When in doubt, wear Calvin Klein

There is always a certain day in the week, when you feel bloated, awful or not willing to think what to wear today or tomorrow. These happen to me, often on the first day of the week, or generally when the weather outside sucks.

Also during days when I cannot think about clothes, let alone my body in them,  I’ve heard compliments such as “you look like you’re ready for dinner at the Ivy” or  “soa, how was breakfast in front of Tiffany’s”. What a paradox, you might think, however, my friend, you don’t know the secret I know.

It’s all about a Calvin Klein dress. This one, to be exact (above). Cut in a trapeze shape with a subtle waterfall detail in the front, this dress is not curve hugging and the attentive tailoring makes one look fresh after a month’s diet. Except that you’re actually bloated or having a fashion-lazy day.

Although I can get away with wearing no accessories at all with this dress, I sometimes pair it with all things pearl: a cuff, a single string necklace, modest earring and my infamous statement pearl ring. In terms of shoes – the classic black pump.

Want a Calvin Klein dress of your own? Snatch one of these:

I still give myself an extra pat on the back for getting this problem solver, investment piece, timeless classic – Calvin’s minimalist LBD.

For more minimalist style, glance at Minimal to the Max.

Pilot: Minimal to the max

And so, I had to learn the hard way, that there wasn’t anything more difficult to accomplish than pure basic simplicity.

Don’t get me wrong, detailed avant-garde looks are no piece of cake either, but one might get away with a bit of asymmetry here and there, a loose thread, or an unfinished design – this all might be placed under the artistic mess category.

None of those are acceptable when it comes to simplicity and minimalism, where less is more and perfection is not only achievable, but is a somewhat of an unquestionable must.

Let me illustrate. Picture these designs with the wrong accessories:

Jil Sander Martin Margiela Hussein Chalayan

And these… with the wrong shoes:

Calvin Klein Issey Miyake Rick Owens

All of the sudden, the designs which seemed to be so nonchalantly put together are falling apart. Put simply – they just do not work.

The same happened with the launch of prêt-à-reporter. It took me six hours (oh and half a year too) to make all the pieces fit.

What took me that long was not putting the meat on the bones, but taking the meat away in order to perfect the skeleton.

The juicy parts would come with my raw fashion reporting.

So, welcome to prêt-à-reporter, where I will share all the fashion I stumble upon.