Want to improve your day? Just ask yourself WWIGD (What Would Ina Garten Do?). Pick up one of her 13 cookbooks to create a delish meal (mmmm, lemon chicken), tap one of her Spotify playlists to channel blissful Yacht Rock and first and foremost, start your day with her oatmeal preparation (microwaved quick cooking, with a drizzle of maple syrup). Another tip for making your life as carefree and fun as Ina’s seems to be? Learn how to dress like Ina Garten. Adopt a uniform of easy, versatile separates that can go anywhere from a hot stove to Parisian haute cuisine establishments. Below, I’ve broken down her looks into the core pieces to buy, and flagged some fab Ina styling tips. Cheers!
Here’s How to Dress Like Ina Garten, the Busy Woman's Style Icon
Her uniform suits all occasions
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Published Oct 6, 2025
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Michael Loccisano, Sonia Moskowitz, EUGENE MIM/Patrick McMullan all via Getty Images. J.Crew top, Banana Republic pants
Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images
1. A Chambray Top Goes With Everything
PureWow’s food editor Taryn Pire, an avowed Ina stan, calls the chef “the Queen of Chambray,” which is…an understatement? While poring over images of Garten’s pictures in the public domain over two-plus decades, fully a third of them showed the multimedia maven in a light blue cotton button-front shirt. She wears the tops untucked, with a few neckline buttons left open, over a pair of nondescript trousers. The look is familiar to viewers of her TV shows, and at first, I thought perhaps Garten was just wearing the shirt like a costume, since it is a sartorial signature of East Hampton, the vaguely preppy beach-adjacent town she lives in on Long Island. Until I saw where she wore the top recently…
In Paris! At the Hotel Le Meurice with men in suits! While this at-first-glance too-casual look set her Instagram commenters off, as one fan writes, “I see a beautifully dressed woman with a chic Hermes scarf draped around your neck.” Which brings me to her next signature move…
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for NYCWFF
2. There’s a Neck Scarf for Every Season
Garten can rock a neck scarf for all seasons—not for nothing did she recently cause a sensation front-row at the Hermés show in Paris. Here's an example—in an October group shot with other big-name chefs, she’s wearing a medium-heavy foulard print, completely giving fall vibes. At other public events, she’s been known to braid a plain jersey scarf at her neckline. And on her show or guesting on morning television, she might opt for a fine patterned silk number. It’s a classic “fancy lady” look, sure, and it’s also in keeping with her height—she’s 5’3” tall, and drawing attention to her face with accessories and pattern is a pro stylist’s trick to make her appear taller.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
3. There Will Be Pants
Nondescript solid-color trousers complete the look of Garten’s untucked shirts; I bet these babies are well-made, probably have comfortable (even elastic) waists and wash up like a dream.
EUGENE MIM/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
4. A Shiny Top is Easy Event Dressing
As relaxed as any media mogul wants to stay, Garten still has to show up to collect the occasional award or two, or possibly accompany Jeffrey to a fancy party. In those cases, Garten smartly dresses for her short frame as well as for the event. That’s when the taffeta top-and-pants combo comes in handy, and in a classic jewel tone such as wine or umber, a silky piece is something you can wear forever.
