Click here to see Chloë Sevigny's look
Hermione de Paula long ice and rose print dress, £175 at Browns (reduced from £290); Dorothy Perkins red ribbon peeptoe shoes, £15 (reduced from £35); Monsoon woven clutch bag, £25; Topshop lipstick in Rio Rio, £8
Chloë Sevigny is one of those people whose fashion sense divides the population by gender: men don't get it, but women love it. There's something about her fearless approach to getting dressed that never fails to impress me, what with her striking colour combinations, her eschewing of flesh-baring dresses for mannish suits, and essentially her uniqueness, which is certainly refreshing in a sea of identikit Hollywood mannequins. Anyway, Miss Sevigny debuted a brilliant look at the season 5 premiere of her TV show Big Love (who knew that show was still going?!) the other night, and I just love it. I've been waiting for a good few weeks to find a celebrity look worthy of a channelling feature, as they've been in short supply of late. So thank goodness for this stellar ensemble. Chloë teamed a stunning S/S'11 Rodarte dress with red strappy Louboutins (complete with unseen leopard heel) and a gold clutch, creating a beautifully unexpected summery look, which is elevated to premiere-worthy status with the addition of waved 20s-esque hair and red lips.
What I love most about this (and all of Chloë's outfits, for that matter) is the unexpected mix of expertly chosen accessories. As I was saying the other day, it really is the choice of accessories in an outfit that sorts the well-dressed-but-boring from the stylish Sevignys of this world. The Rodarte dress is perfectly nice, but it's not a showstopper (I'm not generally a big fan of florals), and had it been on, say, Jennifer Garner or Eva Longoria (who dress perfectly nicely, but aren't exactly cutting edge), it could easily have bored me silly (if, for example, paired with silver heels and a little silver necklace - yawn). But Chloë has shown that thinking outside the box can certainly pay off, and a little creative clashing here and there can work wonders. Taking a dress that has the potential to look mediocre and making it look stellar is truly a skill.
So, as ever, I've picked some cheaper alternatives for those of you wishing to replicate Miss Sevigny's look (though apologies for the slightly higher price of the dress today; finding a Rodarte-alike was not too easy). The only problem with such a unique and perfectly assembled outfit is that trying to copy it could prove a bit of a fashion minefield; get it wrong and the clash will be more catastrophic than innovative. So the above pieces are really for inspiration only; if I were you I'd try something a little different; perhaps pair the Hermione de Paula dress with mint-green heels and a silver clutch instead, playing on the colour clash but interpreting it in your own way. Or simply pick out a dress and heels of your own that you'd never have thought of putting together and give it a whirl (you'll have to trust your fashionable instincts on where to draw the line when it comes to colours; if in doubt play with pastels and leave the brights alone). The main lesson we can learn from Miss Sevigny is to give it a go. With the right attitude and a little bit of savoir-faire, you can rise above the Eva Longorias of this world and ellicit envy from your fellow females (who really cares what the men think, anyway?)
What I love most about this (and all of Chloë's outfits, for that matter) is the unexpected mix of expertly chosen accessories. As I was saying the other day, it really is the choice of accessories in an outfit that sorts the well-dressed-but-boring from the stylish Sevignys of this world. The Rodarte dress is perfectly nice, but it's not a showstopper (I'm not generally a big fan of florals), and had it been on, say, Jennifer Garner or Eva Longoria (who dress perfectly nicely, but aren't exactly cutting edge), it could easily have bored me silly (if, for example, paired with silver heels and a little silver necklace - yawn). But Chloë has shown that thinking outside the box can certainly pay off, and a little creative clashing here and there can work wonders. Taking a dress that has the potential to look mediocre and making it look stellar is truly a skill.
So, as ever, I've picked some cheaper alternatives for those of you wishing to replicate Miss Sevigny's look (though apologies for the slightly higher price of the dress today; finding a Rodarte-alike was not too easy). The only problem with such a unique and perfectly assembled outfit is that trying to copy it could prove a bit of a fashion minefield; get it wrong and the clash will be more catastrophic than innovative. So the above pieces are really for inspiration only; if I were you I'd try something a little different; perhaps pair the Hermione de Paula dress with mint-green heels and a silver clutch instead, playing on the colour clash but interpreting it in your own way. Or simply pick out a dress and heels of your own that you'd never have thought of putting together and give it a whirl (you'll have to trust your fashionable instincts on where to draw the line when it comes to colours; if in doubt play with pastels and leave the brights alone). The main lesson we can learn from Miss Sevigny is to give it a go. With the right attitude and a little bit of savoir-faire, you can rise above the Eva Longorias of this world and ellicit envy from your fellow females (who really cares what the men think, anyway?)
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