fur coat

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use T.V characters (like Joan Holloway) or celebrities (like Courtney Love) as style inspiration, even though, most of the time, they are being dressed from head to toe by the best stylists. Which we don’t have. And sometimes it’s damn near impossible to work their Hollywood looks into our not-so-Hollywood lives. I’ve made it my mission to tap into the mind of a fashion stylist and show you how to take your style inspiration – whatever it may be – and make it more you!

The Royal Tenenbaums is one of Wes Anderson’s many dysfunctional-family masterpieces he is infamous for. Besides portraying one of the strangest and most awkward families known to humanity, the main characters in The Royal Tenenbaums each have an extremely specific style, much like cartoons, that they hardly ever drift from.

Exhibit A:  Margot Tenenbaum.

The adopted daughter of Royal Tenenbaum is a prodigy playwright at the tender age of 14… which happens to be two years AFTER she starts smoking cigarettes. She’s one messed up lady, but still, somehow, inspiring to me in more ways than one.

It wasn’t until meeting Margot that I wanted wear a slip-dress and sit on the edge of a tub, smoke a cigarette and paint my nails (but that can wait because I’m definitely not about to attempt in a dorm shower).  It wasn’t until Margot that I wanted to wear a striped shirt-dress with a fur-coat and Hermes bag.  It seems like a weird combo, yes, but Margot Tenenbaum’s style is the perfect combination of casual and luxury, innocence and glamour.  She combines pieces that no average person would ever put together to create her signature style and doesn’t give a sh*t what other people think.

And while I don’t want Margot’s family or lifestyle, I definitely love her look.

Product Info- Faux-fur jacket – Karmaloop, $156; Eyeliner – Rimmel, $3.49; Satchel – Karmaloop, $35.00; Shoes –Aldo, $54.98; Dress – Forever 21, $11.50

From our friends at CollegeCandy.com:

What I love most about Margot’s look is that it’s unique and totally stands out. What I hate about it is that it’s impossible to mimic without resembling a Halloween costume. So I went ahead and took a more real-world spin to make her style my own. I replaced the Polo dress with  a cute (…and short… and tight) striped dress and paired it with a leopard (faux) fur coat. It’s sexy, fun and unexpected. I mean, really, how many girls would wear a leopard jacket? But why not? It’s probably the most fun and chic way to stay warm. Plus, it sets you apart from everyone else in their black-top-dark-jeans-black-heels uniforms.

Adding a hot pair of pumps (instead of Margot’s loafers – who do you think I am? Definitely not someone who would recommend loafers.) will elongate those legs and go splendidly with the dress when you ditch the coat. Now add Margot’s signature structured bag (the juxtaposition of the fun leopard and the refined bag makes the look even more interesting), smudge on a little eyeliner and, if you really wanna channel Margot, start making out with every guy you meet (but I’m sure that’s what most of our college weekends consist of under certain drunken circumstances anyways).