Saoirse Ronan for Vogue

Posted on Dec 8, 2011 in Fashion

Darlings, here’s your pretty for the day. Saoirse Ronan, in couture, paying homage to the Aesthetic Movement, or as Vogue puts it, “Saoirse Ronan embodies the romantic nineteenth-century muse.”

We don’t know about that, but she sure looks pretty amazing. Enjoy, darlings.

Saoirse Ronan for Vogue, Photographed by Steven Meisel. Fashion Editor: Grace Coddington. Hair by Julien d’Ys. Makeup by Pat McGrath.

Chanel Haute Couture Satin Dress

Girl. by Band of Outsiders Floral Print Silk Baby Doll Dress

Oscar de la Renta Dress with Slashed Bouffant Sleeves

Balenciaga Silk Crepe Dress

Valentino Haute Couture Velvet Dress

[Image Credit: burbuja8910 via thefashionspot.com]

Tags:

Sarah Lynnae

How lovely! Very Waterhouse, indeed.
- http://twitter.com/starrika Ali
  
  I immediately thought Waterhouse as well – particularly some of his Ophelia works. Stunning!
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CQPXLNCBM5CZSHZZXJDHPVFS7E Buffy
    
    Me too, definitely Ophelia!
    - Anonymous
      
      Yep, this Ophelia by John Everett Millais: http://luisaluisa.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/millais_-_ophelia.jpg
      
      And this one by Waterhouse: http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/jww/paintings/15.jpg
      - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1043171034 Tadiana Walton Jones
        
        I am beyond impressed that you were able to pinpoint the resemblance to those paintings (especially the Millais) and link them.
      - Anonymous
        
        Thanks — I went through a period in my early 20s of being kind of obsessed with the work of Waterhouse and related artists, as well as paintings of Ophelia, so they’re permanently imprinted on my brain. Comes in handy in times like this, I guess!
      - Suzanne Musin
        
        Yeah, as soon as I saw the pictures (and read the caption about nineteenth century muses) I thought, Pre-Raphaelite movement! They pulled it off well.
- Anonymous
  
  She’s like a Waterhouse painting come to life.
Anonymous

I’m not into the color story here. It speaks of illness and coldness to me. I think her face is quite beautiful, but I see nothing else to like about this spread. “Pretty” is a very strong word.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZBFH32YG44LIIZYLSQPMBXMYCU Sarah

OOOH, those are so pretty. I wish I wasn’t 21st century chubby, so I could go around dressed like an Arthur Rackham illustration all the time.
- Anonymous
  
  I think she looks like Rackham’s Alice in Wonderland all grown up. Love his illustrations.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZBFH32YG44LIIZYLSQPMBXMYCU Sarah
    
    Me too! And I’ve got the calendar
Anonymous

sorry, but ugh
Anonymous

Anne Shirley would approve.
- http://twitter.com/starrika Ali
  
  Oh, she so would! I had forgotten about that scene where they play the Lady of Shalott!
Anonymous

How lovely. Saoirse looks like she just stepped out of a pre-Raphaelite painting. The Balenciaga one that looks like a take on Millais’ Ophelia is really stupendous.
- glennethph
  
  That’s what I thought when I saw it…Ophelia. I love that the allusion to water is in the pool tiles.
Shelley Chidley

Very Pre-raphealite-ish.
http://twitter.com/yessveee Sarah Veenstra

A very beloved book of my childhood is my great-grandmother’s (who was born in 1889) copy of “Queen Zixi of Ix”. Any of these shots, but particularly the third, look as if they came straight off its pages. LOVE.
Anonymous

i have no idea who she is (her face looks familiar, but i’m googling now lol), but i LOVE these pictures. i love the shabby, overgrown romance of it all, and the hair and greenery make an amazing backdrop for those eyes. delightful.

edited to say: oh, right: atonement! someone’s all grown up! i’m liking all the younger women in hollywood going a very high-fashion, couture route.
Sara Leigh Merrey

Definitely Pre-Raphaelite.
Anonymous

Oh, I love it. They really captured the feel of the paintings and illustrations they’re clearly trying to reference. And she has the perfect face for it.

It’s great to see her like this after Hanna, in which she was incredible.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1046681022 Paula Berman

I love her face. She is not conventionally pretty, but her face is striking and she has an intelligent, profound look about her.
- http://twitter.com/bredalot Bridget Smith
  
  It’s funny, my friend and I were just recently talking about how her awkward puberty, when the rest of us looked weird, is making her look normal. This is the most conventionally pretty she’s ever looked. But she’s absolutely still striking and, as you said, profound. I wouldn’t be surprised if, over the next decade or so, she began to follow in Cate Blanchett’s footsteps.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1046681022 Paula Berman
    
    She does look like Cate Blanchett, esp in the Ophelia picture. That’s a high compliment.
Mariah J

Loveeee this…the hair color could have been a tad less harsh
Anonymous

grace coddington had the good sense to keep the balenciaga out of the water. otoh, it doesnt work anywhere near as well on what seems to be stiff & shiny blue wrapping paper.
Anonymous

