Fashion Credits: Blue Jasmine

If there were ever a film where clothing deserved character credits, it’s the refined, yet extravagant pieces in Blue Jasmine. The film follows the downfall of Jasmine Francis, a former socialite and Park Avenue princess, who is now in heavy debt after her husband goes to prison for a Ponzi scheme. Fashion is so important in this film because Jasmine places all of her identity in her clothing — the only existing proof of the life she used to live.

The film includes a series flashbacks, which reveal what Jasmine’s life was like in New York, as well as the downfall that led her to San Fransisco to stay with her sister.

The first time we see Jasmine, she’s on a plane heading to San Fransisco to live with her adoptive sister, Ginger. She is wearing her prized Chanel boucle jacket, a Chanel pearl necklace, a black Hermes belt, a white blouse, and black trousers.

The Chanel jacket plays an extremely important role in the film, as it is featured in both the present and the flashback scenes. According to the costume designer, Suzy Benzinger, two Chanel jackets were commissioned for the film; one was used in the flashbacks, and one was used in the present. The one in the flashbacks is crisp and clean. The one in the present is slightly rumpled and looks as if it has been through a washing machine (which it was, by Benzinger).

After Jasmine gets off the plane and goes to collect her Louis Vuitton luggage, we get a first look at her prized Hermes Birkin. If there is anything to know about Birkin bags, it’s that they are the creme de la creme of handbags. A Birkin starts at $12,000, and can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jasmine carries this bag almost everywhere with her throughout the film. It serves almost as a shield, as she always holds it close to her body as if she thinks it will protect her from this harsh new reality. Her Birkin also reminds her that at one point in time, she was an “important” person —someone worthy of carrying such a valuable object.

Jasmine and her beloved Birkin, outside Ginger’s apartment

When Jasmine arrives at Ginger’s apartment, with stacks of Louis Vuitton luggage, she gets her first look at her new reality in San Fransisco. Jasmine looks as if she has been plucked right off of Park Avenue and dropped on a dingy street miles and miles away — which is essentially what has happened.

Next, we are met with a series of flashbacks of Jasmine in her prime, along with her husband Hal. The first flashback is of Hal taking Jasmine to the new apartment he bought for her. It can be assumed that this is very early on in their marriage, so Jasmine’s style is a little more playful than it usually is. She is wearing a green parka with a giant fur hood, along with a Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere.

The next scene is of Jasmine hosting a fabulous dinner party for all of her fabulous friends. She is wearing an incredible custom Oscar de la Renta sequined twin set (which is a matching cardigan and top). Though it’s had to see in the screenshot, it is also important to note the jewelry here. I’m not sure where her pieces are from, but the mix of yellow and white diamonds is very refined. I love how the yellow diamonds play off the gold sequins in her sweater.

Jasmine with her green parka and LV Speedy

Jasmine in her Oscar de la Renta twin set.

After the flashbacks, we meet Ginger, who is the exact opposite of Jasmine. However, what she lacks of Jasmine’s “good taste,” she makes up for with her heart of gold. Ginger is picking up her kids from her ex-husband Augie’s apartment, where it is reveled that Hal swindled Ginger and him out of their $200,000 lottery winnings. The film then cuts to a scene of Jasmine and Hal lounging with friends at their country house. While sitting at the table and enjoying martinis, Jasmine is wearing a white shirt dress. My favorite part of this scene is the jewelry, as it gives a good view of Jasmine’s gold Cartier Tank watch with a brown alligator band. I also love her gold chain necklace.

Another flashback takes us to a scene of Jasmine walking down Madison Avenue with a friend, wearing the (crisp and clean) Chanel boucle jacket. In this scene, she pairs it with a black blouse, jeans, a Chanel flap bag, pearl studs, and the same Chanel pearls she is seen wearing on the airplane in the opening scene. During this scene, Jasmine is talking to her friend about how Ginger and Augie are coming to visit them in New York. She essentially tells her friend that her and Ginger have gone on different paths, and then proceeds to tell her that she was always the “good girl”, while Ginger ran away from home.

The next scene shows Ginger and Augie arriving at Jasmine’s extravagant Upper East Side apartment. Jasmine is wearing a blush pink shift dress, in which she looks extremely elegant.

Jasmine and her friend strolling down Madison Avenue

In the next scene, Jasmine takes Ginger shopping at the Fendi boutique on Fifth Avenue. While Ginger picks out a very colorful Fendi Baguette bag, Jasmine is wearing a yellow shift dress from Fendi, as well as an alligator Fendi B Fab bag. Though I’m not usually one for bright colors, I love how the yellow dress ties into the pale yellow ostrich leather of the bag.

