The Lead in Carolina Herrera's Wardrobe Drama

I love that so much could be said about a white shirt. This prompted me to look at my closet and make a few adjustments and let me tell you it isn't always easy to find somthing so simple. Cut, style, length, short sleeve, long sleeve, casual, formal, light, heavy, by itself, under a jacket, over a t-shirt? There are a lot of questions to ask. Very important questions.

Coco Chanel's jeweled cuffs, Diana Vreeeland's red lips, Katharine Hepburn's mannish trousers: chic women always have a signature. For the designer Carolina Herrera, it's a white shirt. Make that dozens of white shirts. "I think I was born in a white shirt," she says, laughing. "And I'm constantly finding new ones, because you know, you can't keep them for very long. Once they lose their crispness, they must be retired." Herrera has a couple other rules when it comes to button-downs, whether they hail from Banana Republic or her own design studio (like the one above): " Collar height is crucial. I like it a little bit higher, so you don't have to turn it up. And the shirt must be cotton, so it stays crisp. Silk doesn't work." Herrera's look travels well, too. "Whether I'm going to South America in the summer or Europe in the winter I always pack at least six white shirts," she says. "I love the idea of wearing one with a ball gown. Or over a bustier with the buttons open-very 18th century." Or, better yet, by itself. "After all, there's nothing sexier than a woman in her husband's white pajama top." Sandra Ballentine
New York Times Style Magazine