Style Icon: The Evolution of Taylor Swift

Those who know me know how much it breaks my heart to say this, but it's true.  She always looks f-cking incredible.

It really wasn't that long ago that small town 17 year-old Taylor Swift dressed horribly.  When she had that horrible kinky hair and always wore blue glittery eye shadow with cowboy boots.

Then she presumably got a stylist and turned 18 and figured out that it wasn't okay to dress like that and cowboy boots are horrible.  She grew up a little bit and straightened her hair and stopped dressing like she was going to her prom in Tennessee.  And things started to turn around.

Now, she's a rock star.  No pun intended.  She's mastered the casual jeans look.  

She's mastered the business casual look.

She's mastered the fun flirty look.

She's mastered the casual sophisticated urbanite look.

She's mastered the Kate Moss meets Keira Knightley look.

Then the red carpet looks started to change.

Then, things got realllllly good.  And Tay went from being a typical teenage Nashville resident to being chic as f-ck.  

Good job Taylor, you've come a long way.

Style Icon: Julie Sarinana

If you have Instagram, follow Sincerely Jules immediately.  She's basically just a really beautiful chick with excellent style and a super chic life.  She has a way of looking absolutely gorgeous but in an understated way where she never looks like she's trying too hard.  So what can we learn from her style?



Mix Feminine and Menswear

Jules has an uncanny ability to create the perfect outfit by balancing a denim jacket with a white skirt or cutoff shorts with a flirty top.

 

 

 

Keep It Casual

Don't overthink it.  Wear what you feel most comfortable in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Invest In Awesome T-Shirts

 

These are from her store, aptly named Sincerely Jules.  She also has awesome totes and hats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hair Is Important

 

I don't know what I love most about her hair.  Perhaps it's that she's the only person who can pull off blunt bangs or maybe it's the fact she never looks like she spent 4 hours trying to get it to look perfect.  Regardless, it's beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wear Killer Shoes

Jules has amazing shoes.  She also rocks a lot of oxfords which are amazing, but not a lot of people can pull them off without looking butch.  Besides that it's mostly super cute booties and sandals.  Let's look.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Footnote: It's hard to take her photos from instagram so all of these are from Polyvore. Her INSTA

Style Icon: F.E. Castleberry

It's recently occurred to me that until now all of my style icons have been women and the last thing I would ever want is to alienate my millions of gay readers so let's talk about hot guys.

F.E. Castleberry has been around for a few years now, and I discovered him when I went to my first college for my first time.  I think he's technically a fashion photographer but his blog Unabashedly Prep is pretty all encompassing, with a lot of posts on arts and culture as well as big events and artist profiles.

He's become a symbol of the marriage between the traditional 'Ivy League' prep and modern metropolitan aesthetics, a look which he has become quite famous for.  Let's look at what guides his style.  Oh but first, the most important rule, keep good company.

F.E. Castleberry, Kiel James Patrick, and Sarah Vickers

Outerwear is key- Just because you live in the cold doesn't mean you know how to do outerwear.  I think the thing that pulls his outfits together so perfectly is the tailoring and the layering.  It's easy to throw on a shirt and say this is what I'm wearing but his style has depths.

Throwback isn't just for Thursdays- From varsity jackets to madras explosion, blasts from the past Reagan administration are fun.  Plus there's a difference between wearing the same Brooks Brothers sweater your dad wore and going to the Lower East Side and trying to find used shoes.  Chic.

Don't be afraid of color- Color is a good thing!  And you don't have to dress like a piñata to stand out.  Our friend Fred does a great job of wearing a pop of color and keeping everything else simple and neutral.

Your pants are probably too long- If your pants hit below your ankle joint, you're doing it wrong.

Go for jeans- Many "prepsters" will shy away from denim because they think it's not classically preppy.  Who cares.  Jeans are comfortable and people like wearing them.  Plus you can dress them up or down which gives you a lot of options.  Go forth and adorn.

In addition to his blog, F.E. Castleberry also has a tumblr, Collection.

Style Icon: Victoria Beckham

Okay, you probably already know this but Victoria Beckham is the most amazing woman in the world. First off, she has a super hot husband.  Her kids are adorable.  She never smiles but is actually really funny and cute.

She ALWAYS wears heels because flat shoes are for quitters, and she has never been caught looking less than fabulous. Victoria Beckham is literally the chicest person on the face of the Earth.