you can't beat a white classic shirt...

think of marlene dietrich, katharine hepburn, marilyn monroe, jackie o, and audrey hepburn...all embraced the cool, crisp elegance of the classic white shirt and made it their own...today, fashion icons like sharon stone, uma thurman, gwyneth paltrow and angelina jolie continue to honor the timeless chic of the classic white shirt...

some favorite ways to wear a classic white shirt...

*with a pencil skirt and a pair of statement heels...

*with a pair of tailored pants, a wide belt, stilettos and an animal print scarf...

*under a navy blazer, dark jeans, a belt and fun loafers...

*loosely over a pair of capri pants and ballet flats...

*tucked into a pair of wide legged pants, skinny belt and brightly colored scarf...

*tucked into a pair of tuxedo pants, collar up, and black satin stilettos...

remember...if you don't like white against your face, make sure the jewelry or scarf you add at the neck is in your color...you can opt for a "white" shirt in "your white" to achieve the same classic look...

are you a fan of the classic white shirt?

why black?

as i have been diligently cleaning out my "very" full closet...i noticed that i have a lot of black...and...i hear the majority of my clients say...either..."i have too much black" or "all i wear is black"

so what is our draw to black?

i have asked several people why they are drawn to black...with many interesting answers...

- it hides stains...hmmm...not sure if that should be a draw to black...something about stains on any color just doesn't seem right to be wearing it...no?

- it detracts from poor tailoring and general wear...hmmm...again...poor tailoring is poor tailoring...it is not hidden...period...and...i'm sorry...but if an item is showing general wear...at what point do you stop and think...maybe i should replace this?

- even the cheapest of fabrics look decent in black...hmmm...i'm thinking same thing that i was thinking with the poor tailoring...but that is just me...

and now...for some great reasons...

- it dresses up...

- it dresses down...

- it can be elegant, classic, sexy, funky, or mournful...

- it imparts timelessness to clothes...

- it has an impressive pedigree - nuns, audrey hepburn, beatniks, and morticia addams...AND is the uniform of fashion editors worldwide...

- it can go summer or winter...

- it has a unique ability to stand out, blend in, seduce, repel...

- what other color does all this and takes off ten pounds?

- and finally...it goes with all colors...(more about this tomorrow...)

so is your closet full of black?

personal style...

we have all seen her and gawked with admiration - and not a little envy...she needn't be beautiful, nor dressed in anything we couldn't imagine for ourselves...but her clothes are a brilliant orchestration of color and texture...fabric and fit...sensibility and style...and she wears them like a badge...they don't wear her...

maybe it's a color she's claimed as her signature...perhaps it's her panache at mixing the unexpected...she may even buy certain basics over and over...in varying textures, fabrics, and cuts...just different enough to keep things new...

chances are...her look is consistent: every time you see her...her style is unmistakably her own...her personal style is her personal uniform...

grace kelly
a symbol of femininity and taste...this elegant handbag gave form and function to the image of the perfect princess...in fact, hermes, its maker, named it the kelly bag in her honor...
also known for sweater sets & hermes scarf as arm sling


audrey hepburn
in the 1950's, she made the little black dress sophisticated and playful - the essence of her charm...


jackie o
her dark glasses symbolized her sense of fashion, her private nature, and the star status we inflicted on her...
also known for pillbox hats...


barbara bush
the essence of patrician style, her four strands of pearls stood for good breeding and a traditional, understated sense of fashion...


james dean
ever the rebel uniform, the leather jacket underscored his image as a misunderstood loner, a romantic antihero...

diana vreeland - red lipstick
dorothy - ruby slippers
fran lebowitz - men's clothing
harry truman - bow tie
katherine hepburn - menswear-inspired clothes
madonna - undergarments as outergarments
marlene dietrich - tuxedo
michael jackson - single sequined glove
nancy reagan - red
twiggy - fake lashes & micro-miniskirt

can you think of others? what is "your" personal style?

lavished at christmas time...

yes...i was lavished at christmas time...seems a lot of my friends are asking what i got...so i thought i would share with you my lovely gifts that i received that are "fashion" related...feel free to share yours as well...it may give someone a great gift idea for a birthday coming up...

as most of my readers & friends know...i love audrey...and...lucky me...got one more book to add to my collection...she is one classy lady...



i love these cocktail napkins i got...won't they be perfect for a girl's nite get together??



hold on to your seats...i am now the proud owner of my first croc bag...les sigh...if you are wondering what the difference is between croc & alligator...here is a post on "is it an alligator or crocodile?"



my lovely niece got me this beautiful necklace...she knows her auntie...love the pearls...they go with everything!!



and one can never have enough gloves...love the color of these...



more bling bling...



and then the hot boots...thanks mom & dad!



after a long nite in the hot boots...i can come home to this luxury...my younger brother's tradition...every year...a new pair of slippers...these are so lady like...no? every girl should have their favorite pair to slip into...only the best for you...



this is actually two necklaces my girlfriend got me...chains & pearls...so coco chanel...goes with everything!!



