Inspiration: Grace Coddington

If you've seen The September Issue, you know who Grace Coddington is. If you haven't seen it, here is a very brief bio:
Grace was a model in London in the 60s, has been in fashion (I mean that both ways) ever since. She's the creative director at Vogue (US), and has been since 1995. She has crazy curly hair and a bunch of cats. And she styles like nobody's business.
As Time Magazine said in 2009, "If Wintour is the Pope... Coddington is Michelangelo, trying to paint a fresh version of the Sistine Chapel twelve times a year." Anna Wintour may be the boss, but Grace's styling carries that magazine at times. And when they throw Leibovitz in there, well, they make magic. Grace is an inspiration, for me, not just in personal style, but also in the work she does.
Her personal style is pretty simple: she sticks to solid basic colors, lets her hair do the work. She is the complete opposite of Anna Wintour, who is always so prim and perfected and cold. Grace is free and easy and soft. She published a book about her cats (which I own and adore).
Her work is stunning, but subtle. It almost always tells a story. She will style a shoot of Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz, and it takes you to another place. The style is applicable to the real world in a fantastical way (the clothes are not unwearable or abstract); it's something that needs to be interpreted, but only slightly. You are transported to another place through the photos and the clothing and the way the story is presented, in a way a magazine can not always do. It is not simply a series of photos that presents some article of clothing, but is instead a sequence of images in which the clothing plays a part.

with vidal sassoon, and a new haircut

She is one of the reasons I adore Vogue so much, and have since I was a teenager.  She is one of the reasons I love what I love and am who I am.

wizard of oz, styled by grace

alice in wonderland, styled by grace

I don't own any of the photos in this post.  Most are from Vogue Magazine.

Inspiration (and a story): Plum Sykes (and a trench coat)

Plum Sykes

I have been collecting Vogue magazines for a long time.  I own almost every issue since about 1997.  I started reading it in 10th grade, and I can't stop.  And I don't want to stop.  It makes me happy.  Years ago, one of Vogue's former regular contributors (she now writes for the magazine only sporadically, as she's a Mom and a novelist and all sorts of other fun things) was Plum Sykes, probably the most perfect author they've had.  This isn't a snub to anyone who writes for Anna regularly, but it's simply to say that she's everything you could wish for in a fashion columnist.  She's 6 feet tall, weighs like 15 pounds, she's British, and she's got a real sense of humour.  She doesn't take herself, or anyone else, too seriously, but she knows what the heck she's talking about.
Years ago, Plum wrote an article about The Trench.  I capitalize it because it was a Burberry.  And not just any Burberry, it was a custom made, perfect trench coat, which I'm sure the magazine paid for, and paid her to write about.  That's double rewards right there.  The moment in which I read that article was the moment I started wanting a trench coat.  Casablanca made teenage Jillian want a trench in a romantic kind of way, Plum made her want one in a classic kind of way.  Now grow-up Jill finally has one. (I will also say that this summer of rain inspired me to actually do some research and buy one, and I was also inspired, embarrassingly, by NBC's newest incarnation of Jane Timmoney, played by Maria Bello, who has a real nice one.)

Kate Moss in a classic Burberry trench

His and hers - Holly Golightly knew her fashion

The strangely ironic thing is that I bought the thing from Delia's, which is now a quintessential teenage kind of store.  I was always a big fan, especially years ago, when it was more like a mail-order department store, where you could buy Free People before Free People had a store, when it was just a cool little hippie brand, and now it's like, a great big hippie brand.  Anyway, now, Delia's is like a place that almost exclusively sells its own stuff, and has stores in the mall, and seems to specialize in snarky/retro graphic tees that I can't wear because I'm too old, and my sense of humour has matured with me.  BUT if you know what you're looking for, there's nowhere better to get a good deal.  And here it is... my beautiful, perfect trench.  It's not Burberry, there's no fancy plaid lining, and it will never be featured in my fav mag, but it fits me, and it has the cool extra button/flap at the top that probably served a purpose for Rick and Ilsa, but doesn't really now (Banana Republic's doesn't have it, and J. Crew's does, but it was $300). AND guess what?  It was only $50 with shipping.  Beat that.  Yeah, you can't.  Not even Plum can.

My own personal button