Then and Now: Romy Schneider and Elisabeth Moss

I think that there is a striking similarity features-wise between cinema queen Romy Schneider and Mad Men starlet Elisabeth Moss - both have beautiful, slightly cherubic faces that light up the screen. Last year, Elisabeth even lightened her signature brunette locks to a warm honey shade similar to the color that Romy often sported. The only thing missing is for Miss Moss to find an Alain Delon all her own!

Then and Now: the Louise Brooks Hairstyle

The original 'do done by '20s starlet Louise Brooks has remained a popular style for almost a century

Agyness Deyn makes the short bob her own with her signature platinum locks

Audrey Tautou in Amelie 

Anna Wintour has made this cropped pageboy-inspired style her signature for decades, even sporting deep chocolate locks like Louise in the 1990s

Anne Hathaway takes the look for a spin

A picture from an Anthropologie catalogue

Brigitte Bardot tries the style in the Godard masterpiece Le Mépris

Cate Blanchett manages to make an Indiana Jones villain likeable with a chic crop

Christina Ricci claimed she felt like she "looked like an anime character" with her dramatic bob while portraying Trixie in the film Speed Racer

Dancer-actress extraordinaire Cyd Charisse in the film Singin' in the Rain - there's a reason she was Gene Kelly's dream girl

Halle Berry has "a new focus" - and a new look! - in the pages of Vogue

Isabella Rossellini made the Brooks hairstyle her own and looks sensational

German actress Isabella Soric makes the look fun and sassy 

Jane Birkin wigs out

Kate Bosworth hams it up in a photobooth-style session complete with cropped hair and black feathers - very va-va-voom

Katie Holmes made a name for herself in the fashion world when she debuted this daring 'do

Gaga ooh la la! Is it any coincidence Lady Gaga rocks the same hairstyle that Vogue editor Anna Wintour has worn for years, as well as featured in her magazine on the likes of Halle Berry and Natalie Portman (both seen in this post)?

Melanie Griffith is Something Wild in a film of the same name with a dramatic 'do and pounds of costume jewelry

Barton does Brooks

Celebs like Jena Malone, Michelle Williams (of Destiny's Child), Kristen Stewart, and Selma Blair all rock the look

From the tender age of twelve in Leon: The Professional to an all-grown-up look in Closer and on the pages of Vogue, Natalie Portman makes the 'do a do at any age

Rose McGowan in The Doom Generation

Winona Ryder by Steven Meisel

Julia Roberts is style by Serge Normant for his book Femme Fatale: Famous Beauties Then and Now

Then and Now: Pattie Boyd and Britney Spears

Who knew that red vinyl bodysuits were such a fashion statement? Here, both Pattie and Brit-Brit rock red catsuits with matching black boots and teased blonde hair. I feel a new trend coming on...

Then and Now: Bebe Buell and Mischa Barton

 

I love the badass rock'n'roll chic of Bebe Buell - that wild wavy hair and eccentric style (do you love that Oscar Wilde shirt as much as I do? Check out Worn Free for a similar tee ... I know I am already waiting for them to restock in my size) is just as iconic as her infamous tales of 70s debauchery. Apparently I am not alone in loving her style - just check out Mischa Barton's take on her look. Long wavy hair, smoky eyes, and chains of jewelry top off the grungy-glam party gal look. 

Mischa has declared many times over the years that she looks to the style icons of decades past for inspiration. Under the tutelage of Rachel Zoe, Mischa's look was crafted after the styles of Twiggy and Peggy Lipton. Après-Zoe, Mischa claimed that her style heroes were Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull, and they were the women whose pictures hung on her walls growing up. Of her look, she has said "I am a weird replica of the 70s." Weird indeed* - she always pairs her vintage looks with slightly off-kilter, sometimes kitschy items, making many of her outfits land on both the best-dressed and 'what was she thinking?' lists. With a laundry list of icons like Twiggy, Peggy, Marianne, and Anita, I think that it's quite possible that there could be a legitimate Buell-via-Barton look happening. 

