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Post by margarita on Jun 18, 2011 7:50:17 GMT -5
yes we do know a few things about Mme Stahl. There use to be a thread on TRF that I had started. SHe worked for Chirac and his late friend Hariri. Paca, we have a thread titled: Prince Albert's Advisors and Friends, please feel free to add more info about Stahl there. I am interested to know more about her past professional career and even her personal life. I only know that she worked for Chirac and that she is a single mom. Oh yes, please! (Sorry MyaDia, I got carried away by her photo and didn't check if there is a thread already. Advisors and friends is perfect!) Hope someone can provide some info there... (paca?) |
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Post by MyAdia on Jun 20, 2011 10:16:11 GMT -5
In my opinion, someone must have asked Vogue to place Charlene's article on their website - it is now there. Here's the direct link to the article and it is also featured on their front page. I'll repost the article again here since the first was a scan and of the article and I corrected some of the mistakes before it was posted and thy might have been others.
Fit For a Princess: Charlene Wittstock
by Natalie Livingstone
photographed by Patrick Demarchelier
Published on website: June 20, 2011 8:01 a.m
July 2011 issue Vogue (US)
The first time Prince Albert saw Charlene Wittstock, she was in a swimsuit. A former competitive swimmer who has won numerous championships and represented South Africa in the 2000 Olympics, Wittstock was taking part in an event in Monaco when she caught the prince’s eye ten years ago. “It was incredibly flattering,” she recalls. “After seeing me swim, Albert asked my management for permission to take me out. We spent the whole evening laughing and talking.”
It was not until five years later, in December 2005, that the two reconnected in Cape Town. “On New Year’s Day, he officially asked me out,” says Charlene. “Our first public appearance was at the Torino Olympic Games in February 2006.” As unfamiliar as it was to become part of a royal entourage, she says, “Albert put me at ease. It was clear that we shared the same passions; we both became very emotional watching the athletes. Sport is the common denominator of our lives.”
She is retracing the stages of her romance with one of the world’s most eligible bachelors—they will marry on July 1 in Monaco—on a spring trip to New York while sitting in a Chelsea studio having her hair and makeup done. Besides squeezing in a Vogue photo shoot, some pre-wedding shopping, and a visit to what she describes as “my favorite beauty spot in the world,” the Warren-Tricomi salon at the Plaza, she is here to attend her bachelorette party. Tonight she will submit to an outfit with a leather-and-lace theme put together by her maids of honor, Danish designer Isabell Kristensen and Prince Albert’s cousin Donatella Knecht de Massy, and join guests including the model Karolina Kurkova, Fox 5 reporter Carolyn Gusoff, and nightlife entrepreneur Amy Sacco for dinner at the Lion and dancing at Cipriani Downtown.
After an ankle fracture three years ago, Charlene, now 33, retired from professional swimming, but she still trains at least three times a week, often with her former Olympic coach. In preparation for the perpetual camera-readiness expected of her as first lady of Monaco, she has cut out weight training and increased her stretching time to give her body a leaner line. And she’s been stretching in other ways, too, adapting her style from insouciant Bulawayo-born beach babe (the family moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa when Charlene was twelve) to appropriately attired royal consort and poised princess-to-be with an evolving sense of her own style.
“Finding my fashion feet has certainly been the biggest challenge,” she says, remembering her “trial by fire” at Monaco’s 2007 Red Cross Ball. “‘I was literally a fish out of water. I thought it was all fun, fun, fun, and didn’t give my outfit any thought. I had been playing beach volleyball all day, painted my nails red, and threw on a green dress. I thought I looked great at the time, but looking back, I realize that my debut into Monaco society should have been better executed!”
At the best of times, her future husband’s tiny, ancient, and exceptionally moneyed principality is not an easy place to find your comfort zone. Though few palace pundits predicted the relationship would amount to anything, Albert had silenced skeptics by insisting Charlene decamp there. It was a testing time. Lacking any official status and unable to speak French, Charlene lived alone in a small apartment with few friends to support her; she was thousands of miles from home, and her vivacious South African wit and no-nonsense attitude were lost in translation among the notoriously frosty Monaco beau monde. “It was sometimes overwhelming,” she recalls of the solitude and jealousies she suffered as Prince Albert’s girlfriend. “I was trying too hard to please too many people and at times was at risk of losing my sense of myself.”
