Little Edie at Barney’s

Maybe I just have Grey Gardens on the brain too much these days, but when the latest Barneys catalog came in the mail a couple weeks ago, I immediately homed in on this Belted Military Dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs as Little Edie’s “dressed for battle” ensemble. I don’t even remember seeing this dress in the runway show—or maybe it was styled less Edie-like—but it’s become my current obsession (naturally my local Barney’s doesn’t carry it and the website is either out or doesn’t carry it either). And of course I love this dress; it’s from the best scene of the film!

OK, back up: It’s tough for me to pick a best scene, but the “staunch woman” rant while wearing what I think is the best costume for the day, is probably my favorite. I’ve never figured out exactly what Little Edie is wearing, though. The powder blue bath towel turban fastened with her ubiquitous brooch (who has her brooch today?!?) and Keds are clear, but what’s the rest? A raincoat with another coat tied around her waist? Is the rainbelt tied around her neck? Whatever she has going on, I love it. Of course, Marc did a Grey Gardens–inspired collection in 2007. Do you think he was thinking of Little Edie with this dress, too? Although even this is really nothing: The Compact Army Coat is more of a dead ringer.

We all know that Marc is hardly the only one to create Grey Gardens-esque collections. J. Crew’s current fall collection is an homage to the film, and entire websites are dedicated to the craze. I think it’s all pretty awesome, but at these prices ($518 for the Compact Army Coat, for one), it’s not exactly hearkening Little Edie’s scavenged style, is it?

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