29. Taeste Buddies: Ali Labelle
On viral TikTok face masks, the "ick" of taste, and her go-to summer recipe.
When this newsletter arrives in your inbox, I’ll be on a little end-of-summer vacation. As such, I’m minimizing my time online these next two weeks but that doesn’t mean I’ll disappear completely!
And so, here I am presenting you with the newest edition of Taeste Buddies. It’s a bi-weekly interview series that explores the idea of taste: How it’s shaped by our identities and spurred by our creativity. Each edition I chat with someone whose taste I admire, whether as a friend or from afar. This week, I’m excited to introduce you to Ali Labelle.
I first discovered Ali via Pasta Girlfriend, a silly yet aesthetically pleasing pasta-forward Instagram account she launched back in 2017. Ali is a creative director and founder of the design studio Ali LaBelle Creative, she also has a newsletter called À La Carte! that’s bursting with creative imagery and uniquely specific shopping recs. Though I first connected with Ali via Instagram as many of us creatives do in this modern age, we quickly realized we also have IRL friends in common (Hi Arya!) despite living across the country.
I’ll warn you, in putting together this edition of the newsletter, I found myself down the rabbit hole inspired by more than one of Ali’s recommendations, so I have a feeling that you too will be captivated by all she has to share!
How do you define taste? What makes "good" taste?
Sometimes I get in my head about this, because we use the word “taste” to mean so many different things. Most of the time, I think when we say someone has “good taste,” we’re really saying that they have a stylistic point of view that overlaps with our own. To say “She has good taste in books,” means that your own reading preferences align with theirs, and therefore you trust what they recommend. But it’s subjective—what’s one person’s “good taste” might be another’s “bad taste”. Instead of thinking of taste in terms of “good” or “bad”, I generally like to think of it in terms of “mine” and “not mine”.
There’s also a kind of ick way to use the word “taste”, one that’s said with socioeconomic, cultural, and historical blind spots. When something is “in bad taste” it’s often referring to that thing not living up to a societal standard, and I think we have to be careful about where those standards come from and why we’re upholding them.
But in general, I think “taste” is something one develops over time, and to have “good taste” is to have a clear understanding of one’s own perspective, to be eager to expand on it, and to be discerning about what reflects that perspective and what doesn’t.
What was the last great thing you purchased?
I fell victim to those viral Korean overnight collagen masks everyone’s posting about on TikTok and I’m almost annoyed at how effective they are. I have the world's driest skin and I was honestly shocked at how glowy I looked when I peeled that baby off!
Can you share an outfit that represents your style?
I’m not a super fussy dresser and I value being comfortable over almost anything else, so an easy dress like this one from Doen (that I can wear a normal bra with!), some flat shoes (these are Vans, but I’m also a regular wearer of Havaianas or a simple ballet flat,) and a pair of classic black sunglasses is my go-to. I mostly wear black and white and I tend to lean a little preppy, I think, so I might throw a neutral trench coat on or a black cashmere sweater over my shoulders if I needed an extra layer.
What was the last great thing you made?
I love a cocktail but I don’t drink when I’m at home, so I’ve been experimenting with easy post-work beverages that still feel kind of special, like an end of day treat. My latest combo is a mini bottle of Sanbitter poured over ice, which is sort of a non-alc Campari, a bit of Pellegrino, and a black Amarena Fabbri cherry on top.
Also, I really can’t stress how good that sungold tomato sauce is [linked in the recommendations below]! A couple of friends and I had it at room temp on an insanely hot day the other week and it was perfect. This was our lunch on my patio!
Where do you think your sense of taste comes from?
I come from a long line of creative, aesthetically sensitive, and frankly fairly picky people. My parents each have their own senses of style, and I think by watching them I learned from an early age that it’s fun to put energy into what your home looks like or what you wear.
But also, I’m a really introspective person—I’m in my head a lot—and I think by constantly asking myself why I like something, if it feels like *me*, where it comes from, or if it’s something worth exploring myself, I’ve developed my taste into my own. I’m a curious person and find myself down rabbit holes all the time, and I think by following the trail of things that pique my interest, I learn a lot about myself along the way.
What do you wear or use most?
A white, medium, long-handled LL Bean Boat and Tote. Mine just has a simple script A in brown thread on it—I wasn’t clever enough to think of something funny to have embroidered. But it’s by far the thing I use the most to schlep all of my things around: purse stuff, 15 different lip products, a book or two, snacks, weird little things I pick up throughout the day…
How has your work inspired or informed your personal style? How does your personal taste play into a job like branding?
