Celebrity style profiles: Famous faces on fashion

By Zoë Wolff

Style, not song, first hooked Adele (born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins). At 13, she spotted an Etta James CD in a bargain bin at the HMV store in her native London. She had never heard of James but was instantly smitten. “Her blond weave and her catty eyes and her curves and her tight gold shimmery dresses, and just that attitude in her face and figure — I was like, ‘Oh my God, to die!’ Click here to continue reading this article.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

By Emili Vesilind

Common’s glad the face of hip-hop is veering away from carats and Cristal. “I think it’s great that [bling] is gone,” he said. “That really didn’t exemplify style. It was just like, ‘I have the money to buy this.’ And that ain’t what style’s about . . . I think good style is about having an eye for quality things and putting them together so they have a feel and integrity and flavor. Click here to continue reading this article  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

By Monica Corcoran

To tap into the psyche of a label fiend [in the film “Confessions of a Shopaholic”, Fisher didn’t trawl Rodeo Drive or Fred Segal for overzealous shoppers. Instead, she chose to view Rebecca Bloomwood as a deranged woman who assumes that her selfish actions are for the greater good. Fisher even developed a mantra: “I kept thinking of how in ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ Blanche DuBois says, ‘I just wanted to make the world more beautiful.’ ” More often than not, as a woman, you don’t get the opportunity to play someone who’s flawed and carries the story.” Click here to continue reading this article.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

By Booth Moore

An urban peacock whose tribal look samples the preppies of Brentwood, the punks of North Hollywood, the skaters of Venice, the hippies of the canyons and the hip-hoppers of South-Central, Taz Arnold is one of the most stylish men of the moment. Maybe you’ve seen him staring out from the pages of indie magazines such as Trace or Index, singing “Ima Vote Obama Way” in his self-made fan video on YouTube, or sitting next to Kanye West at a fashion show. Click here to continue reading this article.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

By Monica Corcoran

Christina Hendricks eyes a darling white cloche much as a cougar sizes up a coyote with a limp. She circles. She purrs. She pounces. “I have so many hats, but. . . “ she says, adjusting the brim in the mirror at the local vintage boutique The Way We Wore. Leave it to Hendricks to flirt with a hat. Click here to continue reading this article.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

By Monica Corcoran

Director Larry Charles has been mistaken for a homeless crack addict, thanks to his, er, unconventional style. (The pajamas and Moses beard didn’t help.) But nowadays, Charles ... favors sleek designer suits and snappy fedoras. The man who wrote for “Seinfeld” and “Mad About You” and directed “Borat” demystifies his brio. Click here to continue reading this article.  (Malcolm Taylor / Getty Images)

By Adam Tschorn and Erin Weinger

Manny Ramirez is a Dominican-born slugger with two World Series championship rings, a headful of dreadlocks and a legacy of laissez-faire antics that make him a one-man soap opera on and off the field.

From the length of his hair to the number he wears (99), he knows the impact every stylish detail can have. In 2007, he made Sports Illustrated’s list of best-dressed baseball players (in an online poll he placed seventh, between Mike Piazza and Andruw Jones). Click here to continue reading this article.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

By Emili Vesilind

Designers were calling before Katy Perry’s first single even hit the Web, eager to get in early with a potential “it” girl. Perry caught the eye of Betsey Johnson after being snapped in one of the designer’s dresses for WWD; soon after, Johnson was dressing the singer for various fall fashion shows in New York in February. “Betsey really likes Katy’s appearance,” says a spokesperson for the company. “She’s very curvy and pinup looking — a typical Betsey girl.”  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

By Adam Tschorn

“If I’m going to the grocery store I just put my hair in a bun, do a sweep of powder, the red lips, add some sunglasses, ballet flats and maybe a comfortable vintage day dress,” says Dita Von Teese. “I have a theory that the day you don’t bother is the day you run into your ex-boyfriend or your ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.” Click here to continue reading this article.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

By Leslie Gornstein

Chanel embodies the ideal of a 21st century model: an unconventional beauty. A mix of glamour and mischief. A quirky individual style that, in Chanel’s case, is utterly underwhelmed by the highfalutin’ fury of $800 stilettos and breathless label-worship that pervades high fashion. Click here to continue reading this article.  (Courtney Hergesheimer / Los Angeles Times)

By Booth Moore

There is just no way not to notice Victoria Beckham. She’s dressed in a black bandage dress by Hervé Léger, her legs tanned the color of an Hermès Birkin. The pear-shaped diamond ring on her finger has to be the biggest bauble in Hollywood, or maybe it just looks like it on her child-size frame. Click here to continue reading this article.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

By Rose Apodaca

Here’s a Hollywood star who dares to walk the red carpet without an overpaid stylist dictating what shoes she should slip into. She admits to doing her own makeup and hair because, well, it’s easier. Whether her choices leave everyday observers giddy or gobsmacked, Sevigny pulls them off to such effect that the fashion world goes ga-ga at every choice. Click here to continue reading this article.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)