- Notorious recluse, Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garçons offers a rare interview with the Wall Street Journal. [WSJ]

- V Magazine offers a special preview of its 72-page Elizabeth Taylor tribute, styled by Carine Roitfeld and shot by Mario Testino. In it, Stephanie Seymour channels Liz and at least a few of her eight marriages. [The Cut]

- A gift from the retail gods? The Barney’s Warehouse Sale has been extended through Wednesday, September 7th. [Racked]

- Legitimate organization (?) Cosmetic Executive Women (U.K.) will honor old-school diva Joan Collins for being “a true cosmetic executive woman” and “a wonderful advocate for the beauty industry.” [WWD]

- According to recent statistics released by Match.com, Manhattanites are 3% more interested in dating someone from Brooklyn than someone from Manhattan. [Refinery29]

“‘One picture is worth ten thousand words’* and these carefully selected images are set to inspire anybody fascinated by either fashion, foibles, or simply the photographs themselves,” Elizabeth Walker says in the book’s introduction. “It is all about stylish contrasts, strange situations and rarely glimpsed pictures; all set to get the mind buzzing and the creative juices flowing.”

*Frederick R. Barnard 1927 Printer’s Ink

It’s difficult to put this amazing book into words when the story in-between the covers are told through photographs. And so, here are some of the coolest images that will surely inspire your wardrobe this week.

Rolling Stones Brian Jones sports a striped suit in 1967.

Lauren Hutton rocks a menswear-inspired look at Studio 54 in 1978.

Kate Moss wears a white fox wrap at Mario Testino’s London exhibition in 2002.

Diana Ross wearing a graphic black and white jumpsuit in 1983.

Joan Collins looking gorgeous in high-waisted jeans in 1955.

And there is more where that came from. Walker explores 13 trends that have been relevant since the 19th century until modern times.

What owning this book says about you: I love fashion history and the evolution of trends throughout the years. I’m a classic girl always looking for ways to update a definitive dressing movement.

What your dinner guests will say upon seeing this book on your coffee table: This book goes so well with the vintage clothes in your closet. I love Oscar Wilde in that fur coat!

How this book will make your fashion brain grow: By learning where trends came from and how they’ve evolved throughout the years, you’ll find new ways to recycle your classic pieces. True style comes through knowing the art and adaptation of fashion through time.

If you like this, you’ll love: American Fashion, Special Edition by Charlie Sheips

Leave the beer at home, kids. This is grown-folk drinking:

1. The Sidecar – Ditch your preferred mode of conveyance and hop in a Sidecar then floor it to DrunkTown, USA;  population: everyone cool.

2. Tom Collins - I hear Tom Collins is related to Joan Collins, who, if she were a drink, would probably bitch slap you into a pool by the end of the night.

3. Old Fashioned – As an old-fashioned kind of girl, I like an old-fashioned kind of drink. And when I’m drinking my old-fashioned drink, I like to wax nostalgic of my days as a jazz baby and Ziegfield girl. Come on everybody, let’s Charleston like it’s 1929!

4. Martini – The ultimate in sophistication, martinis evoke the spirit of Manhattan society when ladies wore mink stoles and men wore tails…and also when blacks and Jews weren’t allowed in nightclubs. Hey, I’m not saying it was all shits and giggles.

5. Henry C. Ramos’s Gin Fizz - I don’t know or care who this Henry C. Ramos is, but apparently the “longer you shake [his] cocktail, the frothier it gets.”

That’s what she said.

6. Whiskey Sour - Now this is a gentleman’s drink. The kind of gentleman who may sleep with whores, but treats them like ladies.

2 oz. whiskey
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2–3 tsp. sugar
3–4 ice cubes
Orange slice
Maraschino cherry

7. Fur Collar – I think all drinks should be named after fabulous fashion pieces. Maybe next year I’ll work on creating my own sartorial potables: the Sequined Pantsuit; the Tranny Heel; the The Drop-Crotch…which can have several connotations.

1 oz. vodka
1 oz. apricot brandy or liqueur, preferably
Rothman & Winter Orchard apricot liqueur
1 oz. freshly squeezed orange juice

8. Manhattan Noonday - Who doesn’t love a nooner?

1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. sweet (Italian) vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash simple syrup
1 maraschino cherry

9. Kentucky Club Margarita – This ain’t your $3 frozen margarita from Benny’s Burritos. Which saddens me a little since I love getting those free bowls of chips and salsa.

1 lime wedge
Kosher salt, to taste
1 1?2 oz. silver tequila
3?4 oz. freshly squeezed
lime juice
1?2 oz. Cointreau

10. Dirty Shirley - The Shirley Temple is a classic virgin cocktail, but all virgins need to bust that maraschino cherry eventually. Add a bit of vodka and Shirley Temple suddenly turns into Shirley MacLaine, circa her Rat Pack heyday when she was knockin’ ‘em back with Frank, Dino and Sammy.

LINK LOVE: Saveur

Joan Collins has recently revealed that she’s a bit terrified about the amount of emphasis placed on skinny models and actresses. It scares her that people don’t mind showcasing these people in the spotlight. Collins, who is no stranger to extreme dieting herself, has said that at one point she was eating a mere 850 calories a day in order to snag a movie role. “I know a producer who, when there were two actresses up for the same role, and one was a little heavier about the hips, said, ‘No, she’s too fat’ even though she was much better for the part,”  she says. When asked about her old dieting habits Joan said “Anyone can do it but why should they? Life is too short and food is too good.” Can’t say I disagree.

LINK LOVE: ONTD

“I have to say there aren’t many good-looking actresses around today. I mean there’s Angelina Jolie and… there’s Angelina Jolie,” Collins told Hello. “Jennifer Aniston is cute but I wouldn’t call her beautiful. She’s no Ava [Gardner] or Lana [Turner].”

AMEN SISTER! I have been waiting for someone to say that about Aniston for years.

LINK LOVE: Vogue.com

I have to admit; I was a bit saddened when some of my favorite collections and designers—such as Marc by Marc Jacobs and even Diane Von Furstenberg—showed pieces for Spring 2010 with heavy 80’s flash-back incorporated into them. I’ve never been a big fan of that era, so seeing shoulder pads being accepted as fashionable once again will take some getting used to.

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Patterns you’ve really only seen in reruns of The Cosby Show have suddenly thrown themselves back into major fashion again, along with a kaleidoscope of colors. Beyonce even sported a dress at the MTV Video Music Awards that looked all too much like a dress Joan Collins once wore on the show Dynasty.

So, find your crimper and big, floppy bow and get ready to look like you stepped out of a classic John Hughes movie this upcoming spring.

Joan Collins told My Fashion Life:

“I was in a few shops in St. Tropez and I found the clothes impossible to wear unless you are a teenager or in your early 20s.  If you are an older woman – and by that I mean 40 plus – there is nothing to wear unless you want to look like a drab old granny and you go to the fuddy-duddy shops where everything is ankle-length and floral print.”

I give Joan props for looking as good as she does at 76, but that collar thing kindof makes her look like a bird.

QUICKLINK: My Fashion Life