Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale became a cult style icon after the documentary “Grey Gardens” introduced her to the masses. Here's how to perfect the look of a very staunch, yet stylish, woman indeed.
If you've seen the 1975 documentary "Grey Gardens," you know it's a masterpiece.
This is because of the charm of Little Edie Beale, a woman who never lost her zeal for life despite encountering some unfortunate circumstances. Little Edie's youth was quite glamorous — a cousin of Jacqueline Onassis, she grew up in the height of luxury. But over the years, she slipped through the cracks of high society, going from a beautiful young socialite to the frustrated, aging caretaker of her mother in a crumbling Hamptons manse named Grey Gardens. As time passed, the estate eventually got so gross that it became a national scandal. Raccoons prowled around the property, and piles of garbage and cat food cans were everywhere. When the film was shot, Grey Gardens didn't even have running water.
Despite the squalor of her home, Little Edie's antics in the film captured the nation's attention and cemented her as a style icon. Viewers loved how she cheekily mugged for the camera, danced around in bathing suits, and her self-described "staunch" personality. Her sartorial legacy has been celebrated by high-fashion stalwarts like Vogue Italia and John Galliano, whose entire spring 2008 ready-to-wear collection paid homage to her. Her influence continues to thrive in popular culture — on the current season of RuPaul's Drag Race, contestant Jinkx Monsoon won a challenge for dressing up as Edie. So in celebration of a singular woman with a sense of style just as strong as her personality, here's how to create your own Little Edie-inspired look. (You should maybe leave out the cat food can accessories, though.)
Via: lostmediaarchive.tumblr.com
After putting your hair up and applying your regular foundation, get started with plenty of bronzer.
Since Little Edie loved to swan around outdoors in "swimming costumes" whenever humanly possible, she maintained a deep brown tan. Fake your own by blending bronzing powder under your cheekbones, extending it to your hairline in an upward motion. I used Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder.
Image by Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed
Then add a rosy blush to the apples of your cheeks.
She favored 1940s-style pink rouge, so sweep a bright shade, like Sephora Collection Colorful Blush in Healthy Rose, from the plumpest part of your cheek outward toward your temple.
Image by Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed
Overly fill in your eyebrows.
Little Edie was diagnosed with alopecia totalis in her 30s, meaning she lost most of her hair. This included her eyebrows, which she filled in to the point of looking like a lost Marx sibling. Use a deeply colored eyebrow powder or gel and an angled brush to get your brows looking similarly dramatic and overdone. I did mine with e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit in Medium.
Image by Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed
