but square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don't lose their shape, diamonds are a girl's best friend

Marilyn Monroe proves (yet again) that diamonds are a girl's best friend in this stunning photo shoot by Bert Stern as part of his 'Last Sitting' collection. Rolling around in glitter, pearls, and diamonds (more realistically rhinestones), Marilyn looks like the ultimate bombshell goddess in one of my favorite photography sessions ever. I recently got Stern's collection of his Marilyn photographs on eBay, and I have had so much fun going back through and rediscovering my favorite gems from this collection.

Don't be alarmed if I go on a bit of a Marilyn binge in the next few weeks - I hope to get this book intimately familiar with my computer scanner!

Title: from "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" (Marilyn Monroe, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

you’d look good pram-pushing down the high street, come on now, honey, don’t you want to live with me?

Sure, everyone who's anyone (well ... and who is a fan of Miss Boyd) has seen these photos of Pattie totally owning the London high street - but it never hurts to take another look. Pattie is my inspiration for this summer - I want that same self-confidence to be oozing out of my every pore like it is for her. Of course, I can't have the same twig-legs, sixties designer fashions, great hair, gorgeous hubby (I'm talking George ... sorry Slowhand), or fab makeup ... but at least I can be like Pattie in this regard.
That doesn't make me sound pathetic, does it?

Title: from "Live With Me" (The Rolling Stones)

like a true nature’s child, we were born, born to be wild

Nicole Richie is a modern day fashion icon of mine for her effortless(-looking) earth mama-meets-glittering socialite style. She's one of those gals who I would term a 'rich hippie'. She runs around Hollywood in her long worn-out maxidresses, oversized tunics, ripped jeans, spike-high Louboutins, scuffed-up Balenciaga bag, and stacks of bracelets and beads. It is no coincidence that her style heavily draws influence from the 60s and 70s bohemian threads that I am obsessed with - whether wearing retro originals or hippie-inspired fashions from her own lines, Winter Kate and House of Harlow 1960, Nicole always looks like she has just stepped out of the pages of Us Weekly from another decade. Honestly, I want every single thing from her clothing and accessories collections - a wonderful assortment of paisleys and prints in deep earthy colors make up much of the Winter Kate line, and fantastic statement-making jewelry (like giant cocktail rings, stackable gold bangles, ethnic-inspired shapes) and oversized sunglasses - similar to those that first launched Nicole to style stardom years ago when she worked with Rachel Zoe - can be found a-plenty in the House of Harlow.

Title: from "Born to be Wild" (Steppenwolf)

when we’re old and full of cancer, it doesn’t matter now, come on get happy ‘cause nothing lasts forever and i will always love you

It's an almost surreal experience to hear an icon of yours - for style, music, and attitude - being so frank about their insecurities and perceived flaws. This is what occurred for me when reading the transcribed interview with Debbie Harry on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs today. Along with frankly discussing about her drug habit - from which she has long recovered from - and admitting her regrets about not having children, the rock star revealed her insecurities regarding growing older. Harry said, "As far as aging goes, it's rough. It's hard. I rely on looks a lot. Women's calling cards, unfortunately, are based on their looks." And as much as a die-hard Blondie fan (like I) doesn't want to admit it, Harry's success wasn't completely based on her immense talent - it did, in part, have to do with her looks. I remember reading a book on Patti Smith a few months back by Victor Bockris, and in it friends and fellow 70s scenesters discussed Smith's contempt for Debbie Harry as a performer back in the day. Debbie was the physical embodiment of all the women Patti worshipped - she was blonde, wide-eyed, and beautiful. Patti loved the likes of Anita, Marianne, Nico, and Edie for their ethereal beauty, but hated it in Debbie. Perhaps because Patti loved these beauties as they were seen as muses, the inspirations for poetry and music - not the writers of the music itself. Debbie integrated herself in the same scene as Patti, and had talent to match the reigning Princess of Punk. Bockris writes, “Debbie had all the physical attributes of the women that Patti celebrated in her poetry: blondeness, beauty, and charisma. However, those attributes encountered in the flesh, combined with talent, a voice, and a healthy dose of ambition, constituted a threat” to Patti, who fancied herself the female Keith Richards and physically mirrored the Stone to androgynous success. There was a moment when Patti admitted both her dislike and love for Debbie, telling the Blondie singer to get out of rock'n'roll and they could run off together, as detailed in an interview with the High Times Reader. Debbie in turn interpreted it as Patti's declaration that there was only room enough for one of them in music and Debbie wasn't good enough to withstand Patti's talents. 

