An "Ideal" Outfit

This morning I wore an outfit that made me feel very Italian, Milanese in particular, which happens less and less these days (probably because my wardrobe is chock-full of JCrew). Well, I had on a pair of Tods lace-up booties that I bought while I was in Italy (actually a gift from my mom, who to this day still loves to buy me Tods shoes), so maybe that's why. The Zara coat with its clean lines also contributed to make me feel, well... an Italian in NY. I had already wore the exact same outfit for a stroll with my husband and daughter on a Sunday afternoon and I remember feeling very (effortlessly) chic. The only thing different is that today I wore my new merino turtleneck in vintage navy (love the color, BTW), while the first time I had a Gap cotton one (by the way, the vintage navy color is very similar to Gap's true navy). I love the merino turtleneck this year because it is long and slimming (wearing my usual XS and it fits perfectly):




And with the coat on:



But a true Milanese wouldn't be caught dead with cords on, that must be an effect of the American melting pot on my sense of fashion.

Anyway, as soon as I went outside I realized that it was too cold for my Zara semi-open coat today. Too late, we were late for ballet class and it was a special one where the parents were invited to take pictures of their little ballerinas (my trusty old Jcrew cashmere ribbed scarf and my Juicy earmuffs kept me warm enough in the wind).
In the afternoon I changed my Zara coat for my much toastier Moncler puffer and after dropoff I was wandering on Madison Avenue when I was struck by the poster advertising the current exhibition on the latest works of John Currin at the Gagosian gallery. I won't lecture you on Currin (for more information click here and I have to say that I am not sure if I like all of his work (definitively disliked some of the paintings in the exhibition) but this portrait of Constance Towers (the actress?) mesmerized me and lured me in:



It had on me the same effect that the Monnalisa must have had on her first uncorrupted audience (before becoming material for modern art jokes a la Duchamp and cheap souvenirs): that of a singular beauty that is hard to define but keep us looking at her.
But even more than the beauty of the woman, what really struck me in this painting is the perfection of the outfit that she's wearing, masterfully rendered by the painter: the white shirt, the double-strand of pearls, the red skirt, the belt. It looks like the quintessential outfit to wear in one's portrait, the Platonic form of an outfit (which is kind of ironic because Currin's women are generally naked and engaged in a form of sexual activity).
Which leads me to my closing question (and I am really, really interested in reading your answers): what would you wear if you had to pose for your own portrait? And would your ideal portrait be a sublimation of yourself or a true to the subject rendering (maybe in your everyday clothes)? I'm going to let you know what my ideal outfit for a portrait is: a dress, not superfancy but strapless and probably in a nude/tan color, with a strand of pearls, and my hair in a bun (not too tight). And I would be reading a book, because that's what hasn't changed in my life when everything else has changed.

Your turn now...