How many Americans does it take to change a lightbulb, David Mamet once asked.
"One".
This almost Zenlike koan from our greatest living playwright (sorry Wally!) and one of our greatest Jewish moralists is a big favorite of Opera Chic because it tells a fundamental truth -- for all our limitations, we are a pragmatic people.
And nothing, when it comes to clothes, is more pragmatic that blue jeans -- and jeans are Pillar No. 1 of Opera Chic's Seven Pillars of Style (stay tuned over the rest of the summer for the other six).
OC doesn't really care what people say, once you skim the silliness off the top of what Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig from Short Hills, NJ, aka Rachel Zoe says about celebrity and concentrate on her views re: fashion, you realize it's 99.9% truly excellent advice (same for her book -- tons of good stuff there).
Today RZ explains via Twitter -- her tweets are so much better than her new, ad-heavy newsletter -- one big universal truth about denim. Someone asked her where should one start if one is building an entire new wardrobe from scratch, and La Zoe sensibly says:
Now, RZ is huge on flares, and OC is a big fan of skinny jeans, but the truth is, whenever you're packing light and you're in doubt what to bring with you, a really good pair of dark, indigo jeans will allow you so many different looks that it's really a universal truth -- jeans are a true pillar of one's wardrobe, you can wear them in a casual look (with a baby-T and cowboy boots, for example -- please no flip-flops unless you're about to shower at the gym or something) but also in a really elegant look -- say, a vintage top and high heels and your trusty jeans (in OC's case a really skinny beautifully indigo pair of Sevens), to go to the opera.
They're sexy but funky, cool but chic.
And unless you choose some bad brand, or some silly ripped jeans (you shouldn't), they'll last forever. In the end, I'd rather spend once 200 dollars* for a really hi-quality pair of jeans than spend 50 dollars x 4 pairs over a year, bringing home one bad, ill-fitting pair after the other.
* (if you're on a budget, and you should be regardless these days: via sales, outlets, reliable eBay sellers -- ie the ones that don't sell knockoffs -- the 200 dollars usually become 100 or 120 at most)