3 Fabulous Books For Girls Who Love Paris (and things Parisian)

I'm sitting on my couch, it's late at night and I've had one hell of a week. I've had editorial shoots, I've been teaching a pro makeup class, I've been doing the final prep for the next Glam Tour which takes off in a couple of days.
Yesterday I took a red eye (at 1:45 am) from Phoenix to Dallas to speak to a fabulous crowd at the Pinner's Conference Texas. I am the beauty director for a fantastic new magazine called Luca, ( I am super proud of this magazine!) and I was in Dallas with Luca speaking on one of my favorite subjects, beauty. It was great fun. I wish I could have stayed overnight, but my schedule is crazy at the moment, so I had to fly back last night at midnight. And this morning was up and working super early again.

With a few shell shocked minutes up my sleeve I've been clicking around Amazon.com looking for books for the trip ahead. I figured you might enjoy the books sitting in my shopping cart waiting for me to click and ship. I may double buy them actually, as each would make a fabulously chic gift and Christmas is on it's way.



Love Style Life  by Garance Dore
I covet Garance's life. It is so glamorous just as she is so glamorous. Her book is a best seller and her blog is legend. (GaranceDore.com)

Garance Dore

Thirty Chic Days: Practical inspiration for a beautiful life

I'm super excited about this one! Written by fellow Kiwi Fiona Ferris who you may know from her blog How To Be Chic, this book will feed your inner imaginary life in Paris. Even though I'm on my way back to Rome this will make a fab read on the plane!



How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits

Parisiennes are the epitome of chic cool n'est ce pas? And you and I can channel our inner Parisienne with the help of this book. I'm especially interested in the bad habits....


This post contains affiliate links. There is a chance that if you purchase one of these books I could be paid a few cents.

Happy Birthday Coco Chanel! 10 Fantastic Quotes From The Icon Herself

Happy birthday to one of the most important fashion designers of all time. 
Happy birthday to one of the most influential women ever. 
Happy birthday to an icon who's essence remains timeless, who's name and legacy will endure long after I'm gone.

Happy Birthday Coco Chanel! Born August 19th 1883, I wonder if she knew she would make such an impact on the world of fashion?
Did she know we would still be talking about her today?

To celebrate Coco here are 10 of her most famous quotes:

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.



The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.



Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.



Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.



Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.



Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.



How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.



Don't spend time beating on a wall hoping to transform it into a door.



I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite which I would like.



A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future.

Several years ago in Los Angeles I was on a shoot with a billionaire client who told me he could always tell if I had been in the room because I would leave behind just a hint of Chanel No. 5, in his mind the most feminine, elegant and timeless fragrance.

I think about that every time I smell No. 5
Maybe it's time to start wearing Chanel No. 5 again, because honestly I could use a little elegance in my life...

How To Style A Black Sneaker

One invaluable item to travel with is a great sneaker.

Great as in it has to be comfortable enough to walk the length and breadth of a new city in, but sleek enough that it still looks chic.

Great as in it has to go with multiple outfits, look fashionable, not make your foot look giant, and not look like a running shoe.

Black Superga sneakers

All the cool Italian and French girls wear Italian made Superga sneakers, in black, white and various fun colors. They make them look so fabulous!

Jennifer Aniston in Superga

Stateside celebs including Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Aniston, and Karlie Kloss swear by them too.

Karlie Kloss in Superga

Alessandra Ambrosio in Superga

I bought my first pair of Superga a few years ago in Sicily. They are hot pink with white. I've since bought grey Superga as well as a white pair and a black pair. I wear them on set when I have long shoots, I wear them around town, and I wear them when I travel.

Although I bought my first pair when I was away, I've bought my subsequent pairs online at Nordstrom.com

Here is a little video about how cool Superga shoes are:

https://www.joyus.com/accessories/1-2236/seen-on-gwen-stefani-superga-sneakers-hosted-by-zoe-ruderman?utm_source=social-share-link&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=ZLK04NI0001&utm_content=vp2236_seenongwen

I wear my pink, grey and white superga all the time, but haven't been wearing the black pair so often largely because I have a harder time styling them.
I saw the following article on How To Style A Black Sneaker on PopSugar.com and now am pulling my black Superga sneaks out of the closet and putting them back into rotation.

You need a really cool black sneaker - you need a pair of Superga!

Here is the PopSugar story:

You swore to yourself you'd wear them, but a few months later, your black sneakers are still sitting in your closet, waiting for you to break 'em out and rock them with the perfect look. The only problem? You have no idea what said look is, and you've come to realize that these shoes are trickier to style than you thought.

No worries. As always, bloggers are here to save the day — or, at the very least, your outfit. Scroll through to gather some inspiration, then shop the pairs they love to wear.

1. Striped shirt, denim cutoffs, wide brimmed hat

Follow Sincerely Jules

2. With a light long sleeved top, loose pants and a wide brim hat

Follow by_annna

3. With a white dress and a leather jacket

Follow black_palms

4. With a graphic tee, boyfriend jeans and a fedora

Follow mija_mija

5. With a duster, black jeans, white shirt

Follow joandkemp

6. Chambray shirt and jeans

Follow  Vivaluxury

7. Black tee, black jeans, knotted jacket

Follow Glenzyfeliz

There are 18 more black sneaker blogger Instagrams in the original Pop Sugar story. Check them out here

21 Fashion Truths From Victoria Beckham

I absolutely love Victoria Beckham.
I love her style, I love the career she has built for herself, I love that when everyone said she couldn't do it she stayed in the race and fought until she won. And look at her now...

Today I was clicking away on Pop Sugar and found this fantastic article about the glorious VB

21 Fashion Truths From Victoria Beckham

Bright color is your friend.

image via PopSugar.com

Never underestimate how sleek a head to toe look is.

White is a year round staple.

A statement bag can make your whole outfit.

It is always better to be overdressed than under dressed.

A great t-shirt and jeans never goes out of style.

Did you know that Charlotte Tilbury created a lipstick for Victoria Beckham? It's in the new Hot Lips collection and it's called Very Victoria

Brogues are a chic alternative to heels.

Black doesn't have to be basic.

A head turning going out top is always a good idea.

Its the little details that set your look apart.

A classic LBD will never let you down.

You can reinvent your jeans every time you change out your top.

A flirty party dress is an essential.

Its totally okay to wear flats, even on the red carpet.

A well cut dress that flatters your figure is priceless.

There's nothing wrong with top to toe black.

Find your pose and master it.

Monochromatic dressing is undeniably chic.

You can be practical and stylish.

A little texture goes a long way.

There's almost nothing you can't wear with a white t-shirt.

The original Pop Sugar story had 35 of VB's fashion truths. See the rest of this story on PopSugar.com here