Personal Style Icon: Edie Sedgwick, Factory Girl

(April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971)

Above: A very young Edie Sedgwick, before she moved to NYC

Edith "Edie" Minturn Sedgwick lit up the New York downtown scene when she moved there from Cambridge after her 21st birthday in 1964.

Above: Edie with Andy Warhol

The native Californian soon captured artist Andy Warhol’s attention with her blue-blooded family ancestry, delicate beauty and trailblazing gamine style.

Edie made several films with Andy at his trendy studio and hipster hangout, the Factory, and soon became an underground movie star and the front runner of the “Youthquake” movement.


In 1965, Life magazine proclaimed she “was doing more for black tights than anybody since Hamlet" in a fashion feature. She had modeling spreads with Vogue and was Betsey Johnson’s first fit model in 1966.

Above: Edie Sedgwick in Vogue magazine

Eventually, her and Andy had a falling out when she left the Factory crowd to work with Bob Dylan, but her projects with Dylan fell through and she began a drug fueled downward spiral into oblivion. In 1971, she died of a barbiturate overdose at the tragic young age of 28.


Some blame Warhol’s blasé dismissal for her untimely demise while others point fingers at her family’s extensive mental history. But however short her 15 minutes of fame were, her trademark beatnik sense of style still inspires and impacts the fashion world today.


Edie's Personal Style Signatures

It's relatively simple to get Edie's youthful mod look. All you need are a couple of her trademarks like:

1. A striped T-shirt like BDG's Easy Tee striped tunic ($34).
2. Opaque black tights like Xhilaration's black fashion tights($5)
3 Shoulder skimming earrings like bebe's chain tassel duster earrings ($24).
4. Thick fake eyelashes.
5. A platinum pixie haircut.
6. Graphic eye makeup. Try Nars' Duo Eyeshadow in Pandora ($32).
7. Exaggerated eyebrows. Try benefit's brow zings ($30).
8. Fur (faux or real) coat like this Vintage spotted cat coat ($285).

Want more Edie?

Read:
Edie's Wikipedia article

Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein

Edie Factory Girl (coffee table book)

Watch:
Factory Girl (2007) a film about Edie starring Sienna Miller

Ciao! Manhattan (1972) a film starring Edie, which shows both clips of her as an "It girl" and of her tragic downward spiral

YouTube:
PBS documentary excerpt of Andy Warhol and Edie

Short Edie interview

Listen: Songs about Edie
Bob Dylan's 1966 album Blonde on Blonde is largely influenced by Edie especially apparent on the tracks "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" and "Just Like a Woman." It's rumored that Edie also is referenced on Dylan's single "Like a Rolling Stone."

Velvet Underground - "Femme Fatale," from the 1967 album Velvet Underground and Nico is an ode to Edie.