This marks the sixth iteration of Well Worn, our ongoing series featuring individuals whose work, lifestyle, and creative philosophy embody the enduring quality and utilitarian spirit we value at Save Khaki United and Boyville.
For this edition, writer, author, and hospitality communications director Tarajia Morrell invited us into her world to discuss growing up at the center of the table, desire as a New York City inheritance, and the quiet negotiation between comfort and self-possession that shapes how she gets dressed. Tarajia's forthcoming memoir, Desire Feeds the Feast, traces how pleasure, in food, in wine, in clothes, in wanting more out of life, has moved through every chapter of her story. We sat down with her to talk about home, motherhood, and how getting dressed fits into all of it.
Tell us about growing up with the dining table at the center of everything.
Being raised around the table means that pleasure is a guiding principle from the start. A life centered on pleasure dictates that some vices will be inherent, but it also means that love expressed through food and wine is a gift carried into all chapters of life — from childhood, through schooling, my professional life, and also, now, motherhood. I feel very lucky to find joy three times a day through eating.
Your writing paints a description of characters through the lens of food, wine, and travel. What does clothing say about a character? And how does getting dressed fit into the way you move through the world?
Clothing is HUGE. Just as what one eats (or doesn't) tells you a great deal about someone, so, too, do our aesthetic choices. Even when clothes come off as effortless, they can also be thoughtful: the right t-shirt and jeans make the wearer feel right. Clothes have power and a bit of magic for how they can dictate mood, confidence, or distract.
You split your time between upstate in Dutchess County and the city. What does each place provide for you?
My parents live in Dutchess County, where we've had a foothold since I was a kiddo. Exposure to nature has always been a panacea for me; likewise exposure to my mother re-centers me. She's a living angel goddess, whose presence provides sustenance both literally and figuratively. But I also cherish being in my own space, which ironically is the apartment I was raised in, which is now where I am raising my child. It's very much our own now, in many ways, and also provides me with gulps of nature through my plants and garden.
Your forthcoming memoir is called Desire Feeds the Feast. How does desire show up in your daily life in ordinary ways?
New York is a city of desires: appetite, connection, success. Striving is the core New York City verb, so being raised by Baby Boomers in 1980s New York, that energy is built into me, even if the dreams I've chased depart from those my parents' did. All of us, not just New Yorkers, are creatures that WANT. We want more love, more pleasure, more achievement, more stuff. The book, I suppose, is about how the definition of those things has evolved for me in the last 4.5 decades.
It is rare in New York to live your adult life in the apartment you grew up in! Does anything about your home, your neighborhood, your city still surprise you?
The very fact of living in the place I grew up surprises me! I sure never saw this as my goal or future, yet it's happening. The city still exasperates me and bowls me over with its excellence in equal measure. I think what's most surprising is that it still can get to me after all these years. I love that the same fruit vendor has been on a nearby corner for decades. I love that I have a greenmarket at Dag Hammerskold every Wednesday. I still think that Oscar Neimeyer's U.N. building is one of the most beautiful in the city. Love it or hate it, my hometown is such a powerful place.
Writing a book is famously solitary, while so much of your work — hospitality consulting, restaurant partnerships, and community building — is deeply social. Do you find yourself dressing differently for the quiet work of writing versus being in rooms full of people?
A bit. I dress for comfort on days at home writing with breaks in the garden. I dress for restaurants when I go to them. I dress for work for comfort and self-confidence.
As a working mother balancing consulting, freelancing, and writing a memoir while raising a daughter, what does "utility" in clothing actually mean to you day to day? Is it practicality, efficiency, comfort, versatility, or simply not having to think about what you're wearing?
It's all of those things. It's knowing that I will feel good in my clothes — both physically and in terms of self-esteem. The nexus of comfort and confidence is essential when juggling constantly, as I do. I care about how I look and I work better when I feel good.
Tarajia's approach is a reminder that desire and discipline aren't opposites — that pleasure, done right, takes real intention. It's the same instinct that shapes how she gets dressed: simple, well-made pieces she doesn't have to think twice about, so she can spend that attention elsewhere — at the table, in the garden, on the page. Explore the pieces Tarajia reaches for below, considered essentials built for a life lived at full volume.
Images | Dan McMahon @imageheavy
Special thanks to Tarajia Morrell @tarajiamorrell
Tarajia's Work: tarajiamorrell.com
