Fashion: FALL ISSUE : Fail-Safe Wardrobe Strategies
Newport Beach resident Lin Smith shares at least one trait with European women. She shops like them.
“I buy quality, but I don’t buy a lot,” says Smith, a watercolor artist who didn’t hit on her successful wardrobe philosophy overnight.
Her path has been littered with the mistakes many women make, such as the “gorgeous” magenta blouse she bought but never wore because it was too colorful.
“It’s no miracle,” she says of her fail-proof system. “I always try on lots of things. But I always go back to what I know is flattering to me. I’ve dressed the same and worn my hair the same way forever. It’s all very classic.”
Women like Smith, who can separate the flattering from the failures, tend to have their personal rules--including how to select a major fall purchase.
Smith, for example, is considering a red plaid jacket this year. “I don’t usually wear a lot of color, but it appeals to me as something to spice up my neutrals,” she says.
Smith’s classic style turns more complicated with the addition of lots of pearls. “I call them my ‘some are’ pearls,’ she says with a soft laugh. “Some are real. Some are not.”
Her shoes and handbags, however, tend to be real Chanel or Bottega Veneta--purchased in accordance with her “buy better and buy less” philosophy.
Judy Burton, an administrator for the Los Angeles Unified School District, adheres to the same philosophy. Although she is on a limited budget, she finds pre-season sales, especially at Nordstrom, mean she can buy quality clothes at a substantial savings.
She purchased two sale suits for fall. One is red trimmed in black, the other is black and white houndstooth check. Each represents Burton’s career dressing credo.
“Sophisticated, conservative without being harshly tailored,” she says of their design.
“Usually, I buy clothes in a particular color family. This season I bought a lot of black combined with other colors. It limits the amount of accessories I have to buy--even hosiery.”
Knowing how and when to mix is something Marjorie Fasman does particularly well. The Los Angeles community activist combines anything that strikes her fancy to create a wearable “collage.”
She might integrate one of her large scarfs--which she makes from unusual fabrics and her husband’s castoff ties--with important pieces of jewelry and a designer item, such as the Anne Klein fawn and black herringbone jacket she recently purchased.
When Fasman shops, she seeks a work of art. “The proportion, the texture, the way the fabric catches the light--all that is like a canvas.” But no matter how great the work of art, she observes a steadfast rule: “If it has to be altered, I’m not interested.”
For Eunseng Vogt, a model and fine arts photographer, the rule is: “Buy in advance, because it’s not going to be there later.”
Every Friday, she models high-fashion merchandise from the Lina Lee shop in the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Then she heads for Banana Republic, where she will browse or stock up on staples such as jackets, pants, sweaters, shirts and T-shirts.
She does the same at The Gap, Bullock’s and New Man, a Beverly Hills store with moderately priced menswear.
“I usually wear simple things,” says Vogt, whose off-the-ramp simplicity is aided by bare-bones makeup, little jewelry and the menswear items she favors.
They include an olive wool jacket from New Man, which she bought last year (very far in advance) and will wear for the first time this fall.
“I like loose, comfortable garments. That’s why I go straight for the menswear,” she explains, adding a bit of advice:
“You don’t have to put everything on your face and body to be beautiful. I look at some women who are so casual and low key, and I think they are beautiful. If you are comfortable in your clothes, you can feel pretty.”