For me, it’s all coming from the same well of inspiration. My clients typically hire me because they trust my perspective; they might see themselves or the things they love in what I share about my home or the books I read or the music I listen to. My goal with my clients is not to just do what I would do if it were my business, but instead to identify the things that get them excited, the unique parts of their story, and bring them to life via a lens informed by art history, fashion, interiors, places I’ve been, a weird color combo I saw on the side of a building…
Because I have to keep adding to that well—I think creativity is a little like running, you have to keep doing it to be able to access some sort of a flow state—it seeps into my personal style and home, too. The other day I was making a themed mood board for my newsletter on baskets, and I was writing something about Bunny Mellon, the prolific landscape designer who had a massive basket collection, which led me to think about how I could incorporate more texture and a little bit of fantasy into my space. It all blends together!
What’s the most recent inspo pic you took or saved?
I saved this graphic (probably from a menu) from Ciro’s, a popular nightclub in Hollywood in the ‘40s and ‘50s. I love old restaurant logos and I’m always saving images of old napkins and matchbooks from yesteryear.
As a creative, how do you cut through all the marketing buzz on social media to find the good stuff?
It’s hard! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t easily influenced (those TikTok face masks, for example.) But I do really make it a point to be intentional about who or what I’m following and for what purpose.
A few years ago I had a not-quite-mental-breakdown-but-almost and was totally exasperated by Instagram. There were too many voices telling me what was cool to wear and what wasn’t, what size I needed to be to wear those things, what types of clients I needed to have to be successful, the right and wrong way to engage with social issues… The list goes on.
I deleted the app off my phone for six weeks and spent that time writing out some goals around how I wanted to show up on social media and what I needed to do to adjust my relationship to it all. I pulled way back on sharing the details of my life and instead focused on what could give someone a peek into what inspires me and how I translate that inspiration into my own world, resources for creatives to use to find a job or develop their own creative processes, and things that would help my business grow. Instagram is a marketing tool, and I really try hard to treat it as such. (And, to remember that other people are using it as a marketing tool, too.)
I still find tons of inspiration on Instagram and use it most often for the purpose of cataloging it all. My saved folders are filled with art, outfits, images, rooms, and products and I regularly comb through those folders to jump start a bigger research process. But I don’t allow Instagram to be my only source of visual inspiration because you’re right, a lot of it is just noise.
Outside of design, what is something that inspires or excites you? Do you have any particular passions or hobbies?
I love to have people over! I do like to cook but mostly I just love having people in my house, setting a mood, curating the playlist, making it look nice… If “making it nice” was a love language it would be mine. (That’s an Easter egg for any RHONY fans reading… Bravo is another passion of mine.)
What’s most precious to you?
A box filled with a ton of things I’ve collected over the last 10 years: handwritten notes, pieces of ephemera, postcards, scraps of paper… Sentimental things that mean a lot to me. (I’d also grab all of my art, especially the pieces painted by my grandpa, but I couldn’t choose just one.)
What’s something unexpected you have really good taste in?
Friends! I’m so lucky. I’m not someone with a huge group of friends, but a handful of people who I genuinely really love like family. We cheer each other on, celebrate our wins, show up for the losses, make time for each other… They’re talented, funny, compassionate people who I genuinely trust. I think I’ve picked them well!
Any last image that’s inspiring you?
I came across this Georgia O’Keeffe quote the other day and laughed—as someone who is very much a winter and NOT a summer, I could relate.
Can you share a few recommendations that you’re excited about?
It’s been out for a while now, but I will tell anyone who listens about the podcast series Articles of Interest by Avery Trufleman, specifically the mini series she did called “American Ivy”. It’s a multi-episode journey through the history of prep and it’s absolutely fascinating. [editor’s note: for further info read my interview with Avery in Harper’s Bazaar talking about the series!]
Another thing I won’t shut up about: Santa Maria Novella’s rosewater spray ($60). It’s the best face spritz out there thanks to its atomizer (the teeniest, tiniest drops!) and beautiful glass bottle. I keep several bottles of it around my house so it’s always in arm’s reach.
I recently made Jane Cooks For You’s pasta with no-cook sungold tomato sauce and it’s now my favorite thing to eat when it’s hot out (with an ice cold glass of white wine.)
I’m in a cookbook club and a few months ago we cooked from Andy Barraghani’s The Cook You Want To Be, which turned out to be my favorite pick of the year. Every recipe in it was absolute gold—I need to have people over so I can cook more of it!
If you’re interested in architecture, art, and design, Kelsey Rose’s newsletter Absolutment! is a total gem. Kelsey is an archivist for the Eames Office and has an encyclopedic knowledge of design history that I love getting peeks into via her writing. She’s also an American living in France and I am obsessed with the little glimpses she gives us into adjusting to life there. A great read—can’t recommend it enough!
Such a good interview! 🫶 - a different Madden!
I ate every word of this up. What a pleasure it is to dive into the corners of another brilliant brain. Bravo!!