Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use celebrities (like Sarah Silverman or Emma Watson) 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!

I’m sure a lot of you have been waiting for this.  If you don’t already know who Nicole Richie is, excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.  OK, now let’s move on. A few years back, there was a show starring two insanely spoiled socialites that had to “live simply” under one roof with some folks from rural America.  Yeah, I never watched it in fear of losing some serious brain cells (Editor’s Note: But I did and that ish was high-larious!), but one of those two spoiled heiresses was Nicole Richie. Looking back now, it’s pretty difficult to imagine that Hollywood’s wild-child in the overalls and long stringy hair is the same person as the trend-setting fashionista she is today.

To be fair, Nicole’s always been somewhat interested in fashion, even dabbling in a little runway modeling (and then flashing her tots) at one time. But now the hot mama has taken her love to a whole new level with an accessories line for Kitson called House of Harlow 1960, and clothing line called Winter Kate. The pieces in each line look like they’d be something you’d find in Nicole’s own closet, which is exactly what her fashion groupies have been waiting for.

But if you wanna recreate the style of this wild-child-turned-fashion-maven, there are a few key aspects to keep in mind:

1. Oversized sunglasses have probably been popular since before girls were throwing their underwear at The Beatles, but Nicole redefined the look and brought them back with a vengeance.  If Nicole is known for one thing regarding her style, it’s the giant sunglasses (that sometimes borderline on having peeps confuse her with a bug).

2. You gotta embrace a little hippie. OK, maybe not actually find a little one to embrace, but at least welcome a little hippie-chic into your wardrobe. Nicole’s bohemian-hippie-meets-couture combination is what makes it so unique and what inspires all of her little fashion minions (like me!).

Now let’s get you dressed.

Heels, Romper, Sunglasses, Silver Bracelet, White Bracelet

It’s summer, so I chose an adorably casual summer day look from Nic. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, rompers are simple and easy. Just slip one on and you are instantly looking good and ready to go. And with two kids, I’m sure this is exactly what Nicole needs. Of course she doesn’t stop there, though. Nope, just throwing on a romper would would be generic and boring, and Nicole is anything but.

If you’re trying to incorporate some Nicole Richie in your wardrobe, you need the right accessories to mix things up. Like heels. Yes, we know Nicole’s got much love for humungo sunglasses, but another key element in her wardrobe is the sky high pump. Here, the basic black pair adds a little sexy/formality to a typically casual outfit. Paired with an oversized bangle and braided bracelet, she’s got her signature mixture of trendy (romper), bohemian (accessories) and chic couture (pumps).

If this isn’t a look you think you can pull off, though, take Nicole’s style rules and make them work for you. Perhaps you’d prefer a pair of gladiator flats for the bohemian aspect and a shiny belt for some couture. Or maybe you want to add some flash with a stack of gorgeous bangles and find a flirty scarf to wear as a headband. It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re mixing a little bohemian chic with some more classic pieces, you’ve got a look that even Foxy Cleopatra, Nicole’s pup, would approve of.

“That’s hot.”

Since her debut on the ridiculous reality series The Simple Life in 2003, Nicole Richie has been one of the most intriguing socialites to watch. Soon after entering the celebrity sphere, she was arrested for possession of heroin while driving with a suspended license. Three years later, she was detained for driving down a California highway in the wrong direction (high on Vicodin and marijuana… oops?) and slammed with a DUI.

Now, she is the mother of one (and expecting a second), the designer of a vintage jewelry line, and longtime girlfriend to Good Charlotte rocker, Joel Madden. With a loosely autobiographical novel under her belt and a small role in the recent hit movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Richie seems to have made it big.

Talk about a turnaround.

I love Nicole Richie, adopted daughter of crooner Lionel, because she defines transformation. Throughout the beginning seasons of The Simple Life, it’s safe to say that our girl Nicole was a hot mess. Appearing alongside BFF Paris Hilton with horrible highlights and making seriously unfortunate wardrobe choices, she landed a spot on Hollywood´s wild-child list where her reputation plummeted.

Shortly after that, Nikki, now age 27, decided to join Lindsay Lohan´s eating issues club and lost what looked like 100 pounds. She was often snapped by photogs looking like a boy fresh out of elementary school or the winning contestant on Survivor.

