Most stylish: Catheline van den Branden

AGE: 37

OCCUPATION: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FRENCH CULTURAL CENTER IN BOSTON

RESIDENCE: WATERTOWN

>How does your heritage impact your style? The person that most inspired me was my mom  –  she has to be the most elegant person I know. She was never too studied, always very flattering, effortlessly elegant. She had this classically French trait of knowing which accessories to put on something simple to make it stand out.

>How do you cultivate your look? I like comfortable clothes that hide flaws and that bring the best of you forward. I can work a lot with straight, classical shapes but have that one accessory that makes the whole thing pop. I can play with contrasts, match something very simple, very straight, with something that is very intricate. I am attracted to very architectural silhouettes, menswear-inspired looks, A-lines. I’m not that much into wild-and-crazy, grab-your-attention looks. Those don’t represent me. I’d rather have the clothes show who I am than me show the clothes.

Taryn Plumb can be reached at taryn.plumb@gmail.com.