Prim and rocker

The stunning Nyasha Matonhodze shows off Versace's pre-fall looks perfectly suited for the seriously luxe student heading back to the school of rock.

A better view

The spring ads are trickling in, and I love Chanel's, featuring Joan Smalls and Saskia de Brauw and styled by the one and only Carine.

Wishing you style and joy

Vogue.com is featuring an adorable series of designer-drawn holiday cards, and these are my favorites.  From above, Altuzarra, Mary Katrantzou, Rodarte and milliner Stephen Jones, featuring cheeky cartoons of himself, Mme. Wintour and Mme. Coddington.  The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to live your style - be it the cocktail party outfits you wear, the decorations you put up in your home, the gifts you give, the charitable contributions you make, the activities you seek to get you in a joyous mood.

I like to wear slim pants and festive shirtsleeves; buy poinsettias and burn pine-scented candles by Elton John for NEST; give interesting books and clever clothing items I know my family won't buy themselves; donate to the Whitman-Walker Clinic, GHMC, and Malaria No More; and go to Bergdorf for lunch and Pete's Tavern for drinks.  All, of course, while listening to Mariah's "Oh Santa!" or Judy Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry..."

Here's wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season and a fabulous new year!

Doll House

Courtney Love gave xoJane.com a tour of the West Village townhouse where she is currently residing.  She wore Chanel for their visit and showed off her impressive collection of modern art (including a Francis Bacon triptych and a Damien Hirst butterfly piece), antiques, and personal photos, including those of Kurt Cobain, her daughter Frances, and friends such as Donatella Versace, the late Elizabeth Taylor, Stevie Nicks, and Woody Harrelson.

One Look: Calvin Klein Collection

I'm in love with this look from Francisco Costa's pre-fall collection for Calvin Klein.  So clean and yet so intricate.  Costa has a way with making clothes that present a trim simplicity while displaying technical wizardry.

Taj Pre-Fall

Anja

Caroline Brasch

Julia N.

Lakshmi

Kelly Gale

Chanel Pre-Fall 2012

Always in Vogue

There's little chicer in my mind than standing up for worthy causes, women's rights always chief among them. January Vogue features the incomparable Meryl Streep on the cover and includes the story of her work as the chief spokesperson for the effort to create a National Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C.  Annie Liebovitz captured the core committee of powerhouse American women behind the effort in inspiring images taken in front of the U.S. Capitol.  You really must click to enlarge!

Included are, above from left, NWHM president Joan Wages, Secretary Madeleine Albright (the nation's first female Secretary of State), U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Bush, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney,  Patricia Nixon Cox, Dr. Maya Angelou, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Streep.

Who's cooler than Sally Singer?

The particular circus around the shows is, to me, a bit of a comic mess at this point. I see people who I know have borrowed clothes, who are purposely dressing in ways to get photographed, but are not expressive of themselves or of the season or of anything. It’s the same drive that has people doing reality TV, kind of personal branding, you know? And a desperate attempt for sort of quasi-celebrity. And I think it’s adorable when it’s really young people because I think, why not? ...And I adore it when they’ve made the things themselves and it’s clearly their own little concoction. You know, driven in from God knows where or taken the subway in — I love that, I really love that. I think that’s the dream that keeps fashion going, that’s the whole point of it. But, I feel that when we’re at the shows, we’re there to work, and at a certain point, you should be true to your style, and if your style is recorded, great. But people know when they’ve been photographed. And I totally see why it’s fascinating for people to look at how people in fashion dress. I just think people should, as much as possible, wear their own clothes, not borrow clothes to do it, and keep the truth of it somehow intact.

This interview with T Editor in Chief Sally Singer is a must-read.  And for more Selby photos of her fabulous home at the Hotel Chelsea, click here.

The Muse

Many thanks to Mlle. Shala Monroque for this incredible photo of Miu Miu's most recent "Musings," this time in Moscow, featuring Dasha Zhukova, Monroque and the Muse himself, Mr. André Leon Talley, among others.  It feels like a renaissance tableau.

Marigold

These Fendi resort 2012 ads starring Natasha Poly are my favorites of the season.  The blast of yellow and the fun, frisky, ultra luxe duds to rock during your month in Antibes this winter.

Nude

A painting by the late Jack Meanwell and an old V Man photograph of gorgeous Doutzen Kroes.

Unbroken

I'm a big fan of Demi Lovato, the former star of Disney's hit Camp Rock franchise.  She has broken through the Disney moneymaker machine, dealt bravely and publicly with teenage fame, self-cutting and bulimia, and has become a mature and beautiful talent - a singer above all else.  Her latest album, Unbroken, is a powerful punch of catchy love songs, raucous dance floor gems (a standout track is produced by Timbaland), and heartrending ballads wrestling with her recent struggles.  She is one to watch.  The above shot is from this month's Glamour.

Urban wookie

Hanne in Michael Kors pre-fall

I've got that Boom Boom that you want

James Blake, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lykke Li

Toni Garrn, Leelee Sobieski, Solange Knowles et al

Santigold, Spank Rock, Rinko Kikuchi et al

Bazaar takes some fine young things - stunning models and sceney New Yorkers and the like - out on the town for a night at the top of the Standard.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my family of friends and the friends in my family.  And for decent work and a safe home filled with some fabulous clothing in New York City.  Last night I had some post-Priscilla Queen of the Desert Brooklyn Lagers with my dear friend Maeve at the original P.J. Clarke's on 55th Street.  Clarke's is a true classic of a bar that, while often packed with obnoxious people, is manned by true gentlemen who play Motown and classic rock and remember your drink order and place your mobile phone in napkin-lined glasses to protect them from the bar's spillage.

I'm thankful for charming places to imbibe with my friends, that is for sure.  Happy Thanksgiving!

It-Shot

I find the whole thing of Ryan McGinley to be a little annoying sometimes: the Levi's ads plastered all over New York City, the aloof interviews, the ubiquity.  But he does create some magical pieces of photography, and I was quite enamored of this recent work, Purple Beacon, now on view at his current London show Wandering Comma.

de la Mode

Tilda Swinton, in Haider Ackermann, and Haider Ackermann were both recipients of Marie Claire's Prix de la Mode awards at the French Embassy in Madrid last week.  Tilda was one of the first in the public eye to wear Haider, and she wears it well.

Madame Secretary

Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton aboard the USS Fitzgerald in Manila, Philippines.

Fur ball

The stunning Constance Jablonski in Vogue Italia

Overload

Vacay

Two of the four covers of V Magazine's new November "Model Issue" covering the resort collections - Candice Swanepoel and Joan Smalls rocking Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere and Daphne Groeneveld and Saskia De Brauw rocking Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci.

Flawless

Referring to Harper Beckham, of course.

The night before

Saturday night at 10 Crosby Street, New York Fashion Week spring/summer 2012 collections.

Winter white

Fei Fei Sun in Vogue China November 2011

Valley of the dolls

Alana Zimmer and Hannah Holman in W's November resort collection story, Reverse Commute, styled by Giovanna Battaglia.

Otherworldly

Is there anyone on Planet Earth more gorgeous than Liu Wen?

Número China via Fashion Gone Rogue