Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [14]
For example, buy two expensive suits—one a soft navy blue and one an Oxford gray. The navy suit might have a blazer jacket with dull-finished gold buttons, which could go with different skirts year-round. The gray jacket might be collarless, with a neckline that could be dressed up or down with accessories.
Coordinate blouses, scarves, sweaters, coat, hat, umbrella, shoes, hose, belts, purses, and jewelry with these two colors. Buy several blouses in solid colors that match your basic suits with different necklines. Add complementary-colored blouses with soft, indistinct patterns (such as paisleys, jacquards, foulards, or color-on-same-color patterns) in colors that match both suits. You could also add your own favorite colors such as soft blue, old rose, or plum—all of which look good with both suits.
The navy suit jacket will serve in many capacities. The jacket of the gray suit would look well over the navy skirt and blouse with a colorful navy-gray-rose scarf. You need very little genuine jewelry—a string of pearls, a gold chain, plus possibly a lapis lazuli string of beads for the navy suit and a gray hematite necklace for either suit. The purse and shoes can be black or blue-black navy to go with everything.
If you will be photographed or will appear on camera, choose either suit. For example, with the gray suit, wear your matching gray blouse, small pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and you will look great.
Fabrics. When shopping for your wardrobe, select the fabrics carefully. Men’s clothes are often made of good, sturdy materials that hold up well with constant wear. Unfortunately, you have to search for women’s clothes of equal quality. As a public person, your clothes need to look good under trying circumstances and to withstand frequent dry cleaning.
Natural fabrics or blends are usually the best choices. Select materials that conform easily to the body. Stiff, shiny fabrics look awkward and add pounds to the silhouette because they are unyielding. The fabric should have little or no sheen or gloss. Look for fabrics that have a “hand,” with a soft, dull finish. Thin knits cling and can look sleazy. Double knits, on the other hand, are very comfortable, and they pack well with minimal wrinkling.
Some fabrics are “verbal” and rustle into the microphone.
The newly popular thin woolen fabrics (such as wool challis for dresses and skirts) are also excellent, due to their lovely drape and wrinkle-resistant nature.
Synthetic suedes with a dull finish now come in a lighter, more drapable weight. These synthetic suedes are excellent choices because they can be washed by hand, yet they always look luxurious and elegant and are nearly wrinkle-free.
Accessories. The secret of wearing good, basic clothes lies in the accessories you choose to go with them. This gives you the opportunity to express your own personality. Accessories can creatively change a plain suit to fit the various seasons and occasions. Once you have the look you feel is flattering to you, you can change the entire look with belts, jewelry, scarves, a lace collar, or discreet fabric flowers. For example, an extra paisley skirt that matches your suit jacket, a sleeveless jacket-sweater, a blazer, or a soft knitted top all add variety.
For the public person, your purse becomes your home and desk away from home. You have to practically live in it, and depend on it to get you through many varied experiences. Select a purse especially suited to your public appearance, and look at it in a mirror to see if it fits your build, size, and purpose. Choose a solid, dark color that matches most of your clothes. Spend as much as you can afford on one good, plain purse. Make it roomy enough to hold all of your necessities and small enough not to look bulky.
Organize it like a bureau drawer, inside and out, so that you can find your glasses, keys, billfold, datebook, business cards, checkbook, credit cards, and notes—without upending the whole thing as you search in public. Have an outside pocket for plane tickets, boarding passes, or subway