I am so thrilled to be featuring MacKenzie of Design Darling this week on Iconic Inspirations.

Her blog provides me with incredible inspiration every day. If you don’t already know and love her, be sure to check out her gorgeous blog!

 

Without further ado…

 

Hi everyone! I’m Mackenzie from Design Darling and I’m so excited to be guest blogging for Melanie today — and even more excited for the launch of her new venture Luxury Monograms in the near future!

 

1. Who are some of your favorite icons?

The first person who comes to mind is Tory Burch. She has impeccable taste in fashion and interiors and that truly comes across in her work. The fact that she juggles designing a collection, running a business, and raising a family — and looks so good doing it! — definitely makes her an icon in my book.

2. What do you think makes something or someone iconic?

 

I think an icon is someone who has something to say, a statement to make, and little regard for the naysayers who stand in her way. An icon is an unforgettable someone whom we aspire to be more like. An icon makes a strong impression and puts her unique stamp on the world.

 

3. Out of all the places you have traveled, which location have you found the most inspiring and why?

 

I was fortunate to be able to spend six months last spring living with a French host family in the Loire Valley. I traveled every weekend to cities like Athens, Barcelona, Istanbul, and London… And yet the place I’m most inspired is right in my Connecticut backyard. Just a 45-minute train ride away, New York has always been the city that gets my heart racing. It’s not as breathtaking as Venice or as romantic as Paris, but I can’t get enough of New York’s constant hustle and bustle.

 

4. What is your idea of iconic style?

 

People who possess iconic style aren’t afraid to take risks that the rest of us might not (yet!). Sarah Jessica Parker and Kelly Wearstler come to mind when I think of modern icons who have a unique sense of style that they’re not afraid to put out there for the world to see.

5. If you had to make a meal that best represents you, what would you serve?

 

I keep saying that being an icon is all about signature style, so here’s mine. It might not be a meal (or is it?!) but I love my coffee ice cream. I’m dying to make my own using this recipe!

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xoxo

Mackenzie

Design Darling

This week’s “Iconic Inspirations” post is by Miss Roxy Te Owens from A Cup of Te. If you are not familiar with her blog you must head over immediately as she is one the most fabulously stylish and brilliant female entrepreneurs of our generation.

So without further ado, here is her post on “Iconic Inspirations.”

1. Who are some of your favorite icons?

Olivia Palermo for her impeccable style (not her raging ‘tude), Bette Davis for her mysterious, mischievous eyes, Edie Sedgewick for her playfulness and avant garde take on life, Marilyn Monroe for her individualism and this quote that is one of the core principles of my business in the making, “It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring!”

2. What do you think makes something or someone iconic?

Charisma and “who needs a mirror confidence” paired with covetable style.

3. Out of all the places you have traveled, which location have you found the most inspiring and why?

I like to think I’m an adventurous person, (I wrapped a python around my neck on a safari in Singapore once!), but exotic backdrops and obscure locales just don’t compare to the rush and energy of New York City. NYC has the best of it all- the everyday commute can be grand (as grand central!)….

Different countries (China, Italy, Korea) are merely blocks away…

You find the most wonderful things in the most unexpected places…

Around every corner there is a possibility of discovering a piece of yourself- one you may not have known was there…

and more than ever you get the feeling that time is always now!

4. What is your idea of iconic style?

Iconic style transcends fashion. It is not of a sole product of the runways, it’s a marvelous mélange of your past, what you see as your future, and a genuine interpretation of your own individualism. Iconic style is unmistakable; it is effortless while being perfectly put together; it is novel and surprisingly familiar, and always worn with fierce confidence.

5. If you had to make a meal that best represents you, what would you serve?

Well according to Lil’ Wayne and Drake, it is totally acceptable to be on a 24 hour champagne diet, and I’m firmly in the champers camp. I do adore cooking (you should try my Thai Chicken Curry!), but the sound of a cork pop, and you might as well put cardboard in front of me! I’d like to think I’m like champagne in a sense that I lean towards a bubbly disposition, I try to keep it classy, and if you catch me on my good side, I can be refreshing

My darlings, I have such exciting news to share. Yours truly is going to be in a book – a book about women entrepreneurs no less! Last week I was invited to be one of the women/businesses featured in the nationwide CRAVE publication.

I will update you on the exact release date but the book will be available on Amazon.com, in Barnes and Noble bookstores and here on my blog.

So much happening so fast. I am so blessed.x

I am excited and delighted to share that Luxury Monograms has chosen a photographer to shoot our ad campaign.

