After Dark

Some dress for the office, some for the weather. We have always preferred dressing for the doorway — that half second when you walk into a room and it decides who you are.

In 1998 the rules were simple and entirely unwritten. Gold was worn heavy. Sunglasses stayed on indoors. A bag was chosen for how it looked on the bar, not how much it carried. Nobody asked whether earrings were "too much"; the question was whether they were enough.

Accessories are the most honest part of an outfit. Clothes can be borrowed, but the crystal cascade at the collarbone, the medallions catching the flash — those are chosen. They are a small performance, and the night is the stage.

“One more piece than you think is appropriate.”

So go on. Wear the clip to dinner. Take the compact out at the bar even if you don't need it. After midnight, everything looks better — and the people who dressed like they meant it are the only ones anyone remembers.