Here Come the Bouvier Beales

I’ve been meaning to preview HBO’s upcoming Grey Gardens, but I wanted to have a little something extra, an added value to just the trailer, you know.

Well, patience has paid off: The Daily Beast has a look-see at the fashion of the April 18 made-for-TV film starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

Costume designer Cat Thomas took on the daunting challenge of recreating the signature style of Big and Little Edie Bouvier Beale, the mother and daughter pair (and aunt and first cousin of Jackie O.) who lived in beyond- surprising squalor in an East Hampton, N.Y., house for years and became the notoriously subjects of one of the 1970s most iconic documentaries, Grey Gardens.

Both Little Edie and Big Edie loved clothes – especially Little Edie – but in their slightly senile states, turned fashion quite literally on its head.

For instance, Little Edie wore cardigans as kerchiefs and skirts upside down, always sported a signature brooch or pop of color.

Click here to take a look at some of Thomas’ sketches.

Photo: TheDailyBeast.com.