The Style Bible According to Genevieve Antoine Dariaux

Basic Minimum Wardrobe

For the Winter:
One coat in a bright colour - for example, red.
One matching skirt.
One sweater in a complimentary colour - for example, beige or brown.
One black skirt
One black sweater
One silk sweater, black or white, with a pretty neckline.
One pair of black high heeled pumps.
One pair of flat brown shoes for the country.
One black leather handbag.
One pearl necklace.

Spring and Summer:
One lightweight wool suit, grey or navy.
Two blouses - one dark colour - one solid clear bright colour like lemon yellow, turquoise or pink.
Two skirts in the same material as the blouses; worn together, they become two-piece dresses; perfect for the summer holidays.
One pair of bright coloured trousers.
One pair of navy blue shorts.
Two cotton knit tops, one of them low cut, and both in becoming fashionable shades.
One natural coloured straw handbag.
One pair of linen sandals, the same colour as the trousers.
One pair of strap sandals.

Dresses

To wear almost all year round:
One white wool dress (for lunch, afternoon and informal evenings).
One black crepe dress (simple but very chic, for cocktails, dinner and the theatre.
One bright coloured dinner dress, long or short, in a rather rich wool or silk material.

Plus, in the Winter:
One wool dress in a neutral colour selected to form an elegant ensemble with your winter coat.In the Spring:
One silk dress which forms an ensemble with her Spring coat.
One pretty evening dress , short or long, in a light fabric such as white or a light colour (lemon yellow, turquoise, coral, sky blue etc).

And in the Summer:
As many washable cotton and linen dresses as her particular activities and climate may require.


Quantity

One of the most striking differences between a well-dressed American woman and a well-dressed Parisienne is in the size of their respective wardrobes.

The American would probably be astonished by the very limited number of garments hanging in the Frenchwoman's closet, but she would also be bound to observe that each one is of excellent quality, expensive perhaps by American standards and perfectly adapted to the life the Frenchwoman leads. She buys very few garments; her goal is to possess a single perfect ensemble for each of the different occasions in her life, rather than a wide choice of clothes to suit every passing mood.

It is only her vacation wardrobe that she renews every Summer, most often buying these expendable items ready-made in a department store or an inexpensive boutique.


Travel

If you consider that when you are far away from home and surrounded by strangers, you are judged entirely on the strength of your external appearance, perhaps you will realise the importance of being flawlessly well-dressed whenever you travel.

Which means that your clothes should be perfectly adapted to your role of traveller and not give the impression that you are on your way to a wedding with a veiled hat and a fur stole - or, at the opposite extreme, toward the conquest of Annapurna with a knapsack on your back.

When travelling by train, plane or car, a suit is still your best outfit: in the Winter you might wear it with a coat and warm boots; in the Summer you might wear it with a blouse or light sweater.

If you are lucky enough to embark on a long sea voyage, there exists an established set of rules, which it is wise to respect: Arrive on board in a rather casual ensemble; never dress for dinner the first and last nights at sea, but deck yourself out in  your best evening clothes on the other nights; relax in sports clothes during the morning; appear for lunch in a slightly less informal outfit. All of which necessitates a mountain of luggage, to the great joy  of the few remaining women of unlimited wealth and leisure, who would rather travel by boat than any other way.


All visuals included in this post are copyright to the artist: Andrea Laliberte.

The entirety of this post were derived from: Dariaux, G. A. (2003) A Guide to Elegance, London: Harper Collins.