As a new biography on Jane Birkin’s life and legacy is released, we reflect on the fashion icon’s inimitable – and timeless – sense of style …
“Birkin’s look was nonchalance personified. She became an easy entry point for the fashion press to cover countercultural styles because she was beautiful and famous and, more than that, actually lived a bohemian lifestyle,” Marisa Meltzer writes in her new book It Girl: The Life And Legacy Of Jane Birkin, the first comprehensive biography of Birkin’s life.
A pin-up for French girl chic and a darling of the fashion scene, Jane Birkin’s sense of style is often – and disappointingly – documented through the lens of her very early years where, as a young woman, she was was swilling drinks on the Left Bank with Serge Gainsbourg.
Her clothes, which were largely influenced by the youthquake scene of 1960s London, alongside her beauty and ingénue-like quality, were striking. As the years progressed, however, Birkin’s style evolved into a more confident look, filled with simple staples that – while more pared back – still oozed effortless appeal. Shop the timeless pieces synonymous with Jane Birkin’s style below.
Classic peacoats
Both Birkin and her beau Serge Gainsbourg gravitated towards simple wool peacoats, always in shades of navy or black, often in cropped or dramatic, longline lengths. It’s a key piece that translates with ease to today as the fashionsphere hyperfixates on hero jackets that have the power to redefine your look.
Navy wool cocoon car coat, €755; www.meandem.com.
Birkins and baskets
Jane Birkin is as synonymous with her basket bag – a simple Portuguese basket she purchased at Berwick Street Market in London – as she is the namesake Birkin bag, created by Hermès, which came to define the second style chapter of her life. Both accessories were distinctive and both signalled a radical kind of laissez faire dressing. Birkin famously covered her Birkin in stickers, stuffing it to the gills with “dog treats, expired prescriptions, Elizabeth Arden cream and spare clothes”, according to Meltzer. A nail clippers dangled from the handles, alongside a hodgepodge of keychains. While a Birkin, which today costs upwards of €5,000 and has a waiting list, may not be a staple on the average consumer’s AW25 wish-list, Dragon Diffusion’s woven leather bags are a modern upgrade on Birkin’s beloved basket. Not just worn best in summer, they look perhaps even more striking when juxtaposed with a wool winter coat.
Red Santa Croce woven leather bag, Dragon Diffusion, €420, at Brown Thomas.
White shirting
Fashion often cites a simple white shirt as one of the most insouciant wardrobe staples that can be bought (or borrowed from the man in your life). Especially, if it’s a little roomy, akin to a boyfriend fit. In the latter half of Birkin’s life she leaned into looser shapes and tomboyish separates. The jeans shorts and fitted white tees were traded in for oversize white shirts in cottons and linens, and fine knits paired with mannish, workman-style trousers and trainers.
White open collar cotton shirt, €89, at COS.
Converse trainers
Birkin’s knack of making off-duty dressing look cool and covetable only added to her fashion allure. Key to the look were Converse trainers, which she wore with aplomb. “I feel most comfortable in an old pair of jeans, Converse and a man’s jersey. My best friend cuts my hair with kitchen scissors,” the chanteuse apparently said.
Cream Chuck 70 canvas trainers, €90; www.converse.com.
Tuxedo dressing
As fashion lore goes, in 1992 Birkin turned up to a state dinner at Quai d’Orsay wearing a mannish tuxedo. Her hair was undone and her signature bag was overflowing. On paper, it sounds casual, but somehow it still looked soigné. (And, for context, Princess Diana also attended the same event wearing a rather traditional black dress.) In her later years, Birkin often leaned into tailoring for her stage performances. When she modelled for both Dior and Celine, instead of wearing fantastical gowns or frou-frou designs, she doubled down on her favourite look by embracing dark suiting and tuxedos.
Black wool-blend satin-trim blazer, M&S x 16 Arlington, €189, at Marks & Spencer.
Repetto ballet flats
Image: Repetto.
Birkin loved ballet flats. Her shoes of preference were the Cendrillion leather ballerinas by French label Repetto, which were originally created for another It girl, Brigitte Bardot. To this day, these elegant flats are a simple shortcut to capturing Birkin’s affable Parisian style.
Black Cendrillion leather ballet flats, €295; www.repetto.com.
It Girl: The Life And Legacy Of Jane Birkin, Simon & Schuster, €24.99, is available now.
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