Style icons

I just had to share one of my recent holiday reads with you. There's nothing I like more than picking up a magazine or five when I'm in another country, and North America has some crackers. Aside from being OBSESSED with Lucky magazine, I like to pick up their local Hello! And while I was in Canada recently, Hello! Canada came up trumps with their Style Icons issue. Ooh.

So, after poring greedily over the glossy images, I thought I'd pick out my favourites - and not just because the images are divine, but because they are my favourite 'icons' and I have a personal reason for loving each and every one. They each encapsulate the magic of their time, but while showcasing the fashion of their day, they have maintained eternal style. And as Coco said: 'Fashion fades, only style remains the same'.

Coco Chanel: Timeless elegance. Coco Chanel broke the rules and brought mannish tailoring into womenswear, as well as those obligatory strings of pearls, monochrome, breton stripes and the fabulous Chanel 2.55 bag. I didn't feel right until I owned one (in white, since you ask).

Christian Dior: The ultimate in feminine couture. Dior brought the hourglass silhouette to the world at a time of postwar austerity. Dubbed the 'New Look', it was all about waspish waists and full skirts. Just to think 'Dior' conjures up the idea of glamour and luxury, and I always felt glamtastic when I wore my oversized black Dior sunglasses with diamante trim. Sadly, I lost these glasses recently, sob...

Grace Kelly:  The epitome of poise, sophistication and beauty. The Hollywood starlet and Princess of Monaco was style personified, and I love dipping in and out of the book A Touch Of Grace, bought for me by a very good friend. I knew my Maggie Sottero wedding dress was The One when I felt all Grace-like while looking at myself in it in the mirror. And when the stylist that was dressing me also mentioned Grace's name, that gown was coming home with me.

Audrey Hepburn: The most well known LBD ever? There are too many Audrey style moments to have to nail down my favourite (Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, Funny Face), but for most women, Breakfast At Tiffany's is the ultimate, and where Audrey exuded all the class, grace, femininity and polish a girl could ever want in a showstopping look. And, that being one of my favourite films, it couldn't have been more perfect when my now-husband proposed to me in the very same Tiffany & Co in Manhattan. Unfortunately for me, I was wearing a not-so-stylish jeans and Tshirt combo at the time, but it was still my very own Audrey moment.

Diane Keaton in Annie Hall: Mannish tailoring for girls. Unfortunately, the pic in Hello! Wasn't very good quality (left), so I've also posted another, just to show off the preppy masculine look the words 'Annie Hall' immediately bring to mind. I love this look, and often take inspiration from it, particularly for winter workwear. There's something about wearing a mannish trouser or shirt, either separately or together, and with a fab bit of tailoring in that waistcoat to bring it all together. Relaxed but tailored, manly but sexy, and so, so cool.

Sandy in Grease: The Best 'Reveal' moment EVER. When Sandy turned from prim and proper butter-wouldn't-melt teen queen to super-sassy spray-on-leggings and leather-jacket-wearing sexpot at the end of my all-time favourite movie, I was totally in awe, and forever obsessed in the power of the transformation. Whether it's My Fair Lady, The Swan, Extreme Makeover, 10 Years Younger, How To Look Good Naked or any film or show that gives people their very own Reveal experience, I'll be there, glued to the screen, blubbing away, fanning at my eyes and championing the heroine in her moment of glory. It's that special feeling that got me into personal styling in the first place.


Pic credits: Getty Images; The Kobal Collection; MPTV Images; Corbis; Magnum Photos