Rules of style: Molly Goddard

“I find dresses so easy; you just put on one piece and you’re done. And I love the way they always look special, like you’ve made a lot of effort when really you haven’t. I like to mess with the ordinary silhouettes that people think of as ‘party dresses’, which is why a lot of my dresses are loose-fitting. It means that you can move around and stay in them all day, rather than feeling restricted and uncomfortable the minute you eat. There’s something about an oversized dress that makes life feel very easy.”

“Wearing color, the brighter the better, adds a lot to your day; if I just see someone in a colorful outfit, it makes me happier. And I’m a firm believer in clashing colors because they make people look twice. Maybe it’s the anarchist in me, but mixing colors that aren’t meant to be mixed gives me joy: I love that anyone would care enough to decide that two colors are clashing.”

“One of my problems with the word ‘pretty’ is that it often has connotations of weakness; it doesn’t feel like a very strong word. A lot of my clothes are very pretty but there’s a boldness to them and they’re not flimsy. I like things to be practical and robust so that even if something’s covered in fancy frills, you could sit on the grass in it.”

“What I wear doesn’t really differ from day to night. During the day I normally wear a T-shirt and jeans under a dress, and it makes me feel a little more ready for anything. In the evening I don’t change; I might just swap my sneakers for heels and take a small bag. But I’m trying to make sure that as many as possible of my dresses have pockets because I like going out in the evening without a handbag – you feel very free.”

“I never really think about designing for a party – it’s normally for daytime. Obviously there are some things that you would feel a little bit crazy walking down the street in, but I like the idea of dressing up in the day and being more relaxed in the evenings. I’m more of a grabber than a planner; I like it when you can’t tell if someone’s planned their outfit the night before or thrown it together in a rush.”

“I spent all my teenage years making dresses on a Friday night before I went out so I could wear something that nobody else had. I liked to wear things that were different, even if they weren’t totally wild or dressed up. That’s why I try to make my clothes versatile. Something that’s sheer has a freedom to it – you will never look like anyone else in that dress because you’ll always be wearing something different underneath.”