A Valentino Summer

Ever since I got the issue of Teen Vogue in the mail, I haven't been able to stop ranting about the beautifully-cut Valentino dress worn by Elle Fanning in the February cover shoot. It appears that the spring/summer fashion trends favour old-fashioned lace cuts and bright classic reds (The tart shade, after all, is an apt choice for award season's numerous red carpet events. One only needs to look at Charlize Theron's choices for the Globes this year).

Elle models in a red Miu Miu dress with a full lace bodice, a scarlet Christopher Kane piece with white lace sleeves, Marc Jacobs & even some elegant Louis Vuitton. Accessories wise, the simple gold headband and thick Oscar de la Renta cuff goes wonderfully with the Valentino.

As for the charming starlet, one can no longer call her the 'second' or 'littlest' fanning. As said before, the lovely Elle Fanning is going places. Besides being a talented thespian, who shows not only breadth, but depth of acting, Elle can be said to have reached far into the world of fashion. Being personally invited  by Karl Lagerfeld to the Paris 2011 Haute Couture show is not something many teenagers can dream, let alone, boast about. Besides being on the top of fashion show invite lists from around the world, Elle Fanning is also the model, spokesperson & muse for established couture line Rodarte. And all of this, at the age of thirteen-going-on-fourteen.

You can read the full teen vogue article here, or watch Elle pirouette gracefully in Rodarte's short fashion film, The Curve of Forgotten Things.

Phoebe in Wonderland

'At a certain point in your life, probably when too much of it has gone by... You will open your eyes and see yourself for who you are. Especially for everything that made you so different from all the awful normals. And you will say to yourself... But I am this person. And in that statement, that correction, there will be a kind of love.'

Lately, I've been watching a lot of Elle Fanning movies. It sounds strange, because you wouldn't expect such a young actress to have had a tremendously prolific career and an extensive filmography. The thirteen year old Elle, however, is certainly going places. She was absolutely brilliant in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, shone in J.J. Abram's Super 8, and was a regular Jerry Spinelli-esque Stargirl in We Bought the Zoo. It was her first lead role in Phoebe in Wonderland, however, that remains the most special of all.

I love this movie. I love it because it tells all of us (and to a point, reassures me) that it's alright to be different. It's okay to feel disconnected and distant and a little bizarre. It's perfectly fine to delve into another world of looking glasses and talking rabbits and tea parties, and completely lose yourself in the magic. It's comforting, to know you're not alone :)