Elle Fanning is 14 years old and adorable. She’s in the middle of a promotional tour for her new film, Ginger & Rosa, and these are photos of the film’s BFI London Film Festival premiere over the weekend. I actually try to avoid writing about Elle because… she’s only 14, dude. We can’t judge her fashion or her pictorials or her interviews by the same standards we can judge an adult woman’s. Not for lack of trying on the part of Elle, though. And not for lack of trying by Elle’s people, by her management and her stylists and her publicist, who often greenlight some looks and images that I consider inappropriate for someone so young. Remember that “Lolita” style photo shoot in Blackbook last year? Yeah.
So… Elle wore Rochas to the London Film Festival premiere. I actually think this is a really sweet look for someone so young, although I do have two minor quibbles. But first I want to talk about the look as a whole! I think the combination of a princess-y gown with a cute little cardigan is adorable and age-appropriate. I can remember, back in the 1990s, when this was an actual “thing” that adult women were doing – pairing gowns and eveningwear with normal sweaters and cardigans. If done well, it’s a really great look. I think it would have been cuter if Elle had actually worn the cardi rather than just using it as a cape to cover her arms, but still… it’s okay.
So here are my two quibbles. One, the lace choker. Two, the fact that the Rochas dress is in fact strapless. For the lace choker… it ruins the look stylistically, and I just don’t think 14-year-olds should be wearing chokers. At all. Ever. I associate chokers with “something George Clooney’s girlfriends wear.” Right? As for the fact of the strapless gown on a 14-year-old… it’s too much (or “too little” really). I don’t care that we can barely see that it’s strapless because of the cardi. I don’t care that the dress is still relatively modest up top. I still think some straps should have been added for Elle, simply because I don’t believe any 14-year-old should go strapless. Call me conservative, call me old-fashioned, call me whatever you want. I’m holding the line for straps and sleeves for our youths, and if I have to go it alone, so be it.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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