10 Things Every Woman Should Have According to Oscar De La Renta

Danielle Pergament, Allure magazine

Oscar de la Renta's ethos is simple: A woman should be "in love with the clothes she is wearing," he says. Since he started his own label in 1965, de la Renta has created clothes made with opulent fabrics, spirited prints, and ineffably feminine silhouettes. His latest dresses are off-the-shoulder, in black taffeta ("There is no sound more feminine than a woman in a taffeta dress," he says) and ruffled, carnation red organza. How have things changed since he began his career nearly a half century ago? "I remember a hundred years ago, I was at La Côte Basque and a lady walked in wearing a tunic pantsuit by Courrèges. The maître d' told her that ladies in pants were not allowed. So she went outside, dropped her pants, and returned in a very short dress." She was bold, cheeky, and according to de la Renta, "wonderful."

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