Thank goodness Debbie didn't let any intimidations from Miss Smith or any of the other numerous critics get to her, because if she lacked a steely resilience and undying passion for music, we might not have Blondie in our iPods blasting on our way to work. Harry seems to have the same view in coming to terms with how her outward appearance altered her music and life, concluding to Radio 4 that, despite everything, "I'm glad I've had all the radical experiences in my life. I have a better perspective." 

Title: from "Don't Forget Me" (Marianne Faithfull)

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?)

i want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

There is little better on a hot summer day than to take a nice breezy bicycle ride. While I do advocate wearing a helmet for safety reasons, I appreciate the fab looks of these gals who did not have to succumb to dreaded helmet hair. 

The great photographer David Hamilton captures girls on two-wheels in his signature dreamy hazy style behind the lens

Anna Karina loves to bike - and not just when her charming Bande à part costars Claude Brasseur and Sami Frey are next to her

Audrey Hepburn was often seen bicycling on the studio backlots in between filming - 

The Beatles took to bikes on the set of Help

Hollywood supercouple Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart shared a deep love ... of bicycles

The beautiful Brigitte Bardot 

Carole Lombard with her pet dachshund Fritz 

Cate Blanchett shows off her skills 

Catherine Deneuve still manages to look every inch the sophisticated French style icon, even when traveling on two wheels

Claudia Schiffer hitches a ride in one of her ads as a legendary 'Guess?' girl

France Gall, my favorite

Funny men: Bill Murray, Alfred Hitchcock, Albert Einstein, Ray Walston and Anthony Perkins in a polo game, and Bing Crosby all ham it up on bikes

A famous photo of Jacques Tati and Alain Bécourt as they ride a bike

Grace Kelly in Monaco and on the lap of Jimmy Stewart on the set of Rear Window 

Jeanne Moreau and Henri Serre get a little relief from their Jules et Jim melancholia with this brief bike break

Julia Roberts ate, prayed, loved, and biked her way to happiness in her 2010 film 

Both Katharine Hepburn and Veronica Lake find creative ways to sit on their bicycles

A redheaded Marilyn Monroe - first in a photo by Richard Avedon, then in an early modeling photo when she was still known as Norma Jean

Sofia Coppola's confectionary creation for the Miss Dior Cherie advertisement features Maryna Lynchuk  on a vintage Schwinn 

Marilyn Monroe takes a ride with then-husband Arthur Miller

(top row) Hilary Rhoda, Kate Moss, Gemma Ward, model, Ellen Page, Christina Ricci, Victoria Beckham

(middle) Agyness Deyn, Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz, Monica Belucci, Michelle Williams, Amanda Seyfried

(bottom row) Doutzen Kroes, Chloe Sevigny, Lily Donaldson, Sienna Miller, Mischa Barton, Kate Hudson 

Seth and Summer (love) 

Rita Hayworth was often seen on two wheels - even getting Gilda costar Glenn Ford to join in on the fun

Françoise Hardy looks so untouchably cool 

Groovy singers and Hollywood heartthrobs: (top row) Elvis, Sean Connery, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen

(bottom row) Paul McCartney on the set of Magical Mystery Tour, James Dean with galpal Pier Angeli, Paul Newman and Butch Cassidy costar Katharine Ross

Yeah, this is how my best friends and I dress whenever we go out together

This is how the Tour De France used to be. Seriously.

