All that extreme reading and writing about style, last year, left me feeling a bit 'fashioned out'. Then along came the fabulous Loulou de la Falaise monograph by Ariel de Ravenel and Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni. Published by Rizzoli, it's a beautiful coffee table book filled with over 400 wonderful photographs of the Yves Saint Laurent accessories designer and muse, along with details of her life and style, and lots of lovely quotes from famous friends.
'Loulou's accessories were the defining exclamation mark on an Yves Saint Laurent look.'
- Hamish Bowles.
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| Loulou de la Falaise with Yves Saint Laurent & Betty Catroux |
Before moving to Paris where she met Yves Saint Laurent, Loulou de la Falaise lived in London and New York, assisted Helmut Newton, worked with Halston and modelled for Vogue. It's quite obvious that the Anglo-French aristo (her mother was the English model Maxime Birley and her father, Alain de la Falaise, a French count) was a whirlwind of energy, character and creativity:
'She sparkled like no one I'd ever seen - it was a kind of charge that went through her and radiated out.'
- Joan Juliet Buck
If you're ever wondering what to do with accessories, then, this is the place to go for inspiration. Loulou de la Falaise instinctively knew what went with what and realised the power of a statement necklace.
As much as I love the maximalist, bohemian approach with all its baubles and beads, some of my favourite outfits are the simpler, less-is-more styles:
'Loulou had amazing creativity and it's wonderful that she lives on in so many amazing photos.'
- Diane Von Furstenberg
I'd wear this last outfit, right now. What about you? How are you wearing your accessories at the moment?
