There is that constant current of melancholy in most photographs of Joan Didion that sometimes makes me question why I am such of fan of them. At best she looks subdued, while in the most extreme she looks tortured and hopelessly sad. In her older years it’s as if that sadness within her came to express itself physically in the lines on her face and the thinness of her body. Yet because she has so honestly shared her sorrows with us, I feel protective and empathetic towards her.
And then there is her style, which is restrained and unselfconscious, but so elegant nonetheless. It looks easy to dress that simply, but it actually takes a lot of discipline to so precisely narrow down what works for you and even more discipline to stick with it. To me she represents the very best of intelligent, courageous and chic American women.