Where Have All Our Icons Gone?

When you live in La-La land -- or any other town in this entire world for that fact -- you know that fashion is celebrity-driven.

Renee Zellweger strictly wears Carolina Herrera on the red carpet. Emmy Rossum does Ralph Lauren, as does Penelope Cruz. Sarah Jessica Parker is an Oscar de la Renta-slash-Narciso Rodriguez girl, while Sofia Coppola dons Marc Jacobs. Elizabeth Hurley has been the unofficial spokeswoman for Versace since wearing that infamous safety pin dress. Diane Kruger, Vanessa Paradis (Johnny Depp's other half) and Selma Blair are part of Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel crew.

It used to be that fashion was dictated by lesser "public figures": Diana Vreeland, Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristobal Balenciaga, Coco Chanel. But these days, only those who truly love fashion know these names. Ask kids about their style icons now and they'll rattle off names like Sienna Miller, Nicole Richie, Mischa Barton, the Olsen Twins and other Hollywood starlets (or those part of the Rachel Zoe brigade).

Now, not to say that these gals don't look absolutely fabulous...and who wouldn't with a personal stylist who charges obscene amounts of money?? Word on the street is that a certain Ms. Zoe charges her gals $6000 a day, which is more than the average person sees in a paycheck per month.

Fashion and image are often one and the same, which is why fashion and Hollywood are so intricately connected. All of this is not a complaint really, but more of an observation of the way we relate ourselves to the concept of couture. I won't deny that I can be found flipping through the lastest US Weekly, oogling Nicole Richie's latest Coffee Bean stop outfit or wishing I was wearing Richel Bilson's fabulous pair of vintage shoes.

But every now and then, I wonder if Diana, Elsa, Cristobal and Coco are turning in their graves...

I'm Lovin' it: Having someone on the inside on the now-bankrupt Tower Records, who is liquidating all their inventory as we speak. Currently, everything's 10% off but the little mole who checked out my purchases at the register said everything will be REALLY cheap in a couple weeks. Thanks Gus -- if that's your real name.

AND...

Black opaque tights and long shirts/short mini dresses with boots. That's my look for today and I'm truly lovin' it!

I'm Over it: My hunger pangs. I ate about five mini cupcakes with a small salad (to compensate for those empty calories) for dinner last night, and though I had a bowl of raisin bran with banana this morning, my tummy is growling like mad. Guess I'll be digging into lunch earlier today.

Album Of The Day: "Destroy Rock and Roll" by Mylo. You've got Myles, Hector, Lewis and Willie making up this electro group out of Scotland. This happy album can be played from start to finish without skipping a track...and guaranteed you'll be shaking your groove thang the entire time. A special shout-out to Tower Records for the discount.

www.myspace.com/mylo

* Photo property of fashionfinders.co.uk