My style icons: Rihanna

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I am definitely a Rihanna fan girl - or should I say a proud member of Rihanna Navy - to the point where I recently bought Esquire magazine, simply for the Rihanna interview inside it (and the half naked pictures, but I have NO shame!).  Although she's stayed on the music scene ever since her debut album way back in 2005, I think she really started coming into herself style wise around the time of her third album being released - 'Good Girl Gone Bad' (still one of my favourite albums EVER) - when she adopted a more sexual image (see: black mesh stripe dress).  And that's when she REALLY got noticed, with her style being famous for being risque and head turning.
Rihanna has previously claimed to love a challenge, which we definitely see in her outfit choices, and in her own words: “Getting dressed, I want to pick the most bizarre pair of shorts so I can figure out how to make it look right, or work an outfit that will make people go, “What the hell is she wearing?” which says all about why I love her style.  It's completely versatile and she can wear a sexy evening gown on the red carpet only to wear a full suit and brogues the next day.  If there's one celebrity which the famous saying 'Keep your fashion critics guessing' applies to, it's probably Rihanna.  I think it's safe to say her current style is a true reflection of who she is.  Yes, it is probably the most controversial pick out of my style icons and some of you may disagree, but Rihanna has and still does give me confidence to be much more 'out there' with what I choose to wear.

See 'My style icons: Anna Dello Russo' here.
See 'My style icons: Audrey Leighton' here.

My style icons: Audrey Leighton

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If you're an avid reader of fashion blogs then you have probably already heard of Audrey, the girl behind befrassy.com.  With a quirky sense of style, this too-cool for words lady serves up a daily dose of fashion inspiration that will leave you coming back for more.  I found her blog a few months ago and I have been reading religiously since!  At the age of only twenty three she has lived in more countries than some people even travel to in their LIFETIME, and amazingly she's now living in Paris (ah oui!) which creates amazing backdrops for her daily outfit photos.  The thing which drew me to her was her brave choice of outfits and her unique sense of style and reading her blog has taught me a valuable lesson about fashion: to have fun with it (see last picture).  In her words: "...I am constantly encouraging: be yourself, dress for yourself. Keep true and instead of taking "fashion" seriously, put all importance on your clothes and how they make you feel. Because in my mind, if it isn't fun, then it isn't fashion!", how great is that?  I am definitely starting to step outside of my comfort zone thanks to Audrey.
Her blog has come so far, especially with her recently starting up her online shop 'Frassy Rags', and she really does deserve it.  You can tell from every one of her posts that she is in love with fashion, which is exactly what fashion blogging should be all about, really!  Not the free things or how 'rubbish' you think your blog is compared to someone else, but as long as you are passionate about fashion then you should be proud of what you are doing.

See 'My style icons: Anna Dello Russo', here.

My style icons: Anna Dello Russo

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As much as I completely agree with the fact that fashion is to express who YOU are and to a way to tell someone - who you may have never even spoken to before - a little bit about yourself, I won't deny that there are a number of women who affect the way that I dress.  I don't necessarily look at one of these women and think 'Oh, if she has that shirt then I must buy a similar one!', but more because of the confidence they have which they portray in the way they dress, which is exactly the one thing which links my fashion icons (all five of them, to be exact): confidence.  I don't have the usual icons: Kate Moss, Audrey Hepburn (don't be hatin' on me, I've never seen 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' OKAY?!) etc. etc.

For those of you who don't know her, I introduce to you THE Anna Dello Russo, editor of Vogue Japan and is often featured in street style blogs such as Jak & Jil and Caroline's Mode and apparently owns over FOUR THOUSAND pairs of shoes.  In fact I remember reading in a fashion magazine a year or so ago that she bought the house next to her's simply for a place to store her clothes.  Erm, hello, isn't this something us women DREAM of?  Man, I dream of a walk-in closet, never mind a full frickin' house.

The first time I heard of her was in a magazine years ago when there was a picture of her wearing a black lace dress with bright red underwear underneath.  I didn't really know what to make of it, did I like it?  Did I not?  Does she KNOW her underwear is on show for everyone to see?!  Pft, what did I know?  This woman is actually a fashion genius. Famous for sporting head-to-toe looks straight off the catwalk, she is undoubtedly over the top, which is exactly why I love her style.  Why on earth would she choose to go out in jeans and a t-shirt when she can look as amazing as this?  She has taught me that life is too short to look like everyone else, it is GOOD to get noticed, so what if people talk about you?  They're paying attention to what you're wearing whatever they say.  As much as I'd like to, though, I do not have the same amount of money as this lady has.  Nowhere NEAR as much, so my daily outfits are hardly on par with hers, which means whenever I leave the house in jeans I feel nowhere near as enthusiastic about the way I look than when I do when I have a statement item on.  My wardrobe has a long way to go, but I am now much more careful and thoughtful when shopping.
Her pile-it-on approach to getting dressed makes her one of the most recognisable people at fashion weeks each year, and is probably why H&M approached her to collaborate with them to create a range of accessories which will hit stores on October 4th this year.  I've never been a sucker for previous H&M collections, but this is one which excites me.  In her words: "With these pieces everybody can have fun, turning an ordinary day into a fantastic fashion day" which is exactly what we should be doing.  I can't wait.
What do you think of her style, maybe you disagree?  Who are your fashion icons?