to each his(her) own

Who's Rachel Bilson's stylist? Or does she, happily, actually dress herself?

I don't think she's the most original dresser in Hollywood, but she wears clothes well, like Nicole Richie. Less as a fashion statement and more as an expression of taste. There's just less of the "trying too hard" factor I abhor in other so-called fashion icons.

It's led me think about the celebrities that we laud as fashion stars.

In the 90s', the definitive fashion star was Gwyneth Paltrow - then the living incarnation of Calvin Klein's inspirations, the new Grace Kelly, the girl with the perfect blonde blowout who wore that horrible pink Ralph Lauren dress to the Oscars when she won for Shakespeare in Love, the girl who dated Brad Pitt.

Every magazine I picked up featured her as a fashion icon on the cover. I remember reading an issue of September Vogue (US) and she was on the cover, accompanied by the words "Shopping with the world's chicest star."

I remember at the time (I was about 16?), I put her right up there with Kate Moss and Milla Jovovich in terms of fashion inspirations. I wanted to look somewhere between the Ms Paltrow, Ms Jovovich, and Ms Moss- edgy, off-hand, casual, simple, cool.

It's not like she's any less chic these days - she's actually lightened up a bit and looks far more interesting these days -

But the spotlight has definitely swung away from her to other flashier creatures on the red carpet. Even now, in hindsight, the best looks of Ms Paltrow from her earlier days are her more adventurous choices which feel more like an exercise of personal choice than a specific definition of chic -

Fads come and go, and while Ms Paltrow had pretty timeless style, the preference now is for something less flawless and more personal, which can't be a bad thing.

After all, Ms Moss is more relevant than ever. I don't think I need to go into the endless press she's still getting these days.

And even the very cool Ms Jovovich, who was never quite worshipped on the same level, still makes her mark as a fashionista, both as herself and as a designer -

I love how she is NEVER about an It item - be it dress, bag or shoe - and how she always looks like she dresses for herself and not really to impress anyone. And there's something very consistent about the way she looks. I included pictures here that are more than 5 years old, but you can't really tell.

Both of them of a more personal, individualised style that seems to epitomise less an era, and more themselves as people. I suppose that's saying something about what's eternal.

Pictures from style.com, Instyle, whatcelebswear.com, elle.com