Stylist Kate Schelter has done it all: The owner and creative director of her own company, Kate Schelter LLC, and contributor to publications like W, Vanity Fair and The New York Times, Schelter is an expert in everything from branding and trend reporting to advertising and graphic design. No surprise, then, that her mood board is as vivid and cheerful as she is herself. Inspired by everything from traditional Peruvian garb to vintage Ungaro prints, Schelter's lively spring style is a breath of fresh air amid the April damp and drizzle.
Peru (at left and in background): "Peruvian traditional dress has always inspired me—pink pom-poms, color combinations, fringe borders, flowers on the hats, ribbons, amazing techniques for tying scarves, and wrapping fabrics. I see a lot of this color and draping in modern designers’ work like Lanvin and Dries Van Noten. Notice how some girls are wearing their hats and some drape it like a necklace in it’s own right. The layering is so chaotic and free."
Prada Shoes: "I love the design of these shoes and also how the material was created by weaving leather together."
Richard Misrach, from his book "On The Beach": "I find this photo so inspiring for the pattern he creates while abstracting his subject. The soft warmth of sand dotted with bits of brights."
Ann Menke & "Gypset": I love the idea and style of "Gypset," the term geniously coined by my friend Julia Chaplin who authored the book. I remember when this story originally appeared in Elle and I tore it out and stuck it on my wall. I loved it because it was a documentary photo—not a styled fashion shoot. More National Geographic in feel. It became the inspiration for a photo shoot I styled later that summer, as well as my own personal hair inspiration for life.
Kate's Hat: "This is a water color painting I did of my hat from Ghana during a trip to Harbour Island. I love to water color paint and I find myself painting a lot of my own beloved belongings–jewelry, lipstick, sunglasses—as a way of sketching what inspires me and discovering what attracts me to the things I love. Sort of honing in on the 'why' of a gut feeling."
Vintage Ungaro: "I love vintage Ungaro, and I collect it. The prints are very 'granny floral' on steroids but I love a good chintz on chintz combo with heaps of jewelry."
