My French Guru

If you do not already know who Garance Doré is, allow me the honor of introducing her. She is equal parts photographer, illustrator, and blogger, all packaged into a fabulous and effortlessly cool French woman who travels the world documenting fellow fashionistas. In other words, she is my French guru.

Hey, Elizabeth Gilbert had her yoga guru. And this is my version of that.

Doré's eponymous blog is more like a daily journal, documenting her adventures in the world of fashion and fashionable beings. Trips to Aspen... fashion week in Milan, Paris... a day on the streets of New York... she captures all of it... Jenna Lyons... supermodels... strangers on the street.. with a flick of her tousled curls, a flash of her trusty camera, and a slow, cool puff of her cigarette. (I'm 24-years-old and can proudly say I've never put a cigarette to my mouth. Now I have my guru making it look so darn cool.)

The lady of the hour: Ms. Garance Doré.

She is lovely. And what did I tell you about her smoking? Cool, yes?

You can read more about her here.

I have to say my favorite part of her blog are the illustrations. They don't pop up in posts nearly as often as I'd like. I wish I could draw as effortlessly as I imagine she sketches these. Makes me want to run out and buy a notebook, colored pencils, and sketch, sketch, sketch until I get it. Or at least sign up for a drawing class. Any suggestions as to where I can do that, fellow Chicagoans?

And to add salt in my wounds of how much cooler she is than I'll ever be, all of her illustrations are a gagillion times more stylish than anything I've ever managed to put together. And while you might say, "But Alaina, they're not real. They're just drawings." I would reply, "Well, dear reader, actually they are real." Followed by a sad face. Yes, nearly all of Doré's drawings are inspired by some person she knows or, at the very least, saw on the street.

See? There's the real-life inspiration. Humph.

I'm just kidding. I'm really not jealous. Kind of.

But enough of me obsessing. Let's get on with it.

Here are some of my favorite sketches of Doré's, for your viewing pleasure:

When are big, 80's-styled glasses combing back in style? And I mean prescription glasses. Not Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan bug-eyed sunglasses.

I like her eyes.

and her hat

and her bun

and her wispy, low-ponytail

and her red nails

and her chunky headband

and her yellow blouse

and pretty much everything about her.

Now do you see my obsession with this talented lady? If you're not yet convinced, well first off, shame on you. Secondly, get your butt over to Garance's blog now.

*all images by Garance Doré*