I had my first intern interview with Koun, the Online Director at Flying A boutique in Soho. It was a great experience — she was very friendly and the store has a huge selection of cute new & used clothing. Check out the “official” interview here.
Here are some of the other topics Koun and I discussed, including celebrities and must-haves for the fall.
Me: On a side note, what’s your personal feeling about clogs?
Koun: I’m actually wearing a pair right now! See, this is the thing, I’ve never been a fan of clogs at all, I was always like “no, no, no, no, no, no” but then I have these and they’re not…they don’t look like…
Me: …they’re not stereotypical clogs.
Koun: Yeah! They don’t look like clogs and they’re incredibly comfortable. They have the perfect little heel, and normally I would feel weird about wearing, like, a little heel, you know? It’s either like you go heel or you go flat.
Me: You go big or you go home!
Koun: Exactly! But these, I feel like they don’t look weird being slightly flat and they’re really comfortable.
Me: We just did an article about the “Man Repeller,” so clogs came up, of course. So since then I’ve been sort of feeling out clogs.
Koun: [laughs] You should look at the ones upstairs.
Me: I saw a cute pink pair! OK, so what’s your personal favorite item in the store?
Koun: Oh God…
Me: At least right now.
Koun: Right now? What I have my eye on is that Zoe Karssen sweater. (She points to a picture on her bulletin board.) It has a bat on it and has these kind of ribbed shoulders…adorable. [laughs] I love it! I would wear it all fall.
Me: So if your style could be represented by one shoe, what would it be?
Koun: Personal? ‘Cause I think Flying A would be on the clog side, but personally, I can’t live without a black ankle boot, cause I live in them all year long. I just go through a couple pairs a year, I think.
Me: What were the last five purchases you made from any store or any brand?
Koun: I’ve been trying to limit my spending… but, let’s see…is it bad that I can’t remember? It’s probably because I’ve been buying random stuff. Probably these clogs, which I’ve worn every day. I have a pair of really nice leather sandals by Laurence Dolige. Um…I got a romper – no! got two rompers! I’m such a sucker for rompers, ‘cause dresses can be uncomfortable and it’s summer… oh! And I’ve bought a lot of jewelry, too. [Flying A] just got in Fail Jewelry, and I got this (shows me her bracelet), which I love.
Me: Who’s your personal favorite designer? If you can pick one…
Koun: I’m a huge fan of Phoebe Philo and Sarah Burton.
Me: OK and why?
Koun: I love minimalism and I feel like they have this femininity which is also very powerful, which I love.
Me: So, random: what’s your favorite animal?
Koun: White tigers. It’s classic. And armadillos all the way.
Me: They’re my mom’s favorite! She loves armadillos. Where are you from?
Koun: I was actually born in Alabama, which is really weird, but then I lived in Korea.
Me: Ah, cause my mom is from Texas.
Koun: Oh, I heard [armadillos] are everywhere.
Me: She is obsessed. Our house at home has stuffed armadillos, like, on the wall, armadillo magnets…
Koun: I would be so happy! My twitter feed has armadillos all on the sides, I have an armadillo shirt that I got here that I made into a muscle tank! They’re so cool…they’re like roly-polies in animal form.
Me: So, if you could meet any celebrity, living or dead, who would it be?
Koun: [laughs] oh, God… any celebrity?
Me: Any celebrity or famous person.
Koun: So hard! Um…I have no idea [laughs]. I literally have no idea! Obama, maybe?
Me: What about a style icon that you have that you’d want to meet?
Koun: A style icon? I mean, obviously Coco Chanel, I love her. I really like Chloe Sevigny.
Me: If your life were a movie, what would be the title?
Koun: Kind of…maybe…”A Hilarious Mess”? [Laughs.] No, but I love it. I mean, I think it’s just… the time in my life right now when everything is going everywhere and I’m just trying to figure it out.
Me: So if you had one sentence to say something about Flying A, one sentence you think needs to be said about the boutique – what would it be?
Koun: I would say…I think there’s a line in the description that we have on the website right now about the unexpected and at the same time it’s for everyone.
Koun in the front of Flying A
