Victoria Morris Throws Pots, Wears Denim on Denim

It was while thinking about holiday gifts recently that I found myself clicking through the gallery on Victoria Morris’s website…and then to a picture of the potter herself, perched on a work table wearing denim on denim. “I pretty much live in jeans,” Victoria told me later, after we’d photographed her at her Los Angeles studio wearing her J.Crew Eastwood boyfriends and an apron made exclusively for Edible Gardens by Joe’s Jeans. “Any other thing just wouldn’t work for me.”

Why? Because when Victoria isn’t throwing porcelain bowls and stoneware table lamps – which she sells at stores like Ok! and Lawson Fenning in Los Angeles, and March and The Future Perfect in San Francisco – she’s building sets for commercials (her other job) and heading out to surf (her other passion). Jeans let her go from one to the next without pause. Or too much maintenance. “The lighter clays all wash out,” she said when I asked her about the risk-factor involved in wearing her favorites at the wheel. About why she loves pottery, she was much less practical, much more emotional in her response: “Because you can feel the hand of the person who made it.”

I will refrain from drawing comparisons between jeans and pottery, and the very personal and individual nature of both, and just say that if anyone out there is looking for a gift for a friend or loved one who appreciates beautiful, useful, handmade objects, Victoria’s work would most definitely do the trick. (Those of you in L.A., there’s a sale on Saturday!). And, if you’d rather stick to denim-giving this season, the apron she’s wearing fits all.

How would you describe your J.Crew jeans – in one word?

Versatile

How so?

I can wear them to my studio, to run errands, to work…then throw on a pair of heels or boots and be ready for dinner with friends.

What about them do you love most?

The little “X” belt loop in the back. And I love the wash. Despite being new, they look legitimately worn.

If your jeans could give us a word of style advice, what would it be?

Their advice: Casual is chic. Be yourself! They would also probably say that I need to find a nice belt.

What do your jeans know about you that no one else knows?

That I try and do far too many things in one day.

What’s the most memorable place they have been?

With me on a recent trip Japan.

What’s the weirdest place?

On a cattle ranch in Sonoma County.

Click on an image to get closer and read more…

If you could give your J.Crews a theme song, what would it be?

‘This Must Be the Place’ by Talking Heads

If you could go anywhere in the world in them tomorrow, where would you go?

New Zealand on a road/surf trip.

Is there something you always wear with your jeans?

A t-shirt and Vans. That’s basically been my uniform since the 2^nd grade.

Is there something you’d never wear with them?

I think I’d skip tall boots with these…that would be weird.

Who besides you has worn them?

The peeps who tried them on in the store before me? Ugh, I wonder who else has worn my jeans!?

What do these jeans reveal about the way you live on a daily basis?

I’m always wearing different hats, and I need to be able to move easily from one role to the next. I can wear these on set, in the studio, going surfing, traveling, or seeing friends. My jeans can stay the same. All I need is a shoe change!

How do they help you do what you love to do?

I can’t give them that much credit.

What’s the most thrilling thing you’ve done in those jeans?

We haven’t had too many thrills, yet, but I promise to report back when we do.

Got it. OK, what’s the best possible thing you could be doing in them right now?

Changing back into them on the roadside after a great surf.

Fill in the blank: Without my jeans, I am _______________.

Probably feeling overdressed.

And…In my jeans, I am _______________.

Happily in uniform.

Now, about denim in general. Tell me about your Top 3 jeans of all time…

I think when Guess Jeans came on the scene when I was a kid in L.A., the tight ones with the zipper ankle were my first obsession. Next were used 501s from thrift stores in high school, and then, my first pair of A.P.C.s. I wish I’d kept those!