Looking Dapper: Favorite Fashion From TV

[RealHousewife]

Amanda Woodward's style on Melrose Place was so feminine and sexy without being super revealing, but still too much for work. I don't know where women could get away with dressing like this, but I loved her outfits! Wish I had somewhere to wear similar ones. Too sexy for work, but too formal/conservative/business looking for casual, clubs, bars, etc. 

 

[Spartan Girl]

The Scarlet Witch outfit in WandaVision.

 

[AimingforYoko]

On 3/6/2021 at 11:47 AM, Spartan Girl said:

The Scarlet Witch outfit in WandaVision.

 

I said on another forum that the biggest shocker is that they pulled off the Scarlet Witch costume without being cheesy or exploitative.

[Macbeth]

I add my enthusiastic vote for Downton Abbey's fashion.

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Macbeth

[RealHousewife]

^ I need somewhere to dress like that too! I'm such a frustrated fashionista. 

[DkNNy79]

I liked the fashion from "Hart of Dixie."  I thought all the ladies looked good on the show, especially Zoe and Lemon.

[RealHousewife]

I love the fashion of Coralee Armstrong. So feminine! Lots of pearls, floral and pink. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Callietwo]

7 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I love the fashion of Coralee Armstrong. So feminine! Lots of pearls, floral and pink.

 

Every single outfit that you've shown looks better on her than the model, I think.

I don't know who Coralee Armstrong is, though.  😊

[RealHousewife]

6 hours ago, Callietwo said:

Every single outfit that you've shown looks better on her than the model, I think.

I don't know who Coralee Armstrong is, though.  😊

Alyssa is really beautiful.

Coralee was a character she played on a show called Insatiable. I never watched it, but I couldn't get over how cute the outfits were once I discovered the character. 

[Luckylyn]

I really loved this analysis of the fashion of Fran Fine on The Nanny

My favorites:

[RealHousewife]

^ I absolutely loved Fran Drescher's style, so colorful and fun! I've been meaning to add her. Thank you for posting. :)

[Shannon L.]

From The Blacklist.

 

I wish you could see the back.  It's gorgeous.

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Shannon L.

[Luckylyn]

I love the coat porn for Queen Latifah on The Equalizer.  Seriously her character seems to own a hundred coats, and I am okay with that, lol. I love her look in general.  She looks comfortable but not frumpy.   There’s a sliver evening dress she wore in an episode that I love but can’t find the picture.

 

[AimingforYoko]

On 5/11/2021 at 2:41 PM, Shannon L. said:

I wish you could see the back.  It's gorgeous.

I don't know, I'm pretty good with the front. Thanks, I'll be here all week.

 

[RealHousewife]

I love a good coat! In cold whether, we often only see coats when we're out and about anyway. It almost doesn't matter what you've got on underneath. 

[JustHereForFood]

I second all the Downton Abbey votes. The 1910's and 1920's are in my opinion the most interesting time period for comparing how the fashion reflects all other aspects of life and changes in society.

Adding a new series: Riverdale is ... not a great show to put it mildly (I could only watch the first season), but the outfits of their female characters are something else. I especially like Veronica's wardrobe:

 

[RealHousewife]

^ I love those outfits! So cute. 

[Mabinogia]

The fashion was the best thing about Riverdale. I love the modern retro vibe. They got that just right. 

[VCRTracking]

Kids today cannot fathom what an insane time the early 2000s were if you were a young celebrity!

 

 

[Haleth]

I love, love Edith's peacock gown.  That color was perfect for her.

[Stats Queen]

On 7/14/2021 at 10:10 PM, VCRTracking said:

Kids today cannot fathom what an insane time the early 2000s were if you were a young celebrity!

 

 

OMG, if this is so traumatizing for her…..

[GaT]

On 7/14/2021 at 7:10 PM, VCRTracking said:

Kids today cannot fathom what an insane time the early 2000s were if you were a young celebrity!

 

 

I love how she can barely keep it together 🤣

[DearEvette]

I seen her before on twitter and loves it when she does these pop cult videos on tik tok and completely loses it.  The one she did on Four Seasons Total Landcsaping has her losing it so much she is in tears! She's done one for men's fashions too.

