During her life, Jane Birkin, who passed away at 76 in July 2023, was known for her contributions to music and the arts. However, she was also renowned for her innate sense of dress.
Over the decades, as she transitioned from an actress to a singer and full-blown fashion icon, Birkin’s nonchalant approach to personal style remained the same. The muse — who famously helped to create Hermès‘ famed Birkin handbag in the ’80s — paired elevated wardrobe basics together with a playful, comfortable twist, seen in her simple sweaters, blouses and collared jackets with pleated trousers and jeans, as well as the ’60s and ’70s eras’ more bohemian mini and maxi dresses. As her prominence rose, Birkin’s more recent outings included sharp suiting and oversized matching sets, as well as the occasional lacy or fringed dress for formal occasions.
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On the shoe front, Birkin’s footwear always maintained the same ethos as her wardrobe, smoothly remaining practical and chic. The musician could regularly be seen in Converse sneakers while off-duty, as well as leather mary janes, flats and patent heeled sandals. For more formal occasions, she regularly slipped on low-heeled metallic sandals, in addition to an array of classic leather boots, which also proved her go-tos in the fall and winter seasons.
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While she wore many footwear silhouettes throughout her life, Birkin time and time again proved her devotion to the plimsoll: the casual athletic sneaker known for having a canvas upper and rubber sole. She often wore an all-white version of the style, exuding a certain effortlessness whether she was on stage, at a fashion show or at a film festival. Proving their versatility, she donned the easygoing ready-to-move shoes with a range of ensembles from her youthful days all the way through to her golden years.
As the simple low-profile plimsoll silhouette regains popularity in the 2020s, a look back at how Jane Birkin styled the timeless shoes.
Jane Birkin, 1980s
Photographed here alongside her mother Judy Campbell, Birkin contrasted her mother’s formal suit with laidback attire including a V-neck sweater, tapered jeans and white low-top Converse.
Jane Birkin, 1990s
During a concert at Olympia Hall in Paris, Birkin once again showed off a classic no-frills look with a white tank top tucked into a pair of straight-leg blue jeans. She completed the look with slim-soled white sneakers — a style which was not a surprising sight to see in the latter 20th century as Keds’ signature sneaker style had its reign.
Jane Birkin, 1990s
Pictured here in London, Birkin paired a well-loved pair of slim-soled white sneakers with dark pants and a loose-fitting white top. She contrasted the casual outfit with a more posh layer, donning a long fur-trimmed brown coat.
Jane Birkin, 2000s
Birkin made a more breezy entrance to the Venice Film Festival in 2009, stepping out in a white collared shirt and light beige trousers with rolled hems. The set was cinched with a brown leather belt, which the muse complemented with tinted sunglasses, a black leather Hermès Birkin handbag and high-top Converse sneakers.
Jane Birkin, 2010s
In 2017, Birkin made Saint Laurent’s spring 2017 fashion show a family affair during Paris Fashion Week. While posing for photos with daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, the musician wore a chic black suit and white collared shirt with a polka dot-printed necktie and monochrome white sneakers.
Jane Birkin, 2020s
Birkin once more showed her love of Converse at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival in 2021. She went for a casual take on formal dressing with a black pair of Chucks, black cargo pants and a gray pinstriped blazer.
Jane Birkin, 2020s
When she attended an Acne Studio show in 2022 in Paris, Birkin reached for the classic white Converse sneaker again. For this occasion, the shoes complemented a simple black top, baggy beige corduroy pants and a beige trenchcoat.