HBO’s Grey Gardens Shines Spotlight on Fascinating Fashion Icon Edie Beale

Former First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis is an undisputed American fashion icon, but the new HBO original film Grey Gardens, which premieres Saturday at 8 p.m., shines the spotlight on her cousin “Little” Edie Bouvier Beale (played by Drew Barrymore) — and her unique (and sometimes outrageous) style. Beale and her mother “Big” Edie (depicted by Jessica Lange in the film) were immortalized in a 1975 documentary by Albert and David Maysles that took a six-week look into the lives of the reclusive former Manhattan high-society mother-daughter duo living in a decaying mansion in East Hampton, NY. See the HBO featurette here:

Isolated “Little” Edie became an unlikely fashion icon — her signature look was defined by scarves and head wraps, hiding hair loss caused by alopecia and sometimes fashioned out of sweaters or skirts knotted around her head or fastened with a brooch. Beale has inspired designs from Marc Jacobs, Phillip Lim and John Galliano.

“She was one of the most innovative icons that fashion has ever seen,” Barrymore has said of Little Edie. “Isn’t it interesting that she lived inside a house and never wanted the world to see her? Yet, when the Maysles [brothers] came along with their documentary, they put her fashion out there into the world, and it was beyond anything we can comprehend.” Beale also wore upside-down skirts and bathing suits with pantyhose. The HBO film begins in the 1930s and displays the couture worn by young socialite Beale and glamorous Big Edie. But the true focus of the film is a tale of two intriguing women and their relationship.

Edie Beale’s sense of style, however, was just a fraction of what made her fascinating, as demonstrated in this movie. Do you think you could pull off Beale’s avant-garde look?

Tags: Albert Maysles, Beale, Beale family, Bouvier Beale, Bouvier family, Cinema of the United States, David Maysles, Drew Barrymore, East Hampton, Edie Beale, Edie Bouvier Beale, Edith Bouvier Beale, Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, Entertainment/Culture, Grey Gardens, HBO & Company, Human Interest, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Jessica Lang, Jessica Lange, John Galliano, Manhattan, Marc Jacobs, Mass media, New York, Phillip Lim, United States