NY Post's 50 Best Dressed Women In NYC

[Spacemiu]

Pretty good over all

1 & 2. Alexandra & Theodora Richards, daughters of Rolling Stone Keith Richards and model Patti Hansen

Why they're on the list: They combine sass and style, mixing thongs and Abercrombie & Fitch with Vera Wang and Arden B.

Defining fashion moment: Stealing attention at the Paris couture shows.

3. Chloe Sevigny, indie actress

Why she's on the list: Her daring style predates Carrie Bradshaw's.

Defining fashion moment: Wearing a dress by recently deposed YSL designer Alber Elbaz to the Golden Globes in 2000.

4. Nicole Kidman, Oscar-winning actress

Why she's on the list: Vogue's current cover girl is grace embodied.

Defining fashion moment: Her chartreuse John Galliano gown at the 1999 Oscars.

5.* Bjork, elfin Icelandic performer

Why she's on the list: Sheer guts. Bjork's favorite designers are beau Matthew Barney, Gaelyn & Cianfarani, and Kim Jones. Defining fashion moment: That swan dress.

6. Karen O, lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Why she's on the list: She's a radical, wearing funky ripped and graffiti-covered frocks.

Defining fashion moment: When she first doused her dress in Heineken at a show.

7. Debbie Harry, Blondie lead singer

Why she's on the list: She's still a perfect muse at 58.

Style secret: Still wears the duds Steven Sprouse made for her in the '70s.

8. Fran Lebowitz, author

Why she's on the list: She's prone to white shirts and black blazers by pals Calvin Klein and Diane von Furstenberg.

Defining fashion moment: Once tried to get herself banned from all fashion shows by slagging them off in a column.

9. Iman, model

Why she's on the list: No one makes an entrance like this towering Somalian beauty, who blends vintage Halston, Donna Karan and Isaac Mizrahi.

Style secret: She shops on Style.com.

10. Diane Sawyer, co-anchor of "Good Morning America"

Why she's on the list: Sawyer looks modern and never premeditated.

Style secret: Her closets are arranged by color.

11. Diane von Furstenberg, designer

Why she's on the list: Her eclectic taste: patterns, fur, buddy Christian Louboutin's super-high heels.

Defining fashion moment: She attracted as much attention as her signature wrap dress when she launched it in 1974.

12. Diana Taylor, New York State's superintendent of banking - and Mayor Bloomberg's significant other

Why she's on the list: Taylor has updated her overly taupe wardrobe with Oscar de la Renta and Armani.

Defining fashion moment: Five pages in Vogue's August issue in which she was seen in a gorgeous Chado Ralph Rucci gown.

13. Liv Tyler, actress

Why she's on the list: Her old-fashioned but sexy style is dictated by her own good taste, not trends or her size.

Style secret: At 5-foot-10, she's a fan of flats, including Marc Jacobs ballet shoes and Converse All-Stars.

14. Molly Simms, model/actress

Why she's on the list: The model-actress has finally got her fashion groove on.

Style secret: "If you're at home and it doesn't look good in the mirror, it's not going to look good anywhere else."

15. Stephanie Seymour, model and designer

Why she's on the list: No one looks better in vintage Azzedine Alaia than Seymour.

Defining fashion moment: Her transformation from big-haired rock star girlfriend to a glamorous '90s society woman.

16. Thelma Golden, director of the Studio Museum of Harlem

Why she's on the list: She's not afraid to use bright colors and dazzle a room of staid museum donors.

Style secret: Insists on standing out from the crowd.

17. Olivia Chantecaille, cosmetic businesswoman

Why she's on the list: Simple, studied elegance.

Style secret: A great complexion is essential - she favors her own Rose Water toner.

18. Kelly Ripa, TV hostess/actress

Why she's on the list: An un-self-conscious style: "If it's clean, I put it on."

Style secret: Looks for cool fashions and avoids the fancy couture.

19. Jane Krakowski, Tony-winning star of "Nine"

Why she's on the list: Her image as Ally McBeal's slutty secretary has been blown away by her parade of elegant looks.

Style secret: They're called legs! And lots of 'em.

20. Nan Kempner, socialite

Why she's on the list: She has one of the biggest - and most expensive - wardrobes in America.

Style secret: She's so skinny, she gets a discount, since she fits into sample sizes.

21. Julianne Moore, actress

Why she's on the list: Her stunning turn in dark green YSL at the Oscars this year.

Defining fashion moment: When she went mainstream, she rose to the challenge in consistently superior gowns.

22. Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City" actress

Why she's on the list: She knows which of Carrie's outfits to leave at work (knickers, hotpants) and which ones to bring home (floral printed coats, Manolo Blahniks).

Defining fashion moment: Her "SATC" contract demands that she gets to keep her character's clothes.

23. Christy Turlington, model and activist

Why she's on the list: Turlington's style is totally New York - from her Marc Jacobs eveningwear to her own line of Nuala yoga togs.

Style secret: Right now, it's pregnancy chic.

24. Zoe Cassavetes, actress

Why she's on the list: Like her best friend Sofia Coppola, she has a West Coast style that works - and a pal named Marc Jacobs.

Style secret: She favors A.P.C. and Agnes b.

25 & 26. Carolina Herrera and Patricia Herrera, mom/daughter design duo

Why they're on the list: Though their personal styles are quite different, they complement each other perfectly.

Style secret: Patricia and her two sisters are equally uniquely iconic dressers.

27. Toni Senecal, host of WB11's "Toni Time"

Why she's on the list: Senecal has a sexy appeal that translates onscreen. She favors Dolce & Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood.

Defining fashion moment: Remember Robert Palmer's infamous "Addicted to Love" video? She was in it.

28. Meredith Viera, co-host of The View

Why she's on the list: For a daytime TV star, she's approachable and pretty, not plastic. And she dresses her age.

Style secret: High heels for seated segments only.

29. Elliot Puckette, artist

Why she's on the list: This smart Southern gal prefers Levis and T-shirts over fancy designer labels.

Style secret: Her paintings and Brooklyn brownstone were featured in "The Royal Tenenbaums."

30. Hope Atherton, artist

Why she's on the list: The cool downtown girl everyone wants to have at their party.

Style secret: Dressing outside the box: a pair of antique bloomers as a blouse.

31. C.Z. Guest, gardening guru

Why she's on the list: This columnist hasn't had a bad clothes day in her 83 years of getting dressed, wearing Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein and shops at Bergdorf Goodman.

Defining fashion moment: Her first Mainbocher suit.

32. Lauren Bacall, actress

Why she's on the list: Old school glamour lives here. It's WASP-y chic.

Style secret: She's still got it enough to attract her new friend Nicole Kidman.

33. Bebe Neuwirth, actress

Why she's on the list: On stage and off, her fitted, sexy style works.

Style secret: Short dresses do wonders.

34. Amy Sedaris, writer

Why she's on the list: She's a genuine eccentric.

Style secret: "I dress like a deaf person, meaning I like loud patterns, shiny, colorful things,"she says.

35. Jaqui Lividini, senior VP at Saks Fifth Avenue

Why she's on the list: Sak's diminutive fashion diva has hot designer outfits.

Style secret: "She never met a heel she didn't love," says a colleague.

36. Holly Dunlap, designer

Why she's on the list: A dramatic flair - Day-Glo bright and decidedly girly.

Style secret: "I usually start with the shoes and work my wardrobe around them."

37. Jane Mayle, designer

Why she's on the list: Her simple, slightly retro style.

Style secret: She's influenced by 1950s film star Monica Vitti.

38. Sally Albemarle, sculptor

Why she's on the list: No one ever tires of watching her enter the room.

Style trademark: Elaborate beaded chokers, which accentuate her long neck.

39. Jennifer Connelly, actress

Why she's on the list: Her outside the fray style works: it's calm, elegant and never exaggerated. Defining fashion moment: Sticking a Gardenia into her long, black Narciso Rodriguez gown at the Golden Globes.

40. Cecilia Dean, founder of Visionaire magazine

Why she's on the list: Dean is always the most-photographed girl at whatever party she attends. Style secrets: Believing it's better to stand out than to blend into a crowd.

41. Marina Rust, writer

Why she's on the list: With her smart, elegant style, she's destined to become a fashion icon.

Style secrets: Rust lets them all out of the bag in her first-person pieces in Vogue.

42. Mary J. Blige, singer

Why she's on the list: Few singers have the stage presence - or the kick-butt wardrobe - she has.

Defining fashion moment: Chosen to rep M.A.C. cosmetics.

43. Cayli Cavaco, Teen Vogue

Why she's on the list: Her lifelong friends include Anna Sui, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen. Any questions?

44. Milla Jovovich, model-turned-actress

Why she's on the list: Jovovich always looks different with her cute-retro-dresses and high-heeled-sandals.

Defining fashion moment: Scoring ad campaigns for Donna Karan with Jeremy Irons.

45. & 46. Sarah Easley/Beth Buccini, co-owners of Kirna Zabete

Why they're on the list: The Virginia-born best friends are the talk of our town due to their colorful fashion sense.

