Sometimes one needs a movie
to function as a one-stop aesthetic Quick-Mart. Jean-Luc Godard’s 1962 black
and white film entitled Vivre Sa Vie will give you everything you need:
minimalist mod fashion, heaps of style, coquettish behavior, cigarettes, love,
death, dancing, prostitution, philosophy, nudity, and Plato all in one neat
cinematic package. And unlike some films in the Godard repertory, it even has a
plot.
The
stylish lead character, Nana Klein Frankenheim, is played by Anna Karina (Godard’s wife at the time). The premise
is set up early: Nana is a girl who just wants to be special. And she wants to
be loved. Oh, and some money would be good, too.
This
movie is one of my go-to films when I need inspiration for what to wear, not
because there is a large array of styles to choose from, but because there
isn’t. It is a great blueprint for a reductive and elemental way of dressing. Nana
is first seen with her back to the camera, in a trench coat with an upturned
collar, her black hair in a bob. I’m sure Godard was attempting to state
something else with this striking opening, but I always took it to mean the
world is your oyster as long as you have a good coat. And if you have the music
of Michel Legrand playing in the background (or
at least in the soundtrack of your mind).
At
her dull record store job, Nana dresses in a plain plaid pencil skirt, dark
cardigan and a white button down shirt. But when she makes her perhaps not
fortuitous career move, she spices things up with a frillier white blouse and a
fuller check skirt above kitten heels. In later scenes, once she really breaks bad, she adds either a shiny wide
black or metallic belt. No belt = good girl. Tight belt around the waist =
not-so-good girl.
Life’s
lessons come hard and fast for Nana. Though she soon learns that ‘escape is a
pipe dream,’ Nana remains chic nonetheless. Even as she saunters around town,
smoking cigarettes in a ‘pilly’ sweater, she teaches us to commit to the
choices that we make in life and to invest in a good knitwear shaver.
The
film opens with a motto from Montaigne: Lend
yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself. This is great advice. I
decided many years ago to borrow from the aesthetics in Vivre Sa Vie. With the best always in mind, I kindly offer tips from this fashion filled film to you.
For 1960s-esque sweaters: Tse Cashmere
or Uniqlo
For the pencil skirt: Moschino Cheap and
Chic
For an assortment of ballet flats: ASOS.com
For Bobs or Page Boy wigs: The Wig Salon.com
For the perfect handbag (Nana had different
outfits, but carried 1 great chain handled bag):
Check out this
charming dance performed by Anna Karina as ‘Nana’ in Jean-Luc Godard’s film.
Provided by Visionquest.
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