Getting Thru Winter on 5 Fashion Basics

Following is a "re-play" of an article I wrote for Women's Voices for Change . Every week, they run an article on fashion. It was my turn this week:


I'm often complimented on my appearance. I love that—especially because praise for my style seems so odd to me. Because I really don’t love fashion. My sister is a fashionista. She loves fashion shows in real life and on TV; she loves fashion magazines, fashion models, fashiony people walking down the street, and I think she thinks Anna Wintour might be God.

I, on the other hand, have no use for any of those things. I like to look good, but I pretty much wear the same clothes over and over. I 'm a Basics kinda gal. My close friends know this about me and forgive me. People who don't know me that well have no way of knowing that I've worn the same outfit (or a version of it) three times in the same week.

I've gotten through this winter with five basic pieces that are serving me well. Actually only two of them are winter-y. The others are good all the time. So here they are, in order from least to most interesting (to me, anyway):


• White Brooks Brothers no-iron button-down dress shirts. I have about 10 of them. They go with just about everything, tucked and untucked, with pearls, pretty colorful scarves, and fun costume jewelry. I wear them with jeans, slacks, leather pants, pencil skirts...but mostly jeans or leggings.

• Standard-issue black leggings. With boots, heels, flats. Paired with a basic white shirt (see above) or any of a number of longish sweaters. When you wear leggings, a different pair of shoes makes a whole new outfit, as far I'm concerned.





• Norma Kamali peplum down coat. It's light as a feather and warm, warm, warm. Plus it's chic, so it dresses up the whole outfit. Most people who see me in it have no idea that underneath it I’m wearing something as boring as leggings and a white shirt.






• Leopard print thigh-high boots by Sam Edelman. I love, love, love these boots. They dress up, they dress down. (Although how could thigh-high leopard print boots ever really be dressed-down?) They work with dresses, leggings, and tucked-in jeans. I've had restaurant hostesses and women on the street stop me to ask me how they can get a pair. I plan to wear them until they fall apart.





• And these crazy gold metallic jeans by Joe Fresh. The first time I wore them was to the Jay-Z and Kanye West concert in November. Made me feel a little less like the oldest chick in the stadium. These are my party jeans. I understand that some fashion maven somewhere is thinking right now, "Well, those aren't really for winter; they'd be much more suitable for spring and summer.” But I don't care. I wear them whenever I want.






The fact that I am such a lazy dresser has caused problems in my relationships with men from time to time. Even though they think I look good in what I’m wearing (or so they say), they get tired of seeing me in the same stuff over and over. There's a really easy solution for that. I'm happy to wear whatever they decide to gift me with. I don't want to have to think too much about what I wear, but if he wants to do something about it, I'm usually game. Problem solved.



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