The Shawl That Everyone Wanted
A trip down memory lane with designer and photographer Cecilia de Bucourt.
Welcome back to “Jessica Simpson’s 2003 Aesthetic” part two. Part one was an accident: I posted a video of breaking down my obsession with Jess’s green terry cloth coverup, her affection for the LV Huruki Murakami family, and wedge heels. That was supposed to be a post on notes, but I accidentally emailed it to everyone; it has the most likes of any post I’ve done so far.
That video on Instagram has 10K likes, 2500 shares and 360K views (great for the ‘gram!), and among the hundreds of comments are a few peppered asking about blondie’s favorite shawl.
And not just any shawl, THE shawl. The influence this woman had on me knows no bounds. From overalls to her giant mound of hair on her Christmas album to daisy dukes. I bought my first “big girl” bag from Louis Vuitton because of her; I bought my first shawl ever as a teenage because of her as well. It was nothing like the one she had, but I needed something to imitate her with. She wore it in the first episode of the season. She and Nick get married and move into their platial valley mansion together; she pouts upon returning home to see all of Nick’s furniture piled up in the entryway and living area, sporting the beautiful mustard shawl.
Former model, fashion designer and photographer Cecilia de Bucourt is the creator of the piece that became synonymous with Jessica and the show Newlyweds. (It’s now been named after her.) There are countless scenes with her wearing it later in the season. Jess loved it so much that she had another made for her tour. I reached out to Cecilia to get some details about the shawl and what made it so special.
Kirbie: Hi Cecilia! I’m about to film a video about your iconic shawl that Jessica wore on Newlyweds. Was hoping you could answer a few questions about it. Do you know how she got it? Was it a PR send or did she buy it somewhere?
Cecilia de Bucourt: Well, Jessica bought the shawl at Barney’s! Back in the day, it was about.. I think it was like maybe early 2000s? I was selling to Barney’s. She bought it there. I found out because a client of my told me, “Oh, you know, Jessica Simpson is wearing your shawl in Newlyweds.” And then I saw she was wearing it even in the opening scenes of her show and during different episodes. It was so exciting!
KJ: Did you ever get to chat with her after she made it so popular?
CdB: This is a beautiful story. One day I was at my apartment. The phone rings, and the woman says, “I’m Jessica Simpson’s mother, I’m her stylist, her producer and Jessica is wondering if you could send her some more stuff because she’s going on tour soon and she loves your shawl.” And I said yes, of course, so I sent them a box of other shawls. Then they called me back to invite me to the Radio City Music Hall show and I was sitting with Ashlee Simpson and Jessica’s ex-husband (Nick Lachey) and the parents of Jessica. I went to the afterparty afterwards and I hung out with Jessica and Ashlee — I can send you a photo of that day — it was a beautiful memory. They were so kind.
Jessica, for that tour, wore another shawl. Not the yellow one, a multi-color silk shawl that I made for for her and it became extremely popular. When she was on stage, Nick Lachey — because it was her birthday that day — gifted her with a little puppy. So she was on stage with the shawl and the puppy1 and that photograph was all over the news and magazines. So it was another big success. I was very lucky.
KJ: Why do you think people became obsessed with the shawl? She wore all kinds of clothing on the show but this was one of the only pieces to go super mainstream.
CdB: I really think it’s because it’s a timeless piece. It’s one of those things you can wear at any time, at any point in your life. You can dress it up, you can dress it down. It’s one of those items that don’t have a spedific trend or time in fashion. It’s handmade which makes it also very special and unique. It’s feminine and I think it’s a great accessory. I myself wear it all the time. I love it, love it, love it.
You can still buy the “Jessica” shawl today, which is made from hand processed and hand dyed yarn. I think I need the multi-color silk version to round out my current capsule wardrobe of overalls and a green Juicy Couture cover up. (She currently sells one in black.) Bring it back, Cecilia!
Sadly, her puppy Daisy would pass in 2009 due to being killed by a coyote. :(