ICONS OF STYLE : the curious case of victoria "posh spice" beckham

please,

take this for what it is.

but one has to admit that ms. beckham

has in a far shorter time period,

and with far greater grace notes,

eclipsed her dandified arm-candy

to become a stylish,

interesting

fashion icon.

is she a true icon, hitting all the notes of our previous members?

non.

does she have potential?

oui.

so let's look at this as a lesson.

in how one can evolve,

and develop the footsteps towards fashion icon status.

little vickie began to enter my consciousness somewhere around here-ish:

post music career, new hair, lots of designer label.

level: attention whore.

then this, which i saw in person at the mtv awards two years ago:

level : whore

but then, curiously, she began mingling with marc.

and this stuff began:

level : celebutante

ok, you say, dressed BY a designer does not make one stylish.

but off hours, we saw this happening:

a little rick owens.  a little hermes.

not bad.

 love or hate the choices, they suited her.

they carried some edge.

they took some guts.

and then, she designs her own clothes,

and they aren't horrible.

in fact, they are surprisingly chic.  and pretty.  and desireable:

i gotta say, i LOVE a charcoal pencil skirt, deep vee and fur shrug.

and as long as she can still wack out and do this every once in awhile:

i'm giving miss vicky an upgraded level.

level : icon, in training.

ICONS OF STYLE : Paul Newman

ok,
let's face it.

the man had NO "style".

he just was.

and that's all you need. 
i actually think his calm confidence was best (stylistically) expressed
in shots with his life's love,
joanne woodward.

he was a man with no style.   but the confidence to pull it off.

DON'T try this at home.

ICONS OF STYLE : a relapse

oh hidetoshi,
why can't i quit you?

i mean COME ON!
screw beckham's skirt moment . . . this guy's pulling off a KIMONO!

day-um!

ICONS OF STYLE : CATE BLANCHETT

well it wouldn't be me if i didn't include someone

this fearless,

this timeless,

and this chic,

would it, now?



cate blanchett has proven time and again,

over and over,

that with the right confidence and knowledge of yourself,

almost any fashion risk can be ridden to harbor,

and any occasion should inspire you to rise to the new.



she easily fits the five rules,

but she also inspires across gender with the radiance of her attitude.



her true gift?

she transcends whether you "get it" or not.



she makes you understand

that true style

is about the wearer:























 

ICONS OF STYLE: ALAIN DELON

the second in the series of style icons

fits all five rules rather effortlessly.



alain delon is a french movie star,

breaking out with his role in "purple noon"

(the original "talented mr. ripley").

his great physical beauty and aloof quality

made him the object of both adoration

and curiousity around the world.



a dedicated playboy his entire life,

he wore clothing in a way that spoke

to "not caring" about it,

though he is known for once saying:



"I like to be loved like I love myself."



which could explain a lot:











i can relate . . .

ICONS OF STYLE : HIDETOSHI NAKATAWA

someone asked me recently whom i considered as my personal style icons.



fun game, right?



but i was seriously stumped.

it's like when anyone asked me who i wanted to play me in the movie of my life,

i was always stumped, until i came up with "christina ricci" as my answer,

whereupon everyone would go, "christina ricc . . . ohhhh yeah. now i see it."



but style icon, that's harder for me. so i came up with some rules.



an icon has to be someone whom:



1) looks great in every picture you see of them, regardless of where they are,



2) chooses clothing that sets them apart, and is truly distinctive,



3) remains consistent in those choices over a period of time,



4) commits to fashion, and enjoys it,



5) makes you want to replicate their look, down to the critical details.



there. landis' five fashion icon laws.



that out of the way, i got stuck in WHO might actually fit that. and the field narrowed rapidly.



i've come up with three.



the first:

Hidetoshi Nakatawa. he's like the japanese david beckham,

only in a way that makes me go "yes, please!" not "oh, interesting . . ."

he clearly enjoys clothing, attending fashion shows and endless parties.

and he somehow straddles the whole masculine/feminine thing

with a slight edge of the dominatrix. i love that.



witness, my friends,

icon number one:













doesn't hurt that he's more than a little dreamy . . . non?



no, it don't.