Very ethereal Florence Welch-esque. Her eyes in that last shot are stunning as well.
Anonymous

How I love thee Grace Coddington… Veeery pretty
http://twitter.com/jaythenerdkid Aaminah Khan

There’s something really otherworldly about these pictures that really draws the eye.
Anonymous

Because nothing says “romantic nineteenth-century muse” like a godawful dye job? Hm, I don’t know. I suppose they were trying to update the look, though.
- Anonymous
  
  The wigs are so baaaad.
Anonymous

SCA/Ren Faire for millionaires?
Now I am The Bee

Stunning! Thanks for the pretty today. You’re always thinking of your bitter unborn fawns….
Anonymous

But she looks 45 instead of 17! Not too interested in the clothes except the Balenciaga–those aren’t feathers in the bottom? Her face in that last shot is amazing.
Anonymous

Very elegant– except for the hair. That’s the hairstyle of a tortured barbie doll.
- Anonymous
  
  You’ve seen Grace Coddington, right?
Anonymous

I think it’s a really sad imitation of the Romantics that just sort of looks laughable, but that’s all on the director of photography and the stylists. She looks really striking, however!
Anonymous

The pictures are okay but she’s 17 and she looks nearly 40.
http://twitter.com/jennawaterford Jennifer Ford

Oh, my god, that Ophelia picture is STUNNING.

And I think what they’re homaging are the Pre-Raphaelites; the Romantics were a separate, earlier literary movement and the Aesthetics were a separate, later art movement — though Aubrey Beardsley did hang out with the Pre-Raphaelites in their later and his early days.
- Anonymous
  
  Definitely. Oh well.
- http://twitter.com/starrika Ali
  
  I agree. It’s definitely not references Ingres or Delacroix, which are two Romantic artists I can think of off the top of my head. The Romantic period didn’t have that soft, dreamy quality to it the Pre-Raphaelites did. And the Aesthetics had a lot of gilt and Japanese/Eastern influence, I believe.
  - http://twitter.com/jennawaterford Jennifer Ford
    
    I think they’re all riffs on actual PRB paintings — the Chanel is Isabella and the Pot of Basil by Holman Hunt (http://artmight.com/Artists/Hunt-William-Holman/bs-ahp-William-Holman-Hunt-Isabella-And-The-Pot-Of-Basil-192186p.html ); the Oscar de la Renta is Waterhouse (who isn’t a PreRaphaelite but always gets grouped in with them for some reason (http://www.encore-editions.com/john-william-waterhouse-ophelia-1910 ); the Balenciaga is Millais’ Ophelia (http://www.anglik.net/millais.htm ); the other two could be riffs on several different PRB paintings and models, though they seem very Rossetti-ish to me.
    - http://www.wordydoodles.com WordyDoodles
      
      Brilliant!! I love this kind of analysis. Thanks for the links!
    - http://twitter.com/aStudiobytheSea Jody Lee
      
      Agreed. It has the curled up feel of Rosetti’s Jane Morris portraits. I like the spread and the model, it really works. The clothing, apart from the de La Renta, is kind of bad, though, and the hair is shaped well but looks vile in texture, like a stuffed animal that got fried in the dryer.
      - http://www.facebook.com/people/Margaret-Carlson-Nikoleit/100002490979930 Margaret Carlson Nikoleit
        
        Totally see Dante Gabriel Rosetti’s poses of Jane Morris in the Band of Outsiders (2nd) dress. I don’t have a link, but I studied a lot of his paintings back in college and I’m sure there’s one close to this. Of course, Saoirse has more attractive eyebrows/forehead than Jane. The hair’s not actually that different though …
    - http://twitter.com/starrika Ali
      
      Ohhh, Rossetti – I had forgotten (been a long time since I took any art history classes). Now I’m thinking the picture with the Oscar de la Renta reminds me of Goblin Market.
- http://cheekypinky.wordpress.com/ Rebecca
  
  It’s *totally* the Pre-Raphaelites!
  
  Love love love loveitylove.
  
  They even got Waterhouse’s “Lady of Shalott” in that great big green dress.
Laura Korth

She looks so beautiful. Can you believe she’s only 17?
http://twitter.com/chelwi Christine

I love her.
Anonymous

Very Elizabeth Siddal. Beautiful!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Emily-Smith/12431153 Emily Smith

She’s got the perfect face for that kind of theme.
Anonymous

That hair! Not surprised to see Grace Coddington was the fashion editor here. Hee!
- Anonymous
  
  Without Grace Coddington Vogue is Vague.
Anonymous

I love it.
I’d say it looks more like Grace Coddington paying homage to Grace Coddington.
http://twitter.com/anacedillo Ana Cedillo

i mean, i can appreciate the art to this but i really dont care for it that much. definitely not my style, very Ophelia indeed. all I really is sick hipster meets alice in wonderland
but i do love grace, always
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3AJ237ND3GAHDQJZ4TLCO4WLRA Emily

Pictures are lovely but think it has more to do with the styling and the photos rather than anything she’s doing.
Anonymous

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the recreations of some of my favorite pre-Raphaelite artists. This is the best photo collection I’ve seen all year.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=522872342 Lisa Mitchell Utter

