Well Styled: How Maayan Zilberman Uses Personal Style To Express Herself

After speaking with Maayan Zilberman—artist, confectioner, founder of Sweet Saba, and all-around very chic woman—I was reminded why we created this column in the first place.

"I've always been interested in how I can express myself through clothes," she told me over the phone recently. "It's important to wear clothes that make you feel vibrant. Wearing clothes that make you feel like yourself informs how you exist in the world."

As much as well-being is about logging enough steps or counting macros, it can also be about authentically expressing yourself and finding joy in creativity. Both of which Zilberman does exquisitely through her personal style. "Everyone uses a different medium for self-expression, for me it's style—but for others it might be food or music," she says. 

What's so refreshing about this approach to style is that it frees you from the revolving door of aesthetics. "I always encourage people to dress how they feel on the inside—style doesn't have to be tied to what's happening in the world around you or trends," she says. 

Mood dressing has become quite popular among the social media set (TikTok has dubbed it "Dopamine Dressing," which has 190 million views and counting). But for Zilberman, her emotions have always influenced her sense of style. "Sometimes if you're feeling down, if you put on a feel-good outfit, it might make you feel better. I find it often works," says Zilberman of this Tory Burch get-up.

It's not only a bright ensemble, notes Zilberman, but a comfortable one too. 

"When I'm with my daughter, I want her to know that I'm on the same page," she says of this playful look. 

Take the faux fur jacket: "My jacket feels like a Muppet, and we wear bright colors together. I like to show her that it's OK for her mom to dress like this, which makes it OK for her to express herself," she says of the See By Chloe tangerine number (if you've become enamored with it, you can find it secondhand). "Plus, that means she can always find me easily." 

And while the look has a childlike sense of whimsy to it—it's deeply practical when Zilberman starts breaking it down for me. 

Take, for example, the windbreaker: "When you're with kids, it's good to have lots of layers because you might need to wrap them in something," she says. 

Or the playful Hello Kitty and Pac-Man print backpack Zilberman's sporting: It's ideal for keeping all the accouterments needed for a day out with a 4-year-old: "I'm always carrying snacks," she says. (We found a similar option from PB Teen, below, that's made with 100% recycled polyester and is water-resistant.) 

And her checkered top is handsewn by Zilberman from leftover fabric: "I like to make my daughter pieces, and with any extra fabric, I'll make something for myself," she says.

This look is singular. The gown is from artist Astor Yang and is made from upcycled Hawaiian print T-shirts. The ruby-red slingback pumps are from the same sustainable shoe line, Aera New York. The vinyl, transparent trench is from Dorothee Schumacher. And the accessories are a mix of heirloom and vintage. 

As you can imagine, it'd be a hard outfit to recreate—as what makes it so special is its inherent uniqueness.

"When I go to an event, I love wearing something I can tell a story about," she says. "Oftentimes at these functions, people don't know what to talk about—it's a built-in conversation starter. And it doesn't have to be an attention-getter. I think that's an important distinction to make. It just has to be something to talk about."

As an artist, Zilberman's work attire requires a delicate balance: It should be something that fuels her creativity and yet doesn't need to be too precious about it. "I'm always wearing something kind of glitzy, but I don't mind getting messed up," she says. 

Take, for example, this outfit's effortless blend. "I also love to have a lot of white shirts in my studio that I don't mind getting dirty. You know when they're wrinkly or stained with dye or something it actually looks better," she says of her white button-down. 

And the element flare, of course, is this pair of vintage burgundy pants. "These sequin palazzo pants were vintage to begin with. In fact, a friend of mine gave them to me. But then I cut the bottoms off so that they were looser and more casual," she says. 

Be it for date night or out with friends, all-black never disappoints. "I do just like really simple silhouettes and then bright accessories—that's kind of how I've been wearing black," says Zilberman. 

In this look, she's doing so with her bright-red Rothy's ballet flats and bold earrings. "I actually get a lot of my jewelry from places like Zara. They have really good jewelry. The thing is that I keep it for a very long time and take care of it, so it's not fast fashion at all," she says.