What makes an outfit chic

Chic is the word in my name, so I should be able to say what I mean by it. Here is what I look for, in the order I think about it.

A few pieces that always work

A blazer, a black dress, jeans that fit. Not because a list says so, but because these are the three I can build on without thinking. The blazer in black, navy or beige. The dress in a cut that suits me, and there is only one, so I know it. Jeans in a shape I have worn for years.

Fabric that lasts

Cotton, wool, silk, cashmere when I can. Natural fibres sit better, wear better and age better, and a wool coat bought once outlasts three that were not. This is where I would rather spend, because it is the difference you can see across a room.

Fit

Nothing looks expensive when it does not fit, and almost anything looks expensive when it does. Trousers the right length at the hem and right at the waist. A dress that follows me rather than fighting me. And a tailor. Ten minutes with a tailor changes a garment more than any amount of choosing in the shop.

A quiet palette

Most of what I wear is black, white, grey, beige and navy. Not because colour is wrong, but because a quiet base is what makes one colour count. When I want colour it comes in one place: the shoes, the bag, a scarf. Or one colour head to toe, in different shades.

Few accessories

One or two, chosen. Earrings that mean something, or a watch. A good bag in a neutral. Shoes in shapes that do not date: a pointed pump, a ballet flat, an ankle boot. More than that and the outfit stops being about the outfit.

The details

Clothes clean and pressed, hair done, makeup light. And layers that make sense together, so that taking one off still leaves an outfit. This is the part that costs nothing and shows the most.

That is what I mean by chic: a few good pieces, worn well, with one thing that makes you look twice. The last part is the twist, and it is what this site is about.