Like a tall glass of water, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy was the 90’s ultimate cool blonde. Like her mother-in-law before her, she was a style barometer who had us rethinking headbands, knee high boots and that clean, modern uncluttered style she did so well.

Wearing her favourite designers Calvin Klein, Narciso Rodriguez, Prada and Yohji Yamamoto she stuck to a strong palette of black, white and camel pulling together the same elements regardless of the occasion — tailored white shirt, long pencil skirt, flared and ankle grazing jeans, form fitting tees and sweaters, tailored pants and a myriad of perfectly fitted black and white dresses in silks, laces and wool.  She accented her look not with jewels, but with signature pieces so subtle, simplistic and effortless you almost didn’t see them from her pointy kitten heels and woolen pea coats to that immaculate red lip and always a perfectly maintained sheet of white blonde hair.

Were she alive today we wonder, at 44, how her personal style may have evolved. We would like to think she would be busily pulling together her wardrobe from the collections of Stella McCartney, Celine and Donna Karan(above), all of whom this season have, in some way, channeled her minimal, classic style. The low ponytail, headband, rouge lip, long boot and clean modern tailoring are CBK-chic to a T. 

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy was the ultimate blonde — in a nod to her we give you the ultimate Blondie via smittenkitchen

Blondies
Adapted from How to Cook Everything

• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Butter an 8×8 pan. Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).

Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Always err on the side of caution with baking times — nobody ever complained about a gooey-middled cookie. Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
• 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
• Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
• Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

• Perfectly polished and pulled together, we are inpired by this shot of Giovanna Battaglia on the streets of Paris in a clever mix of vintage and modern pieces.jak&jil

• The Buttermilk Truck with a charming retro-style logo and graphics, serves comfort-food on the go (think buttermilk-biscuit sandwiches and red velvet pancake bites) to hungry Angelenos, both in the morning and late at night. Check out the other fashionable food trucks operated by a new generation of chefs energized by the culinary revolution but daunted by the high cost of real estate. elledecor

• We are wild for Marc Jacobs safari-style suede ankle boots. Perfect for trekking the urban jungle. netaporter

• Fashion plays a pivotal role in the lush backdrop of Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love — thanks in no small part to Tilda Swinton’s evocative wardrobe created by Raf Simons for Jil Sander. elle

• Today’s lust-have? Alexis Bittar’s Champagne Dust earrings encrusted with twinkling stones in varying shades of our favourite apéritif. Sparkle, bubble, POP! mytheresa

• The perfect remedy when you have over indulged? A vast bowl of Vietnamese bun cha gio — spicy, sweet, fragrant and nutty, this is a fantastic recipe. Check it out. aspicyperspective!

• We are pea green that Nicole can wear this tricky colour so well. Reds rule! dailymail

We love Jackie O. She had FashionFatale written all over her in CAPITAL letters. Apparently she could cook too. Which makes her a poster girl FashionFoodFatale in any language. Her cake recipe below sounds just like her — rich, sophisticated, well-travelled and oh so classic. Don big black sunglasses, an air of mystique and get baking…

Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ International Coffee Cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream butter; add sugar; cream together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to first mixture, alternating with sour cream. Begin and end with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla extract.

In small dish, mix sugars, pecans, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons butter. Pour 1/2 of batter in greased 10-inch tube pan. Top with 1/2 sugar mixture. Pour in rest of batter and top with rest of sugar mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes or until done.

• 46-year-old nineties icon Kristen McMenamyis featured in all her grey-haired glory on both August’s Dazed & Confused cover and inside the pages of Vogue. McMenamy made the decision six years ago to stop dying her hair. “You’ve got to keep moving forward,” she told Vogue. “You can get older and still be rock-n-roll. I thought all that gray hair would make a beautiful picture.” fashionologie

• Tom Binns whimsically wonderful skull tee is at the top of our shopping list. matches

• We are sweet for these creamy citrusy treats:Honey Lemon Pots De Creme. Amen. mytartlette

• Carla Bruni-Sarkozy stepped before cameras alongside Owen Wilson in Paris Tuesday afternoon in a film directed by Woody Allen. The scenes, shot around the Pantheon in Paris’s fifth arrondissement, will appear in Allen’s current project, Paris In Midnight. people.com

• For the truly addicted — Kitson’s chocolate coin purse. Yum. kitson

• Paul & Joe’s has added new lipsticks to their Lipstick C line. It comes in three beautiful shades and has a creamy, soft texture that come molded into the shape of cat heads, which we can imagine would make lipstick application as easy as painting with a Christmas tree. refinery29

FFF has fallen prey to the nasty cold and flu season. Aching muscles, sniffling nose, golf ball in the back of the throat with a razor blade chaser, and those lo-o-o-ng, sleepless nights. Red shoes are fabulous — noses not so. And what’s a Fatale to eat when her taste buds have all but gone on strike?

