Princess Diana's red puffer.

Princess Diana on holiday in Austria, 1994.

There's supposed to be a snowdump here in NYC toward the end of the week, and I'm getting in the mood.

Turtleneck and delicate hoops.

Sharon Tate at her home in Summitridge Drive. Photo by Peter Brüchmann, 1968.

Sade's pearl earrings.

Sade Adu.

1. 2.

Striped oversized blouse, nº2.

Cindy Crawford, 1989.

Sharp.

Charlotte Rampling, London in 1976.

Striped oversized blouse.

Winona Ryder, early 90s.

1.

Lace.

Linda Evangelista, photographed by Antoine Verglas for Elle France. New York, 1989.

1.

Black and cream.

Monica Bellucci, photographed by Alan Foreman, 2003.

Good eyeliner.

Erin Wasson's cat liner.

I think Erin Wasson frequently demonstrates that dramatic yet effortless is not necessarily a contradiction in terms. For me, it's a phenomonon to be filed under "good inspiration," to be revisted and referenced time and again. It's also one reason why she's a style icon of mine.

Kate Moss for Zara Autumn/Winter 2003.

Kate Moss for Zara Autumn/Winter 2003/04. Photographed by Alfonso Ohnur, from Zara Archive Collection 1996/2012.

Zara is launching a re-edition of some pieces from past collections, and when I saw this campaign from Autumn 2003, I was hit with a bit of nostalgia. I was a junior in high school on the Upper East Side, and I remember seeing these ads around the city or in the window of the Zara flagship that was near my school. It was a time when I started to get more "with-it" in terms of my wardrobe (LoL), making my foray into an "edgier" way of dressing via Zara clothes and MAC makeup. It was an all-girls high school, so it was a supportive environment where mutual inspiration abounded.

She gave me an idea...

Lisa Bonet, 1993.

This picture of Lisa Bonet inspired me to put red nail polish back on.
Currently wearing: OPI Big Apple Red.... was wearing: OPI Lincoln Park After Dark.

Aviator sunglasses.

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) wearing aviator sunglasses in Sex and the City.

How to dress like an Italian woman when it's hot.

... complete with fan, cigarette, and chic silver jewelry that always looks great against a good tan.

1.

Today's style inspiration.

Monica Bellucci in Malèna, 2000.

Sophia Loren, 1989.

Sophia Loren on the front cover of Sunday Mirror Magazine, March 5, 1989.

Bedda.

Monica Bellucci, photographed by Ferdinando Scianna, 1991.

Mara Venier, exhibit B.

Italian TV presenter and actress Mara Venier presenting Domenica In. Rome, 1994.

Mara Venier.

Italian TV presenter and actress Mara Venier presenting Domenica In. Rome, 1994.

Gente, nº1: Mara Venier, in white.

The clutch.

Diana, Princess of Wales with Dodi Fayed in the French Riviera resort of St. Tropez, August 22, 1997.

Sprezzatura, allegory no. 3: the Louis Vuitton Toiletry 26 Clutch.

Nice shades.

Margaux Hemingway in Lipstick (1976)

Sprezzatura, allegory no. 2: the (aviator) sunglasses.



sprez·za·tu·ra. foreign term \sprāt-tsä-ˈtü-rä\. 1: studied nonchalance : perfect conduct or performance of something (as an artistic endeavor) without apparent effort 2: an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier.