Mostly, when you read fashion books and fashions magazines, you read about the typical fashion icons: Audrey, Katherine, Jackie, Grace or even the newer ones: Kate, Sarah Jessica, Olivia Palermo, Sofia Coppola, The Duchess of Cambridge.
One of the things that this got me thinking about was weight. Perhaps I am thinking too much about weight these days, what with needing to reduce my caloric intake in addition to continuing my exercise regimen. But for whatever reason, I started to try and think of style icons who are either not stick thin OR sexpots or who are older. Hmmm - not an easy task.
But I have persevered and share with you my list. Feel free to add more as you think of them!
1) Nigella Lawson
Oh sure, she mostly wears black, but then, so do most of us when we want to look put together. Nigella looks like a woman, and a woman who eats and reads at that!
And a cape! Who cannot help but love a cape!
2) Diane Sawyer
Svelte, but not too svelte....
So blonde and regal and yet so approachable... Just divine...
3) Queen Latifah
I don't think I have ever seen her look anything less than elegant and chic for a very long time:
This is a beautiful woman, who, like Nigella, owns her curves...
4) Carolina Herrera
Oh sure - the white blouses. But she does wear other things and is the epitome of Latin glamour..
She is so divine...
and finally, someone who is stick thin, and whose style I have enjoyed watching evolve and who is everywhere lately...
5) Sandra Bullock
It's fun to think of style icons who are not typically everywhere....
Have a great Wednesday and stay safe out there!
One of the things that this got me thinking about was weight. Perhaps I am thinking too much about weight these days, what with needing to reduce my caloric intake in addition to continuing my exercise regimen. But for whatever reason, I started to try and think of style icons who are either not stick thin OR sexpots or who are older. Hmmm - not an easy task.
But I have persevered and share with you my list. Feel free to add more as you think of them!
1) Nigella Lawson
Oh sure, she mostly wears black, but then, so do most of us when we want to look put together. Nigella looks like a woman, and a woman who eats and reads at that!
And a cape! Who cannot help but love a cape!
2) Diane Sawyer
Svelte, but not too svelte....
So blonde and regal and yet so approachable... Just divine...
3) Queen Latifah
I don't think I have ever seen her look anything less than elegant and chic for a very long time:
This is a beautiful woman, who, like Nigella, owns her curves...
4) Carolina Herrera
Oh sure - the white blouses. But she does wear other things and is the epitome of Latin glamour..
She is so divine...
and finally, someone who is stick thin, and whose style I have enjoyed watching evolve and who is everywhere lately...
5) Sandra Bullock
It's fun to think of style icons who are not typically everywhere....
Have a great Wednesday and stay safe out there!
Gosh, you're right, Wendy. There aren't many real style icons these days.... And especially not ones who don't conform to a very narrow ideal of beauty.
ReplyDeleteMany 'style icons' these days are just celebrities with large bank balances and canny stylists, so I don't really count a lot of people I see in magazines as style icons.
People who come to mind would be Vivienne Westwood, but it really does depend on what one's definition of 'style icon' is.
Hmmm. Lots to ponder here.
I'll be back later I hope!
Oh Vivienne Westwood is a good one! I was wracking my brain on the list I created, so can't wait to hear more!
DeleteOh, and Tilda Swinton, Lucinda Chambers, Kate Lanphear.... They're quite slim, but not mainstream in their style. They would be in my list of style icons.
ReplyDeleteOh true confession - I have never heard of Lucinda or Kate until I just looked them up! Where have I been living??? They are both lovely, though I admit to a preference for Lucinda. As for Tilda - she is on a different realm from mere mortals - bewitching!
DeleteI would add Glenn Close who I love very much. I absoluteyl adore Sandra Bullock... You're right, style icons those days are really about thin, thin, thin no curves... And I am not sure this can happen in real life. Or should I say I comfort myself thinking this could not happen in real life... I agree with Ruth, I think we have, nowadays a very narrow idea of beauty... I love to read that Marilyn Monroe was a EU size 42 which correspond to a size 46 today...
