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"We have all our lives to be perfect, that's not really the goal in style."

[Ed. Note: Garance Doré is the wildly popular blogger behind her eponymous site and has been featured everywhere from Vogue.com to the pages of Self Service.]

"My blog has always been about inspiration ... It’s been my style education. I have always loved fashion, but I come from a small city, and so being fashionable didn’t mean the same as it means in Paris or New York. ...

 

My mother was really a big fashion person. She was very fierce and was criticized for that because she lived in a very small place in Corsica. She use to wear Alaia and Jean Paul Gaultier on the beach, you know, so funny! ... When I was younger that made me feel self-conscious, but at the same time I admired the way she was in her clothes. She has taught me to be independent, and I think that shows in my style. ...

 

I’m always drawn to beautiful simplicity.... That or mixing trends. Like military with super-sexy with neon and making it look attractive and fun. I love how people can mix all that. I want to see them everyday! The thing I’m learning in New York is that you can really mix anything. That’s why it’s the best dressed city in the world for me. You’re freer in New York. Everybody minds their business, and I’m not worried about what people will think. Sometimes it means I stay in my yoga pants all day too, and nobody will judge me. ...

 

In Paris you want to dress chic and elegant, and to be dressed to the level of everybody else. Formal wear disappears. It's like, 'I’m so cool, I’m going to go to that super-dressy party in jeans.' I don’t believe in that. You should give an occasion the level of attention that it needs. I want to find my way to do it and still be really cool, which is a challenge. ...

 

For the CFDA Awards I'm thinking about asking Derek Lam. I really loved his collection. There is a simplicity and a play with color that could work. I was thinking of him or Michael Kors because if I want to be dressed, I love the simplicity. I would maybe also even do Calvin Klein. I don’t know if anything would really work, but I like the idea of it. I don’t know, I’m not ironic. I want to look good; I don’t want to hide myself or to be overly sexy. I want something that is just right. ...

 

I’ve learnt from going to fashion weeks that I don’t really like clothes that are in season. I hate wearing the latest 'It item.' ... You see all these people going to fashion shows super over-dressed, and it’s like jeans and T-shirts in the show. I’m not really part of that. I go to the fashion shows, but I don’t want to have to report on what people are wearing. That’s not my job. My job as I give it to myself is about what inspires me. I don’t want to criticize it  because I think people are having a lot of fun, but that’s just not my identity.

 

We have all our lives to be perfect, that's not really the goal in style. It’s definitely about mixing the things that you like. ... Sometimes I’m like, 'What is my style?!' but then I think, 'just buy what you like and it will go together.' It’s not about choosing one style. My style is really a patchwork of different kinds of stuff. I try to put little bit of everything in one outfit. ... It’s like an apartment. It takes me a long time to decorate my apartment because, I don’t want to have a decorator to do it. I want it to feel like me ... I just buy what I like and it will go together. Personally, I’m pretty active, so I like comfort. I don’t want to be thinking about my clothes all day. I like jeans and easy shirts. There is an element that draws me to menswear because it always looks cool and is very comfortable. I like girly things, too. That’s when you add a pair of heels." -- Garance Doré to Shop Ghost

Garance Doré photographed in New York by Stevie Dance.