A few days ago in the early morning spring light I was inspired to bring a new format to my newsletters. A simple newsletter series with key factors that give you an understanding of iconic personalities who’ve had a significant impact on fashion and/or film.

Think of this as your own personal guide to some of the most influential people in vintage cinema and fashion. In this introductory format you can easily (re)discover and refer back to them as you need to.

For the first one in this series, I’d like to (re)introduce you to American actress Jean Seberg.

A person:

Jean Seberg

Jean Seberg (November 13, 1938 – September 8, 1979) was a small town girl from the midwest who was discovered at the age of 17 to be the lead role in Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan”, chosen from amongst 18000 contestants! Although the high-budget film was a flop, it allowed her talents as an actress to be showcased to the movie industry.

In the 60s she became an influential icon of French New Wave cinema and was sought after by every New Wave movie director in France at the time. She later returned to Hollywood and played a wide variety of roles before starring in Italian and European cinema in her later career.

Her pixie hair cut and style during her New Wave era influenced a whole generation of young women and is still a reference today, both for her sense of fashion and for her roles in film. She also impacted the world through her kindness, her sincerity and her mysterious and complex personality.

A quote:

“I'm unapologetic not because I'm strong-willed or overconfident, I'm unapologetic because this is it; this is my life. There is nothing I can do, no one I can please. I am a person with a strong sense of being, that's all.”

Jean Seberg

A movie: “A Bout de Souffle”

The French New Wave film “A Bout de Souffle” (“Breathless” in English) is one of the most iconic movies of the 1960s.

The film stars Jean Paul Belmondo as a wandering criminal and Jean Seberg as his American girlfriend.

Written and directed by Jean-Luc Goddard, it is his first feature-length work. The movie took the public’s breath away and marked both Belmondo’s and Seberg's breakthrough into international stardom as actors.

The plot: After stealing a car in Marseille, Michel shoots and kills a policeman who had followed him to a country road. Penniless and on the run from the police, he turns to American love interest Patricia, a student and aspiring journalist who sells The New York Herald Tribune on the boulevards of Paris. She unwittingly hides him in her apartment where he attempts to seduce her and later convince her to run away with him to Italy.

As mentioned above, “Breathless” launched Jean Seberg’s career and made her an international star praised by critics as a notable figure of French New Wave cinema. Film director and critic François Truffaut hailed her as “the best actress in Europe”!

Fashion Staples:

A pixie haircut, Masculine/Feminine combos and big sunglasses

As a New Wave icon Jean is the epitome of late ‘50s/early ‘60s fashion, with her pixie haircut, big oval sunglasses, cigarette trousers, striped patterns and midi dresses. She had the perfect balance of masculine/feminine styles, pairing oversized shirts with fitted shorts/ trousers, or alternatively with her short hair and wearing a girly dress. She also enjoyed wearing hats, which added a touch of elegance to her often clean cut and simple outfits.

I absolutely adore the above mysterious and slightly enigmatic production still taken during the filming of “A Bout de Souffle”. Jean is lost in contemplation, her face lit by the street lights in a nighttime urban atmosphere. She is wearing a very feminine striped midi dress with a man’s oversized blazer.

A Place : Paris

Seberg was born in Iowa in USA but despite this I chose Paris as her “place” as its where her movie career really took off, where she developed as an actress, and where she found her final resting place…

Above is a photo of a street in Montmartre during the 1970s. It is easy to imagine Jean Seberg strolling through the streets of Paris in a cute dress and ballerines, sitting at a cafe terrace (as in the photo below) reading the newspaper, or smoking a cigarette whilst deep in thought.

I hope you enjoyed reading a little about Jean Seberg, her movies and her style in this new newsletter format.

Feel free to answer this email with the next fashion or cinema icon you’d like to see a newsletter about!

Have a beautiful week,

Jamila xx