The sartorial trail of fallen It girls

MANILA, Philippines - It’s not the person. It was the time. Everything was an (sic) ‘it’ girl this or ‘it’ girl that. It was just over the top,” Mischa Barton told Ramin Seetodeh of The Daily Beast last March while promoting her virtually unheard-of  indie horror flick, A Resurrection. As Seetodeh pointed out in the piece, Barton was “among the first generation of young celebrities who grew up in the 24-hour blogger’s news cycle,” along with the likes of fellow fallen It girls Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. It’s thanks to this crash-and-burn crew of party girls who frequented prison and rehab almost as often as they hit the clubs that today’s generation of papparazzi starlets have learned to play it safe (see: Emma Stone) and be cute (see: Jennifer Lawrence), while keeping the scandals limited to an accidental crotch shot or two (see: Anne Hathaway). And while learning from the mistakes of their peers is definitely a good thing, the scene has also gotten a bit boring, which is probably why everyone can’t help but give Amanda Bynes the attention she’s so desperate for.

In an attempt to relive the glory days of the It girls of yesteryear, we present to you a timeline of their career and sartorial ups and downs, which only leads to one conclusion: If you’re headed towards a hugely public meltdown, you only need two people to weather the storm — your lawyer and your stylist. Now, go ahead and do that publicity (a.k.a. “coffee”) run and don’t forget to grab something for your parole officer while you’re at it.

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Thoughts? Tweet us at @ItsOnYStyle.

Amanda Bynes

Peaches Geldorf said it best when she tweeted, “@AmandaBynes I really hope you get some help, everyone is rooting for you to get better. I’m obsessed with you calling everyone ugly though!” It started in 2010 when she abruptly announced her retirement on Twitter after being fired from Farrelly brothers comedy Hall Pass. In 2012, she had a few run-ins with LAPD for reckless driving and driving under the influence. But all hell broke loose in 2013, when she tweeted about vagina murder last March. And with that, Bynes shaved half of her head, posted topless photos of herself on Twitter, got cheek piercings inspired by stripper Blac Chyna, got arrested for throwing a bong out her window and called everybody from Miley Cyrus to Rihanna “ugly.” RiRi had the best comeback, though: “Ya see what happens when they cancel Intervention?”

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay’s last box-office hit was back in 2003 for Freaky Friday. While she has had momentary triumphs since then, like her platinum album “Speak” (2004), her clothing line 6126 (2008) and being appointed artistic adviser at Emanuel Ungaro in 2009 (actually, that wasn’t triumphant at all), she lost several movie deals following two DUIs in 2007 and repeated visits to rehab in the following years. It’s a shame, considering her performances in A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby have received positive press, but now, the roles seemed to have dried up, save for the controversial The Canyons and the unfortunate Scary Movie 5, because movie producers refuse to insure her. As of late, she is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed rehab facility.

Mischa Barton

Ten years ago, Mischa Barton broke out as Marissa Cooper on the hugely successful teen soap The O.C. at 17 years old. Almost immediately, she became a fashion darling, seen frequently alongside Karl Lagerfeld, becoming a spokesperson for Keds, and coming out with her own line of handbags and headbands. Then in 2007, she got arrested for driving under the influence and marijuana possession, then being hospitalized for mixing booze with antibiotics. In 2009, she was involuntarily admitted to the psychiatric unit of Cedars-Sinai in L.A., under a statute that allows authorized staff to admit someone against their will if they’re deemed a danger to themselves and others. These days she’s been keeping her profile on the D.L., focusing her energy on doing plays, indie and straight-to-DVD films and her clothing store, Mischa’s Place, which has been open in London since last year.