I ♥ Your American Style: Joan Didion

There is that constant current of melancholy in most photographs of Joan Didion that sometimes makes me question why I am such of fan of them. At best she looks subdued, while in the most extreme she looks tortured and hopelessly sad. In her older years it's as if that sadness within her came to express itself physically in the lines on her face and the thinness of her body. Yet because she has so honestly shared her sorrows with us, I feel protective and empathetic towards her.

And then there is her style, which is restrained and unselfconscious, but so elegant nonetheless. It looks easy to dress that simply, but it actually takes a lot of discipline to so precisely narrow down what works for you and even more discipline to stick with it. To me she represents the very best of intelligent, courageous and chic American women.

I ♥ Your Style: Hope Atherton

With 6 days to go until we move to England, I have been consumed by packing. But going through ten years of, well, stuff, in my apartment has produced some long forgotten treasures like these pictures of artist Hope Atherton and her loft that were taken for I Love Your Style many years ago now. The portrait of Hope made it into the book, but I'm looking at the photos of her favorite clothes hung out for me to see on my visit, and I can't believe I didn't find a way to fit in. I especially love the piece of worn green leather that she credits with "inspiring her whole style." Oh well, such is publishing - editing, editing, editing. Anyway, I love the completeness and originality of her boho-meets-goth-meets-Miss Havisham style and how it manifests itself in every nook and cranny of her life and her art. She's the real deal.

Hello, again.

Hi there. I'm back! 

So, recently my family and I made the decision to spend a year on our farm in Oxfordshire, England. I am calling it my "creative sabbatical." First on my agenda? To get my blog and up and running again. I also have ambitious writing plans for the next year, and you all will be the first to know about them as they unfold. In the meantime, here is a look at my future dwelling, all about which I will share when I arrive there at the end of June. Stay tuned!

I ♥ Your Style: Anita Pallenberg

In the last few weeks I've been reading Keith Richards' autobiography, and he inspired me to revisit Anita Pallenberg's boho rock-chick style. I'm not sure I've ever come across anyone who is as cool as she is. You can see how and why Kate Moss is inspired by her.

I ♥ Your Style: Muriel Brandolini

I'm not sure if anyone has more style than Muriel Brandolini. She's stylish in the way she looks and in the way she lives. She has chic clothes, the most amazing jewelry, incredible homes and she's a fantastic cook. The quality I admire in her most is the confidence she has in doing things differently, in breaking the rules. Case in point: the other day I was sitting in her kitchen watching her make a salad nicoise. She cut all the incredients with scissors instead of a knife (she said it's easier that way), and then she put on rubber surgical gloves and tossed the salad with her hands. She said, "Food always tastes better when you touch it." She was right. It was delicious. 

I ♥ Your Style: Diane Kruger's bow tie look

Back when I was researching my book I noticed that Diane Kruger loved Chanel, especially a black and white bow tie look. Since then I've seen her riff on that same look again and again. By now it's safe to say it has become somewhat of a signature for her. I love almost any girl who develops a signature. It shows discipline and confidence, two crucial ingredients in creating your own style. It would be too much if she wore this look all the time, but I love how she returns to it every now and then.

I ♥ Your Style: Susanne Deeken

It gives me a real high when I discover a new chic girl that I've never heard of before. In Susanne Deeken's case, I met her at a friend's house for dinner. When she walked in she immediately caught my attention because she was wearing the Chloé jumpsuit I'd been coveting (pictured below - it looks like a sweater and pants with a belt but actually it's all one piece!). It didn't take me long to notice that her style, while for the most part subtle and classic, was just absolutley perfect in both proportion and detail. It didn't take me long to find out that she's Marc Jacobs' muse and for a minute I thought she might be one of those uber-cool girls that are really hard to talk to. But she was generous and laid back and funny! The other day I saw a picture of her on my friend Chelsea's Cat Party blog, and it reminded me to dig up some photos of her. Enjoy!

I ♥ Your Style: Cher in the 70's

I've been sitting here trying to find a gentle way to describe the way Cher looks these days, and I'm not finding the words. In contrast though, I only have good things to say about her look in the 70's. She was a hippie but with a little extra dose of glamour and polish that made her stand out from the other groovsters of that era.