ReplyDeleteRachel Welch, I'm going to eat my way into curves like hers when I'm 60, I think she looks far sexier than the spindle thin half starved celebs of her age.
DeleteRaquel! she is still a hotty! and agree about Marilyn, though people now would dismiss her as an obese actress, which is crazy!
DeleteYou're so right Tabitha!!! And yet, who do not feel guilty while browsing through a fashion magazine...
DeleteI love glenn close, too! She is lovely!
DeleteThe thing to remember is that you can be thin and unhealthy or carry a bit of avoirdupois and be healthy and happy. I love the old times when the body ideal as shown in the paintings was more curvy. Not really an icon but I love how Drew Barrymore has evolved personally and style-wise.
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot Drew - she just makes you love her! I am rooting for her all the way!
DeleteYes weight seems interlinked unfortunately...Carolina is also a regular at the Mayr and she is very petite! Love Latinas and nigella
ReplyDeleteLove Latinas but meant to say queen latifah
ReplyDeleteHa! It is funny - Carolina is probably a 4, but with all the 0000s out there, she seems larger...
DeleteI love Sandra Bullock in movies, but I did not love her in Gravity, sorry to say. I might be the only person on the planet who didn't really like that movie.
ReplyDeleteHow about Cher as a non-typical style icon! lol I can't say I like her style, but I like that she put it out there.
Oh I like Cher - she has chutzpah!
DeleteI guess I struggle with style icons because most of the time they do not fit into my lifestyle. Sandra at the airport does...but I've got that look down :)
ReplyDeleteBB - How was NYC????
DeleteI hear you - it is trying to find people that look like we all do - normal, etc...
We had a great time! Em looks good. My feet are recovering...just not used to tromping the concrete jungle. I'll tell you all about it over the next few days.
DeleteOff to visit you on your blog, BB, but just wanted to say, welcome back!
DeleteLove this post. I honestly think that my style icon is Emma Pillsbury (who is a TV character on Glee, don't judge my choices! Ok...judge my choices...). Her style is over the top (girly, bows, pastels, all worn together) but I can rock a toned down version of it at work and feel both like a responsible adult and a whimsical/creative person. I like your picks. Nigella is a stone cold fox--hope she is doing ok post-divorce. Diane Sawyer is amazing. Ditto for Queen Latifah (I feel the need to watch her show!) and of course our girl Sandy.
ReplyDeleteDanielle - I LOVE Emma Pillsbury! I think she has such a feminine style that is so her!
DeleteI LOVE Zooey Deschanel, but then again, I go for cute and adorable, girly things. I don't know if my style is sophisticated, but as you would say, it makes my heart sing. I was having this conversation with my husband last night, wondering how long I am going to be able to dress cutesy and quirky without looking crazy, but now that I've been reminded of Emma Pillsbury, maybe I don't have to give up my cutesy clothes. Though I also love StJohn and Talbots!
ReplyDeleteAb - I am 50 and sometimes I am so cute you could get a toothache! Keep on keeping on!
DeleteBut that has nothing to do with the outfits, WMM ;) You are just so adorable!
DeleteChristine Lagarde is one for me. Smart with numbers and looks good too.
ReplyDeleteOh she is pretty cool!
DeleteThis may sound weird, but my female colleagues have always been really good style inspirations for me. When I worked in London, all of my colleagues (in addition to being pretty good-looking across the board, which was sometimes a bit intimidating) were extremely well put-together, and all in quite different ways (they were of various nationalities and backgrounds and each really had her own type of style) -- some of which would never have worked for me in a million years but was nevertheless inspiring and interesting to see on a mostly slim, mostly fit but nevertheless actually-out-there-in-the-world-and-therefore-not-a-total-stick woman. Now I have very few female colleagues and things do seem a bit more stuck in the mud, so I am keeping my eyes open on the street and looking around.
ReplyDelete