Cinema Connection - Celebrating 40th Anniversary of Iconic ANNIE HALL Style

Annie Hall celebrated its 40th anniversary in April, so it's a perfect time to look at the ongoing influence of its style. I've written before about some of the backstory of Annie Hall, but now I want to delve into what I call the Cinema Connections - examples from today's fashion that owe their origins to this film. Though I only show a fraction of its impact, you'll quickly understand why I consider Annie Hall one of The Style Essentials here on GlamAmor.

Every costume designer will tell you that they create clothes for the character, but this is a movie that really blurs the lines between the character of Annie Hall and the actress playing her. For one, the style is pure Diane Keaton. The clothes that became costumes for the movie often came straight from her own closet, many from the vintage stores of New York City. We all know Diane's style - it's so authentically her own that she continues to dress this way to this day. But interestingly, the movie's costume designer Ruth Morley frequently gets credit for the groundbreaking style, including by other well-respected designers and authors like Deborah Nadoolman Landis in her book Dressed. But I must tell you, I have a hard time believing it, especially when I've read how strongly Morley disapproved of Diane's clothing choices. In fact, director Woody Allen remembered a conversation during a 1995 interview:

[Morley] said, '"Tell her not to wear that. She can't wear that. It's so crazy."  

And I said, "Leave her. She's a genius. Let's just leave her alone, let her wear what she wants.'" 

When Annie Hall hit movie theaters in 1977, it was a seismic shift in fashion. The revolution was immediate, seen everywhere from the designer runways to the street. Diane's interpretation of menswear in the movie had the biggest impact. She simultaneously drew from the past while also being ahead of the trends. Her reference points were inspired, including menswear of both the 1920s and 1940s. With Annie Hall, Diane Keaton became as important to advancing menswear in the 1970s as Marlene Dietrich did in the 1930s and Katharine Hepburn in the 1940s.

Diane's look also referenced the bohemian feel of the 1960s and early 1970s. With every outfit, she taught us the art of layering. Her passion for accessories like hats and scarves is clear, and she wove them into several outfits in the film. Coco Chanel once commanded women to remove one item of an outfit before heading out the door, but Diane obviously does not subscribe to this. She taught us how to effectively layer a look without feeling overwhelmed, and many of the ones from Annie Hall are right on trend today.

Countless designers (such as Jenna Lyons at J. Crew), stylists (Rachel Zoe), models (Kate Moss), and celebrities (Rachel Bilson) continue to draw inspiration from Annie Hall style. There are even more examples below, including a few from around the world. Diane won the Best Actress Oscar for Annie Hall, but she definitely deserves another award for her iconic style. Well, la di da. La di da.

The iconic look - the moment Diane Keaton made menswear her own

(including a tie from Ralph Lauren)

Menswear really started with the equestrian look - 

Gloria Swanson in 1922's Her Husband's Trademark (above)

and Anita Page, Joan Crawford, and Dorothy Sebastian in 1928's Our Dancing Daughters

There are countless Annie Hall magazine editorial tributes - 

Alexa Chung just appeared in an Annie Hall-inspired spread for InStyle's April 2017 issue (above)

International tributes include Elle España 2009 (above)

and Vogue Paris 2012

Annie Hall-inspired menswear trends in fashion - 

2012 trend reported in WhoWhatWear (above)

and a current trend in time for the 40th anniversary shown in Glamour April 2017

Annie Hall is very much a reflection of Diane Keaton's true style,

which continues to be inspirational to designers like Ralph Lauren (Spring 2014)

The look of a blazer with jeans is so accepted now, but the look is pure Annie Hall -

here it is in a Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2014 campaign (above)

Rachel Bilson is someone who taps into Annie Hall style regularly -

from the blazer and scarf to rolled up jeans and the plaid shirt

Fashion line Allison Wonderland's plaid shirt is called "Annie Hall"

and plaid shirts are now so popular and stylish they've gone beyond a mere trend

Additional Sources

Landis, Deborah Nadoolman. Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

Lax, Eric. Conversations with Woody Allen. New York: Knopf, 2007.