Elle Fanning covers the latest issue of Marie Claire to promote her new Netflix film, All the Bright Places, based on a young adult novel of the same name. The MC photoshoot is great, and I’ve said this before, but damn it, Elle really has that ‘70s aesthetic. You can tell that she loves fashion in general, and she talks about her love of vintage in particular. It’s one of those situations where she really looks the best in vintage-flavor clothes too. You can read the full MC piece here. Some highlights:
Working with Angelina Jolie at 21: “Angelina’s and my relationship definitely changed. She didn’t have to look at me as a kid; she didn’t have to censor what she could talk about. That was exciting, to have that relationship.”
A period face. “I look at photos, and I looked the same when I was 11. I’m told I have a very period face. I don’t know what that means. I probably will be 35 and people will still go, Awww! My sister feels that way too because people feel like they’ve known you since you were the six-year-old kid in the film. [It’s frustrating] because you’re like, you don’t know me.”
She lives at home with her mom and grandmother: They expect “Southern manners, Southern hospitality, being gracious.”
Her love of vintage: “My mom would let me wear whatever I wanted [in high school]. I went to a lot of thrift stores and would mix it together, but in high school that’s not the coolest thing. I tried to wear skinny jeans and a tank top or to look sexy for a bar mitzvah. It just was not me. It didn’t even look good. Some people are repulsed by that smell of vintage clothes, but I love it. I think it’s because I’m a very nostalgic person and I daydream a lot. I feel I was possibly born in the wrong era—those old movies, Grace Kelly, so gorgeous, you know.”
She’s always been obsessed with fashion: “From a young age, I knew every model’s name on the runway. I was totally looking in magazines, like, That looks good.” And so “the red carpet is a fun place for me. I don’t get anxiety. It’s a creative space where I get to be 100 percent me, not a character. It’s kind of like my soul coming out.”
Instagram is her only social media. “Twitter scares me! Oh my God, Twitter is so intense. Instagram I do enjoy; I have a private account and a public account [3.7 million followers]. I do think there are dangers that I totally fall into, of looking down that rabbit hole, comparing yourself to everybody else and seeing, Oh, their life, that vacation. I try to keep it light and tell fans about movies that are coming out or about a photo shoot. That can get really intense too. People can say they don’t read any comments, but… Mmm, yeah, you do! I do! Of course you look! ‘Oh, your ankles look huge.’ What the heck?! It is bizarre, like, who is this person?”
Twitter is intense, especially when some d-bag or Nazi (or Nazi d-bag) is harassing you. That being said, I’m basically only on Instagram now to look at other people’s photos and to follow my favorite tennis players. I have no desire to be that showy or inspo with my own life. Also: I too enjoy the musty smell of real vintage clothes. I honestly don’t mind the smell of just regular old second-hand clothes either, although those always get a wash. And yes, she does have a “period face.” It doesn’t mean she has a babyface (although she does), it just means that she looks like she’s from another era. Most of the time, she looks like she belongs in the late ‘60s and ‘70s.
Cover & IG courtesy of Marie Claire.
She’s very lucky to have a famous sister, otherwise I doubt she would ever have made it into Hollywood. I don’t know what they mean by period face, maybe an unremarkable one?
I think it means she has a face that is similar to faces you see in old-fashioned photos… that she could realistically play a role in a some historical or “period” piece.
Many girls would have a period face. It’s because she doesn’t load up her eyes with makeup. If she did she’d look like every other overdone woman from this generation.
It means an old-fashioned type of beauty … usually a very symmetrical, western look
Not quite so sure about your assessment of Elle. Homegirl paid her dues like most actors. She was on L&O SVU (cast as a crazy fire starter kid) and made the climb and worked her way up. I would say it also helps that she’s blonde haired and blue eyed with delicate features and a modicum of talent.
Nah. Elle’s face is definitely Edwardian/Victorian era. Or the Regency period She would fit right in in a Jane Austen film.
That’s a common industry term and the meaning is obvious to most everyone. That being said, is she being serious about not knowing what it means?
I think it’s more about not understanding what that means in regards to HER. She simply may not see it.
VV, this exactly! No one sees it if you’re used to it. It wasn’t until I left my hometown that people kept telling me this, but what would I know? All my sisters look “period” 😛
I too think she has a period face. That said, I don’t know what makes it so?
Minimal makeup that enhances her soft eye- strong mouth look?
Hard to explain but I do see it.
I think a period face means that you look like the ideal of beauty of another era.
Yep. Not every era but a specific range of what was ideal for that style. Kind of like some curvy women have a 50’s body, while tall and slim and angular can sometimes have that perfect 20’s/30’s body type look… but it still has to be just right.
Not trying to face shame, but something about her overall face/look/vibe annoys me.
I think she has a beautiful face.
‘I’m told I have a very period face. I don’t know what that means’
Mmhmm. I’m quite sure that you do. And you’ll always emit that young vibe you speak of if you continue to deny knowledge lol.
I like her and I think she is a talented actress.
She’s beautiful, she looks like she could be Julianne Moore’s daughter – casting, get right on that.
That’s exactly what I thought regarding Julianne Moore!
I thought her sister and her grew up in California? Where are these southern manners coming from?
She looks like a very young Mariel Hemingway to me.
Probably why Woody likes her so much… *shudder*
“Period” face means a Caucasian face with classic features. As in the “period” before society figured out that POC are beautiful too.
Hmmm not in this case, no. Hispanic here. Once I started traveling I kept being told I looked like “one of those old Spanish portraits”, as in the paintings. And I get it, some people just inherit a certain mix of features that reminds people of old art. And there are old art depictions of people of all colors, not just caucasian. Reaching.
I hate vintage and nostalgy.