Imagine gaining Hollywood recognition at 24. Suddenly public appearances become a large part of your daily routine, but you're fighting hard against becoming a mere red carpet fixture because you want to be known for your acting first. And at the age of 24, you're smack in the midst of coming into your own; you're still experimenting a sense of style. This was exactly
Carey Mulligan in 2009. And somehow, she managed to usurp heavyweights including
Victoria Beckham,
Kate Moss and
Alexa Chung to become
Harper's Bazaar's Best Dressed Woman of the Year along the way. Here's why I'm convinced she will continue on to become a style icon great.
Mulligan was born May 28th 1985 in Westminster, London. At age 14, Mulligan sparked an interest in acting watching her brother perform in a school production of The King and I. After many ups, downs and questioning pursuing a career in acting, Mulligan landed the role of Kitty Bennett in the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice.
After a series of minor supporting roles in film and several recurring appearances in TV, Mulligan got her big break in the coming-of-age 2009 drama, An Education. She received vast critical acclaim for her performance and garnered several nominations for anchoring the film. From then on, all eyes were on her.
You probably last saw her in Never Let Me Go.
While critics kept a close watch on Mulligan's strength in playing the reluctant girl next door, the tabloids became hungry for her year-long relationship with Shia LaBeouf in 2009.
But somewhere along the way, her paparazzi candids turned into style shots. Dressed down, Mulligan is a connoisseur of mixing and layering colours, patterns and materials. She keeps to basic staples for comfort, then piles on layers for a stylish modern twist.
But boy, does she clean up nicely. Generally, you can expect to see Mulligan in black, or muted shades. Red carpet looks normally lean towards a conservative minimalism with a modern edge.
Whether it's pairing an LBD with boots or chunky strappy heels, Mulligan is a champion of experimenting within classic looks to make them age appropriate.
Accessorizing is generally restricted and simplified to one focal piece. Instead, she anchors looks by styling her pixie cut accordingly.
When she does colour, even the most striking shades are a tad muted - they make for hues that go gorgeous against her porcelain skin.
As you can see, her looks denote strategic subtlety. The more skin she bares, the longer her hemlines get. If she's showing off her curves, her hair is styled severe. If the shade of a dress threatens to wash her out, she accessorizes with leopard print shoes. There's always something to offset each look to maintain them as her own.
Glammed up, she gorgeously negotiates between old school Hollywood glamour and modernly severe cuts.
While Mulligan's style can get eclectic, it always manages to denote some sense of sophisticated simplicity. And there's something about her red carpet stance that I absolutely adore; it lies somewhere between her awkward stance and her sheepishly mysterious smile. Not looking like she's playing dress up in her mother's clothes is an amazing feat, given her wardrobe choices and infantile demeanor.
When Mulligan came around, she brought with her a quality of ingenue to the red carpet; something we'd been lacking for so long. Delicate English roses we might have had already, but not quite anyone with a fawn-eyed innocence to this calibre. Pairing that with a sense of style that's wise beyond her years keeps us looking twice. It's a subtle contradiction, but one that's nevertheless endearing.
It explains why she's already hit a home run with magazine covers. Her style isn't one to break boundaries. It might not scream avant garde, but you don't need gimmicks for a fashion forward feel. Some times it's just about being comfortable in the skin that you're in, and taking clothes to the next level simply because you're wearing them.
Which is exactly why Katy Perry hasn't landed a Vogue cover just yet.
And because I'm a huge fan of conservative chic, she always hits the right notes for me.
At the rate she's going, I say all it'll take to cement her as a style icon is doing more time. What do you think of Carey Mulligan?
[Photo Credits: fashionpeach, fashionstyleadvice, fabsugar, freewebs, eonline, radaronline, glamour, telegraph, bumpshack, okmagazine, millionlooks, careymulligan, itsrainingdiamonds, empiremovies, fanpop, fashionpeach, magxone]
