get the look: queen elizabeth II

her majesty elizabeth the second, by the grace of god, of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, and of her other realms and territories, queen, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith, and my absolute favorite royal of all times, has been in this world for exactly 87 years (and two days- I'm always late). it was quite an eventful year for the queen: she hosted the olympics, became a bond girl, celebrated her 60th year on throne, had her diamond jubilee sort of overshadowed by kate, won a bafta, had her husband hospitalized, was hospitalized herself, and outlived margaret thatcher, all while running her usual errands, and being polished as always.

ma'am loves her dress coats, silky shift dresses and lots of tweed (all in the same color), paired with her adorably outdated, demure mid-heels, a pair of white gloves, and an extremely classic black tote. as for the jewelry department, she's rarely seen without a brooch pinned to her coat, and always three strings of pearls on her neck. she is not one to shy away from color- in fact that's where she's really unpredictable. you never can tell, really: she might be all cutesy in lavender, yellow and cotton candy, or visiting wilder territories such as fierce tones of red, purple and emerald. a slick of brigh-ish lipstick completes the look (a habit shared by many women of her generation, even if they don't use any other item of makeup). I can't claim to know what exactly her majesty smells like- although it's probably not like you, me, or the typical granny. she's known to purchase lavender products from yardley, so I'll  play it safe and go with yardley's english lavender edt (which holds a royal warrant and apparently both her mother and queen mary used).

while getting ready for another 60 years with elizabeth as the queen of england, I brought together her style hits from this year:

baby's in black at margaret thatcher's funeral- not a color we are used to see on her, so it comes as such a game changer in a weird way:

I love this rather daring wrap dress that she wore for the royal variety performance, and all the silver-y accents that come with it (including the hair! the hair!):

shades of pink make her such an english rose, it's amazing. but this ensemble must be the best of them all:

 and of course, how can one forget her bond girl frock, complete with a feather-y fascinator:

my style map

style is certainly not a solid concept, it grows with you. but I believe it helps to define your style, so that you know what you're doing and don't go astray and become a fashion victim. with this idea in mind, I put together what I call a style map, accompanied by a couple style notes. want to be featured on analytic approach to style with your own style map? scroll down!

• as much as I love shopping and thinking/reading/writing on style and fashion, I hate does-this-go-with-thating and spending long time actually dressing. I must be able to just grab a couple items and wear them without ending up looking ridiculous, so I like easy-to-put-together items that all go with each other, which enables me to mix and match. 
• I'm a shorts and pants girl, except a couple skirts and dresses that I own but literally never wear. I tent to stick with an "audrey" silhouette: high waist, slim (mostly ankle-lenght- I know it's supposed to be unflattering, but I don't think so) pants or shorts; simple, relaxed tops and flats- both because I feel like it works the best with my slender pear shape and it's a timelessly and universally nice look. 
• though quite simplistic, my syle is not at all futuristic and tends to have a vintage feeling to it. I always pair basics with cult items from the past for a fresh eclectic finish.
• my color palette constitutes of navy, cream, nudes, raspberry, red, khaki and green. as much as I adore color, I'm not the one who can mix & match brights. I usually don't use more than one pop item per outfit. powder pinks and pale nudes complement (and don't overpower like darker/brighter colors do) my skintone the best, so I usually form my outfits around basic nude tops, and then add something more exciting, whether it's a bright tomato red lipstick, my raspberry messenger bag, or a pair of colored jeans- I like occasional usage of leopard print too; such as a bag or shoes.  
• striped tops are an essential in my wardrobe; I'm renowned as "the girl in stripes". I have a very slender upper body, along with a more normal-sized bottom; so it balances out my body, that might be a possible explanation on why I developed this obsession in the first place. 
• I have neither the occasion nor the motivation to wear heels; it's almost always simple ballet flats and loafers for me. after I moved to france, I discovered bensimon sneakers, which have been called "french girls' converse", and I'm progressively working on my bensimon collection now.

to be a featured guest blogger on analytic approach to style, put together a style map yourself (I used polyvore for convenience, but feel free to use another website or software. also, you can take a look at whowhatwear for inspiration) and send it along to me with some words, or alternatively, send along a brief description and some other material on your style; like a couple key items (again, polyvore is always a good source), inspirational photos (or your own photos if you want) and personal style icons to analyticapproachtostyle@gmail.com and I will make one for you.

 looking forward to hear back from you. yes, you, stylish creature.

london

hey lovelies, sorry for my long absence, but I have some really good excuses... and I promise to make you forgive me.

I recently got the chance to spend a week in London, and other than falling in love with it in every possible way, I must add that, in terms of style, it was good enough to convince me that it's the most stylish city in the world. here you can feel the long-established classic british style coming together perfectly with the multicultural background. a liberating, refreshing experience indeed.

photo: rob barron

brits certainly get the theatricality & humor of it. they love unexpected color pops and mixing & matching brights. they are not shy to try out bold trends- I saw lots of liquid leggings, high-top sneakers and military jackets. their classic barbour coats, tweeds and tartans are still around to be played up, though. they use a lot of fur. I must add that brit girls aren't very much into pants- lots of colorful tights and leggings instead, and some really skinny jeans. and when it comes to shoes, you can spot tons of doc martens (as expected) and brogues. a lot of pieces they wear have a strong vintage appeal- the city has one of the best vintage scenes ever- I picked up a few items myself!

in my last day in London, I suddenly got the crazy idea of playing the Sartorialist around the city. I just started approaching well-dressed people, and asking them if I can take their photos for my fashion blog. I think I got rejected only two times, other than that everything was peachy. and what's so interesting is they're not aware of their stylishness- I heard a lot of them saying "me? I'm not stylish!" and looking really flattered. maybe that's because there are so many well dressed people around.

