Find Your Personal Style With Carine Roitfeld
Find Your Personal Style With Carine Roitfeld
By Jascmeen Bush
Leave it to Carine Roitfeld to make the eternal quest for personal style fulfillment sound so easy, so effortless, so French. The super-stylist/mogul/leather-clad heroine recently dished her seemingly simplistic style secrets to Telegraph. Let's break them down, shall we?
Rule Number One: Stick To What Suits You
The glorious paradox of Carine Roitfeld is that she evokes a strong powerful mood whether she's dressed sharply or femininely. I was surprised to read the quote below where she mentions having fun with fashion, which we all can agree is a lost art.
She told Telegraph, "I have dressed in the same way for the past 20 years; only the length of my skirt has changed. Consistent style shows confidence, and knowing what suits you saves time when you are choosing what to wear. I only have one fashion personality — the Carine one — which I would describe as sober and almost classically Parisian. She is tough, my woman. It's important to have a sense of humor about dressing, so I always add a twist to my outfits. My Givenchy sweater with a Bambi-cartoon print is one of my favorite pieces."
Rule Number Two: Highlight Your Strengths
This one's a doozy; Carine recommends focusing on playing up what you like instead of trying to downplay unflattering features. I for one literally clapped when I read that!
"Find something you like about your appearance and accentuate it," she stated. "My eyebrows and legs are my best features. I like to wear black eye make-up to draw attention to my eyes and brows, and my wardrobe contains mostly fitted clothes. With my black eyes, black clothes and skinny legs, my style can appear quite rock 'n' roll."
Rule Number Three: Don't Shop The Trends
I'm not a big fan of trends and as a result have often been called boring (can you imagine?!) But the next time I get hit with the B-word, I'll be sure to remind the naysayers that I have a very stylish ally. Here's what Carine had to say about those evil trends:
"Only buy clothes that you plan to keep forever. It's important to see trends for what they are: a game. I think finding a well-fitting garment is more exciting than buying into a crazy fad. My panther-print Azzedine Alaïa dress (autumn/winter 2010) is one of my signature pieces and fits me perfectly. Black items are an investment, and though colors have a place in my wardrobe too, I never mix them: my outfits are all-black, all-white, or all-khaki."
Rule Number Five: Choose Pieces With Character
Well I guess we can stop Google Image searching "Carine Roitfeld in leggings." She made it pretty clear that comfort is NOT key.
"'Comfort' is not part of my fashion vocabulary," she says. "You lose attitude when you feel too comfortable, so I prefer to wear clothes that have a certain edge to them. I think of my lace negligee as sexy rather than relaxing, and I keep that feeling in mind when I wear it under my clothes for fittings or shopping."
Rule Number Six: Dress From The Head Down
Brace yourself for this one: your perfectly styled hair and blended-to-perfection makeup might be hurting your overall look. Carine suggests sexy messiness above all.
"My hair and make-up secret is 'the messier the better,'" she said. "It's easy for me as I can't see anything without my glasses. I never put my eyeliner on very well in the morning, so it's usually smudged. I think it's sexy, plus it always looks better come the evening. And messy hair adds a certain youthfulness to a look. Like everyone, I am trying to hide the signs of ageing as I get older, though I do respect my age."
What I found most refreshing is that following these tips won't break the bank. Steer clear of trends? I can do that. Only spend on clothes I can wear forever? Ease up on the hair and makeup? I can handle that, too. Cost effective Parisian chic, that's what we have here, people. And I'm loving it.
