Sartorial Compass: Michelle Willams, Shifty

The 60's inspired pixie cut that Michelle Williams has been rocking on and off for a while now, pairs perfectly with her love of the perfect shift dress.  Always easy going and simple, she looks effortlessly cool in each one.  

 In Victoria Beckham, Chloe and Erdem {I think}.  She wore the Chloe dress to the Independent Spirit Awards for Brokeback Mountain, I will never forget this dress, it is one of my favorite pieces of all time.  

 Black & white & mod all over.

Love the dress in the center so much!

I'm a bit too attached to my hair to ever go full out with a pixie cut, but she sure does make me question that, if only for just a minute.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to the most wonderful, selfless woman I know!  Also to the most wonderful Grandma that a girl could ask for!  

Sartorial Compass: Kate Bosworth, Rest of the Best

So today is the 5th Sunday in January, and Kate Bosworth's last day as Sartorial Compass.  Here are, in my humble opinion, the rest of the best looks that she has rocked over the past few years. 

With Sartorial Compass alumni Chloe Sevigny at an event for Valentino on the left and at an event that they co-hosted for Chloe on the right.

I'm typically not the biggest Chanel fan, but I think that if I ever were fortunate enough to wear it, I would wear it like Kate in the photo to the left.  She makes it so cool and young looking, the Burberry feather dress is so great too!

The dress on the left was supposed to be in the Short & Sweet post but I missed it.  She wore the studded skirt and jacket to a Burberry show a few seasons ago, and the fur is Fendi at a show that used The Great Wall of China as the runway.  This Rodarte dress is so simple, yet clearly a product of the Mulleavy sisters.

Last but not least, another amazing look that she just wore to a CFDA event, from Proenza Schoulers' current spring collection...SO good!!  Happy Screen Actors Guild Awards day, looking forward to some great things tonight!

photos via justjared, popsugar

Sartorial Compass: Kate Bosworth, Red Obsessed

Kate knows how to make a statement, and what better way than with the color red.  Two of her favorite items of clothing make quite the splash so check them out in the below photos...not to mention her love of red in the Short & Sweet post and Casual Cool.

 Kate's go-to for casual footwear is this pair of Chloe booties.

She also loves to make a statement on the bottom...I love this red skirt of hers {the photos on the right are from the spring of 2009} she was clearly WAY ahead of the midi-skirt trend.  The red leather pants are by Valentino, love the bow at the waist.

Still inspired by all things red in this post from way back when, I am STILL trying to find the perfect little red cross body bag.

photos via justjared

Sartorial Compass: Leighton & Blair

Leighton Meester wouldn't have a million events to go to if it wasn't for the success of Gossip Girl, and her character, Blair Waldorf.  So today you'll see a few more of my favorite Leighton moments, as well as the best outfits in Blair's 5 seasons.  

LEIGHTON:

Jason Wu, YSL (favoritteee), & Missoni.  

BLAIR:

Nothing says Blair Waldorf to me like a few pictures of her on the steps of the Met before a day at Constance.  Then of course we have Blair in Paris to kick off season 4, where she meets her soon to be husband.  The look in the center with the mixed prints is one of my all time favorites.  

Have a lovely Sunday to wrap up this long Holiday weekend!  

photos via justjared, style.com

Sartorial Compass: Kirsten Dunst, Demure Darling

I had a busy travel day yesterday hence why this is going up on a Monday, but I couldn't miss it.  Kirsten has shown us since the Little Women days that she is a bit of an old soul.  And her sartorial choices often highlight that.  She's quite the lady on the red carpet during the day and at night.  Check out a few of her most ladylike looks below.

All of these looks scream demure to me.  The dress on the far left is by Miu Miu a couple of seasons ago, she pulls off the mixed patterns beautifully.  Next she brings a fun pattern to a classic shape, and the third dress is my FAVORITE!  In this Chloe dress from the Spring 2011 line, Kirsten pulls off the marigold color beautifully and her lips pop with red.

