Ok, so what if she doesn't have a real job, if she can spend her days tanning on her private yacht, and if she has more money to spend on clothes that we could only dream of...
Charlotte Casiraghi is sassy, sexy and fashionable. And unless you're up on your European royalty you've probably never even heard of her.
Fashionistas take note.... Charlotte is the new "it" girl whose style you definitely want to follow- fresh, classic and funky all in one.
Not only is she fourth in line to the crown of Monaco, she can also boast to being the grand-daughter of Grace Kelly (yes, as in that Kelly- the Hollywood legend and the Hermes bag). Being a member of a royal family known for its über cool jet-setting lifestyle and refined taste in culture can't be that easy, but she certainly carries it all with a certain amount of class and the latest handbag we'd all die to have in our closets.
Charlotte has stolen the spotlight for the past few decades (in French tabloids at least). With her flawless skin, natural chestnut hair and pouty lips she could just as easily be a Hollywood starlet. But only recently has the fashion community really started taking note... there's definitely something extra in her understated mediterranean cool.
This is someone who has been wearing Chanel since childhood and can brag about having Karl Lagerfield as a family friend. One of her fashion highlights was when she was spotted front-row at the Chanel Haute Couture show back in January wearing a chic pair of white and black boots over black tights. But honestly, how jealous are we when she looks just as stunning in a simple bikini and baggy jeans?!
Charlotte has also just made British Vogue's December Glamour Issue. In it she's pictured with (hot!) boyfriend Alex Dellal and they're quoted as being a "publicity-shy Euro-couple with matching full lips, olive skin and beautiful bodies".
Her latest signature styles you might want to emulate are her red Ray-Bans, layers of thin and long necklaces, natural unstyled hair, siren red lips, and relaxed wide-leg jeans.
Keep an eye out for this stylish vixen!
images: thefashionspot.com
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Charlotte Casiraghi: Stylish Royalty
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Luxe love: French cashmere
Three lustable looks from fabulous French cashmere master, Eric Bompard. A thick weave of supple, strong threads gives this cashmere king a reason to be proud. Now available online in the UK, isn't it time to treat yourself to a little post-holiday shopping?
Oh-so-Antropologie:
Any sentimental girl will love this thick romantic flower pullover. Don't be afraid to mix prints with an embellished sweater. If you're nervous about it, try pairing yours with monochromatic patterns. The total look can be very Anna Sui!
Balenciaga lover's pick:
My assistant at work lives and dies by the Balenciaga runway but who has the money to spend on the real thing? She gets her look by pairing a wool houndstooth scarf under many,
many charm necklaces. The look is picture perfect! Try this cashmere shawl for an even more luxe version.
Classic for the skint:
Spent your Christmas cash already? Don't bum! Treat yourself to a pair of these classic gloves. I've given my pair hard use and they still look as good as new, no pilling! The mark of excellently made
cashmere. They come in so many colors too, so why not buy a few pairs while you're at it?
Monday, January 07, 2008
"Parts" modeling: Isobella Jade
I've written before about petite models but my views were recently challenged by the almost 5'4" Isobella Jade. Jade made the NY Times last week with a story on how she used the free computer access at the Apple store to draft her entire memoir, Almost 5'4".
One of Jade's mainstays is "parts" modeling, which is modeling only your hands, feet, stomach, etc. I asked her to write a little bit about that work here. This is what she had to say:
After 5 years of hustling as a model in New York City, I am finally putting my body parts to real use. My new modeling title is 'Body Part Model". This means I use my hands, stomach, legs, feet, backside, eyes and shoulders to get work. You name the body part, and I can model it. I have even gone to castings for pubic hair.
I really think I am the shortest model out there (I'm 5'2") but still, I know there is work for me. Instead of dwelling on... my lack of height, I focus on what I do have- great parts. I have modeled with names like Marshall's (feet), Time Magazine (torso), Bon Appetit (hands), and recently I even body doubled for Christina Ricci on a movie poster.
The agencies I work with are Cunningham Escott and Parts Models Agency in New York City. It took me a few submissions to finally start working with them. I put together a comp card that showed off my stomach, feet, legs, backside and a profile shot and mailed it out. The shots that help me get work are the ones that look commercially styled, like holding a fork, or scissors, or a handbag. The card speaks for you so it is best to put a diverse amount of body shots on it if you have more than one "great part." Some girls only have a hand modeling card and that is all they do for between $250- $5000 per job.
