Editor’s note: Mari Rodríguez Ichaso has been a contributor to Vanidades magazine for several decades. She is a specialist in fashion, travel, gastronomy, art, architecture and entertainment, film producer and style columnist for Citizen Free Press en Español. The opinions expressed in this column are solely his own. Read more opinion pieces at cnne.com/opinion.
A friend of mine who worked at the then very famous English boutique Jaeger in New York, told me that Jacqueline Kennedy was one of his best customers and that once a year he made a purchase of 12 identical black pants and 12 turtleneck jumpers ( or “turtlenecks”) black and also the same. It was his favorite uniform, black collared pants and pullover!
And my friend told me that Jackie bought them because that’s how he had them in his different houses, the one in New York, in Hyannis Port, in Palm Beach and after she married Aristotle Onassis on the island of Skorpios and on the famous yacht “Christina O ”From her billionaire husband. And dressed like this, I saw her many times walking early in the morning near her apartment at 1040 on Fifth Avenue — steps away from my daughter’s school.
It’s funny, but other celebrities – such as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Princess Diana and today Sarah Jessica Parker and Carolina Herrera herself – have also chosen this classic and elegant “uniform” as a vital part of their image. . A look in black that never fails and – more importantly – makes us feel confident and elegantly “a sotto vocce”.
I have always loved this outfit – all in black – and for years it has been the basis of my wardrobe – and an essential part when I go on a trip. I have plenty of black pants and silk blouses and black turtlenecks and I wear them daily. And now – as a consequence of the pandemic and changes in our lifestyle – this “uniform” is once again in the forefront of fashion.
It should be noted that, however, there are women who never dress like that, all in black —especially during the day — and it interests me to see that they always wear very varied clothes, in many colors and patterns. In hot and tropical places it is logical. But in cities like New York, Paris or London, the use of this “uniform” – or variations of it – look very appropriate.
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A bit of fashion history? In the 1920s, Coco Chanel created the precursor image of this look by designing her “little black dress” or “little black dress” that broke the mold and became the ultimate feminine “chic”. And decades later – in the 1950s – at the stage of the so-called Parisian “existentialists”, the singer Juliette Gréco and the iconic Brigitte Bardot wore the “uniform” often.
Designers such as Donna Karan and Tom Ford have always loved creating fabulous variations of this look, just as in the 1960s Yves Saint Laurent created another wonderful “uniform” by imposing the black pantsuit and his “tuxedo suit” on fashion. they blew us away and are used to this day! Bravo to all of them!
And this brings us to 2020 and the covid-19 pandemic, when “fashionable” clothing takes a back seat and women seek the comfort of calm, discreet and easy-to-wear clothes at home. And that’s when the tried and friendly “uniform” returns triumphantly.