To better illustrate my point, allow me to introduce you to my fabulous friend Jaime, originator of the theory.
Jaime is one of those girls who other girls have always wanted to be like. In elementary school, Jaime was the first girl to wear her backpack over just one shoulder, and before you knew it all the other girls were lugging their backpacks around on one shoulder too. Of course, by that time Jaime had started carrying a hot pink messenger bag, leaving everyone once again scrambling to keep up with her tote bag, trendsetting ways.
Now, Jaime’s still one of those women who, every time you see her, you can’t help but admire how polished she looks and wonder how she always manages to look so great. (Although it’s no longer a hot pink messenger bag on her shoulder but the latest Marc Jacobs.) And so, being a generally inquisitive, not always shy person, I decided one night after a few cocktails to simply ask her how she does it. I will never forget her response. “Simple,” she replied gamely. “It’s all about the bag and shoes.”
And just like that, with no further explanation, I understood perfectly.
It might as well have been a lightning bolt. Cycling mentally through some of Jaime’s best outfits, I realized that what really stuck out in my mind were her many—you guessed it—amazing clutches, totes, messengers (yep, she still fancies ‘em), and fabulous slides, pumps, and stilettos. The rest of her wardrobe was…well, it was just a blur, I realized in a rush of stylistic clairvoyance.
“These pants,” Jaime continued, tapping her leg and bringing me back to the present and our dwindling martinis. “I got them at Zara for, like, fifty bucks,” she concluded matter-of-factly. Of course! It’s all about the bag and the shoes, after all. Between her gorgeous snakeskin Jimmy Choos and super of-the-moment Fendi baguette, I hadn’t even noticed her rather average-looking slacks.
Nor had anyone else, for that matter. With a twinkle in her eye, Jaime clinked her glass against mine, finished her drink and motioned towards the dance floor. Style, I realized with a smile, is also knowing when to let your friends in on your best little secrets.
