In another installment of what’s on my nightstand I share with you my little silver book, The One Hundred by fashion director for Elle and Marie Claire and most recently Project Runway judge Nina Garcia. This is actually a follow up to her first book, The Little Black Book of Style. In it Nina reveals what she calls the essentials, a foundation to a solid wardrobe repertoire. She is careful to warn against following the list rigidly, after all that wouldn’t be very fashionable because clothing is about personal expression, no two people are the same and neither should their wardrobe be. Nina has a newer book out Nina Garcia’s Look Book: What to Wear for Every Occasion that goes into greater depth about what outfit for what occasion.

After I posted the story about my epiphany that you CAN wear DENIM with your MAXI DRESS, my friend Nicole reminded me that they namely Marc Jacobs have been touting this look for years and it always has and will be more than acceptable. I didn’t doubt Nicole for a second, but since I vaguely remember this precursor trend I checked out Nina’s book, sure enough…

26.  Denim Jacket

Nina references the jacket’s history through the decades. From greasers to hippies to punks and princesses we have seen the denim jacket come and go.  She has a couple good points about buying a denim jacket, she recommends you get one either really dark or very worn out and make sure it fits snug. The latest trend is definitely snug or cropped. I have even seen a few celebs wearing denim ON denim, something Nina actually warns against. I say if you are gorgeous Elle Macpherson you can were whatever you want.

As I clean out my closet over the summer and start going through the piles on my bedroom floor Nina’s book will be close on hand so I can do a quick check to see if its a keeper. I’m afraid most of the things on the floor are trendy to the point of burn out (pigment dyed anything and neon tank tops I’m looking at you). What I really would like to do is see how many items I DO HAVE on her list. I think I’ll start a new board on my Pintrest page. And here’s another good idea, give someone the book and something from the list like Coco Chanel Polish in Vamp or the perfect Red Lipstick. Unless that is you want to go big and buy the diamond studs (27.). Darn I don’t seem to have those on my 100 list yet. Wonder if cubes count?

One of my favorite one hundreds is the Motorcycle Jacket (also 58.). Nina has a tip for you when you wear your motorcycle jacket skip the bling, diamond and zipper don’t co-habituate well. I bought my motorcycle jacket (Vince) as a me-to-me gift for my 40th birthday. The smell alone was so intoxicating. The leather is treated with a faint silver luster that gives it just a little shine. Over the last few years it has blossomed into a custom fit second skin. This is one thing I am very glad I invested in, I will have it for the rest of my life and like Nina said everything worth while stays or eventually comes back in style.

Tell me what you think every closet should have?