We all know Kate. Whether you love her or hate her, there's no denying her impact on fashion. From music festivals in Wellingtons to her latest campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent. She's got it, that thing. That something so indescribable that it baffles and delights us.
This book is well written in a historiographic format. It doesn't really delve into the mind of Moss as is promised in the introduction. Instead, it follows quite blandly, the looks Kate has made famous and gives a history of the looks themselves. I would have liked more insight into why Kate chooses what she does, but the book fell short there. The truth is, with a beautiful book like this, you don't really need that. The stunning photographs are enough. They prove that this isn't something you sit and read. Rather, it is more akin to a coffee table lookbook. The brilliant photos and well-arranged chapters cover the range of fashion from the nineties to now. It's a great resource when you're inspiration well is running dry. I will keep it for many years as beautiful tribute to personal style. Kate is known for not giving a damn about how her looks are received. Perhaps that is why she's so polarizing. This book might help incite the courage you need to stop giving Damns out like candy.

Our Review: ☆☆☆ -Three StarFlakes

Why: The book could've had more textual strength, but the visuals compensate.

Love Josh

Labels: Book Review, Fame, Famous, Individual Style, Kate Moss, Lookbook, MTV, Tabloid

Ever known a good rumor that just wouldn't die? Rumors have been swirling since 2007 that Keira Knightley would portray the ill-fated Twentieth Century Icon, Princess Diana. While those rumors have once again risen in the blogosphere, Keira is actually playing Diana's ancestor, the scandalous for her time, Lady Georgiana, who married into the Devonshire Spencer Clan.
Diana came to mind again today when I ventured out wearing the tightest skinny jeans ever with a cute top and wayfarers. I probably looked like a long lost Jonas brother.
The entire ordeal made me feel uncomfortable and strangely out of place. Too tight pants aren't really my thing. I began to think. When is daring appropriate?
Diana was one fashionista who knew the answer. When it gets you good press. When you don't need press, you wear your oversize windbreaker, (remember those?) and you go jogging in a less obvious thoroughfare. Diana was a chameleon. She knew how to mix high/low and when to wear denim or dress up in couture. She knew people expected her to act like a princess, and so she decided to play into their fantasies and dress the part.

Diana knew how to make aristocracy seem glamorous again. England was looking like her tired Chintzy sitting rooms. Shabby and out of touch.
Diana pulled inspiration at first from the courtiers and the royal family's menagerie of pastels in her early role. Then as she gained independence, she used fashion and her unique style to make her statements and garner the attention she needed for causes, including her own.

What Diana knew about fashion and What I'm not so sure about is when to be daring and when not to be. I suppose it's a bit like Scarlett O' Hara syndrome, you dress your best when there's a scandal or bad news or something tragic.
Maybe I should look into modernizing the Diana look that captivated so many people as the symbols of money, power, glamour, independence, success, tragedy, honesty all allude to. Diana is a lesson for people in any position. You can use what you wear to convey your message and as a PR tactic. Long Live The Queen. Of Fashion and our hearts. True revolutionaries never die. And Di, if you can hear me, please tell Warhol I said hi.

Labels: Diana, Individual Style, Modern Glamour, Pop Culture, Royalty, Twentieth Century

Wednesday's link love is all over the place! Heidi Klum is dishing on her personal style, at fabsugar. Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. F/W 08 collection serves as inspiration for Cashmereofgeneva. Propeller blog has tips for Sex and The City type fearless dressing. Black Voices Style Blog is dissecting the Obama family's mark on fashion this season. Wearethemarket.com is analyzing the Marni collections fresh from Milan.
So that concludes Link love, remember to face me on technorati by clicking the link just under the Banner Pic at the top of the page!

Labels: 2008, Fashion, Gwen Stefani, Heidi Klum, Individual Style, Links, Obama, Sex and the city, Stefani, Style

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

If you want to be an icon, you have to stop thinking about what people think and dress as you wish.

Chanel, after all was the sole responsibility for the emergence of the everlasting status symbol, the tan. Quite by accident, she was away on a yacht in the Mediterranean when she was out too long in the sun. Getting quite dark, she returned to dinner with friends in Paris who immediatly adopted the new look of health and vogue. Ever since, the tan has been associated with those rich enough to peruse the islands in winter, and lately, those rich enough to not give a damn about skin cancer or aging. With enough money for botox injections for life, why worry about the five minutes to apply sunscreen in Bora Bora?
Cancers aside, to be a revolutionary, you have to be different, and being different means being yourself and not caring what people think. Fashion is a great tool to get attention. And as they say, any publicity is good publicity. Ever notice those who wear the least get the worst press? Case in point Lil Kim and the infamous pasty. Look beyond, it's sexier to show a bit and hide much, and be subtle. Mixing is classic Chanel. Pair your boyfriends shirt with your pencil skirt and a sexy shoe. Take something masculine and make it feminine or vice versa. Guys in Rock and Roll would serve Chanel well for today. She'd admire their ability to gender-bend traditions without care.  The Film of Chanel, directed by Anne Fontaine, will be released sometime in Winter or Spring. The Variety Article is available here.

Labels: Chanel, Individual Style, Movies, Upcoming Events

This is the launch of the blog that celebrates individual style. The blog that creates style, sets trends, and celebrates wearing whatever you like! Combinations of new and old, avant-garde and tradition, sexy and conservative, we're the shit you can't find anywhere else!
We're taking you on a journey. Our goal is that fashion becomes the forum to change our realities and eventually our world. Simple right? Some tastemakers have the luxury of flying around the world, shopping in Bazaars in Morocco, buying scarves in Tijuana, and sandals from Melissinos. But for those of you who can't, we're bring the markets, the trade shows, and the garage sales to you. We're going to show you the art of high/low dressing, how to pair that expensive bag you got last season with a pair of earrings you may have picked up from that hidden gem store at the beach. Some people are born with style. This blog is not for you. This blog is for people who dare to be different, be themselves, and make their own trends. Enjoy!

Labels: Individual Style