i feel like things maybe started to go bad when she cut her hair?
Haha, I actually have to agree, though I was initially pretty excited about the new do. I think when she cut her hair, though, she started to relive her early '00s (Imitation of Christ) style, but the way she's tried to merge that with today's trends hasn't really succeeded a lot of the time (though there has been a couple of great recent looks from her as well imo).
And personally, some of her recent off-the-red-carpet choices have felt more like something stemming from an ignorance of "style" (or perhaps her love/hate relationship with her fashion icon status; maybe pushing the limit for her own amusement?) than a desire to appear in any way "hip". Ironically, that casual randomness seems to translate to exactly the opposite -- appearing try-hard. That black fringe horror fest alone is a pretty good example of this.
Judging from her interviews and recent fashion choices, I just don't think Chloë values her fashion icon status as much as her fans do, and slapping on whatever is just a "passive" expression of that. I say 'passive', because I don't feel she wants to actively reject being a style icon, rather I think she just has no
particular interest in maintaining it.
My problem isn't really that, though; it's that her style has gotten so predictable and joyless lately. Apart from one or two bright spots, her fashion choices have been dreary grey or black from 2010 onwards, and have gradually become more and more downright butch than just femininely masculine (or masculinely feminine). Her style was much more visually interesting in e.g. 2007, not to mention 2003-2005. I really miss that.