outings

Things to Learn from Nan Kempner

Nan liked to be fancy.

Today I attended the press preview for the Nan Kempner American Chic exhibition at the de Young. I learned a lot today mostly about style, and persona. This exhibition follows the Vivienne Westwood, which really appealed to the general public because Vivienne has a great deal of showmanship in her work, she did after all, create the punk aesthetic. But Nan Kempner was of an elite class that many of us have a difficult time relating to. So at first glance, everything looks beautiful, but conservative. Classic. Chic. Elegant. Nan was more than just a clothes horse with good taste, she was a great person who adored beauty.

After all Nan did like to be fancy. Here are some of the things I learned about her, things that I could apply in my own crazy life..

1. She would look you right in the eye and say “It’s so good to see you.” She didn’t look around to see who else was there, and whether or not she meant it, you believed.
2. Get a good trench coat, a good black trouser, a long black skirt, a short black skirt and lots of tops.
3. Don’t be afraid to stand out. Nan was tall, and wore heels.
4. Always dress appropriately, and the best you can with what you can afford.
5. Your clothing has to fit into the aesthetic of your life.
6. Women of style aren’t afraid of clothes one has to play with.
7. Clothing is about attitude.

“If she was great in fashion it was because she was so American. She loved the history of fashion, which was decidedly more European, but she could Americanize it, put what I would call a more American touch. The tomboy in her would allow her to look casually elegant all the time. She looked like she was a good friend of your older sister or somebody. Comfortable, relaxed, and with a twinkle that invited you to get closer.” —CHRIS MEIGHER, FRIEND

Harold Koda said “clothing is the surrogate for the person” an, collected her clothing like art. She didn’t buy multiples of the same thing. Each item is different, she had impeccable taste…. and however beautiful the clothing was, I was most fascinated by the stories and attitude of Nan herself. Earlier this week, I posted about my style lovies, visually articulating your soul through attire is a subject that fascinates me. That whatever you wear, it’s your attitude, you, who makes the outfit.

Special thanks to Mary Jo Bowling for inviting me to the press preview, and being so wonderful.

Natalie from Coquette for the images of the exhibition, she did a great job of documenting the exhibition on her blog and flickr page.

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