Oh, the French

Fashion Model: Lee Holloway

Secretary, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a favorite film of mine. The black comedy is different, unpredictable, and fashionable. Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, the repressed secretary, in an anything-but-stereotypical way, and her sheer, flowy blouses are to die for. The bow-tie necks and unbuttoned tops are feminine, sexy, commanding, and vulnerable all at once. She always looked like she was about to come undone.

Photos courtesy of maggie-gyllenhaal.net

Yael Naim covering Britney Spears "Toxic"

The lyrics sound meaningful and almost haunting sung in a manner like this. Though, I love the violins in the pop version too.

Books: The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia

Nina Garcia's The Little Black Book of Style is a fun read, nothing revolutionary (stick to basics, always check for VPL), but illuminating none the less. What I enjoyed the most were her list of style-inspiring movies and the charming quotes throughout the book. Movies include:

Bringing Up Baby

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Love Story

The Great Gatsby

Pulp Fiction

And quotes include:

"I was not ugly. I might not be anything for men to lose their heads about, but I need never again be ugly. This knowledge was like a song within me. Suddenly it all came together. If you were healthy, fit, and well-dressed, you could be attractive." Elsie De Wolfe

"I love America, and I love American women, but there is one thing that deeply shocks me...American closets. I cannot believe one can dress well when you have so much." Andree Putman

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo da Vinci

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." Mark Twain

"It's not money that makes you well-dressed, it's understanding." Christian Dior

"Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy." Albert Einstein

"Is not the most erotic part of the body where ever the clothing affords a glimpse?" Roland Barthes

"Isn't elegance forgetting what one is wearing?" Yves Saint Laurent

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different." Coco Chanel

"If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late? Nobody." Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye

The most famous Chanel knock-off in the world

Fashion Model: Margherita Missoni

25 year old Margherita Missoni is an heir to the Missoni fashion house, known for it's patterned prints and knitwear (Margherita wears both often and well). She is an ambassador for Missoni, and has appeared in it's fashion campaigns and perfume ads. Margherita is known for her feminine, unfussy style.

More gushing over Blair's style

I absolutely adored the yellow dress Blair had on at the beginning of Monday's episode of Gossip Girl, Woman on the Verge.

Trying to incorporate some Blair into my wardrobe, I just purchased this Isaac Mizrahi for Target dress, though I'm sure she would disapprove of Target :P