Most stylish New Yorkers: Charlese Antoinette

To create this multilayered look, Antoinette tops a pair of royal-blue Gap jeans with an H&M white mesh top, an army-green Nanette Lepore (nanettelepore.com) jacket and a Mirage Leather vest that she snapped up at a Steven Alan (stevenalan.com) sample sale. "I bought it aged and worn," she says. "The leather is supersoft."

On a thrifting expedition with a friend in the Frankford area of Philadelphia, Antoinette spotted this rabbit-fur jacket. "We were freaking out about it because it was so cool---the shoulders are crazy!" she enthuses. "The price on the tag was illegible, so I thought it was $75. It was $15!"

A graffiti-print scarf from Shawlux (shawlux.com) provides a vivid backdrop for a trio of necklaces. The gold leaf necklace, inspired by one of her tattoos, was a custom-designed gift from a friend. Antoinette added a pyramid and six shooter charms to the interlocking Monet pendant, picked up at a flea market on U Street in Washington, D.C., and made the third necklace using a vial and other items from Brooklyn Charm. "It's filled with beads and pieces of a rock that has cleansing properties," she explains.

Antoinette received these clear-framed Grey Ant sunglasses (greyant.com) from the owner of a fashion PR company. The diamond heart earrings were an impulse buy while accessory-scouting for a commercial in a jewelry store on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The fringed ear cuff is a new design from her Charlese Antoinette accessories line, available on her web site (lovectgdesigns.com).

On her right wrist, Antoinette flaunts an eclectic stack of bracelets: turquoise beads from up-and-coming clothing and accessories line MaRCH (launching on March 21; marchgarments.com), a multicolored woven bracelet by L.A. T-shirt company WkShp (wkshpla.com) and blue beads a friend brought back from Ghana, bracketed by gold-and-printed-cotton bracelets by Cheek-ie (cheek-ie.com). The brass fringed cuff is from her eponymous collection, while her glittery gel manicure is the work of freelance manicurist Casandra Lamar (917-748-5413): "We met on a shoot, and now she always does my nails."

This foxtail was a gift from Quasim Johnston, who designs men's clothing label Paper Brown Bag (paperbrownbag.com). "I'm thinking about adding it to one of my coats as a collar," Antoinette says.

The stylist-designer recently customized what she calls her "model's-day-off boots" with spikes from Spikes & Leather via eBay to give them added edge. "I got them from Steve Madden (locations throughout the city; visit stevemadden.com) years ago---they're my favorite to wear on set and for running around in the city," she adds.

"I love black-and-white plaids, stripes and graphic prints, so I had to have it!" gushes Antoinette of this plaid jacket by Piko 1988 from Urban 1972 (urban1972.com). She wears it with a perforated-leather top from H&M and a knit miniskirt she reworked from a vintage piece: "It used to be an oversized sweater, and the stripes were horizontal!"

Antoinette's pearl-embellished round shades are by Brooklyn sunglass brand Atomagalactic (atomagalactic.bigcartel.com). "My friend Mari J Brooklyn, a freelance Japanese PR agent and photographer, [introduced me] to them---apparently they're being worn in Japan!" The tassel earring is her own design, and a lick of bright orange Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense satin lipstick (makeupforeverusa.com) enhances her pout.

Most of Antoinette's body adornments---"a mixture of traditional and Japanese-style art"---were created by Jaz of Greene Ave Tattoo (212 Greene Ave between Cambridge Pl and Grand Ave, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn; 718-622-1577, greeneavetattoo.com). "The peacock is in memory of my grandma," she says. "She was proud, fashionable and beautiful, inside and out."

These black-fabric-and-gold-chain bracelets are from Cheek-ie. "The designer, Angela [Barrow], is a supercool, stylish lady herself," notes Antoinette.

Tiger-print H&M tights make leopard booties look even wilder. This vertiginous wedge pair is from Kelsi Dagger (kelsidagger.com), one of Antoinette's favorite footwear lines. "I use them a lot for shoots," she reveals. "[The shoes] are affordable, and the looks range from everyday to edgy."

"H&M has a lot of cool pieces right now," confides Antoinette. The aqua coat with black patent-leather pocket flaps and the alternating-black-and-sheer nylon leggings both came from the Swedish superstore. Antoinette bagged the purple cow-print sweater at a thrift store in Tacoma Park, MD. "It reminds me of something Jeremy Scott would have made a few years back," she says.

"I love this Dusen Dusen bag because my laptop fits in it perfectly," raves Antoinette, who also admires the designer's graphic prints.

The fashion fanatic made this bold necklace by recycling a purse handle and a gold chain that were lying around her studio.

These neon-yellow-heeled neoprene wedges are part of H&M's spring collection. "I was in the showroom the other day and begged them to let me borrow them," admits Antoinette. "Being a stylist has perks!" The socks, a gift from her mother, provide a contrasting pop of pink. "She always sends me cool socks," she says.

Attracted by the "beautiful gold buttons," Antoinette scooped up this vintage Austin Reed blazer in a Gaithersburg, MD, Salvation Army. She shrugs it over a white shirt and slim-fitting blue pants, both from H&M's spring collection.

This knotted lace-print fabric necklace is another Cheek-ie buy.

A hot-pink wool jacket with ruffled pockets by Tulle (tulle4us.com) gives structured trousers girly appeal. Antoinette spotted the high-waisted vintage Lauren by Ralph Lauren pinstripes in a vintage shop on Grand Street in Williamsburg. "I can't remember which one," she admits. "There are so many good ones around there!" 

Tailoring meets tribal chic: This buttoned-up blouse, designed by Boxing Kitten (boxingkitten.com), is made from the West African wax-print fabric Ankara, explains Antoinette. While shopping for a commercial, she spied the slender chartreuse belt in an Ann Taylor Loft (loft.com): "I was shocked I found something there I liked for me!"

Antoinette picked up this multichain necklace with iridescent beads at a flea market on Washington, D.C.'s U Street.