royally crushed

Charlotte Casiraghi has been on my list of girl crushes I need to write about for a while now. 25-year-old Charlotte is Princess Grace's granddaughter and a Monaco royal. She's insanely beautiful and her fashion icon status is solidified now that she is the new face of Gucci.

This shoot wasn't Gucci's first collaboration with the royal. They also made a customized riding uniform for her. The gorgeous ads pay homage to Charlotte's background as an equestrian. The brand's classic red and green stripe is seamlessly incorporated into the images, from the polished blazer to the painfully cool, but effortlessly chic headscarf, even the horse's blanket. Of course, Charlotte's striking beauty doesn't hurt either. She somehow looks exotic but very classic at the same time. Though her dark, glamorous features are more European than her grandmother's blonde, preppy look, she exudes the same old-Hollywood, American elegance as Princess Grace.

girl crush: ashley madekwe

My roommate, Marie, introduced me to Revenge a few months ago, and it's carved out a juicy little spot in my weekly television schedule (that kind of sounded gross). When she was selling me on the show, Marie told me that it was right up my alley with a beautiful setting, pretty camera work and great clothes. Hands down the best clothes on the show belong to Ashley Madekwe's character, also named Ashley.

She plays a British PR professional who's desperate to be in on the social scene, and her wardrobe matches perfectly. There are lots of polished mini dresses, cinched waists and tailored pieces.

What I found out about Ashley outside of the show solidified her as a girl crush. Her personal style rivals her character's style. In fact, she's so into fashion, she has her own style blog! Ring My Bell would be one of my favorite style blogs even if I didn't know who Ashley was. It's cool to see how the different influences play out in her wardrobe. There's some typical Hollywood stuff, some British flair, and some things she must have picked up from the show, which is all about wealthy Hamptons socialites. She wears preppy, menswear inspired outfits one day and L.A.-girl cutoffs and lace tops the next. In one post she reveals that she does her own hair and makeup for her events, which is cool because she looks just as great as the girls who have a team to make them up.

girl crush: melanie laurent

You know how they talk about the "bohemian revolution" in Moulin Rouge? Melanie Laurent reminds me of the modern version of a woman who would live in that world.

The Parisian actress is the daughter of artists, granddaughter of film poster editors (how romantic does that job sound?) and a regular ol' Renaissance woman. She acts, directs, writes and sings.

I wish I'd seen Inglorious Basterds and discovered her loveliness earlier. However, her role in The Beginners, with Ewan McGregor, absolutely stole my heart. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend was concerned about how much I was obsessing over her. She has such a sweet, goofy demeanor and seemed like a really good actress. Not to mention she has the most unique, beautiful face, and the best hipster hair. I love the picture of her breaking it down on the red carpet at Cannes next to Diane Kruger, who's sort of this stone-like pillar of elegance. P.S. Is it embarrassing that I dance exactly like that?

When I read that she was spotted out with Mr. Sexiest-Man-Alive Bradley Cooper, I wasn't surprised. But can't you almost imagine her as being just his super-chill, artistic, lady acquaintance who doesn't know anything about pop culture?

girl crush: taylor thomasi hill

Taylor Thomas Hill has been a girl crush of mine for a while. I thought it was appropriate to feature her now because she just announced her move from her position as accessories director at Marie Claire to a job as art director at online retailer Moda Operandi. The website was founded by a former Vogue editor and former Gilt Groupe executive. Apparently her new job will involve creating magazine-like displays, a.k.a. eye candy, to entice and inspire shoppers.

Taylor is no stranger to inspiring style images. This rousse is undoubtedly one of the biggest street style superstars. Pictures of Thomasi Hill during fashion week are often just as trendsetting as the runway looks.

There are a plethora of pictures of this fashion goddess, so I decided to focus on her cold weather styles. Black and gray are her go-to colors when the temps get chilly, but she never looks drab or boring. She incorporates pops of color and fabulous prints such as snake, leopard, native American-inspired and even Fair Isle. She spices up her looks with interesting textures and lots of leather and fur. In fact, there's a surprising amount of sweatshirts in her fashion arsenal. It's a flawless example of incorporating casual edginess with high fashion. It's also nice to see another fashion icon who's not afraid to re-wear pieces. Her fringe skirt always looks new with different tops and, of course, accessories.

girl crush: google girls

I'm slightly obsessed with this Refinery 29 feature. The article introduces some of the girls behind Google Catalogs and Product Search. They really are innovating

I was already familiar with Krystal Bick from her blog, This Time Tomorrow, but it was fascinating to see some of the other girls she works with and, of course, the amazing Google "campus."

These girls may be some of the few who dress to impress for work at Google, but even having that sort of freedom and being surrounded by such creative minds must inspire in every aspect, including fashion.

The cherry on top is definitely the amazing facilities at Google. 5-star chefs, sushi, gyms, modern art installations, a dog policy?! Sounds pretty amazing.

girl crush: erika bearman

Erika Bearman, aka @OscarPRGirl, lives my dream life. I have less of a girl crush than I have girl envy.

She's the Director of Communications for Oscar de la Renta. She's fully embraced multimedia and spreads the OdlR gospel through her Twitter and Tumblr.

She posts (gorgeous) pictures of herself in the brand's clothes, snapshots of her work day (not exactly 9-5 in a cubicle), insider fashion information and delightful quotes from Mr. de la Renta. The peeks she gives make her life seem life like the epitome of timelessness and elegance. It's genius for marketing the designer's clothes. Especially since Erika has said that she wears Oscar every day (Can. You. Imagine?)

To top it off she lives in a fabulous apartment in Manhattan (you can often see her minimalistic bedroom in her signature mirror TwitPics) with her handsome banker husband. Swoon.

girl crush: pattie boyd

 

 

I've been infatuated with rock and roll muse Pattie Boyd recently. I read her book, Wonderful Tonight over the summer and watched Martin Scorsese's documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World this weekend. She's known for inspiring the best rock love songs ever during her love affairs with George Harrison and Eric Clapton (helloooo "Something," "Wonderful Tonight," "Layla," etc., etc., etc.) and how could she not inspire with her impeccable style.

I'm completely taken with her Harrison-era style from the 60s to mid-70s. She was definitely trendy and some of her looks went totally over the top. In her younger years she was the epitome of British mod. When she and George experimented with drugs and Indian culture, her psychedelic look reflected that. Later on, she was a full-on hippie.

However, there were some basic guidelines she stuck to throughout the years.

First of all, she rocked dresses like nobody else. Whether they were color blocked, velvet or covered in funky prints, she was loyal to her mini dresses. She often paired them with fun leg and footwear, like tights, knee-high socks and strappy shoes.

While she kept her accessories to a minimum, she never shied away from a great headpiece. She topped off her signature bangs with a myriad of hats, headbands and bows. She could wear the most exaggerated toppers without looking cartoonish.

Finally, she understood the importance of nice outerwear. Her coats were never an afterthought. They always had great shapes and colors. I mean, how amazing is that fur coat that she wore at her wedding? It's by far the best part of the ensemble.