"little luxuries in a large box" so fun to open...each little luxury was individually wrapped...included in the big box among many beauty items...was a nail file with some bling bling :-) and these cute parisian pics...and...



if you recall i had posted the luxe list - luxury gifts for women...the question was "which would you choose?" and i of course was drooling over the chocolate trunk...a girl can dream...right?? i got this little gem...which actually i am thankful for...a little chocolate is all i need...5 pounds of chocolate, 350 pieces of rich ganache, and four tins of Aztec hot chocolate may be a bit much... =)



and then this precious gift...from my younger niece...it is not fashion related...but it was made by her in shop class...my beautiful new cutting board...made with love...by melissa...and as if this wasn't enough...



she engraved it...awww....love that girl!!

i believe...

i believe in pink...

i believe that laughing is the best calorie burner...

i believe in kissing, kissing a lot...

i believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong...

i believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls...

i believe that tomorrow is another day...

and i believe in miracles...

audrey hepburn

who is your style icon?

in my previous post...i blogged about the beautiful audrey hepburn...
love her style...so simple, so elegant, so lady like...

but there are others that i follow as well...a close second...if not tie in first with gorgeous audrey...would be jackie o...i once had someone tell me that i look like her...well...believe me...i smiled the whole day! she was also a classy lady who always looked so beautiful and well put together...but simple, elegant...and lady like...

seriously...what is there not to love?



i guess now that i think of it...i have a number of my self-indulgent idols when it comes to a clothing style...here is the lovely wallis duchess of windsor...so beautiful & elegant...



and...one cannot talk of style and not mention diana vreeland...



and of course...coco chanel...



there are moments in my life when i stop and think, "how would coco handle this?" or what would jackie do?" to heck with who i think is worth modeling...why not choose a style icon of your own? it might be a glamourous figure from the past, or perhaps your style icon won't be a name others would recognize...it could be a real live person that you know and admire for the certain something she possesses...

could it be a stylish and learned woman in your own community? one of my dear customers, a stylish woman herself...has told me stories of the two big icons in her life...her mom & aunt...born at the turn of the last century, these incredible women did loom large in my customer's life...and in mine as i heard the stories...how amazing it was to see the verve and beauty they brought to their daily lives...

is there someone like that you've overlooked in your life? seek her out and sit at her feet to learn...a style icon worth considering is letitia baldrige...the author of the book a lady, first...she writes of her life in the american embassy in paris, the kennedy white house, and the headquarters of tiffany & company...how could you not learn from her?

one classy lady...

as you can see from the tiny array of books i've accumulated...i adore everything about audrey...i have seen all her movies (some over & over...never to tire of them) read anything i could get my hands on about her...she to me...was a class act...a lady...but not only in her dress...but i've read about her character...her desire to think of others...and help others...one classy lady...



her style of dress consisted of simplicity..."for her, what was important was not decoration and lots of embellishment. she liked very simple things - less was always more for audrey" said auctioneer kerry taylor...

so imagine how badly i would have loved to have been in london this week...why you ask?

i guess you could call it the week of audrey hepburn going on in london this week... kerry taylor auctions will be handling an auction of dresses and other items owned by audrey hepburn...les sigh...

the two most endearing stories i've heard were the following:

one was a friend of audrey's by the name of tanja star-busmann...they met in london when tanja was 15 years old and audrey was 20 or 21...just before her career took off...the two remained long time friends...

tanja used to receive a lot of audrey's hand-me-downs...over the years, boxes filled to the brim would arrive...tanja had stated that opening them was like christmas all over...audrey had even requested that monsieur de givenchy leave larger seam allowances for this purpose...

most of the lots for the auction come from the closets of tanja star-busmann...

the other story that i heard that so touched me was that of audrey's wedding dress in 1952...made for audrey by the rome-based fontana sister's...after her marriage to james hanson was called off...audrey asked the fontana sisters "to give the dress to someone who could never afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful, poor, italian girl you can find."

if you would like to read more on the auction...here are a few bloggers that i thought were interesting...AND with great pictures...

cherie of the shrimpton couture blog wrote: once in a life time

martin of fine estate sales blog wrote: audrey hepburn's wedding dress

and malie of vintage shopping guide did two great posts this week...
audrey goes to auction

audrey hepburn wedding gown to be passed on

so are you an audrey fan?