Friday Fame: Jean Seberg

In 1960, French director Jean-Luc Godard released his first feature film, À bout de souffle (also known as Breathless), and played a hand in the establishing of the French nouvelle vague movement. Perhaps one of the most icon nouvelle vague films, À bout de souffle stars the fabulous Jean Seberg as Patricia Franchini, one of my favorite style icons in the movies. Jean's pixie haircut and sharp style classically represent the illustrious French cool of the era.


Jean's style is comfortable and effortlessly breezy in the film. She wears plenty of monochromatic (well, the entire film is, of course, monochromatic) stripes and straight, solid pieces. She doesn't indulge in jewelry or accessories, but still she manages a uniquely feminine look. While Audrey Hepburn managed a very similar, more traditional style in the '50s I think Jean captured that in this film and brought it into the modern world of French culture, especially the French culture belonging to young women.


Jean's character, Patricia, is an American student who sells issues of the New York Herald Tribune newspaper along the streets of Paris. One of her most iconic looks includes this New York Herald Tribune tee shirt. In honor of the film's 50th anniversary, the lovely sisters behind Rodarte created a replica of that shirt which you can find exclusively at Barneys for $125! A bit of an extreme price for a simple tee shirt, but for fans of the film and Jean's memorable style in it the thought of owning a replica is priceless.

Here's a little Polyvore set I made a little while ago with some modern pieces that I think reflect Patricia's style. Have you even seen a character in film whose style inspired you? I'd love to hear about it!