Jessica Chastain’s look for the premiere of The Forgiven at the Tribeca Festival in New York City offered a new twist on menswear-inspired fashion, upgrading “borrowed from the boys” to “borrowed from the dads” with the addition of a white tie. Without the classic masculine accessory, Chastain is wearing a simple black halter shirtdress. But with the tie, the Oscar-winning actor is making a statement.
The bold tie was apparently accessory enough, because Chastain paired the halter dress (Ralph Lauren, according to her stylist Elizabeth Stewart on Instagram) with black platform sandals and that’s it. No bag, no jewelry, no nothing. Her glam was also distinctly minimal. She wore natural makeup and nude nails, with her hair straight and loose. We are taking that “lose one accessory before leaving the house” rule very seriously here.
The tie is definitely polarizing, but by keeping the rest of the look to the bare minimum and letting that iconic bone structure speak for itself, Chastain makes it look sophisticated rather than kitschy.
Chastain is certainly no stranger to red-carpet menswear—like, have you seen this woman wear a blazer?—but a tie is always going to be a trickier to pull off without unintentionally revisiting some of the darkest fashion days of the aughts (Ashley Tisdale knows what I’m talking about). Not all of us can be Jessica Chastain, after all.