Style secrets: "I'm either sporty or designer," says Easley. "I like things mixed up and off the beaten path," says Buccini.

47. Amy Fine Collins, writer

Why she's on the list: Collin is the most impeccably turned-out journalist in town.

Defining fashion moment: Buying her first dress by Geoffrey Beene, the famed New York designer.

48. Bee Schaffer, fashion prodigy

Why she's on the list: Anna Wintour's daughter has been tagged a "fashion editor in training," but at just 16, she dresses with off-the-rack age-appropriateness.

Defining fashion moment: Her black-and-white Narciso Rodriguez slip dress at the 2003 CFDA Awards.

49. Eva Amurri, actress

Why she's on the list: Susan Sarandon's daughter has a penchant for dresses by Diane Von Furstenberg and Jill Stuart.

Defining fashion moment: At the Costume Institute Gala, wearing a Zac Posen gown on her body - and the designer on her arm.

50. Kate Spade, handbag maven

Why she's on the list: She modernizeda signature look - featuring pretty skirts and dresses, sweater sets and neat updo's.

Defining fashion moment: The day she and husband Andy sold their first trademark canvas bag.

[Erin]

I have only one argument: Debbie Harry.

She looked good in the Heart of Glass video, when she was, what, 35...but now? Yikes. She scares me, clothing and beauty alike!

[little smoochie]

karen o is the only one whose STYLE I admire in 2003

(tho eva amurri is pretty cute)

ive seen most of those at one time or another

there are many other socialites who dress better than those-- i think that Post list is commercial & mediocre

renee rockefeller is one but I cld name many more

Debbie Harry I see at least 2 times yearly for like 10+ years & given that shes 50 or whatevs shes STILL REALLY sexy in person!! and 5 years ago, dancing to jayne county's rock DJ set (stones, lou T rex doobies etc) debs was sooo hottt!!

shes an all time NY, rock & punk style icon

love her!!!!!

[HBoogie]

Originally posted by Spacemiu@Sep 17th, 2003 - 11:54 pm
1 & 2. Alexandra & Theodora Richards, daughters of Rolling Stone Keith Richards and model Patti Hansen

Why they're on the list: They combine sass and style, mixing thongs and Abercrombie & Fitch with Vera Wang and Arden B.

Ugh. Thongs are underwear, not accessories. I'm sick of people praising the visible thong, especially on teenagers.

Unless they mean thong sandals.

[asta]

karen o?

are they serious????

[LolitaLuxe]

Originally posted by pearsandapples@Sep 17th, 2003 - 10:44 pm
karen o?

are they serious????

karen O rocks!!!!! truly outragous and completely daring
and original!!!!! why not?????

[asta]

i don't find anything about her style unique, different, or appealing, i guess... but that is just me. i can't stand the way she dresses... and her attitude is less than sub par.


she dresses like any scenester, in any big city. no big deal.

[asta]

and i do have to disagree with the nicole kidman inclusion.

she has not made a right fashion choice since her dior oscar dress.

she has been looking just awful lately. and the blonde hair/peach frost lip color isn't helping much.

[LolitaLuxe]

Originally posted by little smoochie@Sep 17th, 2003 - 9:09 pm
Debbie Harry I see at least 2 times yearly for like 10+ years & given that shes 50 or whatevs shes STILL REALLY sexy in person!! and 5 years ago, dancing to jayne county's rock DJ set (stones, lou T rex doobies etc) debs was sooo hottt!!

shes an all time NY, rock & punk style icon

love her!!!!!

debbie 's head is HUGE

wayne/jane county ROCKS!!!!
if you dont wanna *word i cannot say* me ,baby, then you can just
* word i cannot say* off!!!

[little smoochie]

karen O is celebrated across teh world for her rowdy, raw, sexy, unfettered and influential punk style. NOT just her movers, which ARE sexy & raw, BUT HER CLOTHES.

AND the Yeah Yeahs CD is one of the best of the year.

Three cheers for Karen O

as she pours heinekin over her head

[Belowen]

Liv Tyler?!

[charlottesometimes]

Debbie Harry is 58?!! She looks great!

[Erin]

Originally posted by charlottesometimes@Sep 18th, 2003 - 8:08 am
Debbie Harry is 58?!! She looks great!

She scares me!!!

[trean]

Originally posted by charlottesometimes@Sep 18th, 2003 - 1:08 pm
Debbie Harry is 58?!! She looks great!

I thought she was 50!

[KikiB1]

Chloe Sevigny?? Has she done anything since Boys Don't Cry?

~~Kim