Chloë Sevigny and the Crossover Appeal of Uncommonly Great Legs

It was 20 years ago today that Chloë Sevigny became New York City’s downtown girl of the moment with the release of director Larry Clark’s seminal film, Kids—her poignant performance launching a decades-long acting career. But the Darien, Connecticut, native began earning fashion credits a few years earlier. In 1992, Sonic Youth placed the teenage skate brat front and center in their music video for “Sugar Kane” in which she wanders the streets of Manhattan before finding her way onto the Marc Jacobs runway in a pair of micro shorts. It’s easy to follow the logic where her wardrobe was concerned: For all of Sevigny’s real-girl appeal and on-screen savvy, she’s always had supernaturally great legs.

Whether the five foot eight inch actress is dressing herself or being styled for a shoot, history has shown that a bare set of limbs is her go-to sartorial statement—carrying her down the Miu Miu runway in 1995 (alongside a waifish Kate Moss), making a star in her new retrospective photo book, or providing the inspiration for her own line of high-waisted shorts and abbreviated rompers in collaboration with Opening Ceremony.

Either the product of a lifelong dedication to lunges or a stroke of gene-pool genius, those exposed stems have remained impressively toned—the one visual constant amidst a series of fearless haircuts, bleached brow transformations, and inimitable style risks. As proof, we’re taking a look back at a few of Sevigny’s leggiest moments—which offer more than their fair share of motivation for skipping the taxi or subway in favor of walking an extra city block.

The post Chloë Sevigny and the Crossover Appeal of Uncommonly Great Legs appeared first on Vogue.