5 Style Lessons Courtesy of Carine Roitfeld

13 Sep 5 Style Lessons Courtesy of Carine Roitfeld

Here on The City, we are all about cultivating personal style, luckily, we can look to some of our favorite celebrities for a few style lessons.

I need you to know something. I am fully and completely obsessed with Carine Roitfeld. The former French Vogue editor-in-chief has changed my life. So it started when I tried to attend a screening for her documentary following her journey to launch her first issue of CR Fashion Book, Mademoiselle C. It was full, but the lovely PR girl sent me a link to the film online which I promptly sent around to my friends. I didn’t get to watch it right away but when I sat down Indian style on my bed two Saturdays ago with the doc fully loaded on my computer, I knew it was on.

Was. It. Ever.

If I thought that she changed my life online, I was about to come face to face with her during the House of Mercedes Benz Pop-Up during the first official day of New York Fashion Week. I was tasked with interviewing her and Stephen Gan, founder of V magazine, Harper’s Bazaar’s creative director and Ms. Roitfeld’s business partner and design director of her new venture. Carine was the sweetest, most personable and bad*ss grandmother I’ve ever met. So when I got the chance to attend a screening for Mademoiselle C on Tuesday, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve officially overdosed on Carine. So I thought she was perfect person to (once again) re-introduce 5 Style Lessons! Ready?

1. Get Old. It’s Cool.

Maybe it’s because she’s French, so she is inherently stylish as she gets older but I salute Carine for not falling under the knife. There is something to be said for women who rock their gray hair or don’t try to look like their daughters as they age. You can still be yourself as you age, just look at Ms. Roitfeld.

2. Make it About the Details

So, my colleague interviewed Mademoiselle C a week before I did. When I asked her the best thing that she–Angel–said that Carine said that in France, details are more important than just being seen. In the United States, being flashy is almost celebrated,  where in France, Carine said that true style lies in the details. The material, the way things fit, the silhouette it gives you, these things make a difference.

3. Embrace Change

Carine Roitfeld left French Vogue after 10 years and was nervous to start over, but she did it. She said in her documentary that the more established she’s become the harder it is to be innovative. I asked her the last thing she did that she considered innovative. Her answer? Putting Kim Kardashian on the cover of CR Fashion Book (on newsstands September 13th). Change isn’t always bad, as long as is it’s classy–which is how Carine considers her cover since Kim, the fame whore’s, name is not on it. I can already how my wardrobe is embracing change moving to a new city. What about you?

4. Create a Signature

This is something that I struggle with quite honestly. I like too many things to stay loyal to one. Too many nail polishes, fragrances, and lipsticks to try before I can choose one to spend the rest of my life with. Same with my style. Carine has a definite aesthetic, edgy cool, no? In the film, the camera follows her as she gets her signature smoky eyes done by Tom Pecheux and then sprays her signature mix of perfume in preparation for last year’s Met Ball. I won’t tell you what, though. What’s your signature? Do you have a definite aesthetic? 

5. Fashion Should Make You Dream

My last question to Carine was who was the one person that she deemed the most stylish. “The most stylish,” she repeated the question back to me. “It’s never about style for me. It’s about people who make me dream.” Can you even?? That is about to be my goal for everything I put on. I want to inspire dreams. Don’t you?

Now can you see why everyone is obsessed with Carine? Tom Ford’s muse is something special in that she isn’t afraid to be herself. She’s inspiring and literally has changed the way that I think about style. Mademoiselle C hit theaters on the 11th with cameos from Karl Lagerfeld, Kanye West, Beyoncè and fashion’s model of the moment Cara Delevingne. I promise, you’ll leave the theater and want to sit with just a notebook and write all of the ways you want to create something inspiring. I know I did.

I loved seeing her twice during New York Fashion Week–which I can’t wait to tell you all about. Next week, though. Right now, I need a nap like something serious.