The hand modeling industry is a serious industry- it's competitive and it pays very well. Last week at a hand modeling call back for Vaseline, I was looking at all of the other model's hands. We all had different sized nails, color nail polish and lengths of fingers. We all wanted the job. I went into the casting room and showed my hands to the casting directors. Then my hands were videotaped. I showed the front and the back of them and pretended that I was cupping water with my hands. I was almost sure I had the job but one of the other 6 girls there booked it.
I don't think that height is the main thing when it comes to picking a "parts" model. It's more about your personality, having great skin and being easy to work with, which is key. Every job is different, so sometimes it just comes down to being "what they are looking for." Maybe they wanted someone with a longer finger nail or toe nails that were shaped differently.
Still, one misconception is thinking you have to be perfect to be a parts model. For "parts," you don't have to have a flawless body or be drop dead gorgeous. I had a bruise on my big toe and that day I was shooting for Marshall's but the marketing woman said they would Photoshop it and that it would be ok. I had to wear just one pair of shoes--purple Guess pumps--and stand very, very still on the steps by the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. It paid $1000 dollars for just that one shot!
To book work as a shoe model it is best if you have a size six shoe because that's the size that samples are made in. They need models to fill them for the ad campaigns. If you have a decent foot that's a size six, then shoe modeling can make you a lot of money.
Shoe shows are also a good money maker. Similar to fashion week, there is also a Shoe Week for sales meetings where they need shoe models. You can make up to $350 a day just by trying on the shoes for the sales presentations. And usually you even get to keep a few pairs yourself!
Of course some days I wish I was a few inches taller. Right now my goal is to be the face of an ad campaign, or the major "part" of an ad campaign. I never have seen a model my height do that but whenever I shoot my full body I stretch my torso high and put my petite proportions to use, proving to me (at least) that I am just as good as any of those lanky giraffes.
Isobella Jade is the author of the modeling memoir, Almost 5'4" available on Amazon.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Free Shipping at Frankey's, launch your professional styling kit
You've heard of stylist's tape, you've seen bra "cookies" before but do you own any yet? You should.
Right now you can launch your own styling kit with free shipping thanks to Frankey's. Actually everything except the sale items there will receive free shipping if you include the code BITES20 at checkout.
Like any good fashion stylist would, I've given Alessandra Ambrosia a little Frankey's makeover with Hollywood Wedding Apparel Tape, Cover-up Nipple Concealers, and cleavage boosting Cupcakes Gel Bra Inserts. Find them in the Accessories section here.
image: jessica-style.com
Trendista says: Leave your leggings in 2007!
Chic readers, meet Jill at Trendista. Check out this blog for witty fashion insight and quirky shopping tips. I was loving this post, which Jill has agreed to share with us here:
New Years Style Resolution #3: Accept that leggings are not pants.
I know I'm going to take a lot of sh*t for this, but we cannot bring the "leggings as pants" trend into 2008. If you're not wearing a loose-fitting frock, tunic, or mini dress, dump the leggings. Just accept that they can't be worn as pants with a regular shirt. (Dance instructors, you're off the hook on this one--just keep it in the studio.)
Yes, I know. Kate, Lindsay, the twins, Lauren--they're all... (read more)
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Anne Hathaway to launch fall fragrance with Lancome
Congrats Anne Hathaway on scoring the campaign for the new Lancôme fragrance. This September 2008, Lancôme bets that you're all going to be scrambling to buy the new scent in Vogue. Or rather that they hope we'll want to smell like you work at Vogue.
Says Odile Roujol, President of Lancôme International, "Anne Hathaway is a radiant young woman who perfectly embodies modern femininity. We know she will portray all the passion and excitement of our new fragrance."
image: imdb.com
iStylista: Who says you can't hire a personal stylist?
Typical scenario: you're camped out in Barnes & Nobel with your stack of style bibles and the latest magazines, sipping your Starbucks chai latte and making a mess of the merchandise. It's not that you don't want to buy the books but why waste your designer-bag-dough on a fashion guide that gives you advice for every body type? I mean, don't you just need to know about your body shape? And after all, you just end up reading the sections for the skinnier or curvier girls and wishing you were the body type who could wear "anything."
Finally one wise stylist has not only gotten a clever idea but has found the businessman to help her see it through to fruition! iStylista is now your one-stop online boutique for personal styling advice. British stylist and founder, Chantelle Znideric, has taken her decades of chic know-how and compiled it into a database that can supply answers to your biggest dressing quandaries.
