The Mask as a New Accessory

Necessary

We're fully vaccinated — places to go, people to see. But hold on, not so fast. 

Even though we are fully vaccinated and many of our friends have had their first shots, we're still very conscious that the virus does not discriminate and variants are still a challenge. This of course means that many of the habits we have started and re-inforced over the past year and a half need to continue — a new normal.

I appreciate the precautions taken in the grocery stores such as disinfecting carts, providing antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer, and plexiglass shields for the masked workers. All of the above needs to be continued for the workers' and our safety. As well, after going out for lunch in a 50% capacity restaurant, I rather liked not being an arm's length away from the next table. Lunch was a beautiful experience on the riverbank with a calm atmosphere and a sparsely occupied space, even though the place was full.

When it comes to personal habits, are people going to stop washing their hands and taking precautions? Of course not, at least I hope not. It's just good basic hygiene. This past winter no one around me had a cold or the usual run-of-the-mill flu. In the past, when one person in the house had a cold or the flu, everyone eventually got it. Not this past winter. When my guests come to my house I'll still provide them with antibacterial wipes and sanitizing options. And I will continue diligently cleaning for their safety. After all, we still do not know a whole lot about this virus and why some people are asymptomatic, others are afflicted with longstanding complications, and others die. Even though we are vaccinated we still can get it. And although we may not get as ill, we potentially can be carriers if we stop being diligent and catch it from someone, putting unvaccinated folks in danger. It will be a while before herd immunity kicks in. 

So don't put the mask away just yet. As for masks, they will continue to be part of my wardrobe accessories especially for shopping and casual visits. It's not such a big deal. How wearing a mask became a threat to personal liberty is beyond me. It's science, not an issue of freedom.

Thanks to Shirley B who made all of these except two (the stripe and the animal print). 

I'm happy to see celebrities doing their part, although in this situation, I've chosen masking and it has nothing to do with them. Tory Burch has a #wearadamnmask challenge. Through the campaign, celebrities are posting selfies sending the message of the importance of wearing a mask in public. There are sequined masks, tie-died, floral, basic solid colours, bright neon colours, pastels, animal print motifs, plaid, gingham, and of course, the novelty ones including sport team promotion, lipstick kisses, smiley faces, cartoon characters, and anything else that suits your personality type. Then there are the disposable options also being promoted. Bien sur, you need a LBFM - little black face mask. For a look at the celebrities and their choices visit the hellomagazine website. 

The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) tested 20 different face masks and summarized the effectiveness in this Marketplace overview. Beware the one-layer bandana-scarf-face mask and gaiter-styled face mask. According to the Marketplace report, these are the least protective. These masks allow too many germs in and let too many out. If there is a disposable face-covering insert underneath, or a filter pocket insert inside the bandana and gaiter styles closely fitting the nose and mouth, then they may be redeemed but not always considered more effective. 

Masks with an exhalation valve are not recommended at all.

Need

Look for the following  criteria when choosing a face mask:

Good: tightly woven fabric (high thread-count) 

Better: two layers of fabric (both fabrics with a high thread count)

Best: reinforcement of a two-layer, high thread-count mask with a standard disposable mask underneath (In the photo you see that I just use tiny safety pins to add and easily remove disposable masks from my cloth ones.

Continue all those good habits when you are out and about. Don't be irresponsible during this pandemic (even if you are vaccinated).

ITSO . . . In the Style of . . . Diane Von Furstenberg

Character. Intelligence. Strength. Style. That makes beauty.

— Diane von Furstenberg (1946) Belgian fashion designer

Diane von Furstenberg started her fashion design career and became famous with her wrap dress. This orange 70s vintage example was retrieved on May 30, 2021 from Shopmodig.

Her silk jersey wrap dress was an influencer for me as I grew into adulthood. It was the seams on her dresses (or dresses like hers) I checked in my first job. I had to make sure every article of clothing that was put on the sales floor of the high-end dress shop (at least it was high-end in the mid-sized town I lived) was in faultless condition. I worked in the basement and checked for split seams, fabric flaws, sewing mistakes, dye irregularities, and print or stripe mismatches. Does anyone do that anymore?