Bow down to Grace Coddington, bitches.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mary-Elizabeth-Poytinger-Baumer/1516981341 Mary Elizabeth Poytinger Baume

dying from the awesome.
Anonymous

Oh yeah, this just reeks of Grace Coddington. In a good way. The ode to Millais is very interesting and I love the 1st and 3rd shots with the Pre-Raphaelite styling right down to the positioning of the hands and feet. I love this!
http://twitter.com/delysia_lafosse Delysia LaFosse

Gorgeous editorial, and she’s totally pulling off these looks, but she’s pretty waify to be a Pre-Raphaelite…
Anonymous

Beautiful face, the art direction is lovely…but I find myself yanked out of full appreciation by that ratty, fake-looking wig. I know they were going for “artfully tousled” but something didn’t quite work there, for me.

Gosh, she’s 17. I didn’t know she was even that old.

Also to add: you know what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about this is that her mouth isn’t open in every (or any) shots. That pose of sexual desire with the moist, half-parted lips on the faces of these kids skeeves me out.
Judy_J

Lovely.
http://twitter.com/starrika Ali

I’ve come back to look at this twice. It is stunning. She has such an expressive face, I have to make myself look at the clothes.
Anonymous

One of the most beautiful celeb photo set of this year. Perhaps the most beautiful.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_F3HKIK7MIJMBDAQBDWEAQDTXUM theneva

Breathtaking. Dante Rossetti just came in his grave.
MilaXX

pretty!
Serena Chen

I love the hair colors! But the condition of her hair has me convinced that they bleached & dyed it for real with each color change. *Cringe*
Katie Gorman

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, not aestheticism.
foodycat

Beautiful, although the hair is more Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter than pre-Raphaelite. I haven’t seen Saorise Ronan in any films, but she has a stunning face.
Warmheartedgirl Seattle

very striking images. she’s a beautiful girl.
Anonymous

Lovely to see the word “bouffant” again, especially in relation to a sleeve.
Anonymous

beautiful!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506473106 Mori Clark

a ma zing. she looks like she could easily model for alphonse mucha.
https://profiles.google.com/104791269167429064986 Judy S

She’s too slim to be a Jane Morris, but she looks great as Ophelia and (I think) Salome).
Anonymous

Very pretty. I love her.

Gaga is going to pissed that she didn’t wear this hair first.
Anonymous

She’s like a surrealist Anne of Green Gables.
Anonymous

Oh lovely! In their own right, AND in how they take me back to particular paintings & illustrations.

Can’t say I come away with a strong sense of the clothes in and of themselves, though.
Anonymous

couldnt really take the preciousness of the pre raphaelites so a lot of this leaves me cold. the hint of botticelli in the green oscar de la renta has me interested, tho. is this supposed to be about clothes?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mary-Stone/100001328135240 Mary Stone

The hair is a tragedy unfortunately, just look at the condition of it — what happened? Not everyone needs to be sleek/shiny, but that just looks fried/baked to death/dried out…2 words: Coconut Oil. Seriously. It’s what saved my dry hair from being straw.

The clothes are gorgeous and the settings are not at all bad, I can tell which pre-raphaelite paintings they are referring to without having to think too hard about it.
- Anonymous
  
  I sincerely hope that these were wigs! Very unfortunate if this were done to her otherwise normal hair. Every other photo I’ve seen of her shows her with very attractive almost straight hair.
  
  She is very lovely.
http://twitter.com/aidanboleyn Aidan B

Oh my, I have chills! Beautiful, Saoirse!
Joyce VG

ohhh…wow…exquisite
Anonymous

Wow, this is spectacular. I love her unusual looks.
Anonymous

DG Rosetti would be so proud!
Anonymous

That Oscar de la Renta dress was born for this shoot! I love pre-Raphaelite art anyway so I’m pre-programmed to love this, and I do.
I quite like the hair styling as it gives a bit of modern edge. If they’d just gone for a basic wavy red look it might’ve looked just too copycat.
They need to straighten out their art movements though!
http://twitter.com/mellafe natalia h

Oh, the second one reminds of the Rolling Stone cover Tori Amos did oh so many years ago! 95?

http://www.barewalls.com/i/c/557197_Tori-Amos.jpg
Anonymous

Man, you can really see Grace Coddington all over this, can’t you?
Anonymous

Oh, so beautiful! Grace Coddington is a genius.
Anonymous

I am dying of gorgeousness. And I LOVE the ratted hair.
http://twitter.com/Razorqueen Razorqueen

The second one looks like Christina Rossetti, but I can’t put my finger on which one.
- http://twitter.com/Razorqueen Razorqueen
  
  Or maybe Dante. One of the Rossettis, anyway.
Anonymous

I love this.
Anonymous

Striking
Anonymous

Paging Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris! Love it.
Evelina Chang

Breathtaking!
michael johnson

That’s all a far cry from Hanna, an excellent movie in which Ms. Ronan kicks ass like Roddy Piper in They Live.

Share This

Saoirse Ronan for Vogue

Archives

Follow us

Archives