I'll never forget at work one day (back when I handled public relations and styling at the Diane von Furstenberg HQ), Diane breezed by my desk, as she always did, taking note of her surroundings, and offering the most rewarding smirks along the way. Only this time, she stopped at my best friend's desk, and opened her mouth...
"Kate, you look like an Italian movie star." Ok, but seriously, imagine those words in a fabulous mixed European tone with accents on all the rights words. Italian. Star.
Kate was effortless that day. She went super au-natural with her hair (thanks to her genes though, picture long, thick Lea Michele locks, half brushed), and was wearing an easy day dress with no fuss. She was an Italian movie star! She was natural, feminine, and raw.
Kate and I will never forget that moment... Kate sought out to look like an Italian movie star every day forward after that. And I envisioned my life without the extra blue eyeliner, yellow nails, curled hair, and stacks of bangles. (Sigh!?)
And sometimes, just sometimes, the Italian movie star comes out in me, like this moment in NYC. <3
Photographs taken in NYC by Sean Madden.