Though Mischa was undoubtedly a fashion idol of mine (especially during the O.C. days), and I certainly love that she is a kindred spirit of sorts in terms of our fashion icons, I prefer the wild child style of the muse to so many rockers who turned rock star in her own right. 

*But I mean weird in a good way (... don't I always?)

Then and Now: William Blake's Satan and the Victoria's Secret Angels

Yesterday I was looking at artistic renderings of the story of Satan's fall from Heaven and the subsequent fall of Adam and Eve in Eden. You know, just a casual Friday afternoon for me. (Actually, it was an art history lecture in my course on Miltonic literature) 

I really fell in love with William Blake's works (I am a sucker for watercolours), especially "Satan in His Original Glory." The ink and watercolor piece depicts Satan as he was originally - a perfect angel of God's creation, you know, before he launched war on God and then was expelled to Hell. And, let me tell you, Satan in his original form is pretty damn majestic. For whatever reason, when I first saw this piece, I thought of the Victoria's Secret Angels and their gorgeous wings.  

It's not too far off, is it? Both Lucifer and Gisele have the most fab wings on their backs - even in similar color schemes. And a pre-Fall Satan was quite feminine looking as well - with some fake tan and hair extensions, he could be up there strutting his stuff alongside the other VS Angels. Though, Gisele wins because I doubt Satan ever had Justin Timberlake crooning "SexyBack" behind him.  

No irony intended by putting Satan, a former arch-angel of heaven, next to Gisele, a former hot 'angel' of fashion

Then and Now: Twiggy and Kate Moss

Sure, comparisons between Twiggy and La Moss are definitely nothing new. The hysteria surrounding Kate when she entered the modeling world in the 1990s was much akin to the wave that hit Twiggy when she first burst onto the scene nearly thirty years earlier. Kate’s heroin chic charm was comparable to the freshness that Twiggy’s androgynous look offered to the fashion world – both were looks so completely opposite of the type of woman that reigned supreme during the times. Twiggy came in following the long-standing tradition of having womanly, more mature looking women in clothes that emphasized their curves; Kate entered the picture when 6-foot-tall glamazon models like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Claudia Schiffer were the norm on the pages of magazines.

I love the photos of Kate on her 34^th birthday – I’m not sure what the theme is exactly, but she looks stunning. With that mass of curls and a gold star painted on her face, she looks a lot like Twiggy on the cover of the December 1974 issue of British Vogue, with an equally wild amount of curls with stars placed throughout her hair.

Then and Now: Veronica Lake and Cate Blanchett

Just recently I've realized how similar two of my favorite actresses, Veronica Lake and Cate Blanchett, look to one another. Cate has the magical ability to transform herself in every new photo shoot or film that she is in, morphing into Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich on the red carpet, Ingrid Bergman (superbly done in The Good German), Katharine Hepburn (to Oscar-winning perfection in The Aviator), and Bob Dylan (in I'm Not There). 

Cate's talent is matched with rare grace and poise that is reminiscent of a time in Hollywood's Golden Age when femme fatales like Veronica ruled the screen. 

With pale blonde locks styled in Veronica's eponymous peek-a-boo hairstyle, both women look like the cat's meow in their subtly sexy 1930s makeup and shimmery, sparkly gowns

Cate is the best in the business when it comes to portraying famous figures of years past - whether Queen Elizabeth I or the queen of the silver screen, Veronica Lake, she's always perfectly cast. Here, Cate mimics Veronica's distinctive kittenish slouch 

chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains

Let's go another round and see how the style trendsetters of today match up against the style trailblazers of yesteryears, shall we? 

Mr. T ... Kourtney Kardashian

On a November shopping trip in New York City with sis Kim, Kourtney looks like she raided Mr. T's jewelry box, wearing an incredible Micha Design cross necklace. I personally really dig this look - it's a definite risk, but the gal pulls it off seamlessly. Kourtney has grown to become a celebrity who isn't afraid to take risks when it comes to fashion, which I commend. (But I suppose if you're boyfriend is Scott 'I-wear-leopard-print-loafers-and-rock-Gordon-Gekko-hair' Disick, you have a superior view of what is edgy). I'm so tired of the endless stream of new 'It'-girls who wear safe, sweet little dresses and heels, and think that they are God's gift to fashion. 

