Suit

If Mrs. Kempner's heyday had been in the first rather than the second half of the twentieth century, she would have represented the Chanel woman par excellence. Her emphasis on comfort, interest in elements of masculine dress applied to womenswear, inclination toward body-skimming silhouettes, and occasional flirtation with romantic, lushly feminine details matched precisely those of the great couturière. Like Chanel, Mrs. Kempner was known for her irony, quick-witted bon mots, and cultivated irreverence. Despite these affinities, she does not seem to have worn many designs by Chanel herself, relying instead on couturiers who alluded to the Chanel legacy, such as Yves Saint Laurent, or more recently, Karl Lagerfeld for the House of Chanel, who, more than any other designer, has taken the maison de couture's iconography and reintroduced Chanel's original transgressive aura, wry wit, and lightness of touch.