Wardrobe: Christine Lagarde

Sale PSA: An embroidered flutter sleeve dress from Veronica Beard, now $232, silk pajamas from Neiman Marcus, now $80, and a great wool/cashmere Vince cardigan, now $310

I was reading the WSJ last week when I came across this article, on Christine Lagarde. WOW. Something about the image below just stood out to me. How incredible Christine looks and how she commands attention. In fact, I ended up staring at this photo so much that I decided to write a whole post about Christine Lagarde. Here goes!

Okay, well first, obviously Christine Lagarde is about so much more than her fashion. But since this is a lifestyle blog, and I don’t want to get into shouting matches in the comments about EU policy points I’m no expert on anyway, I wanted to focus on her fashion today. I admire Lagarde because she is a powerful woman – she oozes confidence in her entire physical being. Since I’m an Hermes fan, I had already seen photos of Christine Lagarde for years. Here are some things I’ve learned from and about her style:

Confidence is key. This is the “of course” learning. I love the photo above because of how she’s expanding her arms, walking. The dudes outclassed and they know it. It’s incredible. Of course, she’s earned her place, and she owns it, but this is the case for a lot of women and they still seem to apologize for taking up space. Me included! The photo above is inspiring to me for so many reasons but I just also think confidence makes what she’s wearing look great, too.

Color helps you standout. Duhh, you color lovers say, but as someone who mainly wears neutrals, I had forgotten this. Look how cool she looks! With Lagarde, I feel like she chooses color deliberately. To stand out and make sure she’s seen.

And even when Lagarde does wear all black, she frequently has a colorful accessory to add interest.

Don’t be ashamed of luxury. I love how Lagarde unapologetically displays and loves her items. I sometimes find myself “hiding” items to be less showy – now of course, this might also be because I’m in athleisure running sad child related errands and not running the IMF, but still. Why spend so much, why be interested in fashion, if not to show it? Lagarde wears a LOT of Chanel clothing and mostly Hermes bags and silk scarves and cashmere shawls and she seems to love and rejoice in them all. She’s not ashamed of liking fashion, either.

Don’t be afraid to be feminine. I was so used to seeing Lagarde in various power suits that I was surprised to see some of her ultra feminine evening wear! Which she looks incredible in. Again, circling back to the first point, that confidence is really key.

Just one more because she looks so cool.

Also, for more of Christine, read this piece in Glamour about some of her advice – I love everything she says and shares. Would love to hear your thoughts!