I ♥ Your Country Style: Amanda Harlech

We've all seen and admired Amanda Harlech in her Chanel. As Karl Lagerfeld's muse, we see her at every Chanel event wearing the most enviable dress with her hair just messy enough to be cool but still look chic. For the most part, this is her Paris life where she spends her professional time. But what really intrigues me is her England life, her private world that she has graciously shared with us through Vogue, Vogue Living, etc over the years. Further research offered up a more candid side of Amanda's highly personal life and style. It's obvious that at her core, she is truly very English - loving horses and whippets and AGAs and blankets draped over a sofa. Her look is traditional with a slash of the bold and extreme. If only we all looked so good in plaid!

Crazy for Paisley

Maybe it's the bohemian in me coming out now that I live in the countryside, but I have never been more into paisley. It started with an antique Indian paisley tapestry that my mother handed down to me this past summer. I found the perfect spot for it covering an upholstered ottoman in my living room, and it now pulls together all the other colors in the room and adds the perfect touch of ethnic romance to the otherwise traditional English countryside look.

But I am also loving paisley in clothes - Derek Lam's graphic 60's mod paisleys caught my eye on the runway for fall, and then the Marlon Falaise / Lucie de la Falaise family portrait in Vogue stood out in a more authentic, hippie kinda way.

For a while I've been dismissing prints as too specific or of a season, but when looking through all these photos its hard not to see paisley as a classic.

Lucie de la Falaise and Marlon Richards with their family, 2012

Marlene Dietrich on her USO tour, 1940's

An Instagram photo of a woman wearing Jil Sander's paisley suit to her child's christening. That's chic.

Veronica Lake, 1955

Candice Bergen, 1970's

Mexican actress Lupe Velez, 1939

Etta James in the recording studio, 1967

Helen Gurley Brown, 1972

Veruschka, 1965

Mick Jagger, 1967

My favorite Stella McCartney campaign, 2012

Ad campaign for Harvey Nichols, 1975

Marisa Berenson wearing Chanel, 1969

 Emma Stone wearing Derek Lam in British Vogue, 2012

Henrietta Tiarks, Marchioness of Tavistock, at Royal Ascot, 1968

Ines and Chanel in the 80's

Ines de la Fressange was the face of Chanel for most of the 80's. She was featured in countless ads, and she escorted Karl Lagerfeld down the runway for his finale bow in most shows that she walked in. My favorite images of Ines from this time are of the black and white outfits. While they are classic Chanel and reinforce the iconic signatures - chain link, quilting, camellias, black and white, cardigans - that have been relevant for so many decades, they are anything but boring.

p.s. Don't miss the 80's cellphone with the boyfriend carrying the antenna/battery pack!

 

 

The ladies of Chanel

Whenever a Chanel show happens, I am equally excited to see the careful selected attendees as I am to see the new clothes that go down the runway. The team at Chanel are as brilliant in soliciting loyalty from the chicest women on earth as they are in finding the very latest talent and style icons to introduce to us all. I remember the very first time I noticed Clemence Poesy, Lilly Allen and Anna Muglalis - they were sitting in the front row of a Chanel show. And it's always thrilling when Ines de la Fressange makes an appearance, loyally mixing her Chanel clothes with her Vivier accessories (while she was a long time Chanel muse, she is now Vivier's brand ambassador). Speaking of brand ambassadors - Chanel's own Caroline Sieber, Vanessa Traina, Jen Brill, Poppy Delevigne and Vanessa Paradis all perfectly represent the brand in their own personalized way. And then there is Alexa Chung, who manages her signature sexy/cute look especially well in Chanel. Finally, there is usually a surprise wild card guest - someone of major fame and major style, who is not a regular but gives enough heart stopping adreline to get international attention. This past show it was Tilda Swinton, and yes, my heart did stop at the site of her. But it's not just the amazing women who make me excited to look at the pictures - it's the beautiful clothes in front of the stunning sets in poignant and often unexpected locations. I imagine Coco Chanel would expect nothing less.