Eventually, Charlene’s unassuming personality and raucous sense of humor began to win her friends—sporty and statuesque, she is the kind of woman who will joke to fellow guests at charity galas that she is the only woman in the room to have devoured her entire dinner plus two bread rolls. Through it all, Albert never wavered in his devotion, presenting her with a pear-shaped Repossi engagement ring a year ago. “I fell in love with her sense of humor, her simplicity, and the natural way she relates to people,” he says. “To me, Charlene never looks more beautiful than when she is natural—without makeup and her hair pulled back.”
Natural is all very well, but this woman has events to attend. Determined to learn from her mistakes, Charlene was advised by a coterie of palace insiders and Monaco stalwarts. “In the early days, I listened to other people about how I should dress,” she admits. “I was insecure. I felt pressure to err on the side of caution—I was terrified of meeting a head of state in an over-the-top outfit.” Now, although her tastes tend to lean toward simple clothes that flatter her athletic frame, she is far more experimental. “I’ve reached the point where I know what I like and what works. I’m starting to play with fresher, bolder, and more daring looks.” She was helped by Giorgio Armani, who will dress her for the religious part of her wedding and who notes that her casual elegance and slender figure look equally good in suits and evening gowns with necklines “that emphasize the beautiful structure of her shoulders.”
Wittstock has also been taken under the wing of Karl Lagerfeld, who has enjoyed bringing out a play between romantic and masculine in her wardrobe, pairing a strictly cut Dior Homme jacket, for example, with a bustier and a floating chiffon skirt. “She loves clean-cut clothes with a touch of menswear, which looks very feminine on her,” he says. As Charlene explains, “Karl took me to his workshop in Paris. He said, ‘You are going to be a style icon. You bring a breath of fresh air and modern glamour to Monaco.’ Then he asked me if there was one item of clothing that I had always wanted to experiment with, and I replied, ‘A smoking jacket.’ He went back to his apartment and presented me with his own white shirt and smoking jacket from his closet.” Lagerfeld recently shot the royal couple for the Monaco Palace archives and encouraged her to select the clothes herself. “He trusts my sense of style, and as a result my confidence has grown.”
Grown to such an extent that Charlene has plans to inaugurate a Monaco Fashion Week. “I want to make Monaco one of the fashion capitals of the world. It would be wonderful to team up with some of my international fashion friends, like Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren, and get the place buzzing with energy again,” she says. “Grace Kelly forged a link between Monaco and the movie world, and I would like to create a strong bond between Monaco and the fashion community.”
Her position as an outsider crashing the bastions of old Europe, just like her late mother-in-law, will only increase the attention of the fashion world. “I think she could turn out to be very influential to European designers,” says Michael Kors, another Wittstock favorite. “Young, stylish women in Europe often have a much more decadent point of view in the way they get dressed. Charlene has the opportunity to show that you can be athletic, elegant, and youthful; you don’t have to give one thing up.”
As for the responsibilities that come with her title, Charlene feels that her background will help. “Sport has given me drive and discipline,” she says. “It also taught me to remain humble.” For the past fifteen years she has been involved in charitable endeavors centered on swimming. “I don’t want to be a princess who sits on the sidelines; I want to be present and actively involved,” she says of her new role. “It’s a life with a purpose. It was my integrity that Albert fell in love with, and it’s a quality I will never lose.”
Tonight, however, she is off duty for once. Savoring the last days of her single life, she holds court in a black Anne Fontaine leather corset and skintight pants. Kabbalah rabbi Yehuda Berg, a trusted confidant, joins her to celebrate with Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in tow. Harvey Weinstein pops by to say hello, and Charlene, like many a bachelorette before her, sinks some tequilas.
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Post by MyAdia on Jun 20, 2011 10:54:28 GMT -5
I am sure Trashlene has convinced the Village Idiot of Monaco that her doing all of these photo shoots (at the palace) and being featured in fashion magazines like Vogue, Tatler nad Vanity Fair will help her in her goal to make Monaco one of the Fashion Capital of the world. But what Sucker Al doesn't realize is that when Conlene opens her mouth she only shows not only how ignorant she really is, but she also shows that the only person Trashlene really cares about is Trashlene. Furthermore, many of her comments actually insults Monaco, especially those in the Tatler interview! Just her attire and poses that she herself chose are an insult to Monaco. Just look at some of these comments in Trashlene's Vogue article and tell me how this benefit Monaco and the prestige of the title of Princess of Monaco?
