Lori Goldstein's Book Collection, Art, and Finding Inspiration

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Introducing Racked National's first celebrity guest blogger: Lori Goldstein. One of the most iconic fashion stylists of our time, Lori is also one of the most sought-after creative visionaries in the industry.

She's worked with celebrities including Madonna, Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, and Anne Hathaway, has held the position of Contributing Editor at Italian Vogue and Allure, and has worked as a creative consultant for brands including Vera Wang, Nina Ricci, Carolina Herrera, BCBG, and TSE. Lori currently has a featured fashion line with QVC called Logo Instant Chic.

Italian Vogue / Toni Duquette, photo by Steven Meisel

Immersion Inspiration Celebration

It’s almost too easy to say inspiration comes from the ordinary, the every day and is around every corner. While in part it’s totally true, over the years my collaborations with many great photographers like Steven, Mario Testino, Inez and Vinoodh, among others, have garnered some amazing results. However, my day-to-day inspirations and creative inspirations have come from countless biographies, art and coffee table books.

One word: Immersion. I become immersed in the world I inhabit in these books, and all starting as a teenager with a Diane Arbus book—you know, the one with the twins on the cover—in Cincinnati, Ohio. I could imagine myself in Central Park with these interesting people, Diane’s characters (thus the move to New York City).

There are hundreds of books at my house in the city (photo after the jump) and in East Hampton; typically they fall into really five categories: Interiors, Photographers, mid-century New York Artists, Old Hollywood and Jewelry.

Photo by Will Starr

I have just about every one of the Taschen Interior books you can imagine. Any interiors book is probably the biggest part of my daily dressing and styling philosophy: layering—the wall color, with the furniture with the fixtures is very similar to building a look. One in particular is the Wendy Goodman tome on Tony Duquette. How amazing after my one of my all time favorite shoots (above) at his Malibu estate and Beverly Hills mansion this came out as coffee table book and everyday reminder of how much I love his style? “More is More.”

I had the very lucky opportunity to work with Richard Avedon, and it truly was meeting and working with a legend. I have all of the books from the canon of photographers: Avedon, Helmut Newton and the recently departed Irving Penn.

Michael (Corrine) West

If I could imagine where I would have lived in another life, New York in the 1940s and ‘50s—the era of Beatniks, Abstract Impressionism, and JD Salinger. It was the time of Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. This era has inspired me so much; I awake to it every morning with a painting by Michael (Corrine) West hanging above my bed. A lover of Ashrile Gorky, she was urged to change her name to a Michael to be respected in the art world. This painting she started in the 1940s and worked on until the ‘70s. To carry the parallel like me, West was from Ohio.

What is not better than Old Hollywood, and getting lost in the multiple Vanity Fair Portraits is a favorite past time. And those old photos filled with glamour and tinged with a bit of intrigue is a strong undercurrent in all of my work.

Photo by Steven Meisel

Finally, in developing my Logo Instant Chic brand, taking a cue from the master jewelers such as Cartier, the more “chunky” the better. It’s a statement without saying a word.

So, take some time in a library, used bookstore or mega-chain, and look for your own inspiration?oh wait, you can find everywhere!!
· Logo Instant Chic [Facebook]
· Logo Instant Chic [QVC]
· @LGInstantChic [Twitter]
· All Lori Goldstein, all the time [Racked]