Why Sienna Miller is the girl of the decade

by
I remember where I was living when Sienna Miller became famous. She was a couple of years older than me but very much of my generation, a well-dressed, flaxen-haired sylph running around in boho-style looks that were easy to copy, even on a 21-year-old’s income.
 
I remember my friend and I sitting on the sofa in a cottage with lilac walls flicking through Heat and Now drinking tea and discussing Sienna Miller in great detail, not just the outfits but her exotic background (born in New York, step-daughter of Kelly Hoppen, all very glamorous) and her acting career (we didn’t have much to go on but were anxiously awaiting the release of Alfie – what a disappointment that turned out to be).
 
I remember her first British Vogue cover – it was Christmas 2004, she was wearing a white dress and feathery accessories and the cover line said, ‘Hanging Out with the Girl of the Year’. Of course I bought it.

For me, she isn’t just the girl of the year, but the girl of the decade. She’s the celebrity that grew up alongside me, and she still fascinates.

It’s not that her style is perfect; she is no infallible, consistently well-dressed Jane Birkin. She loves fashion, trends and all, so there are looks in her back catalogue that are cringe-making to look at now (this hat-on-the-red-carpet outfit from 2008 is case in point) but it’s that very messiness, that imperfection, that makes Sienna Miller somebody you can identify with.

"For me, she isn’t just the girl of the year, but the girl of the decade. She’s the celebrity that grew up alongside me, and she still fascinates." - Lynn Enright

As she negotiated her sometimes troubled 20s under intense scrutiny – she gave evidence of horrific press intrusion at the Leveson Inquiry in 2011 – she was like a much richer, thinner and more tanned version of myself. Everyone has a Jude Law in their 20s, don’t they? The on-again-off-again mess that dogs you until an affair with the nanny, a broken engagement and a baby in Florida finally becomes too much to bear and you shack up with the lovely guy from The Boat That Rocked instead. And everybody has a Rhys Ifans and a Balthazar Getty. Not everyone gets a Daniel Craig unfortunately but then not everybody looks as perfect as Sienna Miller (I remembered being heartened to read that the freckles on her nose were painted on by the make-up team in Alfie; it was a tiny detail that allowed me to think that maybe she wasn’t just sickeningly beautiful. But she is...).

She put it best herself when in 2009, referencing the fall-out from the Balthazar Getty affair, she told GQ: ‘I think if you put a camera in anyone's life and document it daily for six years, from the age of 21 to 27, there are going to be things that aren't always pretty.’

Unless you’re one of those dreadfully uninteresting types who marries their first boyfriend and chooses jobs based on how pensionable they are, there are going to bad outfits, bad men, bad decisions and bad haircuts.

Sienna Miller is the celebrity I most relate to: she’s the reason I spent the summer of 2004 wafting around in a white layered peasant skirt and a purple chiffon cape thing from Jigsaw and she’s the reason I sat through the quite boring The Girl on BBC last Christmas. As she prepares for an autumn in the glare of the press once again – she has a film to promote and she’s the new face of Burberry alongside her fiancé Tom Sturridge (the kissing in the campaign is almost embarrassing but she was never one to shy away from PDAs) – I say, Sienna I salute you.

Who else do we indentify with in the Never Underdressed office?

Laura Silver, staff writer, says: ‘I always think of Victoria Beckham that way. When I was a teen she was my favourite Spice Girl, and now I’m older she’s progressed to next level sophistication that I find inspiring. Let’s forget about when she went into Dane Bowers no-man’s-land though – I was busy being a goth then.’

Abi Golestanian, digital designer, says: ‘Zoe Kravitz has always been a bit of a girl crush of mine – she’s a few months younger than me. Major hair envy!  And she's pretty good when it comes to combining city with boho.’ 

Phoebe Frangoul, acting beauty writer, says: ‘Gwen Stefani, definitely. The first time I saw No Doubt’s video for Just A Girl I was blown away by this amazing, strong woman wearing baggy jeans, a crop top and red lipstick and singing about female empowerment – it’s no understatement to say she changed my life and my style. As we’ve both grown older, I’ve used Gwen as a template for adapting my original ‘indie/skater girl’ style into something more mature without losing my identity. Gwen has always looked completely herself at every new stage in her life and she’s such an inspiration for me.’

Photo Credits:REX

Latest News

  • People
  • Fashion

Most

  • Read
  • Commented