The photographer selection process was quite overwhelming…

It was so difficult to choose from so many fantastic photographers.

However House of Brinson stood out from all of the rest.

My week will be filled with scouring the city for props, creating storyboards and styling looks.

Let the adventure begin!

All images courtesy of William Brinson.

Falling snow, something warm to drink and that fabulous little blue box. Tiffany hit it out of the park this time.

I’d like to buy whatever they are selling.

Images via This is Glamorous.

The gorgeous and oh-so-stylish Lindsay (of Lindsay Loves it All) is the first participant of my new series Iconic Inspirations. Read on to see what inspires this Nashville beauty.

{A piece from the Kittie Kyle Collection. Image via Mephis City Magazine.}

1. Who are some of your favorite icons and why?

As I’ve said before on my blog, my mom and aunt are both fashion icons for me. Growing up, my mom was one of three girls. My grandparents lived in a very small town, and my grandmother was a home economics major. Those two things meant my grandmother pretty much made all of their clothes. She designed most of their wardrobe with input from fashion magazines and the girls themselves. The three of them (actually, four including my grandmother) had amazing shoe and jewelry collections because there was money left over to spend on that because the clothes were designed and made by my grandmother. Because of that influence, my mom and her two sisters started their own clothing line after college. In the late 70s, they started making wedding and cocktail dresses from vintage and antique lace from Europe. They spent a lot of time in Switzerland learning about the lace and how to handle it without diminishing it’s value. The line got started quickly due to the high demand for their wedding dresses in Memphis, TN. The basis of the line was a formal dress that was in two pieces – a top and bottom. After the wedding or event, the antique lace separates could be incorporated into the woman’s wardrobe. Soon, the Kittie Kyle Kollection was born, naming the line after their stylish aunt. The line was sold in Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel in NY, and stores in Dallas, NC, and TN. The brides would always ask them to do personal shopping for them afterwards, so Kittie Kyle morphed into a high-end women’s retail store in Memphis, TN. Because they had such an innate fashion sense and entrepreneurial spirit, I definitely consider them my favorite icons – both fashion and otherwise!

2. What do you think makes something or someone iconic?

What makes someone or something iconic is a deeply personal choice. I reserve that status for something or someone that I am fascinated or intrigued by – whether it’s my admiration for their style or what they do, or how I have been influenced by them. Each person or thing I view as “iconic” has taught me something and given me something to take away and make my own.

3. Out of all the places you have traveled, which location have you found the most inspiring and why?

(Haha, You are going to get a taste of the real Lindsay here)! Since I was little, I have wanted to be on stage. I love the arts and feel alive when the spotlight is on me. My first trip to New York City was when I was in the 5th grade. I had traveled a lot before then but never to a huge city. I was bursting with excitement from the moment I was told we were going, until the end of our trip. It was HEAVEN for me! Even as a 10 year old, I recognized and loved the energy the city had. I would constantly dream of getting lost and having to stay there in the city. We saw 3 Broadway plays, ate at amazing restaurants, and stayed at a hotel where I could see half of Manhattan. I was in love, totally and hopelessly. At the end of our trip, I sat in the airport and cried. (A total brat!) I did not want to leave this city. I did not want to leave the thousands of yellow dots that made up the streets, or the many stages that held so many dreams on their cold black surfaces. I left, obviously, but ended up living there in college…and plan to go back. Very, very soon. It inspires me because in that city, I feel as if anything goes…and anything can happen.

4. What is your idea of iconic style?

To me, iconic style is simple. The people who have iconic style are people who are confident in every sense of the word. They wear what they love, regardless of trends or society’s opinions. If that is in place, those types of people are the ones who become iconic and inspire people to not only emulate them – but be confident in themselves.

5. If you had to make a meal that best represents you, what would you serve?

This is a hard one because I LOVE food! I enjoy it because there is always a memory attached to a meal or certain dish. Even though I love New York so much…even though I love big cities and could never live somewhere without a Starbucks, I am a small-town girl at heart. I grew up in a city with about 3,500 people. There was rarely a night where my sweet mother did not make the four of us dinner, where we all sat around the table. Because of that, the meal that best represents me is one I had so many times growing up: Chicken and broccoli casserole (the way my mom makes it with extra curry), sweet corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, and sweet and sour green beans. Oh yeah – and definitely a glass of amazing red wine and some homemade ice cream, which was another staple at my house growing up and even now!