Lula

My endlessly delightful and talented friend Lula from The Subject I Know Best is also a favorite of Giovanna Battaglia. Lula spends her time modeling the latest fashions and illustrating herself in outfits straight off the runway, sometimes taking on the role of one of her favorite fashion icons. Lula was even kind enough to draw herself as me! When Giovanna noticed her darling illustrations, she made "Lula as Giovanna" her Twitter icon. Lula has also appeared in Dolce & Gabbana's Swide Magazine. Visit the photo gallery to view more of Lula's looks as Giovanna Battaglia or her web site to see her brilliant Fashion Week choices.

Fashion illustrations  © 2010 Lula — The Subject I Know Best. All Rights Reserved.

Smythson

If one looks impeccable, the contents of one's stylish bag ought to be equally fashionable in order to complete the look. Each piece you carry should signify your status as a style icon. This means that your notebooks and diaries should be just as personal as your way of dressing. Lots of darlings of the fashion scene including Giovanna Battaglia rely on Smythson for their personalized small leather goods and stationery. Choose from an amazing range of colors and leathers then make your diary or notebook truly personal with your initials or, in the case of Gio, your nickname stamped in gold. Giovanna is obsessed with personalizing her clothing and accessories with her preference for her abbreviated name; from her handmade shirts to her handbags to her diaries, there is no mistaking it is "Gio." You can see her custom Smythson notebook on the left in the photo above.

Smythson in Bond Street London is an amazing place to shop. It used to be quite stuffy, but the last decade has seen the company burgeon into the fashionable place for stationery and small leather goods. In her role as creative director for Smythson, Samantha Cameron (yes the PM’s wife) revived the company's image. She resigned her role last year due to her new social position, but made the company do conjunctions with Giles Deacon and created a handbag line. They recently invited Holly Fulton to design a line of stationery, making it not only chic but very, very fashionable to handwrite your correspondence. What better way to leave one's stylish mark in the digital era than with tradtional paper and pen with a modern twist?

If you are interested in a personalized diary like the one Giovanna prefers, be prepared to be dazzled first by the choice of colors and then by the prices which can be a bit steep. You must hand it to the lady though, the Smythson notebooks do make beautiful handbag fillers.

Giovanna Battaglia's Smythson notebook image © 2008 Condé Nast.
Smythson product images courtesy of www.smythson.com

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat

Giovanna Battaglia claims that she cannot live without her Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat highlighter and let’s face it, is there really anyone out there who disagrees with her logic? If you have a full schedule like Gio and dark circles begin to appear under your eyes after endless nights of parties and cozy dinners, just a touch of the magic that is Touche Éclat will help you fix it. The fabulous thing about this little golden wand is that it fits chicly into your bag, always handy for that radiant touch up that makes you look like a million. Touche Éclat comes in eight different shades and you can wear it under or over your foundation or powder. Any moment you feel like a pick me up, just use this magical little pen.

A makeup artist once shared with me the true magic of Touche Éclat: It not only hides circles under the eyes, a little dab in the corner of your inner eye and the arch of your eyebrows makes all signs of fatigue disappear. The most important thing is to find the right shade for you. Too light or too dark and you will look worse actually, so take your time testing the shades and ask the salesperson to bring a mirror outside to see the effect in completely natural lighting. We all look gorgeous in a candle lighted scene but the real test is under the harsh light of day! YSL Beauté honors this miracle product with its very own web site, filled with helpful advice and suggestions for application; you can even enhance your smile or lighten your face if you follow their tips. YSL boasts that Touche Éclat is number one in sales, selling somewhere in the world every ten seconds — it must be magic!

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat images courtesy of yslbeautyus.com

Charvet

We all know that men’s clothing can look extremely hot on a woman; Giovanna Battaglia takes this wisdom to the extreme and wears handmade men's shirts everywhere. It is very Milanese to have your shirts created by a local shirtmaker who will embroider your initials upon request as well. Though she obviously adores the shirts that she owns by Milanese craftsmen, Giovanna has her shirts made by Charvet when in Paris.

Charvet is the house to go to when you require a bespoke shirt, costume, or tie in the French tradition. Christofle Charvet, son of the wardrobe curator of Napoleon, founded Charvet in 1838. He was the first chemisier (or in English, "shirtmaker") of his kind, measuring clients in his store and urging them to choose their own fabrics for each of his shirts which were then made to order on site. You can find Charvet at the Place Vendôme in Paris and after years of watching other shirtmakers open and close their stores, this is the only chemisier in town still crafting bespoke shirts.

If you go for a customized shirt fitting, Charvet will take a minimum of 18 measurements. A basic cotton version of the ordered shirt will be made first to ensure the custom fit is tailored to perfection. After the successful proof is approved, an additional 30 days are needed to complete each shirt. You need not order a closet full either, Charvet takes orders starting at just one shirt! Nor are all of their shirts bespoke and custom, you can explore a vast collection of ready to wear choices. Don’t be surprised to see someone famous in line at Charvet: besides Gio herself, Catherine Deneuve, Sofia Coppola, and several presidents cannot live without their Charvet shirts — they will even make a shirt to order for a monkey! It's true, watch the fascinating video by men.style.com for a glimpse of their exquisite craftsmanship and painstaking attention to detail. Only the very best for Giovanna...

Charvet images courtesy of charvet.com, makethman.com, juliesparis.wordpress.com, prepidemic.com
Giovanna Battaglia in Charvet photograph © 2010 Tommy Ton. All Rights Reserved.

Kelley And Ping

Running around in five-inch heels from fashion shows to photo shoots to parties can certainly work up a girl's appetite! Keeping busy as an Italian style icon and fashion director for Vogue Gioello and Vogue Pelle, how does Giovanna Battaglia make time for eating when she is in New York City? One of Gio's favorite dining spots is Kelley and Ping situated in the bustling and chic Soho area.

While stylish chaos reigns outside the restaurant, this gorgeous girl on the go finds Kelley and Ping a tranquil and peaceful spot — a respite from her hectic though much desired lifestyle. And, hey the food is pretty good too! The delicious dishes on the menu are inspired by the cultures of China, Vietnam, Korea, and Thailand. Though Giovanna has yet to proclaim her favorite dish, Kelley and Ping offers a wide range of choices to satisfy any craving she may encounter: BiBimBop, Pad Sew Yew, Curried Noodles, Wok Fired Shrimp, Korean Beef, Stir Fry, and Tofu dishes, many for under $10. Dessert costs extra, but to maintain her slim figure, perhaps Gio foregoes the cookies and sticky rice.

The staff is always friendly and helpful to her, who wouldn’t be if they saw Giovanna stroll in... If you don’t catch her sitting inside their Greene Street location, she could on the rare occasion be kicking off those fabulous heels and ordering in. Either way, it is easy to see that healthy eating is always in fashion in Giovanna’s life.

Kelley and Ping restaurant images courtesy of kelleyandping.com