Maybe Scott is good for something, after all. 

Penelope Tree ... Gisele Bundchen

After doing her best Bardot impression, Gisele Bundchen tries her hand at recreating the legendary look of Penelope Tree. While Gisele is arguably as influential in the fashion world (being the highest-paid supermodel ever) as Penelope Tree was during her days as David Bailey's muse, the appeal of the two women are strikingly different. Gisele is a Brazilian bombshell, whereas Penelope's ethereal alien-like beauty commanded - but did not overpower - photographs. 

Personally, I find Penelope's photograph to be much more compelling - the lighting is more interesting as it casts deep shadows against Tree's cut-glass boney frame. The shape of her body in relation to the photograph of the whole is much more appealing as well - with her shoulders slightly rounded, Penelope's body subtly conforms to the circular shape of the necklace. Gisele's body is much more toned - the lighting falls against her lean muscles, not her bones, which appear softer and less contrasting under the light. 

Title: from "Chains" (The Cookies)

Then and Now: Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Kardashian

I will say this up front, even if it looses me street retro cred: I love the Kardashians. More so than just keeping up with them - I literally love these girls. Maybe it has to do with their cosmetic prowess, or their anti-size zero Hollywood bodies, or their extremely candid manner with one another (Yes I do say "Bible", "slob kabob", and some other choice voKab words - there's a K because they put a 'K' into everything. I'm a genius) - but they are the sisters that I never had. When I want to escape the terrors of a boy-dominated home, I can flip on an episode of their show and get a 30-minute estrogen fix.
In a world according to the Kardashians, I am a 'Kim' - I am not nearly as gutsy as the Khloes and Kourtneys of the world, who feel comfortable saying and doing most everything that they want. I'm a little more mild mannered. And I'm not an outdoorsy girl in the slightest (Kim and I are definitely on the same page about that). We also both love Elizabeth Taylor. While I'm not lucky enough to be like Kim and share the luscious dark hair, strong eyes, or womanly curves with Elizabeth Taylor (nor do I have photographers eager to capture me looking like my most favorite actress), I do certainly love and admire her career and her life.
In honor of the Harper's Bazaar cover girl (Kim), who was lucky enough to channel and interview our idol Elizabeth, here is a 'Then and Now' to celebrate these two bombshells

Kim's photographs in last year's Allure Magazine bore a striking resemblance to photos taken of Elizabeth on the set of her Texan epic Giant

In the same magazine, Kim struck a pose very similar to a young Elizabeth (again on the Giant set), both  sunning their stunning faces

This month's Harper's cast Kim in one of Elizabeth's most famous roles, Cleopatra (with a K) 

Some charming quotes from there conversation can be found here

i’ll be your mirror, reflect what you are, in case you don’t know

By now, you all probably know that I am obsessed with Brigitte Bardot. (And if you didn't, then - Hello,  I am the Dolly Rocker Girl and I am a Bardot-a-holic). Brigitte Bardot has served as the inspiration for female style (and male fantasies) for over a half-century. The Beatle boys' pride and joy was to have a girl that looked like the actress - John even encouraged Cynthia (a natural brunette) to have a Bardot makeover, and apparently George wasn't quiet about how much he loved that his bird Pattie looked like Brigitte (as recounted by Cyn herself in her first book, "A Twist of Lennon"). Models Claudia Schiffer and Georgia May Jagger, as well as actress-turned-designer Ashley Olsen all name Brigitte Bardot as their main fashion influence. Even La Moss, the 'most stylish woman of the decade' (per Vogue U.S.) looks to BB for inspiration. 

I think the reason that Brigitte has been countlessly cited as a fashion icon is her ability to combine sultry sexpot with sophisticated French femininity. Brigitte was a bombshell in the truest sense - she owned her sexuality, yet never flaunted it. Whereas other women were running around in dresses cut up to there and scooped down to here, Brigitte could look absolutely drop-dead in a pair of checkered cigarette pants, ballet flats, and a simple cardigan. 