Somehow, though, Richie got it together.

Today, Nicole is happy, healthy, and well-respected. Gone with her awful highlights are her partying ways and negative image. She has earned her place among the young Hollywood style icons with an innovative wardrobe combining hippie-chic and classic elegance. In my opinion, she gave birth to the enormous-sunglass-trend that has still not died out…and that I am a devoted a fan of. And she has given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Harlow, which her jewelry line (House of Harlow) is named after. The line just exemplifies Richie’s style and invites the rest of us to try it on for ourselves.

To top it all off, snarky and hilarious Richie and Hilton are friends again after months of intense feuding, which I know makes us (at least secretly) all happy. What is Hollywood without a pair of ridiculous BFFs?

I’ll be the first to admit that I own a ridiculous amount of swimwear for a girl who lives in a state where the temperature reaches 80° for a maximum of three months. We don’t have real beaches, just lakes and pools. I’m not even a swimmer. I just really like bikinis. For the past few summers, however, the monokini has been a fierce alternative to the triangle top and the brazilian cut bottom. But will I actually buy one? Do I even like monokinis? I’m torn.

Love it:
I was first introduced to the concept of a monokini while watching none other than The Simple Life, when a non-emaciated Nicole Richie rocked the look while auditioning to be a mermaid at an amusement park in Florida. (Well, actually Paris was a mermaid; Nic was a turtle, but same difference.) After swimming, she pulled a denim mini over her suit and went clubbing. Swimsuit and sexy club top? Can’t (or at least shouldn’t) be done with a basic bikini. But with a monokini you’re getting two looks in one!

Aside from that, however no one can deny that monokinis are fierce and moderately new summer look. The fact that many girls haven’t tried the trend means that if you rock one, you’ll probably be getting a lot of looks on the beach. Monokinis are fierce because of their peek-a-boo sexiness. When you wear one, you’re not showing your entire body off, but you’re definitely hinting at and highlighting it. That being said, monokinis may be a good alternative for girls wanting more coverage than a classic bikini would provide without wearing a once piece or tankini.

Loathe It:
Two words: Tan. Lines.

Just think about what would happen – tan sides and cleavage, but one weird stomach. If you spend a day in a mono and want to switch it up to a bikini the next, it’s bound to look awkward. Speaking of awkward, it seems like if you have a normal body, monokinis are hard to look good in. Round tummy? It’s just going to accentuate it. Big hips? They’ll be very apparent in the hip-baring styles. Monokinis seem like they’d be a great option for the super-toned or super model type, but I’m not so sure that they’d be flattering to girls with regular bodies.

Lastly, while monokinis come in all different varieties – some cut out drastically on the sides and front leaving just a strip of fabric connecting the bottoms and the top, some just cut out the sides, and others have modified triangle tops built into a deep V– the customization isn’t anything like a bikini. If you’re wearing a two piece, you can usually buy a small top and medium bottoms, or a large top and small bottoms. Your tops and bottoms don’t even have to match! What happens if you want to wear a monokini and you have big boobs? Or a long torso? Or a curvy butt? In these cases, monokinis seem like wardrobe malfunctions waiting to happen…

But maybe that’s just me.

Have any of you ladies tried a monokini? Do you find them flattering? Comfortable? Or is it a trend you hate? Let us know in the comments!

Paris came to a few profound conclusions in jail. She said to King, “I took that time just to get to know myself”. And get to know herself she did, realizing that she is fatally claustrophobic, extremely religious and hopes to train herself to talk in a lower voice to be taken more seriously. In terms of Paris’ early exit — then surprising entrance back into Lynwood jail, it was her claustrophobia that led her home as the Sheriff to the stars considered it a life threatening condition. Also discovered was Paris’ struggle with Attention Deficit Disorder for which she takes consistent medication. Generally, the disease is treated with Adderall, a common prescription used recreationally as an amphetamine (can‘t be good for the claustrophobia). But none the less, Hilton maintains that she has never taken drugs as she contradicts on film here where she encounters a man covered in cocaine who asks her to do a line off of his chest. Paris declines and says, “No, I can’t. I’ve done like ten”. Hilton has never been known for her honesty or her squeaky clean image. If anything, people seem to think that she is an immoral reckless spoiled brat — and in some ways they may be right. But, special treatment or not, 3 weeks on lock down can not be an easy feat.

