Former Rumson resident Kerry Planer was bolting from the Alex and Ani New Age jewelry store on Broad Street in Red Bank on a recent fall afternoon when spied by your Model Citizen correspondent.
For a woman out buying last-minute gifts for the bridesmaids in her wedding just days away, Kerry appeared astonishingly calm.
In fact, everything she wore purred “casual.” Perfectly fitted skinny jeans. Black-and-white striped tee with bright pink shoulders. Nude flats. Classic tortoise-shell, cat’s-eye sunglasses.
“I’m a jean-and-t-shirt kind of woman,” Kerry says. “I love the minimalist look of throwing on a white shirt, jeans, flats and draping a beautiful scarf around my neck.”
This 31-year-old lawyer, who now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, tells us she likes to shop Piperlime, a unit of the Gap. When she isn’t looking for a quick online fix, she turns to J.Crew, BCBG and Bloomingdales for everything from wardrobe basics to key seasonal investment pieces.
When the occasion calls for it, she goes for a little black dress, and it’s not a stretch to imagine her making it work as well as her fashion icons, Kate Middleton and Jessica Alba.
“They are always so put together,” she says. “I love the way Jessica incorporates  accessories with her outfits. It always looks effortless.”
Though Kerry usually sticks to conservative pieces, she was excited about edging up her look this fall with a leather motorcycle jacket. Though she cultivates a minimalist sense of style, she says she’s willing to tweak her look from time to time.
“Someday, I would love to be able to buy pieces by Zac Posen,” she says. “He really knows how to tailor to a woman’s body. From the color schemes to the fabrics and the cut of his designs, it’s just perfect.”
Model Citizen congratulates Kerry as she embarks on her new life as a married woman, and hopes she was as calm on her wedding day as she was when we met her.
