Like Norma Jeane Baker or Lizzy Grant, Lauren Bacall wasn’t born with a roll-off-the-tongue fame-ready name. Born Betty Joan Perske, then changing to Betty Bacall after her parents divorced, she became Lauren only when she starred her first film – 1944′s To Have and Have Not – for which these hair and makeup tests were taken. Beautifully styled in four different ways, you can view…

View all the catwalk photos of the Ruffian autumn (fall) / winter 2012 showing at New York fashion week. Read the article to see the full gallery.

While she’s been the star of a number of campaigns, Abbey Lee Kershaw‘s presence in magazine editorials has, for want of a better term, plummeted this year. That may in part come down to less demand for the grunger, rocker girl – after all, the demand for classic beauties has conversely increased and when the likes of Isabeli Fontana can work a Sophia Loren-esque look…

The rolled-up sleeve, the arched brow, the way that cigarette is about to be resigned, without compromise, to a definite fate. If elegance is an attitude then so is that sense of defiance, independence, and audaciousness that can’t be copied and can’t be bought, but can certainly be the inspiration that causes one to try. Lauren Bacall had it in volumes.

Marie Chaix’s styling takes on a surprise colour palette of aquas, blues, purples and greens, from Robin Hood-esque tights to a royal blue sunray pleat skirt made casual by way of a cotton t-shirt. But while I can’t think of a way to singularly describe the unusual styling there’s certainly something to be said for Arizona Muse‘s mannerisms and poses in this editorial for Self…

Those who object to smoking – and more specifically the glamorisation of it – can seemingly get no respite. The fashion world still gets through every turn with at least a little guilty indulgence, a little smoke in its lungs. Smoking may not be sexy (read: I’m not condoning the habit) but it sure looks it, and Arizona Muse in this video, doing little else…

Looking at these covers from Dazed & Confused’s March 2011 issue, it’s suddenly become apparent to me why the fascination with Arizona Muse has been so meteoric, so fervorous… Those wide-set eyes, that facial structure, they’re both captivating and somehow familiar. This Muse can be both ultra-modern and ultra-classic, and when the latter she’s something of a modern-day Lauren Bacall.

The divine Miss Lauren Bacall, in an outfit that wouldn’t be amiss amoungst Spring 2011′s fashion trends: a nautical bow-neck playsuit by Carolyn Schnurer and effortless summer sandals.