What To Wear on a Casual Chanel Shopping Trip

By Kristen Philipkoski Jan 29, 2013, 11:47am PST

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Here at Racked, we're dedicating this week to the kind of fantastical shopping that most of us only get to experience in dreams (or at 80%-off sample sales). Taking a page from casino parlance, we'll be talking a lot about "whales," those big spenders who feel perfectly comfortable dropping tens of thousands of dollars every night on roulette, or, in our case, on Cartier. Welcome to Whale Week 2013.

Photo by Anna-Alexia Basile

When shopping for Chanel on a Sunday afternoon, one should wear reasonably-heeled but decidedly unboring shoes. Sequined Chanel pumps will do nicely.
One should also wear mink—a vintage jacket previously owned by couture collector and philanthropist Joy Bianchi would be best. Couture designer Karen Caldwell just might have the perfect pair of chandelier earrings to loan you. J Brand jeans and a Vince blouse will maintain just the right level of casual. And a navy Celine luggage tote with red piping will add the perfect pop of color.

As you can see in the photos below, Stephanie Southerland achieved all this and more while shopping on Maiden Lane in Union Square recently. Ms. Southerland originally hails from Dallas, Texas, and now works at a Bay Area tech firm in business development. Her favorite shopping haunts are Barneys, Elizabeth Charles, Luna and Net-A-Porter. But on this particular day it was Chanel. Her haul: a lucite cuff and a brocade knit skirt, cinched at the waist.

We asked her how she describes her style:

"Classical elegance with a focus on a restrained color palate with pops of bright color. The cut, fabric and tailoring are very important to me."

In that case she must have been extremely pleased with this outfit. Ah to be this chic on a Sunday afternoon!