Diane Keaton is a woman who wears many hats, metaphorically and literally. She’s an Academy Award-winning actress, an avid photographer, a writer specialising in Californian architecture (or so her 2019 tome would suggest), and a style icon with a penchant for a good hat. Since she starred in Woody Allen’s iconic film Annie Hall in 1977, Keaton has established her place in cinematic fashion history. In a new book by Rizzoli called Fashion First, a chronologically arranged fashion scrapbook of her looks through the years, Keaton reveals that the film’s distinctive, menswear-inspired aesthetic—oversized ties, high-waist trousers, collared shirts, and, of course, hats—mimicked her own and was, in fact, “completely influenced by the cool-looking women walking the streets of Soho”.
Almost 50 years on, Keaton’s style continues to inspire. This new tome includes a foreword by Ralph Lauren, who provided some of the costumes in Annie Hall, as well as notes from Keaton fans such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Miley Cyrus, and Kris Jenner. The actor’s candid, sometimes cheeky look at her fashion evolution covers everything from her childhood (“I think all first-born children can relate to the idea that because you are your parent’s first child, you are essentially your parent’s first doll”) to a short-lived blonde moment in the 1970s, the time she wore a white suit by designer Richard Tyler to the 1976 Oscars, the beginning of her obsession with cross necklaces in the ’90s (“like a very devoted nun”), all the way to the 2000s and her love for brands like Louis Vuitton, Thom Browne, and Gucci.
Below are some of our favourite images from the book chronicling Keaton’s enduring style.
The early years
Bangs were part of Keaton’s identity right from her earliest haircuts, and they continued into her teens and beyond. She writes that this was also when “[I] started to discover my love for jewelry and accessories: purses, bows, necklaces and the occasional church hat.” All of it inspired by her fashionable mother.
Enter the sixties
“I desperately wanted to look like Raquel Welch (along with every other woman in the world in the late ’60s). She was an icon in more ways than one, but I could not get over her hair. The bounce, the curl, the height.”
Shape shifting into the seventies
“You might see my headwraps and think it was a fashion statement. But, to be honest, it was simply the easier thing to do. Headwraps were a way not to have to do my hair all of the time. It was just a bonus that sometimes it looked chic.”
Fashion misadventures in the eighties
“The ’80s were a time for shoulder pads, coats that were nine times your size, polka dots, perms, and pearls. Lots and lots of pearls. I beg of you not to judge this chapter too harshly, as I promise you, I was only following the rules of the time.”
Well suited
“There are so many wonderful things to love about a suit. The pants don’t have to be too tight. Neither does the jacket. I like my sleeves to go down long, to cover me up. Suits make me feel comfortable.”
Fashion First by Diane Keaton is out on Rizzoli on September 3, 2024
