Absurdly Ladylike Pieces to Polish Any Wardrobe

by Natalie Matthews


A lot of people are under a grunge spell right now, strong enough that Saint Laurent has convinced some of them (the very ridiculously wealthy ones) to buy a $68,000 plaid babydoll dress that looks lifted straight from Courtney Love's 1994 closet. That's an extreme case, of course, but you get what I mean: people are paying up to look dressed down, way down, because the smudgey eyeliner and shredded denim thing is really, really trendy. Blame this year's punk-themed Met Ball, maybe.

I, however, am not one of them. I'm into ladylike things at the moment: dainty minaudières, floaty tie-neck blouses, anything Jordan almond-colored or polka dotted. It's an aesthetic I've always gravitated towards, but it goes beyond that right now, to a recent realization that these elegant, ultra-feminine things might have more staying power in my wardrobe than some other styles.

It's a two-pronged attack; first of all, those typically hourglass-creating silhouettes tend to be figure-flattering on most shapes (including mine), and that's a not unimportant consideration. Second, the polish of these sorts of things (structured handbags, mary jane pumps) is a quality I'll most likely still want ten, fifteen years down the road. So no matter how hard I want to be "cool" and do the grunge flannels or fashion-y sweatshirts or sporty hi-top sneakers thing for a while, I'm pretty sure ladylike things will always have a space in my heart-and closet. Which is exactly how I'll justify adding one (or many) of these absurdly-ladylike-in-the-best-way-possible pieces, above, to my collection.

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