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

Snapshot: Mick and Jerry

Looking at this picture always makes me feel happy. It seems like such a natural and sincere moment between two such iconic people. Credit is certainly due to the photographer, Jean "Jonny" Pigozzi, who is one of Mick Jagger's very best friends. If you haven't laid your eyes on any of Jonny's books, it's worth a click over to Amazon to order them. He has a great eye for pictures and a magical way of catching glamorous and famous people at ease.

Girls will be boys will be girls

Most girls, including myself, spend a lot of time trying to find the right balance between masculine and feminine in their wardrobes. Even if you don't recognize your style as masculine-inspired, its pretty much unavoidable that its lurking in there somewhere. Think about it - button down shirts, blazers, trench coats, and even trousers all have roots in menswear. But its rare that we look to men for style inspiration. For me, its hard to relate on a personal level when a man's look is purely manly, but on the rare occasion that I come across a man who has successfully and confidently added a bit of the feminine into his own look, I respond right away. Here are a few of my favorites.

David Bowie

Mick Jagger

A guy I saw on Bleecker Street

A native American

Keith Richards

A page from "Looking Good," by Charles Hicks

Sean Byrnes, from the book "Scavullo on Men."