"... a visit to what she describes as “my favorite beauty spot in the world,” the Warren-Tricomi salon at the Plaza..." So, Charlene's favorite beauty spot in the world is not a place in Monaco, but a salon in New York City, New York of the United States of Amrica. Doesn't Monaco have beauty salons? Monaco has taken out millions of dollars in ads highlighting their salons/spas - but their future Princess Charlene says her favorite salon is in America and not in Monaco. You should have kept that to yourself dear. Trust me, when Conlene reads this we will hear her say how a certain spot in Maonco is her favortie salon in the world. "...she is here to attend her bachelorette party. Tonight she will submit to an outfit with a leather-and-lace theme... Savoring that last days of her single life, she holds court in a black Anne Fontaine leather corset and skintight pants." Ok, the future Princess of Monaco's bridal shower's theme is leather-and-lace and the Princess herself is wearing a leather corset and skintight pants. anyway care to imagine just how trashy she looked? Is this the image that will make Monaco the capital fashion of the world and attract the wealthy. Conlene dear - save your antics what attracted Al to you for the bedroom where it belongs. "... Kabbalah rabbi Yehuda Berg, a trusted confident..." Perhaps, Conlene wasn't so anxious to convert to Catholicism because she finds other religions - like Kabbalah - more to her liking! well, I'm sure every Catholic Princess married to the Sovereign has a Kabbalah rabbi as their trusted confident.  Charlene, like many a bachelorette before her, sinks some tequila. Noticed that she uses the word "sink" and not "drink"? Also, noticed that she states she sinks "some" tequila - as in more than one. So, the future Princess Charlene of Monaco dressed in her leather corset and skintight pants chugging down tequilas is now the flagship of Monaco. Charlene must not only be pinching herself about her good fortunes, but clearly she must be laughing all the way to the bank about how she got over on all these idiots in Monaco who allowed Albert to dump this piece of lying trash at their door. Practice your bowing plebs because Princess Charlene will make note of those who don't (although she may tell you that you don't have to). |
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Post by paca on Jun 20, 2011 11:05:39 GMT -5
LOL what do you expect of a woman that even the family dog tried to drown.... I think that dog needs to be knighted posthumously for good instincts  keep her downing those tequilas and champagne and then sit in one of the sponsored cars Albert gave her. SHe will be following her icon before her face is finished |
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Post by sandsla on Jun 20, 2011 19:00:28 GMT -5
There is so much I want to say about this interview, but I will point out one glaring thing here. It is only narrated that Armani dressed her (where he gets a mention), Charlene actually gloats about Karl Lagerfield when talking about how she thinks she is such a style icon and because of all her close fashion friends that she goes on to list ;D (I bet they loved that). Charlene herself giving an interview in Vogue, never mentions herself Armani's name--she name drops everyone else but she excludes the designer who has been dressing her all these years when she talks about how she wants to turn Monaco into a fashion center because of all HER fashion friends (her close ties to the fashion world ;D). You are right myadia ;D I can't believe she seriously believes she is is any kind of ICON, but the fashion icon  that will make the difference to Monaco ;D. Like Grace was not a fashion Icon ;D, like Caroline does not get mentioned for "always getting it right" and like her daughter Charlotte I guess is not on the international fashion radar! The world needs this clueless girl in Monaco that no one knows or cares about and who mentions herself in this very interview that she has had to have four years of help of other people dressing her to know how to dress! More like six! I used to always say in my posts how Charlene "never" errored on the side of caution! ;D ;D She says or implies that she was too conservative in the beginning in Monaco ;D....I think we need to send in to the Vogue readers the pictures of Charlene in her tube dress and cigarette hanging out of her mouth, the purple hooker dress, and the back sequin lounge dress completely cut out and worn to show off her new boob job at a children's event. I swear this girl lifted this straight out of my posts (except she cuts out the word "never," and the idea that she has the nerve to claim this of herself....unbelievable--one thing she must know is that no one pays attention to a word she says or anything she does. I think her posing in that bathing suit and with that expression shows just how much she errors on the side of caution , along with the Tatler photo op, and a few others she has been doing as Monaco's new princess to be ;D. She said or implies she is more experimental or adventurous in real life than she has shown in her conservative dress in her first and previous years in Monaco! ;D Can we