Norma Kamali’s Not-So-Glamorous Guide to Personal Style

Kamali’s first piece of advice is to forgo trends and instead just buy what you love. She suggests prioritizing identity and taste over the trend cycle, which is speeding along faster than ever. (Remember Barbiecore? Or normcore?)

Her suggested strategy is to divide your closet in two: the core wardrobe and the styling wardrobe. “There’s a closet that you’re using all the time,” she explained, referring to more everyday basics and uniform-like pieces, like T-shirts, trusty jeans, and little black dresses.

“Then there’s the closet that is sort of inspirational that you can pull from and mix into whatever you just bought or however you’ve been dressing,” she said. These pieces may be the vintage brooch you found at an estate sale or the statement heels that add pizzazz to a pair of jeans.

To fill those two sides of your closet takes more than just shopping, Kamali said. Instead, it requires collecting, experiencing, and, well, living. As she purchased pieces throughout the years, she first asked herself, “Will I wear this 10 years from now or 20 years from now?”

Making the items in that closet last is also key. Kamali, who started her business selling vintage clothes in the 1960s, knows that care is crucial to maintaining a good wardrobe, especially if you’re shopping secondhand. And her method isn’t rocket science — all you need is water and dish soap.

Back when she started her vintage business, Kamali used a mild dish soap and lukewarm water in a clean sink to wash the vintage pieces — many made with silk and other delicate fabrics — she collected from the 1930s and 1940s. “You see all of the dirt, all of the grease come out of it,” she said. Her preferred dish soap is Mrs. Meyer’s Dish Soap, which performed “adequately” in our testing according to Andrea Barnes, the author of our guide to the best dish soaps.

Guest pick

Made with ingredients like aloe vera and olive oil, this popular dish soap comes in a variety of aromatherapeutic scents.

Kamali also regularly uses a sponge to clean areas like collars, necklines, cuffs, and sleeves that gather oil and dirt from our skin and grimy surfaces. This is a trick she especially employs at the end of winter, once you’re ready to pack up your outerwear for the season. (Using dish soap to remove clothing stains, especially those caused by makeup, is a hack Andrea also recommends.) “It just brings life back into the garment,” Kamali said.