3-2-2025: MY INSPO: impactful women and dream window shopping

 in honor of women's history month, i wanted to share my latest top ten style icons:

lady gaga

shakira

saoirse ronan

nadia lee cohen

carey mulligan

bella hadid

leighton meester

elle fanning

grace kelly

kate moss

   

    i could probably name every woman here, but these influential ladies have been on my icon radar lately. 

    i've mentioned the impact lady gaga has had on me since her the fame monster album, and i've been aching for the new album.

    we'll not dive into the tax fraud scandal shakira had. when i was a kid, i had a shakira doll and she was a prized possession. another icon whose music i grew up on.

    saoirse ronan's movies are always a must-watch, and lets not forget her shutting up the dudes making self defense jokes during the graham norton show late last year. brooklyn and ladybird are my fave movies btw.

    nadia lee cohen's work always leaves me speechless and i'd love to get my hands on some of her prints. also she is a fellow scorpio, with a birthday right after mine. i just get her!

    carey mulligan is currently a prada ambassador and looks perfect for the brand. i absolutely loved her in promising young women, and love spotting her while rewatching pride and prejudice. her performance in great gatsby was also so good. and love that fuck ass bob!

    bella hadid's activism is so inspiring. she is my frequent moodboard guest and she can like get it. 

    i've been compared to blair waldorf in the past and been told i look like leighton meester which is the best compliment i could perhaps ever get. the fact that, growing up, she had a life completely different from the role she played, and she executed it so well. not to mention she is an amazing singer - i'm not just talking about good girls go bad.

    elle fanning is like a real life princess and is often my best dressed at the met galas. i want to watch the complete unknown primarily because of her.

    i recently read a biography on grace kelly's marriage to prince grimaldi. another scorpio twin (a day before me). i empathize with her struggle and "loss" of freedom once turning princess. her impact on the kingdom and activism within the principality is so amazing. but finally, she was also human and a flawed person (yet too scrutinized as many famous and impactful women are - still in 2025).

    kate moss is like a never-ending source of style inspiration. her simple yet chic looks are often my inspiration when packing for my trips. i could scroll endlessly - there's millions of photos to take inspiration from. 

    many of us were shaken by the news of michelle trachtenberg's passing this week. a gossip girl icon and ice princess. she will be remembered for her versatile teen girl roles, beauty and essential 2000s style. i loved her in gossip girl, and she was the best in eurotrip. 

    sib and i booked a hotel stay in pittsburgh for a weekend in march just for funsies. we're taking a roadtrip to visit some museums such as the warhol museum and the mattress factory. then taking another trip to the hershey factory and indulge in sweetness of a real life (no trauma) wonka experience. when packing for traveling, i like to loosely reference a style icon (one year for a canada trip gwyneth paltrow was my muse, and for an nyc trip i researched looks of kate moss, the olsen sister and rosie huntington-whiteley). this often helps me with styling and packing without worrying how to style myself - and to ensure everything gets worn and is functional but cute. to stay on theme, i chose an iconic warholian factory girl - edie sedgwick. edie's looks are very minimalistic and mostly was seen in tights only looks. this is not a trend i really partake in (sorry kendall jenner, your 2022 tights only look with the bottega veneta bag and flowers did not convince me enough). 

    i'm opting for leggings instead (which is also a challenge for me as i tend to keep the leggings for the yoga studio). i have a striped blue t shirt with an embroidered andy warhol banana and that is getting packed for sure. other than that, edie wore slouchy yet chic sweaters, and loafers and ballet flats.

no spoiling of the looks i took as inspo for the trip, you'll have to wait until after to see what i packed :)

    i frequently dream of fashion and beauty (when i was a preeteen, i had a dream my hair was super curly - think perm - and copper. i'll pass on the perm but copper is a color i revisit often when i get my hair done. younger me is obsessed). once i had a dream i had super cute whimsigoth champagne flutes, dark blue with golden stars and suns; and marilyn monroe coasters. these dreamed items stay with me and end up on my list of items to look for at the thrift or ebay. i know i don't need more cups or coasters, but i am a deeply spiritual person and my dreams have been extremely powerful to me since i was a child (per my diary entries, i could predict things that would happen throughout my day through symbols of my dreams. this may have stopped because i am no longer a child and per spiritualists of the online realm, i tainted my body with "alcohol, porn and other substances" so my vessel is no linger working (?)). 

    anyways, i am sharing this because another inspiration struck me in my slumber this week. i had a dream i was in hometown benkovac, preparing for a party with my friends in my parent's apartment. a young man with an elaborate cane and small sunglasses with asymmetrical frames was there as well. these sunglasses were kind of micro glasses, like the 90s style that was trending for a bit in 2020. they looked so unique and cool, and i kept thinking "wow, has anyone thought of these kinds of sunglasses?". i love smaller sunglasses rather than oversized ones, and you'll frequently see one pair from forever 21 in my ootd's. 

    the following day i scoured therealreal and ebay to find something similar to my dream. i found a dolce vita pair from a seller in germany that is the most budget friendly i closest to the style of my dream and a style i would wear. i'm patiently waiting for them to arrive so i can enter spring with my new, dreamy shades.

    here's some from ebay that almost made the cut.

rodenstock (oversized but i like the asymmetry)

paloma picasso by metzler (not really asymmetrical but very cute)

masahiro maruyama (the color is off but the style is the most similar)