People say I made the dress. Yes, I made the dress, but the dress made me.

- Diane von Furstenberg

Apparently, she originally created a wrap-around top with a matching skirt and that evolved into the dress. The DVF's wrap dress was born in 1973/1974 (depending on the source you read) when she arrived in New York with a suitcase full of jersey print wrap dresses. Asked why she invented this particular dress, she emphasized the ease of getting dressed and I would also suggest getting undressed. She has been quoted as saying:

If you are trying to slip out without waking a sleeping man, zips are a nightmare. Haven’t you ever tried to creep out of the room unnoticed the following morning? I’ve done that many times. 

Considering DVF's wrap dress has been used to symbolically represent the the rise of the women's movement in the 1970s, liberated women, and comfort and ease in workplace dressing, I find it has similarities to previous "house dress" patterns from an era that was not so liberated. Here's a wrap dress called "a 1949 Women's Wrap Around Brunch Coat" from the category of House Dresses in a Simplicity Vintage Sewing Pattern (Retrieved May 30, 2021 from Ecrater — 2845 https://www.ecrater.com/p/7216806/1949-womens-wrap-around-brunch-coat).

I remember my aunt having a blue floral wrap house dress just like the vintage Simplicity pattern. I feel certain that DVF, who was married to a prince (making her a princess although she lost that privilege with divorce) and who first designed a wrap-around top and a skirt was not influenced by a "house dress". However, DVF's wrap dress does look like a re-stylized, re-invented, shortened adaptation of the 1950s version. Has anyone ever had that thought before? It does appear like there's really nothing "new", simply revisited, modified, and revitalized with updated fabrics created for a new market audience and regenerated with a new "story". No matter the origin or motivation — it was brilliant.

Photo Source: Yahoo!Life This photo was retrieved May 30, 2021 from https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/diane-von-furstenberg-means-woman-140021841.html. Read the interview, Diane von Furstenberg on What it Means to be a 'Woman in Charge', by Nikara Johns, March 8, 2020

At 75, Diane von Furstenberg is still designing and still in charge. 

For me, the zipper issue is huge. I have one dress that has a side zipper - that's perfect. All the others have back zippers. Impossible if you are alone. With apologies to DVF, the ease of dressing gives the wrap dress a greater advantage than for the purpose of "sneaking out without waking a sleeping man".

ITSO . . . In the Style of . . . Juliette Binoche

Photo Source accessed from The Snipe

 

French women bloom at 40! I can't wait!

Juliette Binoche who is now closer to 60 than 40, apparently had been quoted saying that while in her 30's.

It was the movie Chocolat (2000) where I first noticed Juliette Binoche. I loved the character she played and a love interest with Johnny Depp kept me interested until the end of the movie. And although I had seen The English Patient (1996), somehow the character did not interest me enough to find out who the actress behind her was. That sounds so terrible now that I watched the movie again, and pay closer attention to Juliette Binoche. As an Oscar-winning supporting actress for that role, I'm obviously the one who didn't get it. Now she ranks as "my favourite" actress and I seek out her movies. 

If you don't know her work, this 3-minute youtube video will introduce you to Juliette Binoche, the actress. One of the reviews of her acting career (that I enjoyed reading) was written by Sofia Bohdanowicz, The Double Life of Juliette Binoche.

As I learn more about her political, social, and humanitarian activism, her own choices when accepting and rejecting roles, and the tidbits from her personal life, the more I admire her.

In 2014 her public persona took on a new "face" for Blue Illusion, an Australian clothing company focused on women 45+. Binoche uses the words "effortless" and "comfortable" when describing the look of adopted Parisian style translated by an Australian company. Those two words have different interpretations in Paris as compared with the rest of the world, particularly North America. But, that's another topic for another post.

The photo is one of La Binoche in a Blue Illusion design as sourced from Styling You.

Binoche described herself as "feminine with masculine strength" in a Daily Telegraph article in 2014. The Sydney Morning Herald quoted her as saying "A face has to move with the emotions because it's a mirror of what's happening inside . . ." when responding to a cosmetic surgery query.

