Great Outfits in Fashion History: Chloë Sevigny in Denim Cutoffs at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival

A South of France 'fit worth remembering and recreating four years later.

Chloë Sevigny in Chanel at luncheon during the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.
Chloë Sevigny in Chanel at luncheon during the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.

There are perfectly good celebrity style moments, and then there are the looks that really stick with you, the ones you try desperately to recreate at home. In 'Great Outfits in Fashion History,' Fashionista editors are revisiting their all-time favorite lewks.

I noticed Chloë Sevigny's style before I recognized her acting talents. Both are impeccable, but one Google image search of her name brings up several red carpet sighting where the actress is a darling in everything from a Miu Miu mini dress to a feathered Marc Jacobs getup. Usually spotted with a striking red lip and a quirky bag, Sevigny has always done what so many Hollywood starlets attempt to do, and that is to make red carpet outfits look cool.

Sevigny is the reason I learned to care about the Cannes Film Festival. Sartorially speaking, it's a couture playground, and Sevigny certainly loves to play. The cult indie actress has had a handful of glamorous premiere moments, but my favorite South of France 'fits are those that Sevigny wears during the day. More recently, she's kept up with the trends by wearing bike shorts and an oversize Mugler blazer, but the look that I tried to recreate for all of 2016 and 2017 consists of denim cutoffs.

No one in the history of ever has been able to pull off denim cutoffs like Sevigny. She's a distressed jean savant and has smartly paired them with refined, vintage blouses and sweet collared tops. Her singular ability to wear cutoffs like a fashionable adult was put on display when she wore them with a Chanel blouse and short-sleeved cardigan four years ago in Cannes. Karl Lagerfeld likely never intended for his polished tweeds to be worn with shorts that are a ubiquitous festival garment, but it was done and we are better for it.

The actress completed the look with black leather tassel loafers and a literal Chanel camera bag.

Should I change out of my fleece sweats for spring, I'd recreate this look with slightly longer cutoffs and a cardigan worn with nothing underneath. Perhaps I'd switch out the loafers for clogs for a Sevigny-approved French Riviera chic moment in my tiny New York City apartment.

Ahead, shop denim cutoffs and short-sleeved cardigans that will help you feel like Sevigny in Cannes.

<p>Agolde Parker Denim Shorts, $128, <a href="https://rstyle.me/+96hXTJCLaVP9E0TkceqLow" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:available here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">available here.</a> </p>

Agolde Parker Denim Shorts, $128, available here.

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