Burgundy Dress Footwear: Heels, Boots and Flats

I did the math the other night, out of pure curiosity, and then immediately regretted it. Eleven. I own eleven burgundy dresses. Not maroon, not oxblood, not that murky wine…

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Chinos for Guys: Simple Outfit Formulas

The word on chinos has been settled for so long that nobody even argues about it anymore. They are the pants of guys who stopped trying. The default when jeans…

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Light Blue Jeans: Colors and Outfits for a Softer Denim Look

I wore light blue jeans to a rehearsal dinner once, paired with a chambray shirt I genuinely believed was “a different enough shade” to pass as intentional. It was not.…

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White Linen Pants: Tops, Shoes and What to Wear Underneath

The first time I wore white linen pants in public, I found out about it the way you find out about most fashion mistakes: through photographic evidence. It was a…

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Gray Chinos: Shirt Colors and Shoes That Work

My sister took one look at me walking into her kitchen last Thanksgiving, wearing charcoal gray chinos with a rust colored flannel and white sneakers, and said, “Okay, when did…

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Cardigan Layering: What Goes Under, What Goes Over

I counted my cardigans last month during a closet cull that was supposed to be ruthless and ended up being mostly nostalgic. Fourteen. Fourteen cardigans, and I wore something from…

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Jean Jacket Basics: Which Pants Look Best With One

I bought my first jean jacket at nineteen, paired it with jeans that were maybe half a shade off from the jacket, and wore the whole outfit to a barbecue…

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Dress Shirt Colors for a Navy Suit

I bought my first real navy suit for a cousin’s engagement party eight years ago, and I paired it with a dress shirt that I was convinced was white. It…

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Shirt Colors That Work With a Navy Suit, From White to Bold

I was standing in front of the closet at six forty in the morning, one sock on, coffee going cold on the dresser, holding two shirts up against a navy…

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Gray Suit Shoe Colors: Brown, Black, Burgundy and Beyond

I was sitting on the kitchen floor last Sunday night with a can of shoe polish, a horsehair brush, and three pairs of shoes lined up like suspects, trying to…

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