Zooey Deschanel is one of those celebrities who makes it impossible for you not to like her. Filling that rare niche of being the ultimate girl crush while also making men fall at her feet with her huge, alien-esque blue eyes, she is annoyingly perfect. Except for the fact that she is too freaking hilarious to hate.
Deschanel’s new sitcom on Fox, New Girl, is a perfect blend of hilarity and sweetness to make it addictive enough to tempt you to skip that 3 p.m. discussion. However, its also Deschanel’s girly yet sophisticated style as she plays Jess Day which really makes the show stand out from a fashion perspective.
Deschanel herself is known for her retro-inspired style, favoring full skirts, peter pan collars, vintage dresses, big hair, and cat-eyed liquid liner. What makes her so unique in a sea of 1950’s vintage wannabes is the fresh and youthful spin she puts on everything she wears (see: her rocking a pink Monique Lhuillier princess gown at the Emmys). That, and maybe the fact that she sings in an undeniably cool indie duet group called She & Him, makes her a bona fide icon.
In New Girl, Deschanel’s character Jess is an awkward, yet endearingly sweet schoolteacher. Jess’s style evokes Deschanel’s except with a more modern twist: think patterns and large polka dots paired with high waisted skirts, full skirted dresses and headbands, large, thickly framed reading glasses, plaid shirts and jeans and, in the pilot episode, a pair of borrowed Christian Louboutin and overalls. Like Deschanel, Jess isn’t afraid to give her own spin to trends, and everything she puts on in the show looks effortless and charming. Her style is a refreshing combination of nerdy chic and 1950’s pinup and it succeeds in making Jess the epitome of quirky cute.
Take a page out of Jess’ book and channel your girly side once and a while. Skinny jeans may be easy to pair with everything, but the freedom and sheer femininity of a skirt and a blouse will be more than liberating. Grab that dress you have shoved in the back of your closet and run free. If you’re so bold, rock overalls; I can’t think of anything more fun.
