How to wow them when you’re unexpectedly invited to a small dinner gathering in the home of one of the world’s most important businessmen?
Keep it classic, with a twist.
Elegant, with an edge.
Try a print, but keep it contained, so that you’re wearing it. It’s not wearing you.
You want to be memorable but not actually stand out.
(And, yes, sometimes it’s okay to just sip your drink, eat your canape, stare at the jaw-dropping view and let your outfit do the talking.)
Why this works:
A Star is Born: Let one piece take center stage, and build everything else around it.
You could wear a bold piece that takes over the outfit.
Or you can wear a bold piece that makes the outfit. In this case, it’s the skirt.
Deforestation: Wearing a jungle (or floral print) without looking like the vines are going to take over.
This fitted, ruched, jungle-patterned skirt in a textured fabric has a lot going on.
You want to frame it, not fight with it.
Contain it, not let it run wild over everything else.
Choosing the Frame: Work with solids. Show a little texture. Add some spots of interest.
Why this works:
This brick-colored long-sleeved tee, with a dipped neckline and asymmetrical draping around the bodice, echoes the movement created by the ruching in the skirt. However, it picks up one of the darker, grounding colors of the pattern.
Like the bark of a tree, it supports the exuberance above (or, in this case, below). It provides a restful respite from pattern which, in fact, draws the eye to . . . pattern.
Top it Off: Boning Up
Why this works
This bone-colored, fitted moto-jacket, is in a warm neutral, which complements the riot of the skirt. It is also close-fitted, making a long line not cluttered with extra bulk.
Together with the fringy, iridescence-shot scarf, it balances the pattern of the skirt, and make for an elegant entrance. Or, even better, a dramatic exit, when you blow air kisses to guests lingering at the door and trot off to your next event. (Or home.)
Calling out the details
Beady-Eyed: Jewelry with opacity, luminosity and. . . moving parts
Why this works:
Although seemingly disparate, these necklaces work together because the bright near-translucence of the center stone is given center stage, while the more opaque stones of the other pieces play the chorine in the back row.
These are all metal pieces, but the tones are burnished, lending a martial flare, but providing glint and gleam, not a full-on clash of shiny.
And the dangling chains on the longest piece? They move, like heavy chains swinging between poles in a strong wind or reins for your dragon.
Stomping Ground: Putting the Fantastical on Solid Footing
This outfit is weighty: patterns and textures and chains. Pair it with footwear that conveys heft as well.
Why this works:
These elongated ankle boots, that fit close the ankle, pick up the color of the top and add to the richness, but are solid.
Less substantial footwear would underbalance this outfit, like a building that could topple over.
But go for sleek.
Don’t wear a clunky boot with a fitted skirt. Period. Choose something that hugs the ankle to elongate the leg, continuing the length of line you’ve created.
If you want a sandal, go for
gladiator solidity, not strappy-sandal lightness: Athena off to fight the
invading Persians at Thermopylae (albeit in a heel). Not a socialite Ubering it
to a downtown soiree.
But, you ask, did it work?
Yes!
When my cocktail-reception attendance turned into an unexpected invitation to join the inner circle for a private supper with one of the world’s most important business leaders, I was ready. Or at least, my outfit was. Uncharacteristically tongue-tied, I could rest on my sartorial laurels, held up and held together by the perfect outfit, even as my verbal abilities fled.
Central No Mirror Principal: Never have too many elements going on
Otherwise, you go directly from active, but eye-pleasing, to cluttered and confusing.
Choose your main element (shoes, top, skirt—whatever it is) and build around it.
However, in creating your composition, don’t be afraid to tease the eye with:
- A pattern that could almost “fight” with the main element, but doesn’t. (You’ll see this in Persian rugs).
- An unexpected, yet harmonious, color choice placed elsewhere in the field of vision. (You’ll see this in nature: A blood-drop red winter berry against gray-etched ice, a racing-car colored crab).
Just never compete with the main element.
Stylized paisley pattern paired with ziggurat-stepped border (on left) and crenelated edge (on bottom). Color note: Use of gray calms the heat of color and pattern, allowing the eye to take it in and not be lacerated by it.
This unexpected color trilogy is close to clashing, but not. Nature knows what she’s doing. (She’s a woman, after all.)