She wrote in her prison diaries (which will no doubt be released as a book in the near future), “I felt like this is a new beginning for me, to see jail — and I just used it as a journey to figure out myself and who I am and what I want to do. And there’s just so much more to me than what people think“. Apparently Anderson Cooper, whose show immediately follows Larry King, just didn’t seem to agree. Cooper even stated that she destroys her image every time she “opens that lip glossed mouth”. He even stated in the beginning of the show that he “was not above the news” and had to report on what the world was watching against his better judgment. The entire tongue-in-cheek special explored why Paris was famous which Cooper still couldn’t understand, recapped the dumbest moments of the prior show and where her celebrity goes from here. Much more interesting than the interview itself was Cooper’s commentary on the spoiled socialite. A Vanderbilt heir himself, Anderson had little to no sympathy for Hilton and seemed somewhat embarrassed by CNN’s coverage of such non-news. Nonetheless, it is the fate of Cooper and the rest of the world to endure a lot more Paris in the future. It seems there is no escaping the socialite anytime soon as this incident has only furthered her celebrity and status as a pop culture icon. She is a product, a mass marketed item, Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup can, and like it or not — a staple in our culture.

For your next Paris fix, The Simple Life airs Sunday nights on E! Entertainment.

Medically when the body is deprived of protein it becomes bloated, almost fat due to retention of water. As we see in photos form starving third world countries it is a common occurrence when the body suffers from a deficiency or lack of proper nutrition. But this is a Hollywood famine, starving in the finest of all restaurants while stowing a pharmacy away in your Balenciaga. In a world where every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger, we worship a culture of excess, fast food, binges and purges. Some children would even call Richie their idol; magazines promote her look as improved then attack her for being too skinny days later. Although anorexia is a disease it seems somehow unfair that the entire world is starving while America is on a crash diet.

In the fall of 2003 Nicole was arrested for Heroin possession and was sentenced to rehab. She claims that she has always been thin but gained weight while in the facility which would explain her appearance on The Simple Life shortly after. Over a period of three years Richie went from a healthy girl to a woman in the body of a child at 5’2’’ weighting just under 90lbs.

It was just a year ago that a 22 year old Brazilian model died on the runway, the horrific image of her collapse was a wake up call to the entertainment industry, what we consider fashionable could actually be a surefire death wish. Images of Nicole Richie running on the beach in a tiny blue bikini made the cover of magazines around the world, her bones poking through her hanging skin, it was so alarming people believed it to be photoshopped, contrived, and unreal. While some anorexics hide behind baggy clothes Nicole stripped down for photo ops, was this just a fashion statement, or a blatant cry for help?

Richie’s charismatic personality and undisputable humor made The Simple Life a hit show, distracting us from the conversational void of Paris Hilton, Nicole was more than just a sidekick she was in fact the entertainment. With the media monitoring her weight gains and losses it can’t be easy to maintain a healthy body image, it’s hard enough just flipping through the pages much less seeing yourself beside the unflattering blurbs.

The world can exhale, Paris Hilton is free. But it is Richie who will be up at bat next to battle her very own DUI case and may be the next to inhabit Paris’ old Lynwood stomping grounds. She will be battling her December arrest in which she was found driving the wrong way on an LA freeway in her 2005 Mercedes, volunteering information to officers Nicole confessed that she had taken vicodin and smoked marijuana leaving her disoriented before the incident. A dangerous and life threatening move, much worse in my opinion than Paris Hilton driving the correct way down Sunset after a few drinks, only time will tell if Nicole will also be made into an example like her pal. If her an boyfriend Joel Madden truly are expecting will her unborn child also serve as her get out of jail free card?

This season’s The Simple Life received little promotion. With Paris behind bars and Nicole awaiting trial it seems that even bad press is good press if you are a Hollywood socialite. If reports are true one can only hope that Nicole, pregnant or not will finally learn take care of herself not only for her child’s sake but for her own. Keep your fingers crossed and look forward to the plethora of future reality show possibilities; just think “The Simple Life: Motherhood”.