Black wool trousers with a satin sash and a turtleneck

High-waisted black wool trousers, straight through the leg with a pressed crease, and a wide black satin sash that is part of the trousers: knotted at the front of the waist, its two tails trail to the knee and past it when she walks. Tucked into them, a fitted black ribbed-knit turtleneck with long sleeves and nothing else going on.

Black pointed pumps with a slim heel finish it. It is an all-black outfit built on one moving part: in a chair the sash is a belt, in a corridor it is a train. Wear it to the office with the sash tucked, to dinner with it loose, and to anything in between without thinking about it. Ribbed knit keeps it warm enough for autumn; the wool keeps it serious all year.

The sash does the walking. She just goes with it.