When I was 11, I watched Cabaret. Immediately after the credits rolled, I rushed outside to buy some shiny green nail polish to feel a bit more like Liza Minnelli, and I spent an embarrassingly long amount of time considering getting a vamp haircut.
It’s the power a good movie has over us poor mortal fashion-lovers, we see something pretty on a big screen and it speaks to us. It lures us into a fun and new aesthetic and we simply can’t get enough of it… until we watch another movie.
If you don’t believe me, just look at the effect Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019) has had on this year’s New York Fashion Week. The Carolina Herrera Fall 2020 show, for example, gives off major Little Women in the 21st Century vibes. And I'm 100% here for it!
But as I noted earlier, this infatuation with a new style sometimes only lasts until the movie's spell fades away. And as much as I loved Little Women, I must bid it goodbye, for my heart belongs to another since last Saturday, when I watched Emma (Autumn de Wilde, 2020) for the first time.
It was as if I was 11 again, but this time, instead of craving a feather boa and a risky haircut, I longed for gowns and a bergère hat. Every single outfit in this movie is Instagram worthy. Honestly, just think a Regency-era wardrobe with some very camp elements, then add another bow on top for good measure. No, seriously, don't look at me like that, it works.
Emma was released in the UK on the 14th February 2020. You know what else started on that date? London Fashion Week. And if New York became the March sisters' playground, I'm predicting London will be Emma's.
Little seeds that scream Emma Woodhouse have already been planted. It'd be so easy to imagine Miss Woodhouse sitting in the FROW of the Simone Rocha Fall Winter 2020/2021 show, because she would absolutely love every look.
The high street is looking at Emma, too. After a very successful window-shopping session in Oxford Circus, I found the best pieces to release your inner Emma Woodhouse.
Started at & Other Stories, because the mix of Scandi and Parisian chic is something the world's most famous "handsome, clever, and rich" meddler would definitely fall for.
At Zara, the Emma-inspo was strong.
Urban Outfitters is the last place where I expected to find Emma-inspired clothes. Then this dress happened.
Did I buy anything? I’ll just say if you see some suspiciously Regency-looking accessories on my Instagram… well, Emma made me do it.
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