Top to Bottom Cher in 1975, Between 1965 & 1970, at home in the 70's, 1968, with Tina Sinatra in 1967, 1977, with Gregg Allman in 1977, 1974, wearing Sonny Bono's glasses in 1967.

I ♥ Your Wedding Style: Audrey Hepburn

Two of my favorite wedding dresses ever were worn by the same woman: Audrey Hepburn. At her first wedding to Mel Ferrer in 1954 she wore a tea length Balmain dress with a stunning crown of roses around her head (I would copy the rose crown years later for the Met Ball). Her look was young, romantic and feminine - a true first time bride. Fifteen years later when she married Andrea Dotti, she was equally as chic in a 60's minidress and matching headscarf - but more grown up and subdued this time. I love looking at women in their wedding dresses - it's the ultimate expression of personal style. In fact, I'd like to write a book about wedding style. Stay tuned.....

Left to right  Audrey Hepburn with Mel Ferrer (1954) and Andrea Dotti (1969)

I ♥ Your Style: Alexa Chung in leopard

People always talk about leopard like it's a trend, but I consider it a classic. There is never a season when I am not in the mood to wear a bit of leopard. I used to look at Kate Moss for leopard inspiration, and she does rock a leopard coat like no one else, but recently Alexa Chung has been almost non-stop in her love of leopard on almost any item you can out on your body. I'm surprised we haven't seen her in leopard sunglasses yet! And she always gets it just right. To wear leopard in a chic way you almost have to think your outfit is a little too subdued, verging even on boring, and then you put the bit of leopard into the mix - a belt, pair of shoes, bag or hat - and suddenly poof! your whole outfit makes sense. The other way to approach leopard is to wear a big swath of it - a dress, coat or tunic - and then understate everything else - simple black pumps, shades and bag will do the trick. Like the rest of the fashion world, I'm really in awe of all of Alexa Chung's style statements but it's her love of leopard and how she wears it that really stands out for me.

I ♥ Your Style: Caroline Sieber

If I had to give just one best dressed prize for 2010, I would give it to London-based stylist and Chanel brand ambassador Caroline Sieber. To begin with, this is so unfair I know, she is stunningly beautiful. Her cat shaped eyes and her perfectly tousled hair make it hard to stop staring at her despite what she wears. But she also happens to know exactly how much is enough when getting dressed. She chooses quite trendy, high fashion outfits but wears them so simply, and she always chooses THE PERFECT accessories to go with them. She's also developed quite a signature proportion to go with the signature hair - very short skirts (or shorts) and sky high heels. But let me make one thing clear, it's not her looks or her body or her access to price-y clothes that makes her stand out - it's her style, the way she looks like herself despite the designer she's wearing. I also want to mention that she has incredibly good manners and that's always in fashion.

I ♥ Your Style: Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is my favorite fashion chameleon. In the span of her career she's gone from 50's demure to 60's Barbarella vamp to 70's war fighting hippie to 80's workout queen to 90's poster-girl-for-aging-well all with a lot of enthusiasm and credibility. What helps her pull this off? Her beauty. She looks good in almost anything. But she's also fearless - she goes for every look wholeheartedly. I can think of other girls - like Kate Moss - who can pull off many different looks, but they aren't as drastic as Jane's. Jane really, really went for it.

I ♥ Your Scarf

I have been so inspired recently by Hermès' new website - J'aime mon Carré.  It completely reinvented my perception of the Hermès scarf as something only Queen Elizabeth or Grace Kelly would wear into something that any cute young thing can wear. I've included some of my favorites from those images here along with a few vintage ones. Being 36 I wonder if I'm not too old to wrap an Hermès scarf around my head. I'd probably only try it in the summer at the beach. The best I've ever felt wearing a silk scarf was inspired by my college roommate Patricia Herrera who showed me more than a few things about personal style. She taught me how to tie a scarf around my neck with the tie in the back so it almost served as a turtleneck - it keeps your neck warm in winter and it looks chic. The key is to use a smaller scarf - you dont want a big plume of scarf tails hanging down your back. Or maybe you do. But I don't.