Monday Style Icon!

As well as sharing Tory's love of The Chung and all things Olsen, another huge style icon of mine is the beautiful Liv Tyler. I've been a fan of hers for a good decade and she has influenced everything from hairstyles to jeans, shoes to facewash, eyebrows to lipstick. I've lost count of the amount of times that I've attempted to ape an entire make-up look of hers. What I like most about Liv is that she really seems to glow from within - she has a real joie de vivre. A couple of people I know who have worked with her have said that she is actually the most beautiful person they have ever seen in real life, so I reckon I could do a lot worse for a style icon!

Here she is rocking the hell out of the Mulberry Raglan...



This is my favourite vintage photo of Liv - it was in the December 1999 issue of Looks magazine which was when she first came to my attention.



Anyone remember Looks by the way? It changed its name to Celebrity Looks and then promptly folded - I miss it!

A few random things I admire about Ms Tyler...
- She is 5'10" but not afraid to rock a pair of 6-inch heels and celebrate that fact.
- She actually runs errands in sweatpants and no make-up from time to time, which makes a refreshing change from the likes of Victoria Beckham who do the school run in Roland Mouret and matching YSL Trib Two's...
- She looks just as good without make-up as with it.
- She has a fantastic mane of hair!

And this is my favourite, favourite scene from 90s classic That Thing You Do!

City slicker

I love everything about this editorial. The girl's a fashion genious anyway, despite what I may think about her on-screen personality. And I adore those boots in the middle pic. If only I could wear heels in the city.

Olivia Palermo in ASOS August. Pics courtesy of marieclaire

Chung, drawn and quartered

So I have a slight obsession with her? And? Yeah I know, me and every other loser. And I couldn't be further from her body-shape, so my absolute adoration for her style is ridiculous. Imagine Kelly Brook wearing Alexa's clothes? That's how I'd look if I tried to emulate her. (not that I have the awesome body of Kelly Brook either... oops, just revealled my much less cool celeb-obsession!) Oh well, a  girl can dream....

Pics from L'Officiel August 2010, courtesy of studdedhearts

We had a time...

The greatest tv program ever made. I know I'm not the first to say it, or see it as fashion inspiration, but I can say with hand on heart that since I watched this with my sister more than a decade ago, I knew that was how I wanted to dress.
I made my Mum buy me some cork-heeled logger boots from the market, a lumberjack shirt from C&A, and counted the days until I was 16 and allowed to die my hair red. Oh how I loved Angela...
Then, around 2005 I noticed Mary-Kate Olsen start to wear clothes I'd only ever seen before on Rayanne Graff - the checked shirt, the maxis, the clothes that would become ubiquitous four years later.
From autumn to winter 2009 I scoured ebay for a pair of those loggers. I tried to pluck up the courage to ask the awesome girl at my train station how the hell she tracked hers down, and I failed on both counts.
And now, as the high street starts to stock it's autumn lines (how already? It's not even August!) I'm starting to think once more about the boots that will complete my life. This year you will be mine!

Teen TV has never been as good as this, so I can't wait to see creator Winnie Holtzman's new show Huge. The fat-camp-based pilot was picked up, and if the series is as honest, accurate and well-acted as MSCL, I know I'll be totally hooked!

What Katie did...

I'm aghast - never thought I'd be blogging about a Katie Holmes outfit. But I'm loving the simplicity of this, matched with that 'fashion top-knot' that I covet so much... grow hair, grow!

Ok, so it's not like she invented this look... I've tried a whack at it myself in the last 18 months - but despite the slightly too short jeans and slightly 90s slim heels, it just seems to work on her, perhaps because she's so tall and slim. Keep it up lady!

Let's get physical

So, after 26 years of resistance, discovering 100 cm2 of cellulite and entering the 2011 London Marathon, I've finally accepted that everyone should do a bit of exercise.

Mega circuits, swimming, pilates, spinning, old-school aerobics (I'm hoping for an instructor with a bum bag) and cycling are all on the list (actually, I've been two-wheels good for about a year, but that's another story) after joining the local leisure centre. But with every new venture comes a wardrobe challenge, so how to work out without looking like I've just stepped out of Gregg's? Where to turn for sweaty sartorial inspiration? I look no further than my muse Miss Whitney Port.

Now, let me note that I don't see the gym as an opportunity to pose... I was once a member of a David Lloyd gym and the Wags in a full face of make up made me feel physically sick. I'm just looking for a way to keep cool and comfortable while also looking cool and comfortable. My girl Whit ticks all those boxes!