Interviewers often are surprised by her casualness. British journalist, Tim Adams, described her as arriving in "a plain sweatshirt and no make-up". But more often than not, she shows up in what appears to be a suited look. She arrived at an interview with Kristen Yoonsoo Kim in a "cream-colored suit and baby-pink dress shirt". Perhaps it was that "feminine with masculine strength" that triggered the choice to wear a suit in light colours. The blazer and pants or jeans have always been a "look" I loved but I never thought of it as "feminine with masculine strength", just "feminine strength".  

She will soon be 60 and continues with grace and poise. That's the ticket, grace and poise.

I'll leave you with a gem of youthful wisdom from Binoche,

The only way for me to stay young is to let go of youth. You cannot hang on to the past. You cannot try to be young when you're not young anymore. But the youth is within yourself. How do you renew yourself, how do you go to a new layer of yourself? That is the real youth. That is the renewance of yourself.

ITSO . . . In the Style of . . . Bianca Jagger

Photo Source: marieclaire.co.uk 

If you play Fashion Word Association and say, "Bianca Jagger", the most frequent response is "The White Suit" followed by "It Girl in the 70's". That is if you are old enough or have been influenced by someone old enough to have been there, done that.

Photo Source: Independent.ie 

She wore a white suit for her marriage to Mick Jagger in 1971. Designed by Yves Saint Laurent, it featured a classic blazer style jacket aka "le smoking" and a long pencil or column skirt matched by a veiled wide-brimmed hat. Bianca Jagger, the suit and the hat were the focus of the 1970s paparazzi.

Her dark, exotic, sultry look was refreshing for those of us who were dark-haired and had blonde "bombshells" and Barbie dolls set up as the ideal. When I was at the age of wanting a Barbie doll, my mom refused. She bought me a "Mitzi". Mitzi was a brunette. I never had children but if I had had a daughter, I would have done the same. My mother was smarter than I gave her credit for.

Back to Bianca . . . but like Barbie, Bianca wore a white suit and I tried but very often ended up with blue. Blue became my signature colour. In fact, every shade of blue became my go-to option.

Photo Source: PurePeople

The white or almost-white suit still is Bianca Jagger's signature style. This photo features a pale pinky-beige jacket on white, which she wore in Paris in 2017.

What is your signature style?

Styles change, although Bianca Jagger still wears white suits and she's in her seventies.

Will you still be wearing your signature style in 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years?

I think Brian Davis will still be wearing ballet flats.

I think I will still be wearing blazers in some shade of blue.

I think blue, white and beige will still be the colours I prefer in the summer and black and camel in the winter. Yet, I haven't kept my white blazers. I tried but I couldn't do it. And I'm not sure why. Too stark? Perhaps. Too blindingly white? Probably. Too, too white? Most definitely. As Bianca Jagger aged, she too tempered the white as we can see in the photo of her in Paris in 2017. With all of those responses, I still admire the "look" and admire Bianca Jagger for still pulling it off in her seventies.

I think my brother-in-law will still be wearing "sweats".

What's your signature style? Analyze your style, what's in your closet and post a comment (where it writes, "no/# of comments") to let me know if you think you'll be wearing some version of your present style.

I've written about Bianca Jagger before Check it out here.

ITSO . . . In the Syle of . . . Amal Clooney

"[Amal] clearly seized the moment, and could very well be on her way to becoming one of the great style icons of our day," Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Linda Fargo wrote (via Vanity Fair), "And not just because of what she chooses to wear, but because underneath the clothes, we admire her intelligence, activism, globalism, and her clear confidence in her own skin." (Retrieved March 13, 2018 from http://www.thelist.com/33496/stunning-transformation-amal-clooney/s/she-nails-every-look/)

Amal Clooney's best looks come when she is in her professional wardrobe. No, I'm not referring to the legal robes.

Photo Source: express.co.uk
Retrieved October 21, 2018

Wearing white or cream would make you stand out in a room full of dark suits. Whereas men might feel that it would be impossible to wear anything but a dark suit, women can use the stark opposite of white or cream to make a statement. Compare this suit to the centre one of the three InStyle photos below. The longer pencil skirt has a much better "look" than the flared shorter version.