Dire times call for extreme measures … here are a few failsafe, old style remedies to help you fight off the dreaded lurgy.

Before bed at night: follow these steps religiously and you’ll be back in your Choos before you can say … well … aah—CHOO!:

1. Boil kettle.

2. Add half a teaspoon of Vicks Vaporub to a large non-porous bowl, pour in a cup or so of boiling water, grab a box of tissues and gently inhale the fumes (keep your eyes closed!). Use tissues to clear your nose, alternating with the steam inhalation for 5 to 10 mins or until your passageways feel clear.

3. Add fresh lemon juice, honey and add a dash of your favourite dark rum (we like Bundaberg) to a mug and top up with hot water. Adjust to taste (add some raw sugar if you need it sweeter). After your head clearing inhalation, this magic potion will allow you to drift off to the land of snooze with ease…

4. Rub Vicks Vaporub into your feet and don a pair of soft cotton socks for sleep (remember to wash your hands after applying!). The theory: Vicks will help draw the cold/flu down through your extremities (feet) and out of your system.

You will also need a restorative broth to nourish you through these trying times. Nothing beats ‘Jewish Penicillin’ aka Chicken Soup. We’re making the Zabars version, one of our favourite spots in NYC. Our advice — make a big batch now and freeze in portions so, like a girl scout, you’re prepared!

Get well soon! x

• We’re sure you’ll recognise, from left to right, Karl Lagerfeld, er, Boris Johnson, and Grace Coddington, three of the stars of Rubbish magazine’s Fashionable Finger Puppets. The fashionable friends go on sale on Rubbishmagshop.com, and in the V&A, Colette and Liberty during London Fashion Week. vogue.uk

• Balenciaga’s wrinkled lambskin Arena Classic Square Bag in Maldives Blue is one of the prettiest we have wanted to tote for ages. barneys

• Need pizza? Put away the mozzarella and dive into Fred & Friends 400 piece puzzle instead. colette.fr

• We have serious picnic envy! Check out the Picnic Mess Tin — 3 large and 1 medium sized compartmentalised melamine bowls for all our salady bits and bobs. Picnic perfect! pedlars

• Stella McCartney has commissioned British artist Barry Reigate to doodle balloon letters, top hats, and clown shoes hanging off her logo for her Fall 2010 campaign featuring Natalia Vodianova. Super-cute. fashionologie

• Pesto remains one of our fave go-to items for spilling over pasta, popping on an antipasto platter, dipping into and slathering over a pizza base. We are in love with its delicious, and slightly nuttier cousin, Walnut Pesto. Give her a whirl…  kissmyspatula

With sweater dressing still high on our our fashion priority list and cable knit sweaters strong on the F/W 2010 runways at both Prada (left) and Marc Jacobs, our minds turn to comfort food. The homiest and most comforting in our book is a wonderfully thick and delicious homemade soup. 

Recently we had a special lunch for our favourite minis and my clever friend Monique cooked Donna Hay’s Mushroom and onion soup served with blue cheese toast. As warm and comfy as a Prada cable knit sweater.

Mushroom and Onion Soup with Blue Cheese Toast

• 50g butter
• 200g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
• 4 red onions, sliced
• 1 litre beef stock

• 8 slices sourdough baguette
• oilve oil, for brushing
• 120g soft blue cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat. Add the mushroom and cook for 2 minutes or until browned. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and cook for 5-8 minutes or until softened. Add the stock and cook for 10 minutes or until thickened slightly.

Place the bread on a baking tray and brush with oil. Grill (broil) under a preheated hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Spread with the blue cheese and serve with the soup. Serves 4.

We know, we know — it’s all about the iPad and the App at the moment … but what about this ingenious little number?

The Apron Cooking Guide (or the App-ron if you will) is a prime example of how something so simple and cleverly applied just works. Pop it on, and get down to kitchen business dicing, mincing and measuring. Need to check on something? Simply flick up the hem to reference numeric conversions, cooking times for vegetables, roasting times for birds, freezing instructions, defrosting times, a cooking glossary and more.

No need to mess that pretty iPad screen with sticky fingers … brilliant!

With pretty ice cream pastels tempting our fashion taste buds this season, we are caving into our craving for anything deliciously icy and sweet. Our choice of treat for our feet? Balenciaga’s F/W colour block platforms. For our tummy, any of these creamy, icy desserts shall do.

From the top… Dulce de leche ice cream (pronounced “DOOL-say day LEY-chay) meaning ‘milky caramel’ in Spanish (NOTE: easy peasy to make — a great recipe via smittenkitchen), Green Apple Sorbet via latartinegourmande, Nigella’s no need for an ice cream machine No Churn Pomegranate Ice cream, divine blueberry ice cream via thedinnerfiles and pretty-as-a-picture pétale de rose et lychee with gaspacho de framboises via foodbeam.