I Love Your Style: Penny Lane

Who inspires your style? Or better question, WHAT inspires your style? Many of us use celebrities (like Khloe Kardashian) 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, well, you!

By Cristina

I’ve seen a lot of movies in my 19 and a half years on this Earth, and no character has ever inspired me like Kate Hudson’s in Almost Famous.  (If you haven’t seen it, you must. Right now!) This movie is based off of the rock and roll music scene of the early 1970s and Penny Lane, the leading lady/groupie, represents this era with her free-spirited, eclectic-yet-chic bohemian wardrobe.

We’ve come a long way since Penny Lane’s time, but the bohemian look has stuck around, cycling in and out of fashion every year. And I can’t help but love it.

No matter the decade, this style is very wearable, whether to a theme party or to a long day of classes. The key to not looking too costume-y is taking some of the quintessential 70s items and mixing them with a few modern pieces. It’s easy to incorporate the elements of the early 70s rock era to your look with vintage flowers, classic flared jeans, sunglasses (Aviator or Elton John-style,) a furry jacket, and many different styles of boots. All of which are seen everywhere right now. Corduroy, velvet, and suede were also very popular back in Penny Lane’s days (or when our parents were our age, drinking Coors and listening to some Led Zeppelin) and can easily be picked up and incorporated into your own Boho-chic look as well.

If, like me, you’ve got a love for 70s style and want to work it in 2010, here is a more modern version of Penny Lane’s iconic look:

Product Info- Floral top- Forever 21, $17.80, Skinny Jeans- DeLiA*s, $49.50, Vintage 70s jacket- Etsy, $60.00, Round polarized sunglasses- Bleudame.com, $3.50, Freewayy boots-Steve Madden, $124.98

The sunglasses, shirt and jacket are quite obviously very 70s, but the jeans and boots modernize the whole look, giving you the bohemian vibe you want with a much more modern twist. You could also switch the jeans out for something with a flare and go with a more basic shirt. The point is to mix things up so you look more modern-boho and less I-got-stoned-when-I-woke-up-this-morning.