She also dresses like a lady in the evening.  Most of these looks are fairly recent like the blouse and skirt combo and the beautiful short sleeved dress both for premieres of her movie Melancholia.  The third look reminds us that she's been a lady for years, this is a Chanel dress that she wore to the 2007 Oscars.  It features a collar (she's clearly fond of collars), feathers and art deco-esque beading, it's an unexpected look for the Oscar's but she pulls it off.  And finally a simple and classic all white ensemble from a recent event.

This week and into the next couple of months it's definitely worth trying out some similar ladylike looks.  Collared menswear shapes are great in beautiful feminine prints, and a voluminous mid-length skirt is the way to go, and don't be afraid to cover up every once in a while!

photos via justjared, style.com, etc...

Fall Favorites

I adore autumn for plenty of reasons so I want to share with you a few of my favorite things about fall.  Everybody has their favorite fall treats, these are mine...

Okayyy so I'm making apple crisp on Friday and I cannot wait, I'm making a recipe that includes blueberries too, so I'm pretty sure it's going to be wonderful!  The middle photo is a fig bruschetta with goat cheese, last year I discovered the magic of figs while working at Floriole Bakery in Chicago.  And lastly (going against everything I believe in) the Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks...SO SO DELICIOUS.

These are a few other things that get me excited about autumn...

First and foremost, the COLORS!  So excited about the greens, yellows, tans, reds, and oranges!  The dress is from the Valentino F/W 2011, love the color combo and the long sheer sleeves, the other runway image is from Chloe F/W 2011 with some great high waist denim and that beautiful gold blouse.  I cannot wait to wear leather jackets like the one above from J.Crew!  The booties are from Aldo I'm pretty sure they'd be a great addition to my fall wardrobe!  Lastly, I cherish autumn for the new nail polish colors!!  The one in the photo is A-Taupe the Space Needle and I can't wait to get my hands on it...or it on my hands?

Sartorial Compass: Zoe Saldana Party Girl

Who doesn't love a party frock?  Honestly the word frock is enough for me, it's so precious.  Zoe Saldana KNOWS how to rock a party frock, and I know how to rhyme...  Last week she showed us how she takes names in solid, structural, modern minimal pieces and this week she just wants to have fun!  Enjoy checking out her best party looks...

 

Zoe wore this dress to the Chloe boutique opening party a couple of years ago, it's from Hannah MacGibbon's first collection for the brand.  It is the quintessential summer party dress.  For starters it's white eyelet, and then it shows just enough skin at the top with a more conservative length to balance it out.  

I love the shape of this one that looks like it might be Zac Posen (above), it has the ideal flounce for dancing the night away!

Her hair is SO cute in this last one!!  In order for your party frock to officially be "dance the night away" ready it looks like Zoe would recommend throwing in a ruffle or 20 here and there, so keep that in mind the next time you're headed to a wedding or fun event with a good DJ!

In the spirit of magazine covers I saw this of Zoe on the July cover of Harper's Bazaar Russia and I think it's so striking!

Residents of the Runway: Neutral-Blocking

Neutral Blocking is a new term for Spring '11 I'm pretty sure I just made it up. So in the 2nd installment of Residents of the Runway I want to look at some super cool full-on neutral homes in Charleston & this spring trend.

While wandering around and taking a look at some of these homes, I realized that I LOVE when the homes are a little on the ragged side. When stucco isn't perfect, & there are funky spots here and there from trying to cover up cracks on the exterior. Here are 3 homes that are so on trend: Neutral Blocking.

These runway pics come from assorted shows during fashion month. The first is (one of my fave models Ginta Lapina) from the Chloe spring show...specifically reminding me of house #2. The 2nd look is from Brioni, the 3rd from Cushnie et Ochs, I love how both are updated suit looks. And last but not least a look from the Rodarte Spring '11 show, LOVE THIS, it definitely gives me home #1 vibes, with the mixed textures.

What are your thoughts on Neutral-Blocking, think you can rock it as well as Charleston?