The leading lady of French cinema for decades now, Catherine Deneuve has also been a model and one of the most enduring style icons. A style icon who says she “doesn’t dress for style”, but rather “to be dressed”. Isn’t this attitude one of the secrets of French women, the free spirit which inevitably leads to that enviable effortless chic look? I would say it is. Never wearing much makeup, lining her eyes and keeping everything else light and au naturel, Deneuve was and is a quintessential French beauty.
Even though she considers muse too strong a word to describe her relationship with Yves Saint Laurent, the two had a very special and long friendship. He dressed her in five films: Belle de Jour (oh, I remember the precise cuts, the minimalist, elegant lines and clean finishes of the outfits she wears, reflecting the style of Laurent’s Rive Gauche ready-to-wear line launched in 1966), La Chamade, La Sirène du Mississippi, Liza and The Hunger, as well as for premiers and daily life. In 1992 she became a model for his skincare line.
With the on-screen reputation of an ice queen after Polanski’s Repulsion (1965) and Buñuel’s Belle de Jour (1967), nominated for the Academy Awards for Indochine (1992) and having won numerous others, her filmography has been cited as inspiration by many designers. Nominated by Look magazine as the most beautiful woman in the world in the ’60s, the face of Chanel Nº5 in the late ’70s, the image of France’s national symbol, Marianne, in the ’80s, shoe designer for Repetto, having launched her own eponymous perfume and having collaborated with Louis Vuitton for their Core Value ad campaigns, Catherine Deneuve continues to be a star and woman of style.
photos: here , here and here (6-Catherine Deneuve and Yves Saint Laurent for Vogue Paris March 1976 / 7-Catherine Deneuve in Chanel advertisment)
To me, she was, is and will remain one of the most beautiful women in the world!
a nice actress with character and personality !
and yes, i want to be dressed first of all 😉
oh…she is SO my FAVOURITE woman in terms of style, acting and womanhood…When I grow old I want to grow old like her….it seems that she is more of a good wine…good at the beginning…but even better when olde…that’s what I can say about her beauty…and oh…I do hope I will be like that…fortunately there are good genes in my family too.
As for the picture where she has her crossed leggs and is in fromt of the YSL showcase….almost the same image is for LV in our days… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIKxJlh_RMo …oh…and I also love the way she smokes…for many women it’s vulgar…for her,…Coco etc…it was so damn sexy!
She is stunningly beautiful
I love French style 
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Love, Vanilla
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Love her!
She also said that a woman should groom her brows before worrying about any other make up. True legend of the beauty world… I adore her very much and so does my mum. x
beautiful pics….love the french style
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Gorgeous post Ada! I always thought Catherine D. was the most elegant and beautiful woman in a class all by herself. That image of her in the navy polka dot dress with YSL is my favorite!
xo Mary Jo
I just love your descriptions, histories, and photos of classic icons!
i love her! the photo with ysl is great! once again – perfect selection!
She is so gorgeous and wears her eyeliner perfectly. Beautiful photo’s!
She is absolutely stunning
Before big bows and headbands were actually trendy! She’s such a stunner…so elegant and classy! Thanks for sharing this lovely collection!
xo-Julie
Peace. Love. LOL!
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Oui, Catherine este vraiment belle. J’aime son style!
Hi Ada! My weekend was fine and I just ate a lot of chocolates and cookies..more than I should. Catherine Deneuve is such an natural beauty! There’s such a radiance about her and her smile is so lovely! I didn’t know much about her or her movies before so I need to catch up! Hope you’re having an amazing week! Can you believe it’s Tuesday already?! xoxoxoo
She is gorgeous–seemingly effortlessly so. What a model for the \less is more\ philosophy.
She is absolutely stunning, isn’t she?? I can definitely see why she is such an icon…effortlessly lovely. And french to boot. Some girls have all the luck (c:
Love these photos! Tres chic!! xx
Oh, she was such a lovely girl. Now she is such a stylish woman. This is a lady which I would like to follow – her style is ageless.
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Monika from
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