On the InStyle website the following three images depict Clooney in professional garb. My favourite is on the far left. As I have already indicated, I don't care for the flared skirt with the short jacket in the middle photograph. There's something about knees, the longer pencil skirt just looks better or perhaps it's the photographic angle that is to blame. The dress on the right appears more as something she would wear to a "summer lunch" while in Italy. 

Photo Source: InStyle Retrieved October 21, 2018

Photo Source: Huffington Post

If not white, then red. Once again, no need to wear a dark suit and blend in with everyone else. There's that longer pencil skirt again. In ibtimes.com.au, Mary Alice Stephenson, fashion expert and founder of Glam4Good, was quoted, referring to how Amal Clooney has the same attitude about clothing, as Princess Diana had, “She understands how clothes can draw attention and make a statement.”  

Amal Clooney appears very comfortable in her skin in skirted suits even if she is drawing attention and making a statement.

ITSO . . . In the Style of . . . Queen Letizia

Closet Content Analysis: Repeat Basics for a New Ensemble

NICE

A recent anonymous comment motivated me to do a little research on Queen Letizia of Spain. In my 30 second assessment it appears as if she and Duchess Kate share a similar "look".

Photo Source: Getty Images NurPhoto
from queenletizastyle

The most recent audiences as reported and illustrated by www.queenletiziastyle.com. shows the queen in skirts and tops and dresses. I enjoy the website because it will comment and have photographs of outfits or pieces she has worn before. Another similarity to Kate Middleton. There is something endearing about the fact that they are comfortable enough to wear repeat outfits in a world assessing them every time they walk out their doors. The recent post shows a white tweed dress she has worn on three occasions in 2017 and 2018. Check out queen letiziastyle.

Another more casual style I found on the website and one fitting for a summer evening is an ensemble that is easy to duplicate. The website also shows Queen Letiza Looks for Less - love it. The pin-tuck shirt style is tailored with long-sleeves and a standup collar.  You can easily find something similar if you check out the Gap or Banana Republic retail websites. But make sure you look for fitted shirts and not those one-size-fits-all varieties that pin-tuck is often used on. I had a fitted pin-tuck front shirt in white with a "man's shirt collar" more years ago than my closet reveals for it is no longer there and I have long forgotten about it until I saw the Queen Letizia photograph. It's items like that, one wishes to have kept . . . maybe not. 

Photo Source: Romwe.com

The trousers have more detail but if you are going to spend more money on something, a pair of pants like this would be your choice over the shirt. The QL style website links us to Romwe.com where a similar look is being sold for $9.00 US. I have bought linen pants from a grocery store in France for about that price but the furthest I venture out with them is to the market. They don't fit well and the seams are sewn with long stitches that save thread. Romwe is selling a polyester version and my first thoughts are No Thanks to the polyester but Note-Worthy to the style. 

Queen Letizia was wearing smooth leather camel pumps with block heels. Nice. Hers are from a season past but the  Hugo Boss website has a pair of black velvet pumps that are similar. 

Photo Source:
Queen Letizia Style
March, 2017

Photo Source:
Queen Letizia Style
December, 2016

Photo Source:
Queen Letizia Style
November, 2016

Queen Letizia's style befits a contemporary queen and we can also learn a thing or two from her. The QL style blog does a nice job of cataloguing three looks with one clothing item and it's worth repeating here. Change the shoes, the skirt, and the pants -  the look stays elegant and the style says this woman has her priorities in the right place. 

ITSO . . . In the Style Of Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham's style is one of my favourites to research. Even with her, there are some No Thanks looks that make one wonder, "what were you thinking?"

NOTE-WORTHY  

Wide Leg Trousers. It is interesting that Victoria Beckham often wears either skinny skinny jeans or loose over-sized wide leg pants. I like them, even though you do not see them often on the streets. I personally am not fond of turtlenecks on myself but I love the casual look and the warmth portrayed. Although when you notice the snow on the street, what the guy behind her is wearing and that it was February, you want to say, "It's not that warm, Victoria."