I look to BB for inspiration when it comes to makeup, clothes, a lot of stuff (maybe not political opinions, especially in light of her recent court cases in France) - and I know I'm not the only one. 

This is 'Then and Now: the Bardot Edition'

First off is the Bardot pose - legs clad in black tights crossed over each other, smoky eyes, a teased mane, and little else! This pose has been replicated by the likes of Lindsay Lohan (on the cover of Entertainment Weekly), Elle Macpherson (in a 1994 issue of Playboy magazine), and more recently by Rihanna and Gisele Bundchen

Editorials have often drawn inspiration from Brigitte's undeniably feminine, sultry style

For their 'Le Rouge' campaign, Chanel looked to Brigitte's film Le Mépris (Contempt) for inspiration. Model Julie Ordon takes on Bardot's role in the advertisements, reenacting the opening scene of the film - she asks the camera, in the same style as Bardot does her onscreen lover, "Tell me ... do you love my lips?" 

Other models try their hand at recreating another of Brigitte's famous looks from the Jean-Luc Godard film. Her black-and-white ensemble, matched with a thick bandana and even thicker eyeliner, is one of the most famous from Le Mépris 

Welsh songstress Duffy often channels bombshell starlets of decades past - here she does her best Brigitte Bardot, complete with a modest (yet still utterly va-va-voom) black dress, long slightly wavy blonde hair, and Bardot's signature black cat eye-and-nude lip combination 

For the cover of Redbook, Faith Hill stepped into the shoes of three of the most imitated and admired women of the 20th century: Grace Kelly, Twiggy, and Brigitte Bardot

Vanessa Paradis looks like she could double for Brigitte Bardot in her wigged-out scenes in Le Mépris. With their feline features and insouciant French personalities, the two women resemble each other considerably - even without those short black wigs 

Many sexpot singers of recent years have mimicked Brigitte's carefree comfortable style. Kylie Minogue does it best I think - she keeps it fresh and modern, but the nod to her style icon isn't unnoticeable. Madonna ... not so much

Title: from "I'll Be Your Mirror" (The Velvet Undergound & Nico)

you don't look different but you have changed

I have always thought it was interesting to see how modern day celebrities compare (looks-wise/style-wise, usually - hey, what can I say, I'm quite vain!) to retro gods and goddesses. I've collected images over the years and just now have overcome my laziness enough to put some of them up. Let's see how these newbies stack up against the old pros:

Ann-Margret ... Isla Fisher 

Not just do these two beauties share a similar shade of fiery red, but their penchant for wearing their hair in wavy styles tousled and teased lends more similarities. Strong eyes and dark, arched brows complete the look. Looks like Isla's been taking some cues from sex kitten Ann - just look at that perfect pout she's rockin'! 

Bianca Jagger ... Penelope Cruz

The former Mrs. Mick Jagger is one of my style icon mainstays - she managed to make such masculine pieces as tuxedos and bowler hats into pieces appropriate for the modern 70's power woman. Her relaxed elegance oozed sexuality. Always sporting a loose fit, whether in a tailored suit or Halston gown, Bianca always managed to look like she was curled up at home in sweats (even when on the banquette at Studio 54).  Her style has transcended to another foreign babe, Penelope Cruz, who mirrors B's loose masculine lounge suit, mussed-up hair, kohl-rimmed eyes and nude lip. 

Edie Sedgwick ... Nicole Richie

The pets, the baubles, the dyed blonde hair, the long jersey dresses - nothing else can match the dramatic eye makeup that both Edie and Nicole are sporting. Though Nicole's look is arguably a Edie-Twiggy hybrid (mainly due to the slicked down hair and the way the eye socket is outlined in black around a white lid - more the Twiggy style than Edie), the sixties mod socialite look that Nicole is evoking here was a look all of Edie's own. 

change clothes, and go

Natalia Vodianova was granted the wish of girls everywhere when she dressed up as some of fashion's most iconic models. Look through the photos to see how she and the Vogue crew successfully captured the essences of everyone from Dovima to Veruschka.

credit: US Vogue Magazine, May 2009