Stephanie: Yve Saint Laurent's 'Le Smoking'

Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking

Yves Saint Laurent's legacy will always be the Le Smoking tuxedo suit. He was the first man to put women in pants and for that alone, all ambitious, independent women are indebted to him - big time. I don't think i will rest peacefully unless i can own a Le Smoking suit one day.. i mean, it is one of my many ambitions in life! The paradigm of the YSL woman prompts admiration. She is simply bad ass, cigarette in hand as she wears her dramatic black suit. Accentuating her small waist through the high waisted style of the pant, the androgny level is determined by the blouse of choice (or lack of if you're daring enough). The sharp cut defines her physique through exageration, where her legs appear strikingly long when she struts her stuff! Le Smoking is such an icon because it's where female androgyny and empowerment - in a sartorial sense - began, the idea of the YSL woman is even admired by Carine Roitfeld who had this to say:

"You know the idea of the Saint Laurent woman. What a dream she was: wearing trousers, hand in the pocket, no handbag, transparent shirt. I love that woman. It is exactly who I would have loved to be if I could choose. So I would have to go blonde because he loved the blondes, and I would have to have bigger breasts. But it's the idea of the woman I love, and I try to repeat this in my magazine (Vogue Paris)."

Classic. Here are some wonderful images of the Le Smoking suit - both old and new - in action:

(The Conception)

Stephanie: Chanel No. 5 Commercial

1 minute of euphoria... I usually don't like celebrity pairings with Chanel a la Kiera Knightely and Emma Watson, but Audrey is magnificent - most probably because she's french. The Billie Holiday background music is love and Jean Pierre Jeunet is a genius! Ok, so i'm being ridiculously biased here but i don't care :P I'm even going to go against my own country and declare that this video surpasses Baz Luhrmann's take on Chanel no. 5.

Stephanie: The almighty Posh

( Emporio Armani Underwear 2009 Campaign)

Victoria Beckham has really grown on me. Yes, she is unrealistically thin, but her outfits of late have been really sharp and sexy...not trampy! As she opts for more age appropriate shapes, i think it's safe to say that her look has matured. Whatever she wears, she will be copied and talked about.

Stephanie: L-V-O-E

You know, my love affair with Mr. Vuitton hasn't always been smooth sailing, our relationship has infact been one of love and hate. If you met me a few years ago, i admit that whenever i saw someone with an LV bag i'd cringe. But nowadays i would say to you - 'i don't care that i'm asian man, i LVoe LV!' I think it all began when my ignorant little self walked into the Sydney Global Store and did i get one hell of an eye opener. A good majority of the clients were asian, not browsing but purchasing, and this most definitely caused me to change my default reaction whenever i saw an asian lady or man carrying LV. Instead of brushing it off as fake these days, i actually need to think about it. But still, why oh why is LV so popular? The answer is simple, it never goes on sale. You will never find a bag or any other item that tickles your fancy for less than what it is worth in a flagship store, and because of that, it is worth every penny and keeps the clients coming back. No wonder they encourage people to start up accounts, the reality is that people of all races, men and women, LVoe knowing that they'll never be cheated on or betrayed by Louis Vuitton. All good relationships are about trust, honesty and security people. Based solely on that, Louis deserves icon status.

Stephanie: Taylor 'panda eyes' Momsen

An icon to the millions of tween gossip girl lovers, i to this day cannot comprehend the fact that Taylor Momsen is 15 years old. Her look is way too mature for her age! Perhaps actress life is causing her to dress too big for her shoes - hair, makeup, heels, micro mini dresses, the whole shebang. Since she looks like a twenty something year old now, she's gona look 40 years old without makeup before she reaches the age of 25 - not a pretty sight! Honestly, she won't be able to leave the house without makeup and when you get to that stage, it's very hard to be saved. When people see her without makeup they will absorb the shock that is her face and consequently ask her the question that offends many regular make-up wearers, it goes a little something like this - 'woah [insert name of sickly faced friend], you don't look too good today, are you like sick or something?' This then leaves you feeling shocked because she genuinely looks like she has some highly contagious virus and all you wanted to do was offer your concern. As for the 'i can almost see what she ate for breakfast' dresses, isn't she just that tad bit too young to give off the pseudo feminine ' i walk the streets fo' money' vibe? She's still a minor! With all that said, the green monster within me wishes to own a few pieces from her wardrobe.

Stephanie: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Someone take me back to the late 50's! So i'm halfway through reading Truman Capote's famous novella 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and to refresh my memory i rewatched the first 5 minutes of the movie. Oh goodness, when Audrey stands outside Tiffany's in the morning in that stunning Givenchy black gown i feel my complexion turning acidic green! Standing outside a luxury jeweller dressed in what is deemed approrpriate daywear of the time, it becomes rather shocking when you absorb just how much the times have changed. Appropriate daywear apparel back then is now something most average women would either laugh at or admire with hesitancy. The sadder thing is, most people don't find the opportunity to dress so 'properly' because of the confinements our social morale impose upon us. Although we've become a more liberal society - wear what you want, shave half your head off, stretch your earholes into the size of 10 cent coins, we've also become very disdainful of the classic elegance and theatrical elements of fashion because it is associated with a time of female and individual repression. Well, if wearing a mini-dress during the daytime (that shows everyone you walk pass what you ate for breakfast) is a form of liberation, i'd rather be a supposedly supressed 1950's socialite who ran away from home and wears Givenchy like Holly! Since it was Australia day yesterday, i hope we as a nation become alot more respectable when it comes to our choice of apparel because i don't want to spend another year sub-conciously cringing at half the people on the street. One day, when i have the funds, i will put my feet into Holly Golightly's shoes and stick it to the man.