They go through the gates of time and maintain their status as eternal classics. They stand out in the history of Fashion by their most peculiar feature that is, after all, everything: their simplicity. Get to know the pieces that never go out of fashion - not today, not ever.
They go through the gates of time and maintain their status as eternal classics. They stand out in the history of Fashion by their most peculiar feature that is, after all, everything: their simplicity. Get to know the pieces that never go out of fashion - not today, not ever.

BLACK BLAZER
The blazer made its first appearance in American Vogue in June of 1893: “Now that the boating season has begun, dressmakers and tailors are busy making up fetching yachting costumes”, the reporter wrote. “The smartest I have seen are those which have perfectly plain skirts with the Eton jacket or the long blazer, the revers of which flare tremendously and are faced with white.” Around the turn of the century, the blazer was a staple of a women’s wardrobe, worn with a shirtwaist and a tailored skirt. In the 1920s Coco Chanel debuted the female iteration of the power suit (though it replaced the pants with a skirt) and, ten years later, actresses like Marlene Dietrich or Katherine Hepburn proved her theory: in fact, there was nothing quite as simultaneously powerful and sexy as a woman dressed in a blazer and trousers. In the 60s it became Yves Saint Laurent’s turn to reimagine the suit, with the iconic Le Smoking, and in the 80s, the blazer became a constant of the female wardrobe (with the added shoulder pads, an addition you either love or hate). The garment remains, still to this day, as a symbol of empowerment, but it’s not reduced to this. It became a staple of any look, one that you wear daily, with no rules, “just because”. Its black iteration might be sober, yes, but it also manages to be the pinnacle of sexiness when combined, for example, with a lingerie type dress.
BIKER JACKET
In 1928, Irving Scott, the co-founder of Schott Bros, the clothing company based in New York, designed and produced the first leather jacket with a zipper specifically made for motorcyclists. In homage to his favorite cigar, he named his creation Perfecto. The original jacket had a short and comfortable cut, with a D-shaped pocket and lapels designed to unzip or fold one over another and zip all the way up. Supplied by a Harley Davidson dealer, the robust and aerodynamic garment was an immediate success for a new generation of bikers. Brown was the jacket's most popular color in its first years, with its black version becoming prevalent after the 1950s. It was around this time that its popularity exploded. First with its appearance in the movie The Wild One (1953), through Johnny Strabler, the character played by Marlon Brando, and posteriorly James Dean. The photos of the actor seated in his motorcycle, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, his disheveled hair with a lost and innocent look, made the Schott Bros sales go through the roof. From the embodiment of masculine sexiness to the epitome of the unisex and female coolness was a blink of an eye. Nowadays, we know how it is: From Kate Moss (obviously) to Zendaya in a long version of the biker jacket that the actress paired with a mini slip dress, this is a garment that doesn’t have an expiration date.
TRENCH COAT
Worn for the first time by soldiers in the muddy trenches of the First World War, the first evolution of the trench coat was the waterproof coating created by the Scottish chemist and inventor Charles Macintosh, and by the British inventor, Thomas Hancock. Mack (the portmanteau of Macintosh and Hancock), was a piece made out of rubberized cotton and was meant for men whose days involved outside activities and military service. As soon as the technology evolved, its coating became more breathable and even more waterproof. In 1853, John Emary, a Mayfair tailor, developed a perfect raincoat, produced under his company’s name, Aquascutum (from the Latin meaning water and shield). Thomas Burberry, a young man in Hampshire, followed his example and, three years later, founded a company with the same name. Through waterproofing the cotton and wool fibers instead of the finished fabric, Burberry’s “gabardine” became more breathable (and the most popular between explorers, aviators, and other adventurers). Both Aquascutum and Burberry got all the credit for the invention of the garment, but the truth is they merely helped popularize the already existent jacket. Worn in some of the most iconic moments in cinematic history - like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942) or Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) - it became synonymous with astute men and smart women. Nowadays its reimagined by designers like Margiela or Rei Kawakubo, while it remains an (obvious) symbol of Burberry.
JEANS
Created in 1873 by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss, the blue jeans (a name that descends from “bleu de Genes” or Genova blue), was the staple of workers that needed clothing to be long lasting and resistant, like miners. Until Fashion discovered them, shook their dust off, and transformed them into what they represent today, it was a long and sinuous path. It was exactly a century after its invention that jeans found their place in the sun in the Fashion world. In 1965 the world watched a cultural movement stamped by the Vogue director at the time, Diana Vreeland, that became known as Youthquake. The movement announced the generalized acceptance of individuality and was strongly influenced by street culture. it was exactly in these streets that jeans could be found, as a sort of uniform of the world, much more than its rebel charm. Shortly thereafter, in 1971, the same magazine would end up considering it synonymous with “a way of living that was free and fast”. The blue jeans would quickly end up becoming an American icon. And at that same speed, it became a must-have in every young person’s wardrobe. Its influence reached the great Maisons and, nowadays, they can be found in Chanel, Hermès, or Dior collections, presented with the jeans being the centerpiece.
