Pyscho Chic: Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Q: What is the requirement to become a chic former high-society lady?
A: Vodka, and a complete mental breakdown.

Woody Allen's latest film, Blue Jasmine, has officially entered my Top 5 Favourite Woody Allen Films That Are Also Incredibly Stylish list (along with Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Match Point and Annie Hall). It is an incredibly complex story about a Manhattan socialite, whose fall from grace is both tragic and comedic. 

Jasmine (a.k.a. Cate Blanchett) is seemingly "perfect"; she's smart, beautiful, impeccably dressed and married to a rich man. She has it all.

Until she doesn't.

The government takes away her home, her furniture, her jewelry and furs because her husband was a crook. But does she let them take her Louis Vuitton luggage? No. Does she sell her expensive clothes? No. 

She keeps her style.

One of the many important lessons you will take away from this film is that if you are silly enough to give your life away (education, job opportunities, family) for a man, you will end up broke. And crazy. But the reason why Jasmine doesn't come off as a complete failure as a woman, at least to me, is because she refuses to give up her style. Sure, it may have more to do with the fact that her style obviously represents her past status as a Park Avenue princess, but why should she have to give that up too? As we discover more about her life pre-bankruptcy, it becomes evident that her days were often filled with organizing events to entertain the socially elite, as well as raise money for charities (though the latter may be a gross exaggeration). Nonetheless, these were things that she did to maintain her social status, not her husband, and she should thus be able to wear the uniform to represent it.

This uniform generally consists of:

- A Chanel jacket.
- Large sunglasses.
- An Hermes belt.
- A Birkin.
- Anything beige.

If I was a society lady in-training, Jasmine would be the main style inspiration.