The "Costume of the Day" Look

Oliver B. here, back in full force with another blog. My inspiration for tonight's blog is a brand new movie out that I just can't get off my mind.

Grey Gardens is a new movie out on HBO about the Edies--Big Edie and Little Edie. This is a great movie on the mother/daughter duo that stole our hearts and minds in a 1975 documentary. As the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Onassis, these women made headlines when it was revealed that the one-time high society combo were now living in squalor, with mounds of garbage coating their dilapidated mansion in East Hampton. If you haven't seen either the original documentary or the new movie, you must see it. You've never seen anything like it.

But the most talked about thing in the movie is not exactly the Edies. Since the release of the 1975 documentary, Little Edie's fashion has been a hot topic. How a woman with nothing created such a beautiful, and creatively original style concept, still puts designers in awe to this day. A lot of the fashion that have hit the runway have been inspired by Grey Gardens.

Why? Just take a look at it. Start with the head wraps of Little Edie. She used sweaters, shirts, heavy towels, etc., and tied them with simple pins and a brooch. But the placement of the brooch,

and the way she pinned the scarf down without showing that it was pinned pulled off the look. The head wraps never moved on her head, but what you see is a simple tie. She was definitely good at presenting a good costume although underneath was quite a production.

Her clothes were very good. As many designers have stated, her clothes were combinations of different garments that she fashioned so well, you weren't sure of the numerous layers she was actually wearing. She was able to seamlessly blend patterns that, although contrasted, in the whole complimented each other to create a pretty beautiful look. As one costumer from the movie said, "Little Edie used what she had to make a very specific style for herself. We spent hours thinking about how she manipulates clothing. She is a genius draper of fabric. The things she wore on her head had a lot of weight -- sweater vests and heavy towels. How did she drape them so beautifully with only one pin? She also had this incredible sense of how to mix patterns. You would never know she had 10 pieces of clothing on."

Little Edie became quite an inspiration as you can tell from the many designers who were inspired by her. Designers such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, and even Nick Verreos from Project Runway owe her some credit for their designs. The sketch above is from Nick Verreos. Very bohemian, don't you think? There's a sad beauty behind the look. Through sheer necessity, she used what was on hand, but because she was a stylish woman, made it work as best as she could, and transformed herself into a daily character in her "costume."

I think the one lesson you should take from this is that style doesn't have to cost. Use what you've got. If you have an old brooch lying around, put it to use. Repurpose the things that are in your closet. You may be thinking they should be thrown out, but Little Edie would have an entire outfit from everything you'd throw away. Think about that the next time you go to the closet and think "I have nothing to wear."