Read A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style for Free Online Page B

it means that the people who become icons are in professions—or marriages—that dictate a lot of time in front of the camera. Since a certain type of personality is drawn to professions that result in photos in
Us Weekly
or
Vogue
, it can be difficult to translate their looks to an existence beyond the red carpet. We are also living at a time when stylists have replaced fairy godmothers as the agents of choice for helping starlets become princesses. Since you are much more than a blank body with a show on FOX, we will be looking at some women who have style and character. Keep the word “character” in mind.
    The women who follow are not
icons
like Jackie or Audrey, but they can certainly be fashion
mentors
.
     
    The best way to utilize a style mentor is to be inspired to investigate and experiment. This list is not prescriptive, as in, you must choose one of these looks and everything will be fine. Nor is it an exercise in historical reenactment or a foray into anthropology. You may work in an environment where djellabas are not appropriate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of Tangiers in your cubicle. Or, if your lifestyle
is
more djellaba-friendly,but you prefer the ultra-glam Washington, D.C., look of Deeda Blair, you can keep the sharpness—and incredible hair—without buying couture. Before you book that twice-weekly roller set at the salon, keep one thing in mind: There is, in American culture, a premium placed on being “nice.” Although this can make life easier in many ways, it is simply hell for developing style. Style requires a “like it or lump it” attitude toward one’s public. Your public includes husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, mothers, children, workmates, classmates, and the people who pass you on the street. You do not exist to win their approval. Does this mean we think you should wear a cocktail dress and saddle shoes to work because that’s what you love? Well, let us invoke the Blackstone Ratio: “Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffers.” In other words, if adjusting to and discovering your personal style results in a few funny outfits, so be it. What is important is that a space is created for a person to embrace who she truly is. Even if, and it pains us to write this, it includes saddle shoes.
     

     
THE MENTORS
     
    As we put this list together, it became obvious that one thing tied these women together: They always look like themselves. And what an achievement that is, to remain unswayed by the hurricanes of trend and the maelstroms of media hype. Although we’ve placed each of our mentors in a certain category, many cross back and forth.
LES FRANÇAISES
     
    Carine Roitfeld—Charlotte Gainsbourg—Catherine Deneuve
The French are “like it or lump it” practitioners
par excellence
. They do not share the American lust for sweetness and light, and as a result, their stylish women often have an edge that their counterparts here lack. This is not so much about the particular pieces they wear, but the way they are worn and the way they fit. Take for example Carine Roitfeld, Editor-in-Chief of French
Vogue
. This former model and stylist rims her eyes in black, has striking brows, and has entirely unfussy shoulder-length hair. Looking through photos, you cannot miss the fact that whether she is in a huge fur jacket or a button-down, she radiates sex and a certain toughness. She is also over fifty. Unlike so many of her contemporaries in the fashion world, she does not look like a big evening out for her might include some dry toast and demitasse of Evian. Ms. Roitfeld looks ready to have a smoke, a vodka, and a roll in the hay. Bravo!
    Charlotte Gainsbourg is the child of two stars—the late, great Serge Gainsbourg and the English singer and actress Jane Birkin. It was for Jane that the Hermès “Birkin bag” was created, supposedly to hold Charlotte’s diapers. How could she
not
grow up to be stylish? Now in her early