By Wonderwall.com Editors
4:51am PDT, Jul 24, 2009
By Saryn Chorney
In the hit indie romance "500 Days of Summer," actress Zooey Deschanel plays the independent spirit with the angelic face who puts wannabe Romeo Joseph Gordon Levitt through lovable hell. Over the years, this artsy-yet-elegant ingenue has become a rising style icon. Her many looks are, at once, cutting-edge and charming throw-backs. Zooey's a hipster, for sure, but her fashion sense is pure indie-film princess. Let's examine some of her best looks.
Zooey wore this white minidress paired with sparkly stockings to the 2008 "Yes Man" premiere in Los Angeles. The result? Cupid incarnate.
Zooey's breakout role was playing the department store employee/love interest to Will Ferrell in the hit movie "Elf." She made green and red spandex with gold bric-a-brac a "cute" trend during the 2003 Christmas season, and visions of her sugarplum style have danced in our heads ever since.
Ah, the hipster pixie peacoat. It's a staple in any aspiring indie darling's wardrobe. This salmon version looks sweet on Zooey, and we know she has one in bright blue and another in black.
Schlemeel, schlemazel! Is Zooey attending a charity event in Santa Monica or a casting call for "Laverne & Shirley: The Movie"? Either way, she's got that '50s girl-next-door look down pat.
Wonder Bread, meet wonder girl. Zooey ups the va-va-voom factor with yet another vintage look. Her '50s-era rockabilly dress is kitschy, but coyly sexy too.
On the verge of being pigeonholed as the poodle skirt type, Zooey wisely switched up her fashion era influence and adopted the '60s mod revival trend. This bright red minidress is evocative of her "Elf" beginnings, but the big black bow and tights combo make it all her own.
Zooey sticks with her signature black tights, but time travels into the '70s in this ruffled pyschedelic number she wore to the Independent Spirit Awards.
Next stop: the '80s. Zooey popped into "The Happening" premiere in New York wearing this raspberry party dress (sans beret) — but did she find it in a secondhand store? We wouldn't be surprised.
At the New York City "Failure to Launch" premiere in 2006, Sarah Jessica Parker officially passes the stylish-street-urchin baton to Zooey Deschanel.
If Carrie Bradshaw can pull off wearing a pink tutu on the streets of Manhattan, Zooey Deschanel can pull off wearing this silver-sequin ice skater uniform to the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party.
Besides being the Boner Party blog's muse, Zooey hit pinup girl gold when she posed in the pages of GQ's August 2009 issue. The girl-next-door to sex kitten style metamorphosis has officially begun.
At the "500 Days of Summer" premiere in Los Angeles last month, Zooey's charming dress — retro but chic, deeply V-cut yet classy — was the perfect culmination of her many looks over the years. We have a feeling Reese Witherspoon better watch her back.
