WE ARE BECOMING — LAURA CHAVEZ SILVERMAN

In dressing as in life, we are always dreaming of the seasons. The shift from airy linens and gauze silks to cozy cloud alpacas and snowfall-worthy twills, the rioting blossom of wild rose into late autumn aster, from leaf fall to bare branch, from high moon tide to low and back again. Sometimes it seems we are just holding our breath waiting for the next season. We want the winter to pass and spring to arrive, for the weekend to come or the party to happen, for daffodils to bloom again, and for the sun to return and stretch long. Maybe that is an anticipation of future joys...but it is also a wishing away of time.

For writer and creative Laura Chavez Silverman, the most essential season is the one that is happening right this moment. In her life and work as founding naturalist of The Outside Institute, Laura has dedicated years to deepening the understanding, as Saint Joni says, that as the seasons go round and round, when we're captive on the carousel of time, that the way to connect is to step outside under the dome of sky, slow down, look up, and be made aware of the miraculous in the current moment.

We spoke with Laura about incremental ritual, maintaining a sense of wonder, and the power of dressing to feel most like yourself.

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Laura wears the Gia Hand Knit Sweater, Marianne Turtleneck, and Harper Maxi.

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How do you mark the shifting of the seasons? Are there rituals that anchor you in the present?

I mark the shifting of the seasons in tiny increments: in the changing quality of the light, the birdsong, what’s sprouting, blooming, fruiting or setting seed. Close observation of, and intimate engagement with, the world around me are what anchor me in the present.

What is the source for you? How do you connect to it?

I encounter the divine in nature. It gives me strength, poetry, hope, inspiration. Walking under the forest canopy, kayaking on a lake, following the path of the Lenape River, hiking up Tusten Mountain—these are the places I feel most energized and alive.

What is the vision of The Outside Institute?

To inspire joyful awareness and an essential reciprocity between all beings. By helping people hone their powers of observation and innate affinity for the wild, we connect them to the healing and transformative powers of nature.

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Laura wears the Sabine Sweater, Marianne Turtleneck, Classic Belt and Classic Straight Jean.

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How do you want to feel in your clothes?

Like myself. Comfortable, of course, but also connected to my essence. Free, a little wild, young at heart.

How does that inform your personal style?

What I wear reflects my mood, my values, my aesthetic. I love interesting textiles, handcrafted details, natural fibers, earthy colors and chunky rings.

How do you maintain a perpetual state of wonder?

It’s not something I need to maintain—it just comes over me whenever I’m in a wild place. My challenge is to find that sense of awe in other parts of life.

Follow Laura on IG here and The Outside Institute here. Photos by Peter Crosby.

Shop Laura's OZMA selects here.

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