Elle Fanning: Im told I have a very period face. I dont know what that means

Posted by Valeria Galgano on Sunday, May 12, 2024

Gwyneth Paltrow attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 05, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California © Jill Johnson/jpistudios.com

Elle Fanning covers the latest issue of Marie Claire to promote her new Netflix film, All the Bright Places, based on a young adult novel of the same name. The MC photoshoot is great, and I’ve said this before, but damn it, Elle really has that ‘70s aesthetic. You can tell that she loves fashion in general, and she talks about her love of vintage in particular. It’s one of those situations where she really looks the best in vintage-flavor clothes too. You can read the full MC piece here. Some highlights:

Working with Angelina Jolie at 21: “Angelina’s and my relationship definitely changed. She didn’t have to look at me as a kid; she didn’t have to censor what she could talk about. That was exciting, to have that relationship.”

A period face. “I look at photos, and I looked the same when I was 11. I’m told I have a very period face. I don’t know what that means. I probably will be 35 and people will still go, Awww! My sister feels that way too because people feel like they’ve known you since you were the six-year-old kid in the film. [It’s frustrating] because you’re like, you don’t know me.”

She lives at home with her mom and grandmother: They expect “Southern manners, Southern hospitality, being gracious.”

Her love of vintage: “My mom would let me wear whatever I wanted [in high school]. I went to a lot of thrift stores and would mix it together, but in high school that’s not the coolest thing. I tried to wear skinny jeans and a tank top or to look sexy for a bar mitzvah. It just was not me. It didn’t even look good. Some people are repulsed by that smell of vintage clothes, but I love it. I think it’s because I’m a very nostalgic person and I daydream a lot. I feel I was possibly born in the wrong era—those old movies, Grace Kelly, so gorgeous, you know.”

She’s always been obsessed with fashion: “From a young age, I knew every model’s name on the runway. I was totally looking in magazines, like, That looks good.” And so “the red carpet is a fun place for me. I don’t get anxiety. It’s a creative space where I get to be 100 percent me, not a character. It’s kind of like my soul coming out.”

Instagram is her only social media. “Twitter scares me! Oh my God, Twitter is so intense. Instagram I do enjoy; I have a private account and a public account [3.7 million followers]. I do think there are dangers that I totally fall into, of looking down that rabbit hole, comparing yourself to everybody else and seeing, Oh, their life, that vacation. I try to keep it light and tell fans about movies that are coming out or about a photo shoot. That can get really intense too. People can say they don’t read any comments, but… Mmm, yeah, you do! I do! Of course you look! ‘Oh, your ankles look huge.’ What the heck?! It is bizarre, like, who is this person?”

[From Marie Claire]

Twitter is intense, especially when some d-bag or Nazi (or Nazi d-bag) is harassing you. That being said, I’m basically only on Instagram now to look at other people’s photos and to follow my favorite tennis players. I have no desire to be that showy or inspo with my own life. Also: I too enjoy the musty smell of real vintage clothes. I honestly don’t mind the smell of just regular old second-hand clothes either, although those always get a wash. And yes, she does have a “period face.” It doesn’t mean she has a babyface (although she does), it just means that she looks like she’s from another era. Most of the time, she looks like she belongs in the late ‘60s and ‘70s.

Cover & IG courtesy of Marie Claire.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmb2xoaYZye8Slo56Xlpa7r7XNoJaipY%2BpvK2wvqKWoZmmmqyiq9WeqbKXoJq%2FqrvDmJ2am5WUtqCwzqermKOepMSgw8eaq5ismJbBoLnEmqWsZw%3D%3D