post that photo of her somewhere with that weird rooster hair of hers! ;D This girl just boldly lies about being the exact opposite of everything she is and has done! I guess she understands no one is paying attention to her! ;D ;D I just cannot get over how she does not promote Armani in this interview at all, after everyone knows how he has thrown her a bone for years sponsoring her. I thought it was apparent earlier, but it really looks like there is something frosty there going on between Charlene and Armani, or is she once again just showing what a moron she is! This girl thinks she can just use people and move on from one sucker to the next--she is going to find certain worlds and doors slammed in her face. It only takes her getting on the wrong side of someone to blackball her in certain places, and the fashion world is one of them. People have friends and are loyal to them, but that is something CW would know nothing about. Even in the fashion world, no matter who they can con into dressing her, it will be her "character" that gets her shut out! |
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Post by cm7007 on Jun 20, 2011 19:57:59 GMT -5
"... Kabbalah rabbi Yehuda Berg, a trusted confident..." I wonder if she paid him handsomely to put some kind of Kabbalah spell on Albert. They do things like that I'm told. Either way - it's wonderful she considers this Rabbi a close associate. The Catholics in Monaco are really cowardly if they don't openly begin to protest this marriage! Not just because of this woman's association with Kabbalah, but because of how Albert described his "feelings for her" and his hopes for their marriage. Clearly, from a Catholic point of view, he is not taking The Sacrament of Matrimony seriously. He should not be allowed to marry her in the Church at all. And, Barsi should be stripped of his position. (And probably will be soon!) The Catholic population of Monaco really have something to legitimately protest. Someone there should petition Rome. Really. (One of his cousins Am. cousins should!)
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Post by sandsla on Jun 20, 2011 20:29:42 GMT -5
"... Kabbalah rabbi Yehuda Berg, a trusted confident..." I wonder if she paid him handsomely to put some kind of Kabbalah spell on Albert. They do things like that I'm told. Either way - it's wonderful she considers this Rabbi a close associate. The Catholics in Monaco are really cowardly if they don't openly begin to protest this marriage! Not just because of this woman's association with Kabbalah, but because of how Albert described his "feelings for her" and his hopes for their marriage. Clearly, from a Catholic point of view, he is not taking The Sacrament of Matrimony seriously. He should not be allowed to marry her in the Church at all. And, Barsi should be stripped of his position. (And probably will be soon!) The Catholic population of Monaco really have something to legitimately protest. Someone there should petition Rome. Really. (One of his cousins Am. cousins should!) I saw that too and thought it was not exactly something she should want to highlight considering....what did she say something like "Monaco is a conservative Catholic country" A religion she seemed to convert to overnight. Also, I kind of thought that might be why Albert wasn't getting married in a church, it would have just been a bit too much! But like the faux marriage isn't it? Maybe the fact that he has publicly openly been "keeping" her, it is a little much for either one of them to ask people to watch them get married in a church. But he is still getting married by a catholic priest--I don't really think he could get an annulment after this charade anyway, and I don't think he could expect another woman would ever want to be his second wife. I always said Albert has "one" chance, and he shouldn't have thrown it all away for someone who does not care one iota for him or care what is going to happen to him and help to be the downfall of Monaco. He thought people would never forgive him for the kids, it wasn't the kids, it has always been "this" relationship and how he handled it that has been the problem for him. He tried to fix trouble with more trouble and he is paying for it! I think you said this would be irreparable for him and Monaco in a recent post--I have always believed that. Albert won't get another chance--this is not a risk--it is certain suicide! I really wish Albert had never thought or bought into the idea that he needed to flaunt his personal life publicly or needed someone "to prop him up". It's not like no one warned him for six years what was going to happen and what wasn't going to happen. But just think if you extracted the history of Charlene, Albert would be sitting pretty good still. |
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Post by donna on Jun 21, 2011 4:53:24 GMT -5
yes we do know a few things about Mme Stahl. There use to be a thread on TRF that I had started. SHe worked for Chirac and his late friend Hariri. One shot himself and the other was forced to resign and is now being charged for corruption. What will it be with Fatal, forced to resign, abdicated or will he shoot himself? |