Try out the Fashion Diva package for free to see what the service is all about. With Fashion Diva you'll answer some multiple choice questions that will help Chantelle classify your body type, give you an
essential styling tip, your neutral color palette and advice for solving one body related styling problem. If you like what you see you can upgrade to the more detailed Glamour Puss or Style Goddess packages. After answering a comprehensive list of questions about your personal style, job, and body, you'll receive a very pink and pretty PDF in your email.
I tried the 23 page Style Goddess package for fun and agreed with all the "figure fixer" suggestions that it gave. See a sample of the first page of my package below. If you're on uneasy ground when it comes to fashion, answer all the questions correctly and you'll get a concise guide to every must-have wardrobe item, along with tips on how to wear it and pair it, and shopping advice according to your disposable income level.
If you're a fashion freak and already quite adept at putting your look together, choose some of the wackier options in the job/lifestyle category to get some fresh ideas.
And happy, happy New Years since you'll get the Style Goddess package for 50% off until the 10th of January. Just enter the code: DFD3-76LD-V5
In the meantime, get to know Chantelle via her blog, Top Stylista (how cute!).
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Fur 2008: heading stylishly into the coldest months
When I packed my vintage fur for Fashion Week in NYC last February, it didn't occur to me that the steps of Bryant Park might not be the wisest place to sport a skin. While PETA managed to make its naked way onto the catwalks of some shows, I was happy that the protesters abstained from the paint (and pie) throwing which has occurred in seasons past.
You see, I have a love/ethically challenged affair with fur and judging by the fuzzy coats and hats on others at Fashion Week, I know that I'm not alone. Honestly, I'm sorry but fur is the warmest winter covering known to man and as most of us will begrudgingly admit, it feels so gosh darn fabulous. That's why although I love fur, I will only allow myself to wear secondhand pelts. Of course I can't easily afford the new sable hanging in the window down the road either, who are we kidding?
So it's with this in mind, that I'm looking for the inspiration by which I'll have my next fur remastered.
The fall/winter runways showed plenty of inspiration for luxe lovers! Whether the candy colored hues at Versace and Pucci or the shawl-effect collar on the Emanuel Ungaro number, designers have sent the message for another winter that fur is "a-okay". Minis, such as those seen at Blumarine are confections but purposeless. If you're going to embrace fur, at least have the intelligence to embrace enough to keep your full torso and arms warm.
If you're not ready to fully commit to an entire coat--or if you live in a warmer climate--try embellishment but be reasonable. Nobody looks good in the stripper cuffs, those little puffs of fur a the end of the wrist. Try something more fashionable such as lining the interior of your collar and part of the arm, as at Proenza Schouler. I see this look rocked by a lot of older women around Prague. I often fantasize about pushing them down and running off with their coat.
Whatever your choice, the biggest consideration when choosing your fur should be shape. Does it create a pleasing silhouette? I can't tell you what that is for you. It's different for every woman depending on her height, hair cut, etc. but for me, definition at the waist is key.
I'm not sure if I'll get around to locating and re-working my next fur before February but if I do, I'll be sure to blog about it. Happy New Year and it's nice to be back blogging.
...more on where I've been hiding later in the week.
Special thanks to Evelina for creating the photo montage for this post!
images: style.com, nymag.com
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Stocking Stuffer: NARS Sparkling Loose Powder
'Tis the season to be Santa's little fairy... and what better way to achieve that look than with a gentle, shimmery powder?
We're not talking about your middle school glitter eyeshadow ladies. No, the chic woman of this decade knows not to let her glimmering makeup out-shine herself. Don't run whenever "sparkle" shows up on a label. The holiday season is the perfect time to try on twinkle once more.
I picked up the NARS Sparkling Loose Powder in Gold Rush ($35) at the Zang Toi show in New York last fall. If you're looking for a subtle all-over snow bunny glow, this is the only product you need. I love the way that the powder stops grease while the extra fine milled glitter gives my skin a sumptuous gold sheen. Use the powder puff applicator to dab it on over your neck, décolleté, even
your arms--whatever you want to highlight.
Not in the market for this fantastic loose powder? Don't forget to check out the rest of the NARS gift collection. By clicking here you can receive free shipping on orders over $60. Happy stocking stuffing you sexy little helper!
What's on your Christmas beauty list? Leave a comment below and tell us. Maybe Santa's listening... you never know!
