Q&A | Dana Dickey

Photo of Dana Dickey by John Eder.

Dana is a writer and editor who cut her teeth at the fabled Condé Nast building in Times Square and then built her career circling the globe as a travel journalist. Now she's the go-to person in L.A. for the latest and greatest. For a short period of time Dana was my boss, so I felt compelled to ask permission to call her the mother of rugged luxury, to which she replied "You can call me the mother f****r of rugged luxury as long as you spell my name right." I didn't ask permission to reveal that, however.

If not in Los Angeles, I would live...in Manhattan in the summers and spend winters in Savannah.

My dream holiday would be to...rent a house on the coast of Maui with family and friends.

My current obsessions are...Joni Mitchell, Kismet Tile, October’s city-wide retrospective of L.A. art: Pacific Standard Time, pool afternoons at the retro Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City, Garance Doré’s blog, and singing along to Bruno Mars in the car with my 5-year-old son.

My fashion obsessions are...The Row, EmersonMade, the inscrutable wealth of L.A. vintage, fall’s glittery Miu Miu trompe l'oiel boots, Ten underwear, StyleMint t-shirts, and shopping at A'maree's in Newport Beach—which is 8,200 square feet of luxury brands in a big Modernist structure right on the water. Going there is my Left Coast version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

I channel my childhood self when I...stand on my hands under water.

The fictional characters I most relate to are...When I forget to take my medicine, the depressive heroine Maria of Joan Didion’s novel Play It As It Lays. Otherwise Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.

If I had to be outdoors all day I would...buy a big straw hat and a gallon of Dr. Robin sunscreen and huge polarized sunglasses.

My favorite quality in a man is...determination. And wit. A determined wit?

My favorite quality in a woman is...intelligence. And wit. Yes, an intelligent wit.

I'm terrified of...nothing actually. To quote a loathsome Cali cliché, it’s all good. (It may just take a while to see it.)

My dream car is a...1970s Deux Chevaux.

My cocktail of choice is...fresh basil, Perrier, lime juice and simple syrup.

My celebrity crush is...Justin Theroux.

My friends and I like to...go for run/hikes in Griffith Park while they try to convince me I’d make a good ultra-marathoner.

My beauty product of choice is...Joeur tinted moisturizer and smeared eyeliner.

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...the 1970s!

As a teenager I was totally into...my great escape to the Big City.

I tend to splurge on...hair products (so into Phyto washes and serums) and also hair oils.

Just after college I moved from Florida to Manhattan because I thought there I wouldn’t have to listen to anyone telling me I had to sit like a lady. And guess what? It worked...and that is what makes me have Tomboy Style.

Photo via DanaDickey.net.