March 20, 2010

who i think about when i think about style

My first encounter with Chloe Sevigny was years and years ago when I saw KIDS. Back then I wore gold rimmed glasses and the epitome of fashion in my mind was rainbow halternecks by Gap... but even so I instinctively knew there was something special about her. I had no idea she had fashion icon status by then, all I knew was that I liked her face and her pixie cut, and her crazy way of making a ringer tee and jeans look stylish.


I'm pretty skeptical about most celebs who are deemed "style icons", not because I don't think they dress ok in a generic way once in a while (although some of them consistently dress like shit) but because it's usually pretty painfully clear that they didn't select their outfits themselves. What happens as a result is that one day you see them looking alright and then the next day you see the "real" them walking their dog in ill fitting pants and ugly shoes and it's sad.

With Chloe Sevigny though, the person you're seeing is always "Chloe Sevigny", whether it's her on-day or off-day, whether she's in a polo and jeans with a buzzcut or a tight dress with big earrings and lots of lipstick. You know she put some thought into her outfit, you know she enjoyed doing it, you know it's all genuine because on her the clothes look like they've been worn and cherished. Obviously having a pretty face and killer legs helps, but among the tons of beautiful people in the world Chloe stands out to me as one of those women with the rare ability to appear comfortable while continuously being experimental and innovative with her style.

























best.halloween. costume. ever.









































It's truly incredible how 10,20 yr old photos of chloe can look so modern today..

images from openingceremony and chloesevigny.com

PS>>>> Totally forgot to mention that I did a questionnaire? interview? for ilikemystyle way back in jan. thanks ilikemystyle! here's the link (it's basically the same sort of stuff i ramble on about in the blog)
http://ilikemystyle.net/blog/post/bloggalogue-no-6-yui-from-slowboat-to-mediocrity

15 comments:

Ally said...

This is such a great post. You perfectly articulated why Chloe is so inspiring, and thank you for posting so many older outfit photos, I hadn't seen most of them before and it's true, they are still so relevant.

Amanda said...

totally agree. funny i was just talking about chloe and her being my favorite in terms of "celebrity" style. the older pictures are the besssst

Michele said...

I totally agree with you. She is 100% personality!

Rosé Magritte said...

i think why chloe integrates fashion and celebrity to create famous style icon so well is because before she was recognized as being a celebrity she was known as a local style icon in nyc. i.e. the sugar kane video for sonic youth. i think what makes her so special though is the fact that she's been able to retain her own unique style whereas other celebrities depend on stylists to help create their look for them.

also all of these 90s photos are rad. she's the epitome of grunge kid cool.

wool and misc said...

nice tribute. i remember falling for her in KIDS, too.

Breathless said...

I agree.Love Chloe. She's always stylish, and you can tell she thinks for herself.

Gabetdor said...

totally cool <3

OnePerfectMorning said...

This is totally how I feel about her as well. And I liked how you mentioned wearing striped jumpers from the GAP when Kids came out. That was exactly what I wore when the movie came out too :)

Blue Floppy Hat said...

She's one of those rare American celebs who actually and clearly has her own style (one of those rare celebs, period), which is just part of the larger context of her doing her own thing in every other way including professionally. AND she's a brilliant actress. I first remember seeing her in Boys Don't Cry, the year it was released, and loved her in it. It wasn't till after that that I found out she'd been a Sassy magazine intern and they discovered her randomly, which hardly happens any more.

A La Mode said...

God, I absolutely love her! She is such an inspiration. I loved her grunge days; and your so right! So relevant today. Beautiful!
http://girlalamode.blogspot.com/

somaya said...

I watched KIDS not long ago it took me ages to work out it was her, your photo selection of her is brilliant i feel really inspired.

t. said...

i think of her, too!

tomoka said...

I love Brown Bunny.

M said...

Great images, I love her style because its her own for the most part not the product of a stylist, plus she's pretty fearless.

Anonymous said...

It's interesting to see her maturing.

-Zane of ontario honey