I recently had lunch with a friend at her club. It was a cold, rainy day in early fall and my friend was dressed casually but very stylishly. To the casual eye her outfit looked as if it had just naturally fallen into place. Of course, that’s difficult to put together, but she succeeded.
She was wearing dark leggings with a blue and yellow striped knitted tunic vest and under it a long-sleeved ribbed turtleneck sweater in the exact same color as the blue in the vest. I assumed she had bought them together, but no, she had bought them separately. They happened to match perfectly.
On her wrist was a bracelet also picking up the blue and yellow in her sweater.
Her hair was fairly long and worn loose and her whole look said style.
I looked around at the other women in the dining room and none even approached her look. None of the other women looked as if they had even tried to look stylish.
It made me realize yet again that you don’t have to wear couture to look well dressed and stylish.
Just a little bit of extra effort will sometimes do the trick. Instead of rushing out the door in the morning forgetting jewelry or a well-placed scarf, you can put out your clothes the night before when you have more time.
Putting out your clothes the night before will also save you from wearing torn hosiery or discovering none of your scarves are a good match for the sweater you planned to wear. So it’s back to the planning board for a different outfit.
People are always noticing us, and appearance counts a great deal. Remember, you'll never have a second chance to make a good first impression.
Miriam Silverberg is a freelance journalist and owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique publicity agency in Manhattan. She may be reached at [email protected].
