Olivia Palermo’s advice: the pieces we cannot do without

Olivia Tedesco Palermo, which is her full name, was born 28 February 1986 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father is a real estate developer Douglas Palermo and her mother Lynn Hutchings is an interior designer. She spent her childhood between New York and Greenwich. She attended Nightingale-Bamford School in New York and graduated from St. Luke’s School, Connecticut. Upper East Side and the peaceful Greenwich, Connecticut are the two places she spent the most time at while growing up.

Image source: Max&Co

Image source: Max&Co

Image source: Max&Co

Olivia proved a long time ago that she is a master of diverse styling, Dior is among her favourite brands: she always takes creations straight off the runway. There’s also Valentino, because she often spent holidays in the company of Mr Garavani on his yacht. Her fashion interests don’t stop here, because she is a fan of new and emerging brands. Tibi, a brand of Georgian Amy Smilovic, also residing in New York, is among her favorites. She often strolls the Upper East Side in Manhattan, wrapped in Tibi’s prestigious woollen creations in neutral tones. Like any other It-girl, Olivia has another great passion ‒ accessories. She was seen with this season’s iconic bags at New York’s Fashion Week: Wave by Tod’s in all three colours, and Drew by Chloè. Her collection also includes a Henri Bendel. The brand was founded in Louisiana in the late 1800’s. Olivia is an accomplished and inquiring woman, exceptionally talented, and has quite a few successful collaborations with several high-end brands to show for. She is the Italian face of Max&Co. She designed her own capsule collection for Aquazzuro, a shoe company based in Florence, which is in high demand with fashionistas and is exclusively sold at the internet retailer Net-a-Portèr.

Image source: Pinterest

Image source: Pinterest

I am always happy to embrace It-girls’ or fashion icons’ advice and Olivia, despite her young age, is definitely one of them. She gave a style lesson that fashion lovers will not soon forget at her own wedding, where she didn’t wear a big extravagant dress, but rather a totally simple, and yet gorgeous combination of maxi skirt and wool top. Personally, I like her precisely, because she is so authentic, and she actually impresses me the most, when the camera catches her somewhere in New York with her dog, completely careless and “casual” … And yet, my darlings, “casual” is a whole different thing for her. I believe we can learn a great deal from Olivia, because she is always true to herself, and she never, ever misses.

Image source: Pinterest

As she likes to say herself, fashion is an important part of her life, and she really enjoys the ritual of getting dressed up. She doesn’t only think about it, but finds joy in it. It may sound self-evident, but it’s not, because It-girls, actresses, and famous people usually have an army of stylists to take care of their looks. But Olivia does it all herself, because she enjoys it. “I dress for myself. I’ve developed my style over the years. Now I know what works and what doesn’t. My aesthetics are eclectic, refined and structured”. This is how she describes herself and her own style that is the inspiration for women all over the world every day. If you happen to wonder, what a modern woman’s wardrobe should entail, Olivia has some very clear ideas: “We all should have an elegant evening blazer in our closet. We can use it as a day time, evening, and even formal piece. There should be a midi skirt for the changing seasons, a pair of boots and high heels, an expensive piece of jewellery, a wrist watch so we can always be on time.” Well, I believe there’s a lot more in her closet than what she mentions, but even she opts for basic pieces that make sure her looks are always polished and refined. So before you set out on a wild shopping spree, check if you have the following pieces in your closet:

• a good blazer
• high waisted jeans
• high heels you can walk in
• white shirt or blouse
• an expensive piece of jewellery (the choice is yours, but try something other than pure minimalism)
• midi skirt (pleats are the look of the moment)
• lots of leather: jacket, pants, shoes, boots, belt, bag.

Image source: Pinterest

Image source: Pinterest

I don’t know about you, but I’m totally impressed by her!