Inspirational Icon Monday: Brigitte Bardot

As an adorer of all that is French, I love filling my apartment with the music of Brigitte Bardot. Discovered at 16, Bardot’s vocal and guitar strumming talents thrusted her into French pop princess stardom. It was her seductive allure on screen that impelled men to race to the movie theatre when a new Bardot film was showing. As the first actress to be a size 0 with a 19“ waist and curves, she had the unlikely figure of a Barbie doll.

Bardot did often wear the full skirt dresses of the 1950’s/early 60’s, but she brought a sultry looseness to the trend, and even had the wide neckline of shirts and sweaters that expose the shoulders named after her. The ideal hair at the time had been short and perfectly coifed, and she wore her long blond locks free and flowing. Everything she wore, no matter how conservative, exuded the freedom of French sexuality. Quite controversial at the time, she was the first to be photographed in a bikini. Her liberated confidence is evidence that sexiness doesn’t come from wearing as little as possible. It comes from an inner sensuality.

My version of Bridgitte Bardot. Notice this teal raw silk late 1950's dress I bought at Wasteland on Melrose Ave. has the Bardot neckline! A belt around the middle makes the waist look smaller which is also very Bardot.

To complete the Brigitte Bardot look, one must wear dark eyeliner and the nude lipstick she made famous. I'm wearing black liner from Nars and Myth lipstick from M.A.C.