Happy Birthday to Joan Didion, Fashion's New Favorite Influencer

Joan Didion photographed by Julian Wasser in 1968. Photo: Getty Images

Joan Didion is a writer whose books have been an influential part of literature and American culture at large for the past 50 years. Didion has never really gone away, but with President Obama awarding her the National Medal of Arts and Humanities last year, and the announcement and funding of a Kickstarter campaign for a forthcoming documentary about her life titled We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, she is experiencing a resurgence.

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Didion’s influence extends beyond the world of literature; her timeless style has turned into fashion inspiration. In one of her most iconic images, she stands with her left arm across her waist while her right hand holds a cigarette, wearing a loose t-shirt, hair parted down the middle and tucked behind her ears, her matter-of-fact gaze and slightly pursed lips an invitation to a challenge. She has always been the thinking girl’s icon.

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It’s no surprise then that elements of her style are popping up on the runways of the cool girls, especially given that her packing list, published in her 1973 book of essays The White Album, so clearly breaks down the wardrobe essentials:

To pack and wear:

2 skirts

2 jerseys or leotards

1 pullover sweater

2 pair shoes stockings

bra nightgown, robe slippers

cigarettes bourbon

bag with: shampoo, toothbrush and paste, Basis soap, razor, deodorant, aspirin, prescriptions, Tampax, face cream, powder, baby oil

To carry: mohair throw

typewriter

2 legal pads and pens

files

house key

Photo: Tryone Lebon for Celine

It’s not hard to see how such a list would prove inspirational to a designer like Phoebe Philo, who has made simplicity and timelessness Celine’s new signature, and whose latest resort collection seems inspired by Didion’s trademark long, loose silhouettes. The comparison is hard to miss, especially when the ad campaign features model Daria Werbowy lounging inside a car, wearing no makeup with natural hair; the image so closely resembles a series of photographs Julian Wasser took of Didion posing next to her Corvette for Vanity Fair in 1968.

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Most of us may not be able to afford Celine’s luxe clothes, but the label’s minimalist aesthetic has been making its way down to the mass market; all those sleek turtlenecks and cozy knits available at Zara and Cos can be traced back to this trend. So on her 79th birthday, we celebrate Joan Didion for inspiring us to seek and document our truths, and to lounge ever-so-seductively in our long jersey knits (cigarette optional).