What Mary-Kate and Ashley Teach Us About

Dressing Like a New Yorker

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are fashion icons. New York City fashion icons, to be exact.

Born in 1986, the Olsen twins launched their careers playing the toddler Michelle Tanner on the ’90s sitcom Full House. By the time they were teenagers, they had built a full multimedia empire, including movies, books, dolls, and teen fashion lines that a generation of girls (including me) grew up wearing.

In the early 2000s, they became the unofficial faces of what we now call boho-chic, styled by Rachel Zoe. This was a very specific moment in fashion. Oversized Balenciaga bags, Alexander McQueen scarves, and ultra-thin starlets being followed by paparazzi. Mary-Kate and Ashley were often photographed smoking on the sidewalks of Manhattan, looking like they had just rolled out of bed while simultaneously looking cool AF.

They were growing up in front of us, and when that era ended, they returned to more private lives and shifted their focus to design, quietly launching The Row in 2006.

By 2012, they had won their first Womenswear Designer of the Year award from the CFDA Fashion Awards.

Since then, The Row has gone on to win seven CFDA Fashion Awards, including Womenswear Designer of the Year twice and Accessories Designer of the Year five times, most recently in 2025.

The Row is the epitome of quiet luxury. Known for its extreme price point and minimalist aesthetic, the brand does not rely on flashy ad campaigns. It is subtle, chic, and expensive, just like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Their style is still referenced by stylists, myself included. Vogue recently published a piece on how to dress like them, and Jennifer Lawrence is regularly photographed in The Row on the streets of New York City, looking cool AF, of course.

And that’s exactly why it works so well in New York City. The style isn’t about trends. It’s about timeless pieces, great accessories, and practical looks that make getting dressed feel effortless.