Perfect Pairs: Maison Martin Margiela and Saint Laurent

With New York Fashion Week coming up in just a few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we can expect to see on attendees at Lincoln Center. Even an untrained eye can spot the high-powered magazine editors in the milieu; there’s a level of refinement that they’ve mastered that few others possess. (Contacts at the best brands in the world don’t hinder that pursuit, obviously.) Other than a few over-the-top street style stars, editors mostly look luxurious and stylish, but also somewhat nondescript. When you look at and editor for a Conde Nast glossy, it’s not hard to imagine that she looks like that every day at work. There’s no sense of trying too hard, even if they’re actually trying very hard.

So how do you get the editor look? Having a lot of money helps, but so does a keen eye for modernity and an appreciation for what’s going on in fashion right now. The Saint Laurent switchover is still one of the biggest stories going on in the industry, and you can expect to see a lot of editors donning a piece here and there from Hedi Slimane’s inaugural collection for the brand. The Saint Laurent Paloma Sandals are almost an obvious choice – they scream Slimane, and the single-sole construction and thick ankle strap are two of the biggest things happening in footwear right now. (For more on both of those trends, visit our sister site TalkShoes!)

And then there’s the bag. I’ve seen editors carry bags of all kinds of sizes, but the secret seems to be choosing something super modern and clean and leaving the fussy stuff to the rest of the fashion pack. Finding something great that’s not immediately identifiable is always preferable to having something that everyone’s already seen. For that reason, I’d go with the Maison Martin Margiela Chrome-Handled Tote. Not only does the combination of black and silver work wonderfully with the Saint Laurent shoes, but the simple shape and spare details are exactly the kind of thing that a woman who’s comfortable with her own personal style would choose.