Jasmine and Hal take Ginger and Augie out to their Hamptons house during their visit. During this scene, while lounging by the pool, Jasmine convinces Augie to give the lottery money to Hal, so that he can invest it for them. Jasmine is wearing a light blue silk blouse, tan trousers, and a chain necklace. I love how her Birkin is also oddly sitting next to the chaise on the stone patio. Benzinger wanted to make sure that the Birkin got into almost every shot, and I love how it makes it into the most oddest of places. If I had a Birkin, I wouldn’t let it get within 100 feet of a swimming pool.

Jasmine’s next outfit is revealed at her birthday party in the city, where she wears an incredible floral dress, which I believe is from Valentiono. This is one of my favorite looks of the whole film, as I love how the dress is paired with the show stopping earrings, necklace and bracelet: truly a divine combination.

Jasmine lounging by the pool with her Birkin

The next time we see Jasmine is in the present, going out with Ginger to meet her boyfriend Chili. For the outing, Jasmine is wearing a Fendi dress and a Missoni for Target cardigan. The cardigan is one of the only non-high end pieces in the film, which was likely purchased after Jasmine lost everything as was feeling desperate. As for the dress, while I love the belt, I find it rather unflattering, especially compared to all the other tailored pieces in the film. The outfit is accessorized with a gold bracelet, sunglasses, Roger Vivier heels, and the Birkin.

Jasmine in her Missoni for Target cardigan

After deciding that she wants to become an interior decorator online, Jasmine begins to take classes to learn how to use a computer. However, in order to pay for the classes, she has to take a job as a receptionist at a dentist office. While she is working there, the dentist constantly makes inappropriate advances towards her. One day, after constantly dodging his creepy comments, the dentist assaults her. Jasmine is able to push him off of her, and she quits.

After the incident, she goes to the computer class. There, she has befriended a stylish woman, who looks sort of like one of her Park Avenue “friends,” and confides in her about the incident. In desperate need of money, Jasmine asks the woman if she knows any single men. The woman then invites Jasmine to a party where there could possibly be some bachelors.

While Jasmine is talking to her friend, she wears one of my favorite outfits in the whole film. She once again sports the Chanel jacket, but this time, she layers it on top of a poplin blouse. I love the popped collar, and the brown stripe around it. It adds an extra level of detail that makes it look very luxurious. Jasmine also wears this outfit when she convinces Ginger to attend the party with her, so that she will have a backup friend there in case she can’t find anyone to talk to.

Next, another flashback appears. Jasmine is now suspicious that Hal is having an affair, and decides to confront him while wearing a breathtaking red Carolina Herrera gown, and diamonds (of course!).

After the flashback, the film cuts to a scene of Jasmine muttering to herself at the cocktail party. She is wearing one her most important outfits in the film: a gold sheath dress and Oscar de la Renta sweater, as well as a handful of other labeled accessories, as she knows that they have the power to attract very, very wealthy men.

While taking a peak into the home library, Jasmine meets a very handsome man named Dwight. Dwight immediately lists off all of the labels that Jasmine is wearing: a Chanel belt, an Hermes bag, and Vivier shoes. He then explains that his wife (who passed away) worked at a fashion magazine. He also tells her that he is a diplomat, who plans to run for congress. He is beyond charmed by Jasmine’s stylish exterior and elegant presence. However, when asked about her late husband, she lies and tells him that he was a surgeon who died of a heart attack, not a criminal who committed suicide in prison. He buys her story, and even asks her to decorate a new home he bought in the Bay Area.

Jasmine convinces Ginger to attend to cocktail party with her

With a rich, new man finally caught, Jasmine starts to believe that perhaps she will once again get to live the good life.

In the next scene, we see a less-than put together Jasmine at home, waiting for Dwight to call. She’s wearing what I believe to be a blue Ralph Lauren cable knit sweater and a pair of J Brand jeans, a pair she wears throughout the film.

Dwight finally calls, and he and Jasmine meet up at his new home in Marin. The home is massive, complete with breathtaking ocean-front views. While posing to Dwight as an interior decorator, Jasmine wears a stunning cream shift dress. I absolutely love how detailed the dress is, from the cuts in the back that reveal green fabric to the grey sleeves with brown piping.

While admiring the ocean-view on his enormous back patio, Dwight confesses to Jasmine that he has feelings for her, and the two share a passionate kiss. They go on to bask in their sophisticated glory, and continue to build their new home and life together.

While picking out furniture for the home, Jasmine once again wears the blue Ralph Lauren cable knit sweater. This time, however, she throws it over her shoulders, giving her a preppy look.

