We’ve Pinpointed the Secret to Sarah Pidgeon’s Exceptional Style

Any person chosen to play Carolyn Bessette Kennedy—the woman who, together with her husband John F. Kennedy Jr., has been named “today’s biggest style icons” by The Guardian—is going to look good in clothes. But that doesn’t quite do justice to Sarah Pidgeon, whose promo trail looks for the critically-acclaimed Love Story, not to mention a choice fashion-month appearance, have proved that she doesn’t just have the blonde of Bessette Kennedy—she’s got style chutzpah, too.

Her MO isn’t so much elevated minimalism, although it’s fair to say that she looked uncanny on set as Bessette Kennedy, slipping into those (square-toed) shoes with remarkable ease considering she was only born in 1996. Instead, she is carving out a path as something of a risk-taker on the red carpet, with help from her stylist Emma Jade Morrison, the woman responsible for wardrobes such as Jonathan Bailey, Zoey Deutch and Sophie Turner.

With Pidgeon, the goal seems to be relevance over the ravishing, gowns that have something to say instead of just looking beautiful (although they’re beautiful too, obviously). At the SAG Awards, she plumped for Balenciaga, a cherry blossom-pink dress that had a seriously dropped waist, somewhere around the upper thigh as opposed to the hip, and an upside-down tulip head attached at the hem. No sweetheart neckline or ball-gown finish, but the stuff of modern fairytales nonetheless. (Her long hair tied in a low ponytail, obviously finessed but effortlessly so, was the final touch.)

For Prada—an impeccable choice, by the way, if your schedule only has space to accommodate one show during fashion month—Pidgeon, again, side-stepped the obvious, choosing a plunging knit in a challenging shade (taupe or weak tea?) and a fringed skirt the colour of spaghetti. It wasn’t overly pretty or ingenue-like. Instead, it was the outfit of someone who’s good at “thinking fashion”. This is not to say that she hasn’t found something of a uniform, however.

This uniform could be summed up as follows: sunglasses, statement coat, Chanel pumps. It’s as simple as that and, actually, with temperatures finally gaining a hint of balminess as we edge closer to Spring, it’s a formula you can easily copy (just wear something light underneath and send your coats off in style). Spotted outside CBS, Pidgeon appeared wearing a leopard-print coat, buttoned to her chin, black tights (perfectly-pitched between opaque and sheer) and those angular pumps, a hangover perhaps from spending a season as CBK. Up next, a wet-look mac, hair tucked into its half-popped collar, with cone-heeled, knee-high boots.

It might borrow elements from Bessette Kennedy—striking cuts that speak for themselves and, yes, a minimalist’s approach to accessories—but you’ll find it’s also pure SP.