Katherine Hepburn

Somebody at work, upon meeting me for the first time, today told me that I looked like Katherine Hepburn. I don't see it myself, but this is pretty much the first time that anybody has ever told me that I look like a celebrity, so I have to admit to being weirdly pleased. Hey, at least I'll have somebody to refer to next time Facebook does a doppelgänger week, right? Hepburn is a very cool woman to be compared to, too.

 

She does an excellent line in sitting around looking louche, as you can see. I've always thought that my grandmother looks a bit like her, actually; severe, but in a regal, well-sculpted sort of a way. I still think most people would rather look like the other Hepburn, though.

Geometric System

I have a bit of a thing about tattoos; I have three myself, and I find them really appealing and visually compelling on other people. It's the one style choice that everybody feels prompted to explore and interrogate - when, where, why did you get it done? It's so cool that an aesthetic choice is capable of prompting so much fascination and so much intensity of feeling.

My husband is currently in the process of getting a full sleeve finished, and it's coming on beautifully. It's made up of three interlocking pieces, and I have taken a few pics of it as it has developed over the past few months.

The pieces will eventually all be joined together to create a coherent whole, and there's a lot more shading to complete at each stage, but I love it already. And I've noticed how bad ass it makes all of his outfits look; he just throws on a T-shirt and looks like a style icon. I'd say that's money well spent.

Colour, Collars, Carven

The Carven Spring 2012 collection, shown as part of Paris fashion week, is really lovely. The evening wear looks are fresh and unexpected, the chunky shoes (though reminiscent of a lot of the flatforms around this season) give the looks an intriguing masculine edge, and the bold cut-out detailing gives the collection a sense of vitality as well as continuity and coherence.

The collection features some super-short silhouettes, which obviously look gorgeous on the models. Equally obvious, however, is the fact that my purple-white sausage legs would look infinitely less desirable in this abbreviated variety of skirt. Ditto the unmade-up faces. There are some elements of the show which do really tap into my current style preoccupations, however, and which I therefore both covet and wish to approximate in some kind of budget version.

I'm very keen on the golden / mustard tone which punctuated the second third of the collection. It's not a colour I would usually experiment with, but Carven made it look so sumptuous that I might just have to give it a go. I think that the palette in general is pretty delicious (not to mention the prints!); it manages to retain a real sense of femininity whilst also seeming bold, strong, and modern.

I also love the way that shirt collars can be seen peeping out from the necklines of dresses. I have tried this kind of look before, but always in a more winter-y way - white shirts buttoned to the neck beneath grey woollen dresses or pinafore-type numbers. Here, however, not only do the colours help to make the outfits more season-appropriate, but a number of the collars themselves are autonomous. That is, one need not wear a shirt in order to get the collar effect, but can just wear the collar separately - shirtless collars rather than collarless shirts! I think that's a genius idea for when the weather turns hotter and nobody wants to layer up.

In short, I really like the whole collection. Well done to Guillaume Henry. I want to finish off with an outfit that manages to encapsulate all of my favourite elements, and which I will have filed away in my noggin as style inspiration come spring. I love the colours (the mustard with the blue lace against the baby pink, combined with the acid bright shoes), I love the buttoned up collar, and I love the very neon librarian feel about the whole look!

Elizabeth Olsen Gives Good Collar

I don't really know much about Elizabeth Olsen, except that she's the actress sister of Mary Kate and Ashley. I have become aware of her mostly through the Style.com app on my iPhone. Her chipper little face keeps cropping up in candid party shots, and she always - but always - looks amazing. It helps that she's beautiful and that she's got great hair, but her outfits are pretty nifty too.

I really love what she's wearing at the Missoni for Target launch (directly above), and I can actually imagine it being pretty easy to achieve at home; all you'd need is a patterned sleeveless shift, a clean white shirt, coloured tights, and a pair of lace-ups. She's lucky the style gene (like the acting gene) runs in the family. I mean, if your sisters name a high-end fashion label after you, the pressure must really be on to hold your end up.