 

 

[Yogisbooboo64]

Whitley Marion Gilbert-Wayne, A Different World

Jasmine had the bomb body and could rock anything:

 

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Whitley Marion Gilbert-Wayne, A Different World

Jasmine had the bomb body and could rock anything:

 

I loved her clothes. She always looked great.

[Ohiopirate02]

15 hours ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Whitley Marion Gilbert-Wayne, A Different World

Jasmine had the bomb body and could rock anything:

 

Looking at those pictures, I think it's fair to say Whitley Gilbert walked so Fran Fine could run.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Ohiopirate02
It's Whitley not Whitney

[AimingforYoko]

Something about Gillian Anderson in period costume seems to work well:

[RealHousewife]

I have only seen a bit of Friends, but I really like Rachel Green's fashion. It's simple yet sexy. It helps that she has the perfect figure! I love her hair and makeup too. It's pretty, but not overdone. 

 

[Annber03]

Oooooh, those red and black dresses she's wearing in a couple of the photos... I like those. She looks great in them!

[Shannon L.]

Her clothes were really cute. There was one outfit that I can't find online, but it was simply a long cardigan. I don't remember what she wore it with, but probably skinny jeans and high heeled boots.   I've never copied a look from a tv character before, but she got me to start buying cardigans.

[SusanM]

It's not exactly fashion but what I really like when I watch TV are shows like Everybody Loves Raymond where the cast wear clothes that are realistic to their age and income and most importantly rewear clothes from episode to episode.  

[Ohiopirate02]

3 hours ago, SusannahM said:

It's not exactly fashion but what I really like when I watch TV are shows like Everybody Loves Raymond where the cast wear clothes that are realistic to their age and income and most importantly rewear clothes from episode to episode.  

The crew on ELR did a great job with both the wardrobe and set design to make the show feel lived-in.  I love to watch Marie mix and match her shirts and earrings.  I really feel like Doris was wearing her own clothes and not costumes.  

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, SusannahM said:

It's not exactly fashion but what I really like when I watch TV are shows like Everybody Loves Raymond where the cast wear clothes that are realistic to their age and income and most importantly rewear clothes from episode to episode. 

Roseanne was very good about that, too.  (I haven't noticed the re-wearing aspect as much on The Conners, but I don't re-watch that show like I did the original; presumably it still happens.)

With characters further up the economic spectrum, Major Crimes was just as good, especially with Sharon's wardrobe.  And there's an extent to which I appreciate it even more there; it's one thing to be "forced" to acknowledge working class characters don't have an endless wardrobe, but it's really easy to be lazy and treat upper middle class characters as if they do.

Sharon's home furnishings included a custom couch and IKEA curtains, plus everything in between, and that's a totally logical blend for someone of her financial status - a much-used item that's a focal point of the room and will be kept for 15 years, she'll drop big bucks on to get exactly what she wants in terms of both construction and cosmetics, but if she's wandering through IKEA and sees curtains she finds cute, she'll happily grab those and put them up.  Some lamps will come from a boutique on Melrose, some will come from Macy's.  Because she shops at a variety of places.

Her wardrobe was the same.  She had Armani suits and at least half her blouses were high end, but she re-wore the blouses multiple times, mixing and matching them with different suits and individual skirts and trousers.  She also tossed in knit tops, paired dresses with blazers, etc. - she had a totally realistic professional wardrobe that prioritized quality over quantity where it mattered but mixed things up enough to create a wide variety of options while still repeating most pieces at least once and often several times. 

She had several nice dresses for fancy evenings out.  And she had a cashmere pajama and robe set (which had everyone on set asking Mary McDonnell if they could "pet" her sleeve that day).  But she also had more casual sleepwear, and sometimes lounged around in yoga pants, a basic cotton shirt, and a cardigan.  Again, balance.

And, most wonderfully, Sharon's wardrobe was spot on for a woman in her 60s who'd navigated a not just male dominated but paramilitary organization like the LAPD; she came through the ranks when things were even more rigidly sexist - dress  "mannish" and get called a "dyke", dress "feminine" and get even more dismissed as a "girl" too frivolous to do this most "manly" of jobs - there was no winning.

