style icons {featuring: Miss Ashley}

I know a girl by the name of Ashley. She is stunningly beautiful, super sweet, and her fashion sense is fantastic. I have always been in awe of her. Her outfits are always so unique, and she truly shines in them. I have always looked up to Ashley in so many ways, so it only made sense to feature her on my blog. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Ashley is so beautiful, and so darling. Without further ado, I introduce to you, Miss Ashley.

Q.I get a lot of my fashion inspiration from watching the show "Gossip Girl" and from following blogs like "What I Wore". Where do you get your fashion inspiration?

A. I don’t really watch TV and I try to stay away from the magazine isle, but I probably get most of my inspiration from decades/eras or what mood I’m in. I think of my outfits more like costumes that reflect the part or character I’m portraying that day. I don’t have much inhibition when it comes to fashion. I just like to have fun with it and if people like it, then cool. If they think, “What the heck was she thinking?!” (Which my mom often does) then that’s fine too. I would probably be bored if I wasn’t raising a few eyebrows. But really, what I’ve realized is that if you do it with confidence and don’t second-guess your choices, most people will appreciate what you’re doing even if they wouldn’t necessarily do it themselves.

Q. Who do you think had the best style in old Hollywood, and why...

A.Certainly this is much too difficult! I adore Elizabeth Taylor in Father of the Bride, Jackie-O was charming, Grace Kelly in Rear Window was a class act, Marilyn Monroe (when she wore clothes) was always glamorous, and I would kill for Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe in Funny Face or Roman Holiday or Carol Channing’s in Thoroughly Modern Millie! I mostly like them because they’re style was the epitome of femininity. I feel like sometimes women get skewed in the wrong direction with equal rights, and being on the same level with men. Having equal rights doesn’t mean we have to look like men too! I’m happy that women possess different qualities than men and that our bodies are different and beautiful, so I’m not afraid to
portray that.

Q.Who do you think has the best style in Hollywood these days and why...

A. Man, I wish I had an opinion on this. I’m so bad with names of anyone right now. I just don’t have that much respect for many of the starlets, so I don’t pay them much attention. I really love Zoey Deschanel editorially, but in magazine shoots someone is styling you, so I don’t really know enough about her to say I love her style, I assume, though, that we have similar tastes because you probably wouldn’t let someone dress you in something you
hated, right?

Q. Where is your favorite place to shop?

A. Well…I get my stuff from all over the place. From thrift/antique shops to the sale racks of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, so can’t really say I have a favorite, but I’m pretty sure the catalogue from Anthro couldn’t be anymore beautiful to look at, right? Sadly, most of their clothes don’t fit me right. Forever 21 is always a good place to pick up fun necklaces and sunglasses for cheap, so I’m a fan.

Q. A lot of women love shoes. I am an "accessory girl". I would rather have a ton of accessories than a ton of shoes. Are you a shoe girl, or an accessory girl?

A. Oh! I do love a great pair of shoes, but I really only need 2 or 3 beauties and I can figure out ways to make them work with anything. Right now my shoe of choice are these fabulous rainbow huaraches that I wear constantly, those, or a sassy pair of heels and I’m content. My favorite accessories are definitely waist cinchers, funky, mismatched earrings, and when it’s not too hot, scarves.

Q. What is your favorite piece of clothing?

A. I have this green slouch cardigan that is the same color of my eyes that is probably my favorite staple piece. I wear it all the time. Summer makes me sad, because I’m a BIG fan of cardigans. I also love dresses, skirts, and waist cincher belts! What can I say? I enjoy
being a girl.

Q. How would you describe your style?

A. Eccentric. Like I said, I don’t really have a distinct style. It’s all just a costume to me. I have a lot of sides to my personality that come out with different people (is this a sign of schizophrenia…?) and this quality is quite apparent in my style choices. It’s always changing. Sometimes I wish I could just make a choice on what I want my style to be, so that I could justify spending a little more on my clothes, but I can’t, so I just continue to be a cheapskate-- filling my closet with a plethora of fashions. I find myself most drawn to a sort of bohemian/hippie/1970s and classic/feminine/1950s, so if I had to choose, I suppose it would be between those two.

Q. This is totally unrelated to fashion, but what do you hope to do as a career?

A. Um, I’ve thought about this a lot and whom I would really like to work for is Captain Planet, but ever since the flat-top mullet made its collapse back in 1991 I haven’t had much luck in getting in touch with him or the other Planeteers, so I feel a bit lost when it comes to my future plans. Maybe run a vintage clothing store, be a costume coordinator, or perhaps a fashion photographer. I like to be in control of things…

I hope you all were as inspired by Ashley, as I am. She truly is amazing.
Thank you, Ashley!
xoxo