Kim’s been making women (including yours truly!) more comfortable in their own skin for a few decades now. First there was Sassy, which made me feel almost normal at a stage when I was at the peak of feeling awkwardly freakish. Then Lucky, which made shopping extra, uber fun and also got real about fashion without being boring. Today, GoaCA serves up a perfect blend of fashion, style, decor and realness for women who don’t fall into that 18-34 demographic anymore, but definitely don’t feel like grown-ups. Kim’s cutting a bold path for other women in our demo, embracing the wisdom of experience while also rejecting the idea that we’ve aged out of certain things (have you seen her Liberty of London wrist tattoo? It’s amazing.) and/or need to be sidelined by unconventional paths like choosing not to have kids.
Kim also happens to be a 20x200 collector, and has been for years now. (There are few things more gratifying than discovering that someone who’s been a hero and inspiration digs what you do, so I pretty much flipped out when that happened.) We finally bonded in person over a nosh at Russ & Daughters a few months back, and today, I’m ever-so-pleased to be able to share her edition picks with all of you. - Jen
5 Perfect Picks
1) Balloons (Midtown, Manhattan), by Youngna Park
I worked in midtown for years, and it can be a really soulless place. This picture is so evocative of those small, unintentional moments of beauty that inevitably forced their way through.
2) CBGB (Pipes), by Joseph O. Holmes
This picture takes me back to my 20s, when I went out to see bands constantly. CBGB was a dirtbag hole in the wall, but also always such an exuberant place to see a live show, in part because you couldn't not be aware of all the history there. The pipes covered with stickers make me think of trees with concentric rings, each signifying a different generation of bands and their attendant scenes.
3) Tiger on Green, by Giovanni Garcia-Fenech
Prints and textiles make a home a happy place, and this piece—inspired by vintage Tibetan tiger rugs—definitely brings a little joy to the party.
4) Tunnel, by Tatsuro Kiuchi
This picture just delights me impossibly with its rainbow-bright optimism. I also love how graphic it is, in a way that reminds me of old airline posters from the 40s and 50s.
5) North Side of the Moon, a 20x200 Space Edition
This trippy-beautiful piece is an actual geological map of the south side of the moon, originally commissioned to ensure safe landings for astronauts. The fact that the team responsible for creating it was led by a lady scientist only makes me like it more.
5 Q's + 5 A's
1) What's your favorite museum?
The Menil Collection in my hometown of Houston—it shows how awesome a museum can be when it’s filtered through just one person’s perspective.
2) If you could be reincarnated as another artist, who would you want to be?
Ray Eames. She covered a lot of ground.
3) Most coveted coffee-table book?
For a while now I’ve been dying for a copy of the long-out-of-print Gary Winogrand book Women Are Beautiful, but copies are hard to come by, and prices start at around $900. I’ll likely content myself with the catalogue from his recent show at the Met.
4) You've got $5M to spend on one piece of art. What would it be?
A Rodchenko photomontage or two—they’re graphic and political, and as modern today as when they were created a century ago.
5) Favorite Color?
Cobalt Blue
The 411 on Kim France
Author of the blog Girls of a Certain Age; founding editor of Lucky Magazine; former staff writer at Sassy Magazine and editor at New York and Spin. My work has appeared in a wide range of publications, from Rolling Stone to the New York Times Book Review to Slate.
Professional Site: Girls of a Certain Age Twitter: @kimfrancenyc Instagram: @kimfrancenyc