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Post by royalpauper on Jun 21, 2011 12:41:42 GMT -5
"... Kabbalah rabbi Yehuda Berg, a trusted confident..." I wonder if she paid him handsomely to put some kind of Kabbalah spell on Albert. They do things like that I'm told. Either way - it's wonderful she considers this Rabbi a close associate. The Catholics in Monaco are really cowardly if they don't openly begin to protest this marriage! Not just because of this woman's association with Kabbalah, but because of how Albert described his "feelings for her" and his hopes for their marriage. Clearly, from a Catholic point of view, he is not taking The Sacrament of Matrimony seriously. He should not be allowed to marry her in the Church at all. And, Barsi should be stripped of his position. (And probably will be soon!) The Catholic population of Monaco really have something to legitimately protest. Someone there should petition Rome. Really. (One of his cousins Am. cousins should!) I saw that too and thought it was not exactly something she should want to highlight considering....[/b]what did she say something like "Monaco is a conservative Catholic country" A religion she seemed to convert to overnight.
That shows that WC doesn't give a damn about appealing to Monegasques, her eyes are fixed on Hollywood and celebrities. She wants to be celebrated by them and not by "conservative Catholics" in Monaco. |
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Post by MyAdia on Jun 21, 2011 13:16:35 GMT -5
Here's another quote that I forgot to mention that should really endear herself to all those in Monaco - and Sucker Albert ( good lawd this man is so damn stupid about this woman!) “I want to make Monaco one of the fashion capitals of the world. It would be wonderful to team up with some of my international fashion friends, like Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren, and get the place buzzing with energy again,” she says. So, Monaco has no energy, thus the people need to kiss the ground that this con artist walk on so she - the style icon - can get the place BUZZING with some ENERGY again. I have to say this again - good lawd this man is so damn stupid about this woman ! |
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Post by paca on Jun 21, 2011 14:09:14 GMT -5
yes we do know a few things about Mme Stahl. There use to be a thread on TRF that I had started. SHe worked for Chirac and his late friend Hariri. One shot himself and the other was forced to resign and is now being charged for corruption. What will it be with Fatal, forced to resign, abdicated or will he shoot himself? I think you got your facts mixed a bit, as Hariri was bombed and by whom we will probably never know. |
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Post by sandsla on Jun 21, 2011 14:37:18 GMT -5
Here's another quote that I forgot to mention that should really endear herself to all those in Monaco - and Sucker Albert ( good lawd this man is so damn stupid about this woman!) “I want to make Monaco one of the fashion capitals of the world. It would be wonderful to team up with some of my international fashion friends, like Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren, and get the place buzzing with energy again,” she says. So, Monaco has no energy, thus the people need to kiss the ground that this con artist walk on so she - the style icon - can get the place BUZZING with some ENERGY again. I have to say this again - good lawd this man is so damn stupid about this woman !I know, just like she says the salon in NY is "Her favorite salon in the world" apparently they don't have a good place to go in Monaco. I promise you in the next interview she will be trying to correct all her missteps here that we mention. So far every interview she has gave is an effort to try to repair and contradict her last interview. It is bazaar to see this woman publicly contradict herself from one day to the next , The poor woman interviewing her in SA was trying her best to gloss over Charlene contradicting herself from one sentence to the next . Instead of having to do clean up for this woman forever where their PR has to troll forums to see where others have to point out all of Charlene's glaring mistakes, maybe Albert should have just found someone that wasn't the most ignorant and shallowest person on earth . Do they not think it is obvious to people that Vogue and Vanity Fair did not come calling for Charlene because they are interested in her, but because the Grimaldi's PR machine came calling to them because they had something to sell--people are not stupid! This girl isn't even the Princess yet and she has been doing interviews selling her connection to Albert for what 10 or 11 years now? And the palace could not be more blatant about their campaign. The more press they do with this woman, the more desperate these people look, especially when a woman like her is screaming to the world just how important she thinks she should be to the world, not just Monaco! The good thing about her interviews is not that they are so very entertaining or that she contradicts herself at every turn, but the more she boasts about