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2017
Photo Source: StyleBistro

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2016
Photo Source: StyleBistro

NICE

Photo copied from: designerzcentral.com

Pencil Skirt and Over-sized Sunglasses. This photo keeps recurring when I search for pencil skirt - Victoria Beckham. I don't know the original source of the photo nor the year it was taken but it demonstrates to me, the Victoria Beckham look I love. 

The oversize sunglasses are another signature look that some might consider overdone. If she is in an airport, one does wonder why in the world she would be wearing them.

Designerzcentral.com called this look classic simple and that is my constant and never-ending goal for the look I want to portray. Compare it to the two "No Thanks" looks. There is no contest; the leaner slimmer look of the pencil skirt makes her appear in control, self-confident and successful. The other skirts illustrated here under the "no thanks" heading, seem disproportionate for her figure, the pink is too cutesy and the aqua just looks wrong.

NO THANKS

The Chunky Wedge and Matchy Matchy. Not my favourite look for Beckham. For a woman who can pull off the strappy stilletto sandal as a normal walking shoe and has made it a signature look, this shoe just doesn't live up to what Victoria Beckham should be wearing.

The second "No Thanks" look is the masculine big shirt with a skirt made of a fabric that looks like something from a tacky 1980s bridesmaid gown. Even her signature strappy sandals cannot save this look.

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2015
Photo Source: StyleBistro

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2016
Photo Source: StyleBistro

Best Dressed Lists - No Thanks

For the most part, best dressed lists do not mean much to me. Who makes those "best dressed" lists? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with being well-dressed but rather who you are and where you go and where you are seen.

Recently I perused Calgary's Avenue magazine featuring their best dressed choices. The clothing and accessories ranged from a blouse from Urban Outfitters, a dress bought from a consignment online store, the-upside.ca, shoes purchased at Aldo and Chanel, items from Holt Renfrew and the Bay to earrings bought at the Women in Need Society Thrift Store. The NICE in this list was the variety and range of clothing. High-end designers were visible but not on everyone illustrated. The ages ranged from 20/30 somethings to 50+somethings. There were four men and seven women, and one couple which actually made it the 11 Best Dressed in Calgary for 2017. Although I appreciated the variety and neutrality of clothing bought at Urban Outfitters and the Bay, I didn't see the "best" in this list. If this is the "best", the eccentric meets "the best" criteria as well as the mediocre. I do commend those who mix the likes of H&M and designer choices in one ensemble.

Harper's Bazaar has a weekly best dressed list. Weekly? This weekly best dressed list again smacks of mediocrity and only focuses on celebrities that need the media attention. I suppose Harper's plays the role but really identifying people who they claim to be best dressed when they are simply dressed has lessened my opinion this endeavour. With that, the weekly Harper's best dressed list has gotten old for me. Like I said, it's a dressed list but not necessarily a "best" dressed list. It is just like any other posting of what a particular celebrity is wearing in a particular week.

The judgement required to value someone as best dressed is so subjective it can not be worth anything to anyone. It may have some entertainment value but in my opinion that is all. Perhaps, if there was a rationale by the adjudicator of what and why he or she considered the clothing the best or why the person who is wearing the clothing should be so designated. 

My mother's words come back to haunt me - If you are going to be critical, be prepared to provide a better "widget", idea or plan of action.

OK mom, I now have no other choice but to start working on this blog's 2017 Best Dressed List or perhaps a Well Dressed List. Yes that's it, A Well Dressed List.

Best dressed lists - still a NO THANKS - but now maybe a Well-Dressed List can replace the "best".

The Blazer: Winter to Spring Transition

Spring allows you to get the last bit of wear out of winter pieces when you match them up with last year's summer wear or splurge on a new trend.

Although cardigans are supposed to be a 2017 spring trend, I still prefer blazers.

A lightweight fine-weave wool blazer that you wore in winter can continue through the spring worn with walking shorts, jeans, a pencil skirt or a sheath dress, depending on your needs.

A blazer will:

bump up casual to business casual with whatever you choose to wear to work 

keep you warm in the evening over a lightweight dress. That look can take you through summer evenings as well.  

add an element of sophistication to jeans and a t-shirt

A cardigan just doesn't do it in the same way.

