Buckle up: Journalist Megan Twohey Shares Her Post-College Wardrobe Staple

Megan Twohey helped change the world. It's a dramatic statement, and a true one. As one half of the Pulitzer prize-winning duo who broke last year's Harvey Weinstein story in the New York Times, Twohey and her reporting partner Jodi Kantor altered the very way we speak about sexual harassment. So how do you ask one of the world's most renowned journalists to get nostalgic? Well (after freaking ourselves out more than a little bit) we just...kinda did. For Megan's Haystack Story, take a trip back to 1999 Washington DC—to a world of live music, dudes with passion projects and one great belt buckle. We're not worthy!

Name: Megan Twohey
Occupation: Investigative Journalist
Handle: @mega2e
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn

What’s the star of your Haystack Story?
An old leather belt with a silver cowboy buckle.

Do you still have it?
Yes, tucked away on the back shelf of my closet.

Can you describe it?
The belt is faded, dark brown leather. The extremely battered buckle is engraved with a swirl of what appears to be leaves or feathers.

Tell us about it.
I bought this buckle in Mexico for $10 and immediately fell in love with it. I was a recent college graduate living in Washington, DC, and belts—some with studs, others with statement buckles—were a fixture of my thrift-store wardrobe, along with corduroy adidas, faded Levi's (worn with a single cuff up), black combat boots and an array of fitted tank-tops. That was the only time in my life that I've ever worn belts, but back then they felt exactly right, and this one was my favorite. Often the last item I'd put on before leaving the house, the buckle served as an essential piece of armor in the outrageously fun but sometimes painful adventures of my early 20s.

How does it make you feel?
I haven't worn the belt in over a decade, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it. It's a reminder of my younger, more brazen self.

If your buckle could talk, what would it say?
If you're debating whether or not to do something, the answer is yes.

Twohey's well-worn (and well-loved) accessory.

When did you get it?
1999

Who did you have a crush on back then?
Dudes with a hustle of some kind, whether it was starting their own creative companies, running their own bars or DJ'ing.

What did your Friday nights look like?
Living in DC in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I could predictably be found on Friday night at one of a handful of music venues straddling 14th and U streets—The Black Cat, 9:30 Club or Velvet Lounge. The Chuck Brown show that I saw at the 9:30 Club is still a favorite; every time I hear go-go, a wave of DC love washes over me.

Illustration by Marisa Balmori