Writer's Style Guide 006: Rita Mookerjee
Rita Mookerjee is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Worcester State University. She is the winner of the 2023 Steel Toe Books Poetry Award for Banana Heart and the author of False Offering (JackLeg Press). A co-founder of Honey Literary, she serves as an editor at Split Lip Magazine and Sundress Publications. Her research has been funded by the Fulbright Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her poems can be found in CALYX, Copper Nickel, Poet Lore, New Orleans Review, and the Offing.
1. What three words would you use to describe your personal style?
Gothic, glam, hyperfemme.
2. Who/what/where/when is/are your style inspiration(s)?
Trinity from the Matrix, Björk, Josephine Baker, Grace Jones, Liza Minelli, Miss Piggy/the Muppets in general, and Stevie Nicks. Broadway, ballet, and old school burlesque shaped a lot of my tastes, and I also have an appreciation for rocker fashion.
3. What colors or prints do you consider an essential part of your signature looks?
Black leather, gold embroidery, gold chain link, black lace, jewel-toned silk.
4. What’s an early memory of how you used clothing to express who you are?
I loved Disney villains, especially Cruella De Vil. I took a striped LL Bean nightgown, pulled my head and arms through the neck hole, and tied the sleeves behind me so it looked like a strapless gown. I painted a chopstick to resemble her cigarette holder. My mom found me preening in a mirror and laughed but also took a picture. She knew I was everything. This was 1997 or so.
5. What’s your favorite season of the year to dress for?
Autumn fashions make me feel confident and also cozy. Tights and boots are always staples for me. I love long coats, and because I am 4' 11", I can wear a lot of pieces as floor-length even though they were not designed to be worn that way.
6. What fabric or texture do you especially love to wear?
I am an all or nothing type of girl. I either want a paper thin 100% cotton sundress (in black of course) or a massive corset-back tulle dress with steel boning and no stretch. I find extremely rigid garments very soothing. Maybe I'll acquire a strait jacket next. I danced ballet for 22 years, and I love anything tutu-adjacent. I am great at taking up space.
7. What’s a favorite piece in your wardrobe, and how did you get it?
I do not wear jeans, but I love my grey denim jacket. It's cropped so it hits at my waist (very unusual). It was more charcoal when I thrifted it, so I bleached it and distressed it and sewed a black patch on the back with a skeleton dressed like a geisha. People always compliment that jacket.
8. What’s your favorite bit of style advice you’d like to share with others?
Never underestimate the power of a steamer. A small travel one is less than $25 and makes your clothes look crisp with very little effort.
Thank you, Rita, for sharing your insight with the Writer’s Style Guide! Stay tuned for the next installment.