This week on Long Distance Loving's Friday Fancies the theme is "Style Crush." When I first read that, my mind went in about a hundred different directions. I have so many style crushes! Blair Eadie (who doesn't have a style crush on that woman?!), Oliva Palermo, Rachel Bilson and her fictional character Zoe Hart, the list goes on.
I decided today to focus on someone who has helped, in many ways, shape the face of fashion- former Chanel model Ines de la Fressange. Her style is the epitome of chic, and I love that she is so willing to share what she knows.
There is even a Parisian Chicweekly planner to help guide and inspire you.
I've had the original book since it was published in 2011. I love the classic outfits presented in the book; two years later and I am still wearing variations of the the clothes inside because they are timeless. Here's one of my favorites from the book.
I went out and bought two cardigans like the one pictured, and even though they are kind of an olive/army green, they are so neutral that I can pair them with just about everything. Plus they are light enough that I can slip one into my purse in case I get chilly at some point.
Parisian Chic by the beautiful Ines de la Fressange
image via Chic Trek
Rebecca was over at my house the other day picking up a couple of things to take on her weekend getaway with Ty, when I made a couple of outfit suggestions a la Parisian Chic. I showed Rebecca the look of an outfit I had chosen, as I had modeled it after a beautifully put together look from the guide. She had never seen the book! What's this?! How could I have managed to let my friend go for all this time without showing her this fantastic guide? I have failed as a friend. I was certain that I had done a post on the book already, but looking back, I found that I have only ever mentioned it in passing. For shame! This book deserves an entire post, it is that inspirational!
The face of Chanel for many years, Ines de la Fressange proves that you can be both beautiful, clever, and artistically inclined. image via Vogue
The book itself is very chic; it is soft red leather with a drawing by Ines embossed on the cover in gold. You open it up to find a plethora of great, easy tips that will help you achieve that sometimes elusive chic French style. To prove my point, here is another picture from the book that combines simple pieces brilliantly. This one, as does all the photos from the book, features Ines' gorgeous daughter, Nine.
To me, this is perfection! I love that cardigan thrown casually over a short, simple dress. It grounds the whole look and pulls it together, making just a simple dress look completely, effortlessly chic. And that shade of green? You might not think so at first, but that shade of green is perfect. I mean it. After I read this book (devoured it!), I rushed out to find a cardigan like the one in the picture. I finally lucked out and found one at Forever 21 (I ended up buying another one, just to have a spare, I love it that much!). This army green cardigan is so versatile- the color, though you may not think it, really is a fantastic neutral. My version is light weight, stashes easily into a purse, and goes with a ton of stuff in my closet. image via Vogue
A little while ago, I did a post on the Lovely Clusters blog and the online magazine that she puts out periodically. There is a site called Issuu where pretty much anybody can create an online magazine. Luckily, some pretty talented people like to spend their time putting together some pretty awesome gift guides and/or magazines. Right now there are some great gift guides on there that you can look at to get ideas for gift giving (whether the gift is for you or for someone else), decorating, and crafting. One of them is called The Holiday Guide by Emily Henderson. The globe snowmen are featured in there. Thanks to Rebecca's friend Ali, we got to go to the Long Beach Antique Show on Sunday where I scored an extra large globe for 25 bucks! It is going to be the bottom of my very own snow-globe guy. I looked on Henderson's blog later that day and discovered that Henderson herself was at the antique show the same day/time we were. We didn't see her (maybe we did and didn't recognize her), but I am glad I snatched up that globe before she did! Here is her online guide (just click on the pic for the link).
Here is another great online magazine available at issuu called adore. And they have a pretty little blog here.
Gifted also has a pretty little online issue over at issuu. This comes from the blog Creature Comforts, which is also fun to look at as well.
Not enough time wasting eye candy for you? Have you checked out Lonny Mag yet? I love looking through this one; they introduced me to the great Parisian Chic by Ines de la Fressange.
I'm a stripes kind of gal. I'm drawn to clothing with stripes. When done correctly, I think they are timeless and chic. If you were to peek into my closet, you would see an awful lot of striped clothing hanging around. I have shorts, pants, skirts, dresses, cardigans, jackets, sweaters, blouses, pajamas, shoes... the list, believe it or not, goes on. I love them. Horizontal or vertical, but mostly horizontal. Skinny stripes and thick stripes, in all colors, but mostly, of course, in navy and black. As I'm writing this, I am wearing a blue pinstriped shirt, and my socks have black and white stripes (it was crazy sock day at school).
My obsession with stripes (I tend to talk a lot about my obsessions on here) got me thinking about their history. Why, I wondered one day (probably while wearing stripes, of course), do you always see pirates depicted in striped material? And why did prisoners back in the day wear thick black and white stripes? And burglars, in old timey references, wear black and white striped shirts to go with the black masks that shield their nefarious identities. This burglar question got me wondering when said burglars wised up and started wearing all black, and whether any burglars ever really did wear black and white, and did they refuse to burglarize on nights when their striped shirts were in the wash? As in-- Oh, sorry, Joe, I can't rob old man Jenkin's place with you tonight; my striped shirt is at the laundry.
Anyway, to answer all these questions (and more, according to reader's reviews), I need to buy Michael Pastoureau's book, The Devil's Cloth. Pastoureau is a French specialist in medieval history. While he was researching various medieval documents, he kept noticing that it was usually only the negative figures or characters who were depicted wearing stripes. This led him to research the history of striped fabric, starting with a "medieval scandal" in France and moving throughout history to the 20th century. I don't know about you, but I find this kind of stuff fascinating. That's part of the reason I love having a smart phone so much, because I have instant access to online research whenever a weird little question pops into my head. So this book is on my list, and stripes are on my mind. And in my closet.
