Behind the Scenes / Orange County : Store Openings Provide Time for a Reality ‘Chic’
One shouldn’t spend all one’s time dressing. All one needs are two or three suits, as long as they, and everything to go with them, are perfect.
--Coco Chanel
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OK, Coco. Got it. Now explain “perfect.”
Coco can’t, but maybe Jeff Stone and Kim Johnson Gross, authors of a series of “Chic Simple” guidebooks, can. On hand at the recent opening of two Banana Republic stores--one for men, the other for women--in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, they said the best look is when clothes work for us instead of enslave us.
Like Coco, they believe less is more, and the more basic the better. Wardrobes should be timeless, easy and cost-efficient.
Buying smart means getting what you need, not getting more. You don’t have to worry about the fashion rules changing if everything in your closet clicks with who you are.
Their practical, pocket-size guidebooks ($12.50, Alfred Knopf) focus on specifics, from women’s wardrobe basics to men’s shirts and ties.
The evening’s 300 guests, many supporters of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, which benefited from the event, seemed to have studied the guidebooks in advance. Shirts went nicely with ties, and women were also well-orchestrated in suits and simple accessories.
