a little classy with a dash of trashy...

it sometimes amazes me how often someone will ask me specifics about a fashion rule...seems that many spend their days and nites worrying about making mistakes and social faux pas...ok...that may be a slight exaggeration on my part...but work with me here... =)

why not just go ahead and do it intentionally? relax and have a little fun by adding a touch of trampiness to your ordinary outfit...ignore rules of jewelry; wear ropes of pearls with your jeans...like coco chanel, who wore pearls while riding...her big ropes of pearls were fake...of course...which adds a bit to their trashiness...but what fun would that be? or wear your diamond bracelets with a casual outfit...don't wait for that big "black tie" event...

here is the secret: as long as you know the social rule...(no diamonds before 5 pm., say, or no white after labor day), you can choose to openly flaunt it and impress people with your daring side...if you don't know the rule and break it...you look like a rube...if you do know the rule and break it...you are the ultimate sophisticate...and as taffetadarlings so eloquently wrote about "white lies" and not to miss in that same post...wendyb's take on wearing white...

diana vreeland said, "a little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika...no taste is what i'm against..."


so...go ahead and add a leopard print scarf to your sedate blue business suit...go ahead and wear fishnet stockings with that sedate business suit...go ahead and wear silky underthings while helping out in your child's kindergarten class...it can be your little secret...

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?

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?