By the time we meet her as a captain in charge of a division, her wardrobe is never showy, but it's not overly buttoned-up, either; some cuts show cleavage, some don't, but there's never any dressing that looks designed to hide her breasts or put them on blatant display.  She's got killer legs, but, again, she wears both skirts and pants and the skirts are neither long nor short.

It was all a very natural blend of stereotypically masculine and feminine styles, like a basic black suit with a colorful patterned blouse with a flowing element, a soft knit dress with a structured blazer.  And then add in that gorgeous hair which was neither put in a bun nor tousled (not that there's anything wrong with either; again, I am speaking to the balance a character in Sharon's circumstances would likely adopt in styling herself for that workplace).  It not only looked good on her, it made sense for how she'd have absorbed the "rules" placed upon her and how she - particularly as a feminist - would have pushed against those rigid notions of how a woman should dress professionally.

Kudos to costume designer Greg LaVoi, because he did well keeping the whole cast's wardrobe fitting their personalities and budgets, but particularly with Sharon's, and kudos also to Mary McDonnell, because their discussions were never about how she wanted to look (he said in nearly 10 years there was exactly one outfit she just plain hated, but acknowledged Sharon would like it so she did not use the veto power she easily could have and instead wore it), but how Sharon would dress herself at work given all these factors she'd given extensive consideration to in developing the character.

These two examples are far from the only ones, of course, and in fact these days I think it's more common that note, but I wish even more shows would put more thought into wardrobe as an expression of character rather than as a platform for showcasing pretty clothes.

[praeceptrix]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

With characters further up the economic spectrum, Major Crimes was just as good, especially with Sharon's wardrobe.  And there's an extent to which I appreciate it even more there; it's one thing to be "forced" to acknowledge working class characters don't have an endless wardrobe, but it's really easy to be lazy and treat upper middle class characters as if they do.

Sharon's home furnishings included a custom couch and IKEA curtains, plus everything in between, and that's a totally logical blend for someone of her financial status - a much-used item that's a focal point of the room and will be kept for 15 years, she'll drop big bucks on to get exactly what she wants in terms of both construction and cosmetics, but if she's wandering through IKEA and sees curtains she finds cute, she'll happily grab those and put them up.  Some lamps will come from a boutique on Melrose, some will come from Macy's.  Because she shops at a variety of places.

Her wardrobe was the same.  She had Armani suits and at least half her blouses were high end, but she re-wore the blouses multiple times, mixing and matching them with different suits and individual skirts and trousers.  She also tossed in knit tops, paired dresses with blazers, etc. - she had a totally realistic professional wardrobe that prioritized quality over quantity where it mattered but mixed things up enough to create a wide variety of options while still repeating most pieces at least once and often several times. 

She had several nice dresses for fancy evenings out.  And she had a cashmere pajama and robe set (which had everyone on set asking Mary McDonnell if they could "pet" her sleeve that day).  But she also had more casual sleepwear, and sometimes lounged around in yoga pants, a basic cotton shirt, and a cardigan.  Again, balance.

And, most wonderfully, Sharon's wardrobe was spot on for a woman in her 60s who'd navigated a not just male dominated but paramilitary organization like the LAPD; she came through the ranks when things were even more rigidly sexist - dress  "mannish" and get called a "dyke", dress "feminine" and get even more dismissed as a "girl" too frivolous to do this most "manly" of jobs - there was no winning.

By the time we meet her as a captain in charge of a division, her wardrobe is never showy, but it's not overly buttoned-up, either; some cuts show cleavage, some don't, but there's never any dressing that looks designed to hide her breasts or put them on blatant display.  She's got killer legs, but, again, she wears both skirts and pants and the skirts are neither long nor short.

It was all a very natural blend of stereotypically masculine and feminine styles, like a basic black suit with a colorful patterned blouse with a flowing element, a soft knit dress with a structured blazer.  And then add in that gorgeous hair which was neither put in a bun nor tousled (not that there's anything wrong with either; again, I am speaking to the balance a character in Sharon's circumstances would likely adopt in styling herself for that workplace).  It not only looked good on her, it made sense for how she'd have absorbed the "rules" placed upon her and how she - particularly as a feminist - would have pushed against those rigid notions of how a woman should dress professionally.