SNEAKERS
The history of sneakers is long and spread through many acts. It all began in 1893 when an American scientist by the name of Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber: by a process of adding sulfur to warmed rubber to make the substance more flexible, waterproof, and moldable. Several decades later, that innovative process would be used in shoes, allowing for more durable soles. And so the modern sneakers were born. Cut to the 20th century, when two companies decided to figure out a way of capitalizing on the vast potential of rubber-soled shoes, bringing it to the masses. The US Rubber Company developed Keds, selling it in stores by 1916. A year later, Converse released All-Stars. At the beginning of the 1920s, with the help of Chuck Taylor, a basketball player, and salesman, the brand grew before everyone’s eyes. Made and sold, at least initially, for sporting activities, the sneakers rapidly conquered an audience besides sports. In the 1950s, the younger generation of the United States wore their sneakers with jeans, an explosive combination that signified rebellion, and that even caused concern in some schools. Despite its success, sneakers were, for a long time, exiled to the hidden shelves of our closets. With the new millennium, they became a cult object, entitled to exclusive collections and prices that reach the thousands. They’re the must-haves of the must-haves.
WHITE T-SHIRT
Similar to other pieces of clothing, like the slip dress, the white t-shirt began its history as underwear. In medieval times appeared a simple, t-shaped blouse, usually made out of wool, linen or silk. It acts as a protection layer, serving as a barrier between the skin and the outer garments. During the Second World War, the cotton white t-shirt is given to soldiers to wear under their uniform and, shortly after, it becomes a symbol of defiance: when Marlon Brando, breaking the conventions of the time, appears in one in the movie A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), the white tee becomes the ultimate emblem of coolness and sexiness. However, decades would be needed to have it become a unisex staple. A symbol of fast fashion in the 1990s, it was continuously praised by Fashion geniuses, such as Karl Lagerfeld that, in 1991, brought the white t-shirt to the runway, pairing it with the exquisite Chanel tweed jackets. And this is a measure of its success: the white t-shirt is, after all, the most easygoing and simple piece of clothing in a wardrobe, since it's a blank canvas for anything to be expressed. Or not: since it’s also the quintessential representative of the normcore style, which is to say, the mirror of anti-style in Fashion terms.
WHITE SHIRT
The first moment in which the white shirt established itself in female Fashion goes all the way back to the 18th century, when Marie Antoinette, posing for a portrait, wore a long-sleeved, embroidered, cotton white shirt, and became the subject of a scandal at the time. The Chemise à la Reine was one among many acts of rebellion the queen took against the strict customs and infinite rituals that ruled life in the French court; it also sparked a small revolution in women’s wardrobe. The garment gained momentum once again centuries later, in 1940, thanks to a myriad of influential women, such as Katherine Hepburn, Ava Garden, and Marlene Dietrich, that brought it back into the spotlight. Actually, it was in the following two decades that the white shirt had some of its most notorious moments in cinematic history: Roman Holiday (1953) and Key Largo (1948), with Audrey Hepburn and Lauren Bacall, respectively. Despite its initial association with men’s Fashion, the white shirt swiftly became a symbol of power and femininity. Worn in countless ways, it was the medium for countless stories: Uma Thurman popularized it in Pulp Fiction (1994), Angelina Jolie immortalized it in Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005).
CASHMERE SWEATER
Cashmere is the ultimate luxury when talking about essential and timeless sweaters - besides a cashmere sweater is an excellent gift for any occasion. Immensely simple, it can be extremely versatile and adapt to many different styles, according to the clothing we pair it with. Even so, it’s never not elegant. It’s one of the few cases where “more isn’t more” and, when it comes to color, nothing is off the table, even if the neutral, classic tones - black, camel, ecru, beige, grey, blue - are always a safe bet. It’s important to mention that, when it comes to cashmere sweaters, there is nothing quite as special (and practically mandatory) as its black turtleneck iteration. No one’s knit collection is complete without at least one of these, ideally more. Fitter and funneled versions of the cashmere sweater are best suited for layered outfits, while looser cuts are ideal (and most comfortable) to cover up leggings, jeans, or tight skirts. It's important to mention that a good cashmere sweater is always going to be expensive, but it's a well worth investment since it’s going to last you a lifetime. Last but not least: never, ever, put your cashmere sweater in your washing machine. Only by hand and with lots of love can you wash a garment such as this one - it's the price of luxury.
LITTLE BLACK DRESS
“Black is poetic. How do you imagine a poet? In a bright yellow jacket? Probably not.” The provocative quote by the Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester alludes to the power, as well as the magnitude, of the color black. But black wasn’t always the new black. There were times when this shade was exclusive to some occupations, like housekeepers, or to some life moments, such as in grieving periods. Up until 1926, the year that Vogue published an illustration that changed the course of Fashion history: in it you’d see a slim woman, wearing a black sheath dress, with long sleeves, adorned with a pearl necklace. The publication entitled it “the Chanel Ford dress” - that is to say, it was simple, accessible, and meant for women of all classes. Vogue also guaranteed that this little black dress became “a sort of uniform for all women with good taste” - an evidently assertive prediction. Later, Coco Chanel, the creator responsible for the garment in question, said: “I impose black; it still going strong today, for black wipes out everything around.” The timing was perfect: the dress ended up being released right before the Great Depression, where unpretentiousness and simplicity were the cornerstones of elegance. After World War 2, Christian Dior and his New Look enter the scene, providing a new verve to the dress. With a circle skirt and nipped-in waist, the LBD got sexier, and became a staple of Hollywood celebrities, on and off-screen. Muses like Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, or Rita Hayworth brought the piece to its legendary status. The LBD remains, nowadays, as mandatory in any respectable wardrobe: it’s easy, versatile, and it never, ever disappoints.
Originally published in the Time issue of Vogue Portugal, from December/January 2021/2022. Full credits and story on the print version.
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