INDstyle

Q&A: What's in a Dame?

by Amanda Bedgood

Andrea Veron is a rare breed - an eye for simple style that's high brow and an attitude that's both irreverent and ladylike.

If this INDStyler had a nickel for every person who claimed a Hepburn as their style inspiration, I'd have as much money as Katharine or Audrey. But once in a black and white moon, someone emerges with just such sensibilities - a clean aesthetic that's classic (yet never boring), a decidedly modern flair that manages to harken to the past while looking to the future. Like a brilliant designer who creates a new collection each year while maintaining the unmistakable DNA of a brand's house are these style mavens. Andrea Veron is one of them.

Photo by Robin May

The woman never wears a print (save for a rare scarf, perhaps). Her closet has, for years, been brimming with black and white and a bit of other neutrals by way of tan or ivory. Her pieces show an appreciation for architecture and design, timeless as they are ageless. You could peruse her closet and not know if she's 20 or 60 - I suspect she likes it this way.

While her ensembles are often void of color, it's a rare thing to see her without a striking red lip. Add her polished hair and a slender heel and you have style that's sophisticated but never serious - much like the dame herself.
Who or what inspires your fashion choices?  
First I begin with a firm foundation of laziness, then I impart a healthy dose of "please remember what your great-grandmother told you: Never leave the house looking less than your best, because you never know who you will meet.'" And I throw on a bit of glitz to trick myself and everyone else into looking like I put more care into it than I do.

Style icons?
Coco Chanel, Carrie Donovan, Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Do you have a signature color or piece of clothing?
I wear an almost morbid amount of black. Love: bangles, kitten heels, pearls. Can we call that "undertaker chic?"

Any fashion addictions?
I really don't. I tend to keep a well-edited closet with basic classic pieces. I believe in buy well, not buy often. Plus, the laziness pervades in the arena of clothes shopping - I have a three-hour maximum tolerance for the sport.

Anything you absolutely will never wear?
Chunky shoes, dangle earrings.

If not you, then who would you be?
A mash-up of Katharine Hepburn, Auntie Mame, and Maude from Harold & Maude.

Do you have a secret talent?
The bizarre and often embarrassing ability to remember most everyone's face and name. My husband calls my brain our "hard drive."

Your idea of happiness.
Living life on terms negotiated by no one else but yours truly. I think coloring outside the lines is best!