Kudos to costume designer Greg LaVoi, because he did well keeping the whole cast's wardrobe fitting their personalities and budgets, but particularly with Sharon's, and kudos also to Mary McDonnell, because their discussions were never about how she wanted to look (he said in nearly 10 years there was exactly one outfit she just plain hated, but acknowledged Sharon would like it so she did not use the veto power she easily could have and instead wore it), but how Sharon would dress herself at work given all these factors she'd given extensive consideration to in developing the character.

These two examples are far from the only ones, of course, and in fact these days I think it's more common that note, but I wish even more shows would put more thought into wardrobe as an expression of character rather than as a platform for showcasing pretty clothes.

Thank you for the fantastic, detailed, and carefully thought-out post!

My sister was a prosecutor for 25+ years, and your observations about Sharon's wardrobe ring true to her experiences in a major metropolitan area District Attorney's office. I don't think she watches many procedurals, but the ridiculously short skirts, high heels, and tight everything on allegedly professional women would drive her as crazy as the completely unrealistic courtroom scenes.

I somehow never got around to watching most of Major Crimes. You have inspired me to make the attempt.

Edited October 28, 2021 by praeceptrix

[Luckylyn]

I really appreciate shows that are realistic about characters reusing clothing.  

[Zella]

I also really appreciated how on Mad Men you would see working characters reuse clothes. All the female characters who worked had their outfits and clothes they rewore and that they mixed and matched. And you could also see them gradually expand their wardrobes as they got more money or as styles drastically changed but not in a way that made it seem like they'd bought an all-new wardrobe in one fell swoop. And I also loved that not every character was fashionable, even though the show's known for its glamour.  

Edited October 28, 2021 by Zella

[Mabinogia]

8 minutes ago, praeceptrix said:

My sister was a prosecutor for 25+ years, and your observations about Sharon's wardrobe ring true to her experiences in a major metropolitan area District Attorney's office. I don't think she watches many procedurals, but the ridiculously short skirts, high heels, and tight everything on allegedly professional women would drive her as crazy as the completely unrealistic courtroom scenes.

I somehow never got around to watching most of Major Crimes. You have inspired me to make the attempt.

I would have a hard time taking a real life female attorney seriously in some of the sexed up get ups they wear on TV. Like, if you have to distract the jury with your boobs hanging out maybe you're not that great at your job. lol Don't even get me started on the detectives running around in stillettoes. 

Sharon Raydor's wardrobe is what I would imagine a high ranking policewoman to wear. And I never thought she looked dowdy or unfeminine. I just thought, how refreshing to see a professional woman who is not trying to flirt her way to success with low cut blouses and super short skirts and heels. 

And I highly recommend Major Crimes. It was a great show in all respects (except Rusty, but I was able to just zone out when he was on). But the team was amazing, great acting, great writing, and great wardrobe! Also, Sharon had great hair too. I may be a tad jealous of those amazing locks. 

[RealHousewife]

5 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I would have a hard time taking a real life female attorney seriously in some of the sexed up get ups they wear on TV. Like, if you have to distract the jury with your boobs hanging out maybe you're not that great at your job. lol Don't even get me started on the detectives running around in stillettoes. 

Sharon Raydor's wardrobe is what I would imagine a high ranking policewoman to wear. And I never thought she looked dowdy or unfeminine. I just thought, how refreshing to see a professional woman who is not trying to flirt her way to success with low cut blouses and super short skirts and heels. 

And I highly recommend Major Crimes. It was a great show in all respects (except Rusty, but I was able to just zone out when he was on). But the team was amazing, great acting, great writing, and great wardrobe! Also, Sharon had great hair too. I may be a tad jealous of those amazing locks. 

I like fun outfits for the element of glamour on TV, but I agree. I liked a lot of the stuff Ally McBeal wore, but some of her skirts were quite short for her profession. I think those mini skirt suits are super cute but have no idea who can actually wear them in real life. There was an attorney with cleavage and a short skirt on Shahs of Sunset. I was like wait, aren't only fictional attorneys sexed up like that?

