The Curious Case of Bella Hadid’s First (& Only) Streetstyle of 2023
Bella Hadid effectively redefined the term “streetstyle” over the years as her always-on outfits set new standards of laidback off-duty model excellence, accented with dashes of streetwear, couture, and everything in between. But Bella’s been gone for months, leaving us high and dry stylewise until, suddenly, she's blessed us with one of her first and only streetstyle pictures of the year just before 2023 ends. Better late than never.
More than what’s she wearing, the appearance of the imagery alone is a testament to Bella’s star power. First-look photos of Bella's first (and possibly last) big outfit of 2023 spread around social media via stan accounts even before any mainstream publication covered it — it's not even clear how they got the photos.
And yes, there was that one sorta streetstyle photo of Bella over the summer but it was another odd, impromptu occasion — this is the real return to form.
For someone who's as Fashion Twitter-friendly as Bella, this is an unusual but welcome way to mark her return. The details of her return mean less than the sheer fact that she is again, on these streets. With grandma shoes, no less!
What a comeback outfit. It’s relatively and even perfectly normal for the ever-hip Bella’s grand return. The model wore a black turtleneck and pants with chunky leather boots and a tan, satin-lined trench coat, mixing up the neutrals with a contrasting black and white Nahui Olin candy wrapper tote bag and a pair of her now signature teeny-tiny sunglasses perched on her face.
On anyone else, the square-toed shoes and librariancore turtleneck could look fashion-agnostic or even — dare I say — sorta dorky but not on Bella. The addition of the trench makes the whole outfit look elevated, because the pieces are classic and refined but not stuffy or shapeless. And the ultra-accessible bag (retail price: around $30) is a surprising and welcome addition of personalized flair.
Rolling up the sleeves to show off the lining of the coat adds additional personality, key to upgrading an otherwise conventional look. These are the small touches that make a Bella outfit into a Bella outfit.
Bella has reportedly been taking time off from modeling and out of the public eye to treat her Lyme disease, which is why we haven’t seen her in so long. But, finally, it looks like she’s properly reclaiming her streetstyle throne. It might’ve taken her most of the year, but the time off clearly hasn't dulled her technique.
