This certainly looks like a great read and marvelous illustrations
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Rules of Style | Inès de la Fressange on Dressing for Yourself
Rules of Style | Inès de la Fressange on Dressing for Yourself and Why Bad Fashion Is a Good Thing
While many might consider Inès de la Fressange a style icon, she insists, “I’m like every woman on earth when I wake up in the morning. I have the feeling that I don’t have the right things and I don’t know what to wear. And I feel terrible in everything I try!” Still, the French model, author and onetime muse to Karl Lagerfeld emerges most days with an effortless chic-meets-street look, which is one reason she is so uniquely suited for such varied roles as the brand ambassador for the French accessories house Roger Vivier and a collaborator with the Japanese fast-fashion brand Uniqlo (her collection of charming prints and easy knits arrived in stores last week).
Dressed in a fitted navy blazer, cashmere sweater, silky trousers and satin slippers, the lithe 57-year-old sat down for an interview recently in Vivier’s uptown boutique, one incredible long leg tucked underneath the other, to talk about her personal style philosophy. The first lesson: don’t take yourself too seriously. “I’m not a muse,” she said with a laugh. “Amusing, but not a muse!”
Wear trends, selectively.
“It’s the only trendy thing that I have,” de la Fressange said about the oversize white shirt she was wearing. “It’s a Céline shirt but it’s the most boring thing at Céline! But I like the fact that it’s long like this. And in the shop, it was calling to me, saying ‘Inès, if you don’t buy me, who are on earth will?’”
“It’s the only trendy thing that I have,” de la Fressange said about the oversize white shirt she was wearing. “It’s a Céline shirt but it’s the most boring thing at Céline! But I like the fact that it’s long like this. And in the shop, it was calling to me, saying ‘Inès, if you don’t buy me, who are on earth will?’”
If you love it, buy more than one.
“These slippers,” she said, admiring her buckled Roger Vivier pair, shown in the above photo. “I like them so much, I took other slippers in velvet, and navy blue and violet and black.”
“These slippers,” she said, admiring her buckled Roger Vivier pair, shown in the above photo. “I like them so much, I took other slippers in velvet, and navy blue and violet and black.”
Be a kid again.
“I bought my navy blue blazer in a children’s shop called Soeur. It’s like a size 16. But I’m quite tall and it fits me, and it can fit everybody. It’s just a question of proportion.” Consider this option an alternative to adult-size blazers, which can often be too boxy or “boyish” for those with a tall frame.
“I bought my navy blue blazer in a children’s shop called Soeur. It’s like a size 16. But I’m quite tall and it fits me, and it can fit everybody. It’s just a question of proportion.” Consider this option an alternative to adult-size blazers, which can often be too boxy or “boyish” for those with a tall frame.
Borrow from the boys.
“Go to the men’s department for cashmere socks. They’re long, which is nice. Usually for women, they don’t sell them really nice and long.” But don’t go too crazy with the colors. “I buy them in navy blue and brown, or sometimes pink, mustard, pale gray. I don’t like socks with flowers, sushis or monkeys.”
“Go to the men’s department for cashmere socks. They’re long, which is nice. Usually for women, they don’t sell them really nice and long.” But don’t go too crazy with the colors. “I buy them in navy blue and brown, or sometimes pink, mustard, pale gray. I don’t like socks with flowers, sushis or monkeys.”
Take cues from those you admire.
De la Fressange cited Jane Birkin as someone who influenced her style. “I remember in the ’70s, she was fantastic. In the ’80s, she was fantastic. And today, she is still fantastic. Why? She’s still rock ‘n’ roll, modern, never ridiculous. She feels comfortable in her clothes. It’s not like she dresses up. It’s quite the opposite. It feels like she dresses for herself.”
De la Fressange cited Jane Birkin as someone who influenced her style. “I remember in the ’70s, she was fantastic. In the ’80s, she was fantastic. And today, she is still fantastic. Why? She’s still rock ‘n’ roll, modern, never ridiculous. She feels comfortable in her clothes. It’s not like she dresses up. It’s quite the opposite. It feels like she dresses for herself.”
Instagram your way out of a fashion rut.