Jasmine visiting Dwight’s stunning new home

Jasmine takes a break from shopping and living stylishly with Dwight to babysit her nephews while Ginger goes on a date with a guy she met at the cocktail party. Even while sitting in a dirty restaurant and looking a bit disheveled, she still looks stylish. In this scene, she is wearing a classic trench, and though we can’t clearly see the dress beneath, there is a yellow bodice peeking out.

The next day, Jasmine is back with Dwight and helping him with his new home. Jasmine is once again wearing the Chanel jacket, but this time, over a delicate blush pink blouse with scalloped detailing, as well as a string of pearls. While unloading a grocery bag in the kitchen, Dwight asks Jasmine if she would marry him, and then asks her to come and live with him in Vienna for the next couple of years. Jasmine accepts, and lives in a cloud of bliss for the next couple of days.

With her life finally back on track, Jasmine gets her spring back in her step, and even decides to bring back flowers to the apartment. She once agin wears the Missoni for Target sweater, this time draped on her shoulders, and a beige shift dress.

Just as Jasmine’s life is coming back together, the film cuts to another flashback. While wearing an aqua pussycat-bow blouse, tan trousers and a handful of expensive jewelry, she rushes to tell a friend that Hal is cheating on her. Her friend, very unsympathetically, tells Jasmine that everyone know’s about Hal’s numerous indiscretions, and that she’s surprised Jasmine hadn’t found out earlier. While this is a very pivotal scene for the film, I always find myself having to rewind it because I’m so mesmerized by Jasmine’s jewelry, particularly, her massive engagement ring.

Jasmine confides in a friend about Hal’s affair

The next time we see Jasmine, back in the present, she is going with Dwight to pick out an engagement ring. She is wearing one of her final outfits in the film, which is a taupe Alberta Ferretti dress with an Oscar de la Renta cardigan. Jasmine and Dwight are in their final moments of bliss, as they talk about how she impressed his parents at dinner the night before, and she gushes about how she won’t get “too big” of a stone. As they are looking into the window of the jewelry shop, Augie (Ginger’s ex-husband) happens to be walking down the street. He confronts Jasmine in front of Dwight, and also tells her that he ran into her step-son, Danny, who is now living in Oakland and working at a music shop. Augie reveals that because of what Hal did with their lottery money, he know has to take a job up in Alaska, far away from his two children. After Augie walks away, Dwight confronts Jasmine. Unable to get past the fact that she lied to him, they breakup, and Jasmine’s happily-ever-after is destroyed.

Jasmine and Dwight on their way to pick out an engagement ring

In the final flashback, a distraught Jasmine tells Hal that she knows about his affair. He eventually confesses, and tells Jasmine that he plans to leave her for a 19-year-old French au pair. Jasmine then suffers a nervous breakdown and, even though Hal assures her that she will be financially taken care of, calls the FBI to tell them about Hal’s fraudulent business dealings, confirming that she did in fact know all along. Hal is then arrested and taken to prison. What I find so interesting about this revelation is that Jasmine could have kept her old life. Though Hal was leaving her, he was going to leaver her with what I assume to be a good amount of money, one that would at least allow her to maintain the lifestyle she had become accustomed to. Yet, what she was really angry about was him leaving her for another woman. She then decided to blow his life up, but ends up destroying hers as well in the process.

Jasmine confronts Hal in their impeccable foyer. I will be forever obsessed with that wallpaper.

Before the final flashback, Jasmine goes to see Danny in Oakland, right after breaking up with Dwight. Danny tells Jasmine that he knows that she is the one who called the FBI, sparking the revelation scene. What I find most interesting about this moment is that because Jasmine walked all the way in the heat to Oakland, her crisp Alberta Ferretti dress is now adorned with sweat stains. Benzinger revealed that she had to order not one, but two dresses, so that there could be one for the shopping scene and one for the scene where Jasmine confronts Danny.

After Jasmine visits Danny, who tells her to never contact him again, she makes her way back to Ginger’s apartment. When she gets there, she sees that Ginger has reunited with her less-than-ideal boyfriend Chili. When Ginger tells Jasmine that Chili is moving in, a disgusted and angry Jasmine lies to Ginger and tells her that she is moving out that day to live with Dwight. Jasmine takes a shower, changes into her Chanel jacket, black trousers, and white blouse (the same outfit she wore when she first arrived), and leaves the house (surprisingly, without her Birkin), and walks to a park bench where she sits and murmurs to herself about her former life. The film ends.

Jasmine muttering to herself on a park bench

FashionJenna ThrasherAugust 4, 2020