Firsts among stylish equals

Top Stories

Firsts among stylish equals

There's well-dressed, and then there's best dressed - presenting the women who've proven theirstyle credentials time and again

By Sujata Assomull

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Fri 11 Mar 2016, 10:00 AM

Last updated: Fri 11 Mar 2016, 1:16 PM

AMAL CLOONEY
This lawyer, humanitarian and wife of Hollywood superstar George Clooney always steps out in style. Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin), has this sense of complete grace even though she likes to experiment with styles and designers. When she married once-confirmed bachelor George Clooney, every woman was ready to find fault with her, but she proved to be the total package; A global activist and barrister with beauty, brains, and a fashion finesse that was always spot on. She always manages to make it look effortless, whether in a custom-made asymmetrically-tiered red gown designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela, at last year's Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala, or a a black coat with a tweed jacket to meet with the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing street. She never gets it wrong, knows what works for each occasion, and always keeps it chic.

Getty Image
 SHAIKHA MOZA OF QATAR
Besides being the wife of Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the former Amir of Qatar, Shaikha Moza bint Nasser Al Missned is also Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, and UNESCO special envoy for basic and higher education. Her understanding of how to combine traditional Arabic sensibilities with modern European style has ensured she made it to many a "Most Stylish" list, including Vanity Fair's annual best dressed. She shows that modest dressing can be fiercely fashionable. Her signature is the matching turban, having turned this headgear into a global style statement. A statuesque woman who loves her couture and statement baubles, she embodies regal poise. Shaikha Moza has become the face of contemporary Arab dressing globally and has made modest dressing look refreshingly modern.

 AFP
CATE BLANCHETT
This year's Oscar nominee, Cate Blanchett was the presenter for the Best Costume Award. Even the Academy knows that Blanchett is the industry's style star. Yes, she has got it wrong a few times (remember that Pink Balenciaga dress she wore to the Manhattan premier of Blue Jasmine, dubbed the "Jellyfish dress") but we'll allow this fashion risk-taker some off-moments. She has fun with fashion, showing that clothes are not the be-all and end-all of life. She also knows that the red carpet is about being elegant, yet making a statement, and understands how to get that balance right. The Givenchy Haute Couture dress by Riccardo Tisci she wore to the Oscars in 2011, and the floral sea foam blue Armani Prive she donned this year can only be described as pure perfection. But what really makes Blanchett special is that she only walks the red carpet if she has a film to talk about, or if she is representing a brand. She's not one of those celebrities who likes to get all dressed up and preen on the red carpet just for the sake of it.

Getty Image
MARISSA MAYER
The CEO of Yahoo has the style and position that every woman wants. With Oscar de la Renta and Caroline Herrera being among her favourites, Mayer's polished style has made sure she does not look out of place, be it in the pages of Fortune or Vogue. From the boardroom to the front row of New York Fashion Week, she is the power woman of corporate America. Her tight-fisted style of management may have received some negative press, but her style is always on point.

AP
KATE MIDDLETON
It was while wearing an Issa royal blue dress that perfectly matched the sapphire engagement ring her late mother-in-law famously sported, that it was announced Kate Middleton would marry the future King of England, Prince William. Making an effortless yet confident style statement, the soon-to-be HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, stopped the comparisons to Princess Diana from happening before they even started. From the custom-made Alexander McQueen dress by Sarah Burton that she married her Prince in, to her signature staple LK Bennett nude heels, she has become the ambassador of British fashion. Easily mixing high street and haute couture, she is sure about her style. And by wearing labels we have not heard of before, like The Kilt and The Fold, to important public engagements, she turned these little-known British brands into fashion editor's must-haves. Anything Kate wears is sold out within minutes, thanks to her sophisticated style savvy. And, she has no problem repeating an outfit, be it a red coat from LK Bennett or a Roland Mouret gown. Her accessories can come from Zara or from Cartier, but she always injects some personality into what she wears with extra add-ons. By reaccessorising the same outfit, she gives it a new twist, perhaps a skill she picked up in her days as an accessory buyer at fashion brand Jigsaw. Even when she is off-duty, in her tracksuits, Kate is never unkempt, and her maternity style was like a lesson in how to dress when you're pregnant. Girls dream of owning everything this Duchess wears; she is Britain's first lady of fashion, indeed.
"Best dressed" lists seem to be never-ending. There's the Oscar's Best Dressed list, the Grammy's Best Dressed list, and last week, Harper's Bazaar Arabia came up with its list of Best Dressed 2016. Forty-five women from the region were named as Arabia's most stylish.
As you flick through the pictures, you cannot help but think, "Well, if you have money to buy designer, of course you will be the best dressed." As for the Oscars and Grammys, the celebrities do not even have to buy the dresses or jewels - those are just loaned to the ladies. (And boy, did Priyanka Chopra borrow those jewels! Her baubles on loan from Lorraine Schwartz were valued at around US$8,000,000).
But perhaps, this first reaction just comes from a spot of envy. The truth is, while those who make it in the best-dressed lists do have the luxury to spend on clothes, they also know that style has no meaning without substance. As Louise Nichol, Editor-in-Chief, Harper's Bazaar Arabia says in her editor's letter, "What qualifies a woman as best dressed? It's certainly more than a wardrobe of full of designer labels: indeed, clothes are frequently secondary to inherent self confidence and a spirit that breeds magnetism."
As you go through the list of Bazaar Arabia's best dressed, you will see Abeer Al Otaiba, wife of the UAE Ambassador to the United States; Zainab Salbi, humanitarian, television personality, and founder of Women for Women International, gallerist Leila Heller, and corporate banker Dalia Nsouli. (Of course, there is the odd trophy wife and rich kids, but what's life without a dose of frivolous glamour?). There is a reason why Cate Blanchett tops most international best dressed lists and not Kim Kardashian; the truth is, to be truly best dressed, you need to know that clothes don't make the man (or the woman in these cases).
sujata@khaleejtimes.com 
(The writer is Consulting Fashion Editor, Khaleej Times)


More news from