The reason for all this coverage is, supposedly, her latest project, playing the doomed fashion icon and Warhol protégée Edie Sedgwick. But Miller’s personal style transformation is the real issue. “No more boho chic,” she tells American Vogue. “Those two words make me sick now. I feel less hippie. I just don’t want to wear anything floaty or coin-belty ever again.”
This is the girl who put the whole world in gilets and coin belts. Even if you think you don’t care about Miller’s style-icon status, there is no getting away from the significance of this moment. Even if you reckon she is overstyled and a bit of a try-hard, she has been the custodian of the look that has dominated this decade so far, and now (partly thanks to playing Edie, partly because she has been forced to go to the opposite extreme) she is the pixie poster girl of the cooler, more streamlined mood in fashion.
As of this moment, Moroccan hipster belts, gilets, cowboy boots, floppy smocks, gypsy skirts, Jesus sandals and bracelets are, officially, top of the toxic-wardrobe list. They have been looking tired for a long time, but suddenly they are fashion death, on a par with flared jeans and sparkly tops in January. The haircut, compulsory for the role, is the key to this style turnaround. “It makes you feel a bit hard-core, which is nice,” says the girl who made long fairy hair a fashion essential.
Not just nice, but a total relief. Bring on the hard lines, we say. Give us black shell tops, opaque tights, savage pointy heels, silk shifts, narrow trouser suits, simplicity. January is the month when all your clothes feel like you’ve got them mixed up with your mother’s. So forget detoxing your body — better to spend the next few weeks detoxing your wardrobe, separating the salvagable from the never again.
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So out goes anything remotely hippie-ish, plus gold and silver ballet pumps (black can stay). Ditch crochet, unless it’s a white mini-shift. Out with the espadrilles (unless rocket-launcher wedges). Keep Minnie Mouse, round-toed and T-bar shoes, but burn beaded slippers. Throw out any smock tops, unless you are going to wear them baby-doll style, with opaque tights. If you haven’t already, invest in the new-look starter pack of: waist-cincher belt, wide flapper hairband (that’s if you can take it), black leggings/footless tights (ditto), big statement earrings, plenty of black eyeliner, a fisherman’s cap (though only if you’re under 40). And, agony though it may be, finally say goodbye to those boot-cut and ultra-low-rise jeans (the non-toxic alternative is sailor style).
The point is, there’s no escaping the sea change. Miller has gone Chelsea Girl, and you will follow — even if it’s only with false eyelashes.