The Smythe Duchess Blazer. Photo Source: KateMiddletonStyle

When it comes to blazers, Smythe is the way to go. A friend in Calgary  introduced them to me and both of us find the tailoring impeccable. The brand is definitely an investment purchase. And, just to let you know, if you buy yourself a Smythe Les Vestes blazer now, you will be wearing it for as long as Kate Middleton has worn hers, probably longer. 

Middleton has been wearing Smythe blazers for the past six years at least. She has worn both the navy and green one-button blazer in 2011 in Canada, and the navy in 2012 in London and 2014 in Glasgow. If Middleton can do that, so can you.

Buy it in a basic colour such as black, cobalt, chambray, navy, army or camel and it will never go out of style. They renamed the one button blazer, the "duchess blazer" after Middleton wore the Toronto brand during her trip to Canada in 2011. 

NICE for Smythe, Middleton and anyone who owns one!

ITSO. . . In the Style of Kellyanne Conway. . .

NO THANKS . . . an opinion

There are features in this woman's style which are examples of how not to present yourself. Katharine Hepburn told Jane Fonda that it is ". . . not just what you have on and how you look, but your presentation as a human being in all levels was important." (Retrieved from a People interview with Fonda)

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.

- Coco Chanel

And what is happening is slightly disconcerting to many of us. One can conclude that she is simply presenting the style, the mannerisms, the way of being that represents the man she is working for and essentially all those who voted for him. She supports him and has never wavered in that support. That is commendable. However, there were many through history who supported dictators and imbeciles who managed to be in or lead in government office. Enough of that rant . . . 

Five No Thanks Features in Kellyanne Conway's style . . . 

Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world’s view of us. 

– Virginia Woolf

Photo Source: A Reuters photo
retrieved on February 28, 2017 from MarketWatch (posted January 20, 2017)

1. No Thanks to dressing in a costume-look when attending an event other than a costume party. There are ways it could have been made to look less costume-y; however the best advice is to stay away from any hint of a costume look.

According to a MarketWatch  summary, Kellyanne Conway reportedly called her Gucci-designed red, white and blue coat, which she wore to the presidential inauguration, “revolutionary wear". Alrighty then . . .

To me, clothing is a form of self-expression – there are hints about who you are in what you wear. 

– Marc Jacobs

Photo Source: Retrieved  February 28, 2017
from DailyMail (posted January 7, 2017)

2. Jackets with frou frou are trendy and therefore become dated quickly making for a clownish appearance rather than a classic one. In this case, what appears to be a gold lamé jacket seems "off" when going for lunch.  She is often seen in red and it suits her. The clothing elements completing this beige base does not look "stylish", or "put together" properly. 

Maybe it looked ok in the mirror when she finished dressing but it certainly did not photograph well. This is something with which most of us do not have to concern ourselves. However, in an age when it seems the greatest selling feature of a phone is the quality of the pictures it takes, more of us are finding ourselves in photographs we wish never would have been taken. We all want to look our best in photographs so you would think, those in the public eye would be more careful.

Notice that this particular jacket offends at two levels: inappropriate for a noon luncheon (especially at the White House) and it doesn't appear to fit.

Photo Source:
Retrieved February 28, 2017 from the
DailyMail (posted July 5, 2016)

3. Kellyanne Conway has a fit figure and looks good in much of what she wears; however, there are many photographs that show her wearing something that appears to fit too small. When it comes to style, "fit" is everything. 

A non-clothing style feature in this photo is the importance of posture. But is it her posture or is it an under-clothing thing? Perhaps she just needed a better bra. Whichever it is, she should have worn a jacket over this dress. I am partial to jackets and I believe, just as men wear suits and jackets in business and formal situations, women are wise to borrow the look. Of course, wear a dress or skirt and shirt under the jacket but wear a jacket. Not only is it more formal, it also camouflages particular features. But be careful when choosing a jacket . . . 

