UNISEX inspiration - DIANE KEATON 

Made famous through her roles in a series of Woody Allen films in the 1970s, actress Diane Keaton’s celebrity helped popularize the menswear as womenswear phenomenon. She may not have pioneered this trend but she certainly made it famous, with Allen’s 1977 romantic comedy, Annie Hall, as her ultimate campaign. Throughout the past 40 years, Ms. Keaton has carried her signature vintage tomboy look with her, and her style ranks pretty high on our list of  style influences.

Diane Keaton began her career in the late 1960s in New York City, landing a role in the hippie musical, Hair. Fortunately, her self-deprecating charm and penchant for ties and bowler hats caught Woody Allen’s eye, and she became his sidekick for the better part of the ’70s. It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles native to become known for her decidedly buttoned-up, androgynous style in films like Annie Hall and Play It Again, Sam.

Keaton’s outfits in Annie Hall were her own vision. In her recently released autobiography, Then Again, Keaton recalls Allen’s instruction: “Woody’s direction was the same. Loosen up the dialogue. Forget the marks. Move around like a real person. Don’t make too much of the words, and wear what you want to wear. Wear what you want to wear? That was a first. So I did what Woody said: I wore what I wanted to wear, or, rather, I stole what I wanted to wear from cool-looking women on the streets of New York. Annie’s khaki pants, vests, and tie came from them. I stole the hat from Aurore Clément, Dean Tavoularis’s future wife, who showed up on the set of The Godfather: Part II one day wearing a man’s slouchy bolero pulled down low over her forehead. Aurore’s hat put the finishing touch on the so-called Annie Hall look. Aurore had style, but so did all the street-chic women livening up SoHo in the mid-seventies. They were the real costume designers of Annie Hall”.

Ralph Lauren received costume credit in the film’s titles and Annie Hall’s iconic men’s tie, which was Ralph Lauren, resulted in the brand enjoying a massive spike in tie sales as women recreated the look.The traditionally masculine tailoring touches and slightly oversized, boxy fit were in keeping with Ralph Lauren’s concept of the the time and definitive of a very specific mood, era, and Lower Manhattan location.

Thanks to the Need Supply Co. blog for this tidbit.