“Many of the pictures you see on Instagram, they’re not from professional photographers. It’s much easier to identify with a nice look from a blogger or street-style person, because you think, ‘Hmm, that denim shirt, I have one. I should wear it with this kind of sweater. I can redo the look.’”
“Many of the pictures you see on Instagram, they’re not from professional photographers. It’s much easier to identify with a nice look from a blogger or street-style person, because you think, ‘Hmm, that denim shirt, I have one. I should wear it with this kind of sweater. I can redo the look.’”
Travel to buy the things you desire.
“Converse shoes, for instance, you can’t buy them in France in off-beige. They only exist in white.” Which is exactly why she snatches them up when she travels here. “The idea that you can only find them in New York, oh!”
“Converse shoes, for instance, you can’t buy them in France in off-beige. They only exist in white.” Which is exactly why she snatches them up when she travels here. “The idea that you can only find them in New York, oh!”
Brush up.
“I’m French, but I brush my teeth. Because I’ve noticed that after a while when ladies are not that young, the worst thing they think is their hands or their neck, but it’s not that all. It’s their teeth. My toothbrush is my first mascara!”
“I’m French, but I brush my teeth. Because I’ve noticed that after a while when ladies are not that young, the worst thing they think is their hands or their neck, but it’s not that all. It’s their teeth. My toothbrush is my first mascara!”
Nothing beats a clean face. And good cream.
“After you do a facial, you’re all red, and you feel terrible. Why would your skin be happy doing this treatment?” Instead, de la Fressange uses only facial towelettes followed by a favorite face-cream. “There is one called Revitalift from L’Oréal that doesn’t stink, it’s not sticky and it dries very quickly. It’s easy.”
“After you do a facial, you’re all red, and you feel terrible. Why would your skin be happy doing this treatment?” Instead, de la Fressange uses only facial towelettes followed by a favorite face-cream. “There is one called Revitalift from L’Oréal that doesn’t stink, it’s not sticky and it dries very quickly. It’s easy.”
Spend on quality makeup.
In her younger days, de la Fressange wore red lipstick, but she now relies on nude gloss paired with smoky eyes. “I prefer to take care of my eyes because if not, I look like a dead fish.” She’s loyal to L’Oréal (and would be even if she didn’t model for them) and likes fuss-free formulas. Her eyeliner goes on “quickly, you can do it in your car, the Métro, at the office. There’s no excuse not to put on makeup. I didn’t have time? No, no.”
In her younger days, de la Fressange wore red lipstick, but she now relies on nude gloss paired with smoky eyes. “I prefer to take care of my eyes because if not, I look like a dead fish.” She’s loyal to L’Oréal (and would be even if she didn’t model for them) and likes fuss-free formulas. Her eyeliner goes on “quickly, you can do it in your car, the Métro, at the office. There’s no excuse not to put on makeup. I didn’t have time? No, no.”
When in doubt, customize.
Flipping open her antique watch, de la Fressange revealed: “This I designed myself. It’s an old watch from the ’30s, but I thought it was very conventional.” So she had a thick red leather strap added, for an imaginative touch: “It was boring the way they were showing it.” When she travels to India, she buys stacks of bespoke shirts, which she has embroidered with her initials. “It’s my name on the shirt, but in Hindi. It’s really gorgeous. But nobody understands except Indian people and me!”
Flipping open her antique watch, de la Fressange revealed: “This I designed myself. It’s an old watch from the ’30s, but I thought it was very conventional.” So she had a thick red leather strap added, for an imaginative touch: “It was boring the way they were showing it.” When she travels to India, she buys stacks of bespoke shirts, which she has embroidered with her initials. “It’s my name on the shirt, but in Hindi. It’s really gorgeous. But nobody understands except Indian people and me!”
Take the good with the bad.
“Fashion and good taste are made with a little bit of bad taste. It’s like perfume. To make a fantastic, mythical perfume, you need the most incredible flowers, the best quality of products. But you need another product that really smells terrible to make the whole thing work. Fashion is like this. Somebody who looks totally perfect would be a little bit boring.”
“Fashion and good taste are made with a little bit of bad taste. It’s like perfume. To make a fantastic, mythical perfume, you need the most incredible flowers, the best quality of products. But you need another product that really smells terrible to make the whole thing work. Fashion is like this. Somebody who looks totally perfect would be a little bit boring.”
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