Photo Source: Reuters Photo
Retrieved  February 28, 2017 from NYPost 
(Posted November 13, 2016)

Does this jacket not fit properly? It's hard to tell with this particular style. When it is worn open as it is here, it looks like the fit is too small and so the wearer hopes that it will be passable if it is left undone. No Thanks. It was better done up as in the photograph on style point #2.

Clothing can be expensive but if it doesn't fit well, it will look cheap.  Cheap clothing that fits well is truly more stylish.

The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.

– Diana Vreeland

Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.

 – Rachel Zoe

Photo Source: Retrieved February 28, 2017 from DailyMail

4. There are many famous quotes about style that go beyond what one is wearing. Kellyanne Conway appears to be wearing an appropriate dress for a meeting but maybe a jacket would have added an element of formality to match the gathering (but not the jacket she chose to wear in the previous two photos). In this example, her choice of clothing is less important than what she is doing. Why was she going through unflattering contortions to take a photo? Her physical position on the couch seems incongruous to her professional position and as others have noted, disrespectful to the visitors. Simply, she should be attending to the business happening in the oval office, not to the photo op. Someone took the photo of her; perhaps she should have left the official photographer to do his or her work. No Thanks to her lack of proper behaviour in a formal setting.

Clothes aren’t going to change the world, the women who wear them will.

– Anne Klein 

5. In her role of White House advisor, I expect more . . . more decorum, more thoughtful expression, more intelligent responses, more respect, more of what one aspires to be and not of what one is embarrassed to watch.

To have style definitely has less to do with what you wear. It is how you speak, how you carry yourself, how you behave and how you treat other people. So here's a big No Thanks to Kellyanne Conway's style from one Canadian's perspective.

ITSO . . . In the Style Of . . . Katharine Hepburn

Dressing up is a bore. At a certain age, you decorate yourself to attract the opposite sex, and at a certain age, I did that. But I'm past that age. 

- Katharine Hepburn

Yet in a People interview with Jane Fonda on Katharine Hepburn, Fonda recalls many comments about perception, mainly other peoples' perceptions. Hepburn said to Fonda, when the two worked together in the movie, On Golden Pond, "You never could’ve made it back then,". It must have taken Fonda aback; however Fonda did not demonstrate any annoyance . . . 

She taught me that self-conscious isn't necessarily bad, that it's important to be aware of how you present [yourself.], . . . Not just in what you have on and how you look, but your presentation as a human being in all levels was important. 

- Jane Fonda 

My chosen quote by Hepburn represents two different ways of thinking and time frames, whereas, Fonda's recollection comes directly from a Hollywood setting. One can conclude that the realistic Hepburn in Hollywood was aware of perception, even though she seemed to be rather rebellious when it came to adopting man-style shirts and pants into her wardrobe in 1940.

There are many who have been inspired by Katharine Hepburn's style. GlamAmor, in a 2012 post, does a beautiful pictorial overview of Hepburn's Cinema Collection and her influence on the adaptation of menswear for women's styles.  If you would like to refine the look for yourself in 2017, make sure you include the following top 6 ways to adopt and adapt the style of Katharine Hepburn in your closet . . . 

6 NECESSARY 
ITEMS IN YOUR CLOSET 

Photo Source: GlamAmor

1.  Collared button down shirts in white particularly, and in pastel pale stripes such as blue, beige, yellow, pink and white on white.

2. Blazers, whether fitted or oversize proportioned to your size, are in basic dark colours. "Oversize proportioned to your size" means that shoulder seams, sleeve length and body length are in proportion to your height and size, albeit with a loose body cut.

3. Flats, classic loafers, in every colour, whether suede, smooth or textured leathers.

4. Trousers, not just pants, but classically cut trousers, that are loose-fitting. They should be fitted at the waist, wide through the leg (but not too wide), and have pockets. In the 1940s she chose the classic colours primarily found in the men's department such as shades of camel, brown, grey and black.

5. Simple Jewellery was her choice since the pants provided the statement during a time when allegedly fashionable women chose dresses and skirts. Diamond stud earrings and a single strand of pearls seem to be all she wanted or needed.

. . . 6. As she got older, the turtleneck was worn under or replaced the button-down shirt.

How are you adapting the Katharine Hepburn style?