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IT girl. Indie queen. They're the labels that Chloe Sevigny just can't seem to shake.
Never mind that at 32 she's hardly a girl. Or that she's Oscar nominated, stars in an HBO series and can be seen in "Zodiac." No matter how mainstream her career becomes, Sevigny perpetuates a renegade allure. If she can be accused of being truly indie about anything, it's her fashion sense.
Here's a Hollywood star who dares to walk the red carpet without an overpaid stylist dictating what shoes she should slip into. She admits to doing her own makeup and hair because, well, it's easier. Whether her choices leave everyday observers giddy or gob-smacked, Sevigny pulls them off to such effect that the fashion world goes ga- ga at every choice.
Alber Elbaz, creative director of the Paris couture house Lanvin, recalls his first meeting with Sevigny -- long before her big break in "Boys Don't Cry" -- as "an instant attraction. These days, with so many actresses, you only see the dress or the jewelry. Who cares? That's not true style. With Chloe, I don't see my designs -- I see her."
Such love letters don't surprise Cameron Silver, whose Melrose Avenue vintage shop Decades is the source of many inspirational clothes for designers -- and among Sevigny's favorite shopping haunts.
"Chloe's arguably the most influential actress when it comes to fashion. The true style makers and arbiters, especially designers, use her as a point of inspiration," says Silver. "She may not influence the masses, but she influences those who do."
Sevigny adjusts the strap on her heel, when Silver breaks from this afternoon's shoot at his shop. He holds up a purple and brass neckpiece to pair with the multicolored dress she's already thrown on. Both first appeared at a mid-1970s Paco Rabanne haute couture show. The look, as seen on the cover, is total Chloe.
Vintage has always been at the core of her edgy style. She was among the first to make it cool on the red carpet, after years of mixing the preppy of her Connecticut upbringing with a vintage- informed street style gleaned from escapes into Manhattan. Her then- singular look got her noticed at 17 by a magazine editor and...