And B.B. created style – FashionNetwork

In addition to her timeless staples of womenswear, simple pieces such as the Breton top and ballet pumps, Brigitte Bardot’s style is also defined by silhouettes that are both sexy and emancipated- a blend of masculine and feminine, Western flair and glamour- more than ever in tune with the times.

Ballet flats

A ballet dancer before becoming a world-famous actress and singer, Brigitte Bardot was used to wearing Repetto ballet slippers. In 1956, she asked the brand to create a ballet flat that was just as light and comfortable, but more flattering and sexy. This ballet flat, christened Cendrillon, was immortalised in carmine red in Roger Vadim’s “Et Dieu… créa la femme.” This model has been a cult Repetto shoe ever since, produced in a variety of colours and materials.

Paired with full midi skirts, cigarette trousers, or Capri trousers, the actress was rarely without these flats. Thanks to her, the ballet flat took to the streets and even to Hollywood.

Gingham print

In the 1960s, brides wore white, but B.B. broke with convention. In 1959, she married actor Jacques Charrier in a pink gingham dress with three-quarter-length sleeves trimmed with broderie anglaise. The look was crowned by a voluminous blonde mane, with no accessories.

Until then, checked prints were associated with tea towels or jam jars.

“I designed a dress that reminded me of the little shepherdesses of the 18th century,” explained the designer of the dress, Jacques Esterel, who went on to sell millions of them worldwide.

Decades later, the legend still sells: in 2010, the luxury leather goods house Lancel launched a line of “B.B.” bags with a bright pink gingham lining.

Marinière

While Chanel adapted this masculine, military garment for women, it was B.B. who made this striped T-shirt famous worldwide, wearing it either loose or close-fitting.

It was Jean-Luc Godard who dressed B.B. in a marinière in “Le Mépris” in 1963. She also wore a headband, which became another of her trademarks.

Bare shoulders

Bardot neckline: the actress gave her name to a neckline that bares the shoulders and upper chest, sometimes heart-shaped.

Western

In the late 1960s, B.B., in a leather micro-dress and thigh-high boots designed for her by Roger Vivier, sang that she “didn’t need anyone on a Harley-Davidson.”

In the 1970s, she embraced Cavalli‘s style, as he opened a boutique in Saint-Tropez, where the actress lived, characterised by his signature mix of denim and leather and animal prints.

Blonde volume, doe eyes

Whether worn loose and tousled, in a backcombed chignon or a beehive, the star’s ever-voluminous hair was widely copied.

It was sometimes adorned with a headband to highlight the eyes. The actress made the smoky eye fashionable, using eyeliner to accentuate her doe eyes.