Joan Didion: The Patron Saint of Cool

Words by Rachel Hambly

Eds. Mistral Zerbi

Anyone who knows me at all knows I am an obsessive Joan Didion fan. I’ve read nearly all her books, seen her documentary, and anxiously await the book her estate is publishing this spring. Few writers have had the impact of Joan Didion in fashion, literature, and media. With her sharp prose and detached persona, Didion was a cultural touchstone. While best known for her journalism, essays, and fiction, which touched on the social and political scene of America while also documenting her own experiences, Didion’s influence spread beyond the written word. She became an accidental style icon, and her legacy still reverberates today through endless media types.

 Didion’s fashion influence can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, when she was frequently photographed in her California homes, draped in simple, structured pieces. Her style was unmistakably minimal and elegant but casual. With her cashmere sweaters, large sunglasses, flowing dresses, and tailored blazers, she epitomized a distinctly American take on effortless glamour that rejected excess. It was a style that directly reflected her writing: unembellished, direct, and consequential. This was not accidental. She understood fashion, just like language, was a tool for storytelling. 

Her surroundings profoundly influenced her style - her Californian upbringing, her time in New York City, and the changing political landscape of the 1960s. Unlike the popular, loud prints of the era, she opted for timeless essentials and rejected flamboyance. Her look became synonymous with a kind of intellectual minimalism. One of the most famous images of Didion, taken by Julian Wasser in 1970, captures this perfectly. In the photograph, she leans casually against a Corvette Stingray, wearing a simple long-sleeve dress, her hair parted down the middle, and a cigarette held between her fingers. The image is as much about attitude as it is about fashion. It conveys a sense of mystery, independence, and quiet confidence — qualities that define her enduring influence on style.

Didion’s impact on fashion was not merely aesthetic but deeply tied to her cultural observations. She often wrote about how clothing signified class, status, and personal identity. Her work dissected the way people presented themselves to the world and, in turn, how those choices revealed deeper societal truths. From the counterculture movements of the 1960s to the excess of the 1980s, Didion’s eye for detail captured the zeitgeist of different eras. Her writing on places like Los Angeles and New York often included descriptions of fashion choices that, in hindsight, serve as historical records of shifting attitudes toward style and self-presentation.

Beyond being a style muse, Didion had a personal connection to fashion. In the early days of her career, she wrote for Vogue, where she honed her craft. Working at Vogue exposed her to the nuances of fashion journalism and allowed her to explore the intersection of clothing and culture, which later informed much of her work. Her astute observations on fashion were always deeply tied to human behavior. She once wrote, "Style is character," reinforcing the idea that how people dress reflects their deeper selves. Her personal wardrobe choices, consistent over decades, embodied this philosophy.

Her essays and novels frequently referenced clothing, not as frivolous details but as cultural markers. In The White Album, she writes about packing a wardrobe that consisted of “two skirts, two jerseys or leotards, one pullover sweater, two pairs of shoes, stockings, bra, nightgown, robe, slippers, cigarettes, bourbon, bag with toiletries,” a list that reads like an early example of the now-trendy capsule wardrobe. This famous list can be found on every social media platform with one quick scroll: Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok. Her ability to distill fashion and life into its essential elements resonated deeply with designers. Brands like The Row, Bottega Veneta, and Phoebe Philo’s Céline have long drawn inspiration from her understated elegance. She championed a style philosophy that was as much about presence and poise as it was about clothing.

Didion’s position as a fashion muse was officially solidified in 2015 when she was chosen as the face of French luxury house Céline’s spring campaign at the age of 80. The campaign, shot by Juergen Teller, featured Didion in her signature dark sunglasses and a sleek black turtleneck, exuding the same quiet confidence that had defined her career. The image quickly went viral, sparking discussions about age, style, and the enduring appeal of her minimalist aesthetic. The Céline campaign was more than just an ad — it was a statement. Didion represented a form of beauty that defied conventional expectations, proving that style and intellect are not mutually exclusive and that true elegance is timeless.

Even after her passing in 2021, Didion’s influence continues to shape the fashion world. Her aesthetic — rooted in simplicity, intelligence, and a keen awareness of cultural shifts — remains a guiding force for those who value timeless style over fleeting trends. Fashion houses, editors, and creatives still cite her as a source of inspiration, proving that true style is about more than just clothing — it’s about attitude, authenticity, and the ability to observe the world with detachment and depth. Joan Didion was more than a writer. She was a cultural icon, a style muse, and a reminder that fashion is most potent when it tells a story. And few told stories better than Joan Didion.