In 1976, Diane Keaton was getting ready to film a scene for Annie Hall, dressed in her own clothes, when a horrified costume designer intervened. “Tell her not to wear that. It’s so crazy,” Woody Allen recalls the woman saying to him, to which he promptly replied, “Leave her. She’s a genius.” Keaton would not only go on to win an Academy Award for her performance as Hall, but also to inspire a generation of women to push back against gender stereotypes and embrace men’s wear. She wasn’t trying to set trends but to be herself. (Allen had modeled the character after Keaton, whose real name is Diane Hall.) “I dressed Annie as I would have dressed myself, and the response was beyond what I could have imagined,” Keaton writes in her new book, Fashion First—an ode to her one-of-a-kind style. To celebrate its publishing, she shares her key components to the good life.
Airline: I prefer being on land.
Bag: Louis Vuitton black Damier duffle bag. I have had it for eight-plus years, and it is durable and never goes out of style.
Bedtime: Early … nine P.M.
Birthday: Celebrating everyone’s but mine!
Breakfast, weekday: Croissant or any kind of bread with nuts. If it is a croissant, I want it room temperature. No need to warm it up!
Cocktail: Lillet on the rocks—make it a double. Lowball glass.
Cocktail appetizer: Castelvetrano olives.
Dinner, weekday: Cacio e pepe with extra cheese. (Only at a restaurant. I can’t cook.)
Dinner, weekend: Vegetarian tempura.
Disguise:
Bowler hat. We all know I have a thing for hats!
Enemy: Time.
Escape: Beach.
Excuse: Reggie (my dog) ate it!
Family: My everything.
Flaw: Everything! That is why I cover up!
Friends: Carol Kane and Kathryn Grody. They are my forever friends that I cherish and respect.
Hotel: Arizona Inn, because of its history and charm.
Indulgence: Frozen Drumstick with extra nuts.
Jacket: Thom Browne. He knows how to cut a short jacket that hides all my imperfections. He isn’t afraid of using thick wool fabrics.
Lunch, weekday: Starbucks cheese tray.
Lunch, weekend: Starbucks cheese tray.
Pair of shoes: Timberland boots for Louis Vuitton. They are classics with a modern twist.
Pen or Pencil: Either.
Pet: Reggie, my golden retriever.
Piece of advice:
I don’t give advice. Follow your own impulses.
Podcast: I wish I knew how!
Saying: The eye sees what the mind knows.
Street: Any street that runs along the ocean.
Storm: Terrifying.
Television series: I’m a documentary kind of person. I particularly love the genre of Old Hollywood. Absolutely captivating.
Theme song to your life: Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers.”
Time of day: When the sun is out, and it is hot!
Toast: To friends, family, and all!
Vacation: Driving to somewhere warm.
Diane’s Essentials
Diane Keaton: Fashion First is out now