I looked up the character, and you're right. I love looking feminine, and you can still look feminine at work without sexy clothes or anything uncomfortable.

 

I thought Jess on New Girl wore a lot of pretty things. Her style was so fun and girly. 

 

[Popples]

I didn't watch The New Girl, Zooey Deschanel is a bit too twee for my tastes, but I do appreciate that she is wearing flats. Women can have cute shoes that aren't six inch stilettos or those heels where the fronts looks like they have bricks glued to the bottoms of them.

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, praeceptrix said:

I somehow never got around to watching most of Major Crimes. You have inspired me to make the attempt.

It's one of the only cop shows I like, because police misconduct isn't normalized, justified, or celebrated; the squad is led by someone who spent most of her career in Internal Affairs, so she will not let anyone do the whole "the ends justify the means" bullshit.

Anyway, on the fashion front, beware there is one DDA and one defense attorney (both women) who look like they wandered in from another show, dressed inappropriately for court.  But the DDA is only on for a season and the defense attorney only appears a few times; everyone else dresses like you'd expect someone in their position to dress.

[JustHereForFood]

As the new season of Doctor Who is about to start, I thought about their costumes. I like all of the new era Doctors' looks, my favorite is probably 12:

If I were to pick a single item of clothing, it would be 13's coat. I love it so much, but I can't get used to those trousers that go with it:

 

From companions, my favorite is definitely Clara, because that is the closest to how I dress. 

 

I especially love this last dress. I have been trying to find one similar to it that wouldn't be too expensive, but haven't had much luck.

[Zella]

When it comes to professional wardrobes on TV, I always really enjoyed Alicia's clothing on The Good Wife.

https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/the_good_wife/photos/1002010/18-times-alicia-florrick-nailed-her-courtroom-look/57893/7-alicia-s-new-office-may-be-a-bit-of-a-mess-but-her-wardrobe-never-is/

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

Ohhhhh, this outfit is cute! I want one!

I need to see if I can find some photos of Kristen Bouchard from this past season of "Evil". She had some fantastic coats she wore throughout the season that I just really loved. 

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

As the new season of Doctor Who is about to start, I thought about their costumes. I like all of the new era Doctors' looks, my favorite is probably 12:

Twelve did have a fantastic look.

13 hours ago, Popples said:

I didn't watch The New Girl, Zooey Deschanel is a bit too twee for my tastes, but I do appreciate that she is wearing flats. Women can have cute shoes that aren't six inch stilettos or those heels where the fronts looks like they have bricks glued to the bottoms of them.

I appreciate that there was a definite separation between what she wore for work and what she wore for fun.  A lot of professional women need that distinct difference in real life and yet often you don't see that on tv.

[Macbeth]

The Expanse's Chrisjen Avasarala, played by the indomitable Shohreh Aghdashloo.  She plays the UN Secretary-General.  Basically she runs Earth. She kicks ass and swears like a sailor.  Her role is Amazing wardrobe and jewelry.

 

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Macbeth said:

The Expanse's Chrisjen Avasarala, played by the indomitable Shohreh Aghdashloo.  She plays the UN Secretary-General.  Basically she runs Earth. She kicks ass and swears like a sailor.  Her role is Amazing wardrobe and jewelry.

That is a kickass outfit. 

[Haleth]

I posted about that snow outfit once before in this thread.  I mean, look at how beautiful those fabrics are.  The gorgeous jewel tone saris are mostly gone (sob) but you can always tell how serious Avasarala is by how big her jewelry is.  And how many f bombs she throws.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Haleth

[DearEvette]

I adore a well tailored suit and Jessica Pearson worked the hell out of a fabulous suit:

 

 

[Shannon L.]

14 hours ago, Annber03 said:

That is a kickass outfit. 

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the color orange, but that outfit is gorgeous.

[BlackberryJam]

23 hours ago, Macbeth said:

The Expanse's Chrisjen Avasarala, played by the indomitable Shohreh Aghdashloo.  She plays the UN Secretary-General.  Basically she runs Earth. She kicks ass and swears like a sailor.  Her role is Amazing wardrobe and jewelry.

 

I think there could be 100 posts just about her amazing wardrobe.

She is absolutely stunning.