When someone told me that Solange Knowles was going to be the DJ for our party tonight at Tiffany, I practically fell out of my chair* : “Hoooow cool is thaaaat! She’s so cool we have to meet her!!! This is the perfect opportunity!”

And that’s how we ended up at her place in Brooklyn yesterday, taking a look through her closet, talking design and music (when she asked me if I wanted her to do a special dedication for me for the party, I didn’t know what to tell her – I feel like I’m about to become a lost cause when it comes to music.) and so it was a totally inspirational trip.

The colors and prints she surrounds herself with (in the picture, she’s wearing Marni pants and a vintage blouse), her haircut, and even the way she does her makeup… I’d been following her on her Damn Blog and she didn’t disappoint!

InStyle Magazine Scans

InStyle caught up with Solange Knowles for our February issue, where the singer, DJ, and mom of 7-year-old Julez told us what she has in store when she babysits her new niece, Blue Ivy Carter. “This may sound awful, but I’m excited to let the baby do whatever it wants, in the same way my sister’s done with my son,” she says of her sister Beyoncé with a laugh. “I’m going to get her back for all those late-night popcorn sessions and just spoiling my child to no end!” For more of our exclusive interview with Solange, and to see her model this season’s hottest prints, turn to page 192 in the February issue, on newsstands now.

Gallery Link:
» 2012 Photoshoots: Oyster Magazine Photoshoot

Solange Knowles doesn’t mince words. “There are a lot of songs about sex,” she says of her new album, a personal project she funded and managed herself. “It’s the kind of record you put on when your man is coming over, when you’re with your girls. There are songs that make you wanna dance because we were kind of partying our way through the record, but it’s very chill.” Knowles worked with a few new friends on the album, forgoing the major label route to make a statement that is entirely her own. Along the way, she found a fated collaborator in Blood Orange’s Devonte “Dev” Hynes. “Dev was a complete surprise, his role changed substantially throughout the process,” she says of the rising star, who wound up producing most of the record. “It’s very rare that you work with someone with whom you have this creative chemistry, it’s almost like a relationship. You have a sort of musical love affair.”

Working with Hynes, Vincent Vendetta of the Midnight Juggernauts, Ariel Reichstadt, and polishing things up with Pharrell, Knowles aims for a pop-soul sound that’s equal parts progressive and throwback. “My references for the record were all Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, not just their typical Janet and Prince stuff, but SOS Band and their b-sides with Chaka Khan. At first the songs were really dark because I had a premonition before the record that I was going to die. I was having panic attacks and wiling out.” Once the team realized a house they had rented in Santa Barbara to record in had a bad vibe—to put it bluntly—they relocated to L.A. and saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

The inspiration for her braids: Janet Jackson, circa “Poetic Justice.”

Gallery Link:
» 2011 Photoshoots: Harpers Bazaar Photoshoot

Gallery Link:
» 2011 Photoshoots: Rimmel London Photoshoot [HQ]

Pop Priorities

SOLANGE, singer, songwriter and D.J.

WHAT I’M WEARING NOW The pants are DVF, which I wear a lot because it’s easy and comfortable. I love my bright yellow J. Crew sweater. The jewelry is Lia Sophia. The shoes are Alexander Wang. I play around with metallic shoes when I wear prints. It breaks up the busy-ness, and pops.

STYLE CREDO I definitely gravitate toward prints and color. I love to play with prints on prints, but I try to have a good instinct about what to match. Like, if I have a Pendleton print, mixing that with a tribal African print will give off National Geographic-gone-bad vibes. So if I wear an ethnic print, I contrast it with a bright top, or maybe stripes. Yellow is my absolute favorite color to wear. I also love hot pink. When I match my prints with those colors, I feel it’s a “me” outfit.

STYLE INSPIRATION Diana Ross is the quite obvious one. If you look at pictures of her in the ’60s, ’70s, through the ’80s, she embodied everything about that era in such a timeless way. Her hair is a whole other conversation! And seeing photos of my mother from the ’60s and ’70s, she was a total rebel with her style. She had extremely fine hair and washed it with detergent to coarsen it up and had this amazing Afro.

RECENT PURCHASES I’m not a huge jacket girl because I grew up in Texas where we wear Daisy Dukes on Christmas. Then I lived in L.A. Having just moved here, I am understanding the importance of a real jacket. I bought a black Helmut Lang blazer and three coats from J. Crew. Now I’m moving on to walking shoes.

The inspiration for her braids: Janet Jackson, circa “Poetic Justice.”

Via NYTimes.com: The recording artist Solange, sister of Beyoncé, rocks a chaste yet enchanting cape dress. Giambattista Valli dress, price on request. At Saks Fifth Avenue. Call (212) 753-4000. Leviev ring, price on request. Call (212) 763-5300. Cartier ring, $6,575. Call (212) 446-3400. Hair by Chuck Amos for Bumble and Bumble at Jump. Makeup by Regina Harris for Lancôme Cosmetics.