A darling Shirley Temple - not even on training wheels!

Warren Beatty and Jean Seberg in the film Lilith 

Twiggy has a ball on a bike

The loveliest ladies of film: (top row) Deborah Kerr, Geneviève Bujold, Ava Gardner, Brenda Joyce, Susannah York, Isabelle Adjani, with Yves Montand holding an umbrella overhead

(bottom row) Eartha Kitt, Romy Schneider, Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Loren

Zooey Deschanel's most famous moment on two wheels came in (500) Days of Summer, where her character was called 'of average height and slightly above average shoe size', but she shows she's anything but average in real life

Wanna see some more bicycle pics? Check out these sites:

Beauties on Bicycles

Chicks and Bikes

Rides A Bike

Cozy Beehive

Cycle Chic (Australian Cycling Forums)

Title: from "Bicycle Race" (Queen)

perhaps it’s the color of the sun cut flat, and covering the crossroads i’m standin’ at, or maybe it’s the weather or something like that, but mama you’ve been on my mind

In a belated ode to Mother's Day I celebrate the original 'Mama' Michelle Phillips. Michelle is the last surviving member from the original lineup of the Mamas and the Papas. With her long brown-blonde hair, wide eyes, and rich hippie style in kaleidoscope colors, it's easy to see how Michelle had pretty much the entire male population California dreamin' over her. Besides her legendary relationships with John Phillips, which started the Mamas and the Papas, and Denny Doherty, which led to her temporary expulsion from the group, Michelle dated Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, married Dennis Hopper (their union lasted eight days, but Michelle has said that those days were "the happiest days of my life"), Grainger Hines, Robert Burch, and Steven Zax (to whom she is still married). In 1968 Michelle had a daughter, the gorge and talented Chynna Phillips (of super-chick-group Wilson Phillips), with partner in marriage and music John Phillips. After a legendary life like hers, I hope Michelle got the proper treatment fitting for a legendary mama this Sunday.

Title: from "Mama, You've Been On My Mind" (Bob Dylan)

The Lovin' Linkful

Fashion advice from my favorite fictional heroine, the perpetual-six-year-old Eloise. (The Gloss)

This explains a lot: the Talent Slut Matrix. (HowAboutWe)

"25 Everyday Things You Never Knew Had Names," including the scientific name for man-boobs (gynecomastia). (Buzzfeed)

Artist Meghan Boody cites her Tribeca apartment as being Alice in Wonderland meets Being John Malkovich, complete with hidden staircases leading to secret tearooms and a silicone sculpture of a girl trapped inside her glass coffee table. Yeah, totally so is my dorm room. (NYMag) 

Courtesy of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, a list of slang from the movie Clueless - thank you, Australia. (JASA)

A list of hipster baby names. Not that any real hipsters would look at a baby name website so grotesquely mainstream. (nameberry)

Apparently, Wuthering Heights was kinda controversial when it was released in 1847. Here's one of the nicer reviews: "How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery. It is a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors." Funny, I don't remember any critics wondering why Stephanie Meyer didn't kill herself before Edward gave it up to Bella. (The Telegraph)

One of my life mottos (courtesy of Tracy Jordan) is "dress everyday like you're gonna get murdered in those clothes." Obviously this list of "25 Reasons Why You Should Dress Up Every Day" is going to have to do some edits to put that gem in there. (College Fashion)

So how much is too much to spend on a pair of silk trousers with large exotic birds screened on them? (All Saints)

How to dress like you're starring in a John Hughes film. Perfect, considering I've wanted to be Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club since I was a preteen. I'm always showing up places with sushi while wearing riding boots and diamond studs, always asking people if they wanna see me put on lipstick without using my hands. No one gets it. (Time Out New York)

Your leggings are making you fat. (Daily Mail)