God, women in the 60s really had style, n’est-ce pas? I check out Grace Kelly in High Society and look down at my distressed jeans and blouse and think: “Meh, I could do better.” The other day, Mr. Magpie and I were photographed for some press coverage on our business and we got all spiffed up for it — Mr. Magpie in a blazer and pocket square and some new shoes from Paul Stuart (P.S. — this is THE shop for the well-dressed man; I’ve snagged many-a-beautiful, heirloom-worthy pieces from here, including most recently a crocodile leather belt with an engine turned silver buckle with his initials on it), and me in a midi-length olive green shirt dress with my go-to Elsie heels (on sale!) with my favorite vintage Chanel earrings. It felt GOOD to be dolled up. We looked at each other and said, “Why don’t we dress like this every day?”
In that vein, I was trolling around Pinterest looking for inspiration the other day and came across a trove of snaps of Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin and I stopped dead in my tracks. Goddamn! These ladies were so cool and their looks are really current right now. All of the OTS, gingham, and basket bags we’ve been seeing are a refresh of these ladies’ avant garde fashion statements. Take a look:
Swoon. Get the look yourself with these glam go-tos:
+Basket straw bag (Soeur, $95);
+Caroline Constas dress ($395);
+Slide sandals (on sale for $64);
+Gingham shirtdress ($495);
+Vintage Chanel straw bucket bag ($3,000 — get the look for less with this style or this one);
+Platformed espadrilles ($495 — but, GASP, check out this uber-chic lookalike pair for only $26! #SNAG);
+Monogrammed Rae Feather tote (165 GBP — get the look for less with this style from Etsy storefront Mariella Vilar)
Finally, for my budget babes, get the look on the cheap with these affordable finds:
+This sweet gingham dress ($73).
+This Eliza Gran straw tote ($98).
+Flat leather slides (on sale for $37).
+This blue gingham dress (on ridic sale for $44!).
+Seriously channel Jane Birkin with a straight up wicker basket bag ($35).
+This sweet cross-back gingham sundress ($138, on sale for 25% off now!).
Finally — word to the wise, ladies, Reformation is ALL over this look — check out some of the maj styles for the season and how they’ve been accessorized with bucket bags and flat sandals. My favorite looks are this Arnaut dress ($198), this Manon dress ($198), this Daniela dress ($278), and this Hydrangea dress ($248).