I had brought along a small, mediocre digital cam to London, so the pics didn't turn out very well, but I hope it will give you a hint of London street style from my perspective. actually, I enjoyed it so much I can tell you'll see me Sartorialist-ing many more times soon.

this Japanese gentleman was the first person I shot. I think he was a school teacher because he was with the Japanese school group. his outfit is just perfect, finally someone who gets menswear so well.

here's the Japanese school group. they customized their uniform with different little coats, varieties of (mostly tartan and sometimes woven) scarves cool brogues and totes. I love this preppy, ivy league-esque style.

what a lovely duo- epitome of brit classic casual. and they prove it runs in the family! I got to talk to the grandpa for a bit

good work with colors, textures and patterns. a seriously stylish pair of friends!

I love their young, fresh, creative and down-to-earth style.

brave work with colors. lovely!

what's better than a stylish girl is a group of stylish girls. they're soooo London!

simple yet effective. classic yet creative. so burberry prorsum!

she's an original.

this man, who was a roasted chesnut seller, was such a genuine, warm person. he had a lovely cockey accent that reminded me of Alfie Doolittle in the movie My Fair Lady. and how can you not love the hat? not conventionally stylish, maybe, but he's definitely his own man and that is what stylishness is to me.

what an uber-cool pair!

globetrotting model style! seriously, I'm pretty sure she must be a model or something. I love everything about this look, I wouldn't change a thing.

isn't she super cute? I spotted her in front of Primark in Oxford Street. I love the coat and the short shorts duo, and how the color of her flats fit her tights. I must admit this look changed my attitude towards sheer tights.

tell me what you think- who's your favorite?

london, popsiclepout tarafından See by Chloé dresses ile yaratıldı

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london, popsiclepout tarafından Seven For All Mankind jeans ile yaratıldı

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london, popsiclepout tarafından All Saints jackets ile yaratıldı

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london, popsiclepout tarafından Givenchy shoes ile yaratıldı

 love.

style analysis: dree hemingway

I have a new style crush: ballerina-turned model dree hemingway (yes, that hemingway... she's the great-granddaughter of ernest hemingway. but I'm pretty sure she's tired of this being said over and over again).

I love dree's relaxed, natural, down-to-earth and a bit slouchy style, it's very new yorker to me. timeless but very aware of the zeitgeist. you can tell her staples are skinny jeans, ballerina flats and blazers. and she knows how to make it catchy and cool with some key pieces. I love how she plays up classics through color and proportion and minimal but effective use of accesories, and I think chunky heels (like her apparently beloved pair of alexander wang fringe boots) she often uses make a contrast with and accentuate her tall, slender figure.

 

 

 

she has out-of-this-world gorgeous hair, doesn't she? you don't see hair of that quality everyday.

but it's just-rolled-out-of-bed perfect,  not I've-spent-the-last-five-hours-in-salon perfect... tousled tresses make her even cooler. she uses her hair mostly down, letting those beautiful locks free, or occasionally with a messy bun. her hair also seems to be in perfect color- actually it used to be, since she recently ligthened her honey blonde locks to an almost platinum shade (you can tell I'm not really a fan of the dye job).

angelface dree always seems to have minimal makeup on. occasionally, she's seen with either crimson lips (my favorite fashion accesory of all times) or eyes subtly accentuated with brown.

dree hemingway 1, popsiclepout tarafından Tory Burch shoes ile yaratıldı

dree hemingway 2, popsiclepout tarafından Haute Hippie dresses ile yaratıldı

dree love.

inspired by: dsquared² fall 2009 rtw

oh, eclectic styles... I'm pretty convinced there's nothing cooler.

fall can be boring sometimes. if you feel trapped, to bring some excitement to your style life, you can take inspiration from dsquared's fall collection, as I'm doing nowadays. dsquared² did a great job combining this season's tougher and smoother styles in a very casual way to the perfect balance, with unexpected pops of color and pattern.

from style.com : 

"this collection was all about the high-low mix: T-shirts, preppy pastel button-downs, and boyfriend jeans topped off with a snug washed leather jacket and a trucker hat; a pair of tank tops tucked into a mini made from a Chanel-ish plaid bouclé; or a faded denim jacket tossed on over a black jersey gown with crystal straps. Nearly every look was accessorized with knit caps, sunglasses, and bling."

(see the whole collection here )
boyfriend blazers, leather jackets, beanie hats, baseball caps, tote bags, boyfriend jeans, chino pants, plaid shirts, button downs, jean vests, leopard patterns and leggings are... sort of mandatory.

some looks I put together:

inspired by dsquared fall rtw by popsiclepout featuring Repetto shoes

looks were completed with unkempt but gorgeous "just-rolled-out-of-bed" hair with smudged gunmetal smokey and glossy, sweet nude lips... hangover chic!

love.