herself and the more she puts her foot in her mouth every five seconds, the more revealing she is to the world about who she really is--she doesn't need us to point to the obvious, because Charlene is her own worse enemy (and the Palaces). This after six years of being by Albert's side with all the resources available to her that she could ask for! People talked about the fact that she would not take any initiative on her own to even try to learn French years and years ago--she ignored them! The palace should realize just how much Charlene shows her true character by "showing" the world she thinks she is above it all. I hope she does many more interviews, because the more she does the more apparent she makes it to the world what she is about....she shows the world she is everything we have said she is and everything she isn't. The palace thinks they can hide her character with trying to teach this girl a script, they are wrong--Charlene's "character" is not going to change and Charlene has no desire to change her character even if she could, or she would have done it by now, besides her character is deeply rooted in who she is as a person. Even in her professional photo-ops she "looks" like a woman who cares about nothing or no one but herself, and she always will! The one thing that Charlene makes very clear in every interview is how disconnected she is from Monaco and the people of Monaco--every single interview! And she has been living there for years and years as Albert's ?? ward? !Someone please remind me why the palace thinks this girl is suppose to do for Monaco? ;D And somebody better inform her! Yes, I know the next interview she will be talking up her allegiance to Monaco. ;D I can't wait to see our words here twisted to suit her. I don't know why they want to listen to us now , they should have been listening to us when we spelled it all out for them six years ago and everyday since then! |
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Post by cm7007 on Jun 23, 2011 16:17:16 GMT -5
Here is my take on the photos, Charlene is (and should be) proud of her athletic career and Olympic pursuits. Charlene is a gifted swimmer and perhaps admires this woman: Dara Torres. Any woman in competitive swimming knows who Dara is and everyone in the swimming world admires her success. Dara is the first swimmer from the United States to compete in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), and, at age 41, the oldest swimmer ever to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team., Ok….enough about Dara. But look at this well known, much published photo of Dara. The body language, legs, arms, hands, expression are so similar to Charlene's.   Perhaps this photo of Dara was an inspiration to Charlene. Great for a fellow swim competitor, not the best photo for a princess-to-be. And as for the inspiration for the ball gown photo, well judge for yourself.   The pose is a bit like THE BODY sculpture by Robert Graham - he did a series of BODIES for the 1984 Olympics and some after. We have a large version of it at the top of Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills. Unfortunately Charlene just doesn't have the goods to deliver - Graham would NEVER have chosen her body to use as a basis of one of his sculptures - NEVER! ( I knew him quite well.) |
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Post by emmeline on Jun 23, 2011 19:53:40 GMT -5
Seeing Dara's body, and Charlene's...i'm more convinced that Trashy has definately had some doping to her. Her body is not femenine, at all. Sugars say that is due to her training as olympic swimmer, but, she doesn't even have the body type of a girl. It's so odd.
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keep her downing those tequilas and champagne and then sit in one of the sponsored cars Albert gave her. SHe will be following her icon before her face is finished 
that will make the difference to Monaco ;D. Like Grace was not a fashion Icon ;D, like Caroline does not get mentioned for "always getting it right" and like her daughter Charlotte I guess is not on the international fashion radar! The world needs this clueless girl in Monaco that no one knows or cares about and who mentions herself in this very interview that she has had to have four years of help of other people dressing her to know how to dress! More like six! I used to always say in my posts how Charlene "never" errored on the side of caution! ;D ;D She says or implies that she was too conservative in the beginning in Monaco ;D....I think we need to send in to the Vogue readers the pictures of Charlene in her tube dress and cigarette hanging out of her mouth, the purple hooker dress, and the back sequin lounge dress completely cut out and worn to show off her new boob job at a children's event. I swear this girl lifted this straight out of my posts (except she cuts out the word "never," and the idea that she has the nerve to claim this of herself....unbelievable--one thing she must know is that no one pays attention to a word she says or anything she does. I think her posing in that bathing suit and with that expression shows just how much she errors on the side of caution 
