, and compliment a vast array of others. Give us clothes that are beautiful, but not particularly memorable beyond the impression they give off of the user. Give us clothes we know we can rely on past this season.

THE QUIET HUSTLE

The sort of effortless chicness, and simplistic modesty The Row has monopolized these past years will go out of style at the same time that elegance, and class become ugly to our eyes. Their lack of label in the early 2000’s saved them from the trash bin, and even catapulted them into trendy as #Clean Girl displaced the idealized spunky, manic-pixie of the 2010’s (I love it when fads go for classic, if even for a few months). Price tag aside, The Row looks subtly expensive, opting for clean, basic cuts on high-quality fabric. No sequins, no sparkles, no printed statements, or gaudy colors. Fast-fashion has tried to mimic the feel during this period of adoration for the minimalistic, but since the Olsens’ company relies on quality over quantity—the polar opposite of SHEIN and its sisters—these businesses will never come close to being competition.

OUR IDOLIZED IMAGE

The demographic, or at least the imagined demographic, for the brand is as timeless as the clothes themselves with an identity constructed around, primarily, confidence. The Row woman is fresh-faced, with wild hair. She dabs her muted mauve lipstick on with the tip of her ring finger, and lives her life slipping in and out of her mahogany mules. Her perfume is a whisper in the wind, and she's been oscillating between the same two shades of nail polish for the past decade. She doesn’t change. She knows what works for her body. Her wardrobe is never loud. She captures the attention of every room she’s in, but never stops the flow of conversation. Is the image still foggy? Okay, picture one of the Olsen twins. Whether they wish to utilize themselves as promotional content or not, the sisters are perhaps The Row’s best kind of advertising. The message of The Row reflects the message of their brand: we don’t chase trends, and we aren’t interested in dominating any scene. We never look out of place. We quietly persist.

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