Inspiration

Style Icons

 Its fairly obvious that a most of these women do not actually dress themselves but their team of stylists sure know what they are doing. Unfortunately us less famous ladies have to put together our own outfits. Where do we begin?



INFLUENCE

Practically everything around us influences the choices we make be it the people we associate with or the media we encounter. There are plenty of other style icons from which to gather inspiration form. Zooey Deschanel heads the way as an indie it girl with her effortless femme twee fashions. Ellen Page is the laid back hipster in jeans and ironic tees. Dita Von Teese, always decked out in old Hollywood glamour. And bohemian twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. The list goes on.

SOURCES

Naturally fashion and style magazines offer a collection of inspiration. I tend to favor Vogues but magazines such as Elle and Marie Claire are more catered to styling that translates well into real life rather than something more high fashion. I have a years subscription to Vogue but will frequently purchase other magazines depending on who is on the cover/if I like what I see while flipping through.

After reading the magazine I start ripping it apart sorting the images keeping only the pages that I find the most appealing. From there I either keep the page intact so that I can hang it on my wall or I cut out the image I would like to save and put it in my scrapbook. I've been doing this for nearly 10 years. Its interesting to see how my taste has progressed from when I was 13.

Not everyone has access to a variety of magazines, unless you have a subscription a typical magazine can be as much as $5 and issue.  There are many sites that are dedicated to showcasing entire photo shoots from both mainstream and lesser known and foreign  magazines.  I mostly focus on livejournal communities such as modelcouture and noirfacade.


APPLICATION

Putting what inspires you into action can be daunting as you want to look authentic and a generic copy of a magazine page. Do a little research as to what is in currently: colors, textures, and patterns.  Taking just a few elements from this season's trends and incorporating them into your existing wardrobe will make you look both fresh, style conscious, and recognizable.  Don't go out and buy many things that probably won't be in style this time next year or items that you just don't like.  True style should be timeless and you want your own personality to shine through.  On the same token its also a way to experiment.  Accessories are probably the easiest way to mix things up.  


Have fun!  Be creative! Be stylish!