O Magazine has a spread in its October issue about Lauren Hutton. She’s 66 and feels it’s absurd to feel you have to go by the rules four times a year when new fashions come out. I agree. Not everyone looks great in everything. However, I always recommend that one avoid looking outdated. One way to do this is to stay in tune with new trends and incorporate something new two or three times a year, whether it’s a handbag in the “it” color or a slight reshaping of your hairstyle.
Lauren Hutton enjoys wearing pajama pants in public, boat shoes, slouchy trousers, men’s army hats and safari shirts. I have a feeling that she’s developed her own “slouchy and comfortable” style because she was obligated for decades to look perfect every time she went out the door.
Although my goal when I work with individual clients is to find their personal style and their signature look, I will not recommend that they go to work in pajama pants—you have to draw the line somewhere! As much as every woman feels better having her personal style, she needs to make sure it is in harmony with who she is in life. She needs to consider her job and lifestyle (I don’t think a defense attorney would win a case in slouchy trousers and a safari shirt!).
However, I have always admired women throughout the times who have gone against the rules. Think of Katherine Hepburn, who stood out from the crowd in her menswear-inspired wardrobe. Marlene Dietrich was another one.
Coco Chanel, of course, refused to wear corsets or add stays to her clothing, mixed costume jewelry with real gems, and wore little black dresses when nobody else did. In doing so, she set the tone for all of us. Decades after her death, she is still influencing the way designers think and the way women dress.
I admire women who have their own style. That’s the fun part about getting dressed every day. Some people may think it’s superficial but if it makes you feel good, do it!
And reading the Hutton article and having fashion on the brain, I decided to see The September Issue last night. The documentary is about Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and the making of the September 2007 issue of Vogue. It was a fascinating film and I will never look at a fashion magazine, especially Vogue, in the same way.
As Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley says when he is ready to step on the tennis court, “Fashion is the whole life of being who I am. I have to get up and approach life with my own aesthetics about style.”
I wish more people took fashion more seriously. During the documentary, Anna Wintour states that her sister and two brothers are “amused” by her work. Amused??? She is the most powerful and polarizing figure in fashion!
So, tell me…have you discovered your own personal style yet? How would you describe your signature look?