Like I mentioned in this post, 2021 was a dire year – but if there was one good thing that came out of it, it was the second season of Emily in Paris (Yep – you know it’s bad when a silly TV rom com is one of your highlights of the year). Yes yes, I am 100% team Emily in Paris; arguably one of the most polarising shows to have come out in the past few years.
I don’t hate watch it in the slightest, I adore every minute of it. I watch it with the same enthusiasm as that of a child watching cartoons. The colours, the vibrancy, the scenery! It’s a burst of colourful joy. Do I think anything of the storyline? Absolutely not. For me, it’s 100% about the fashion – it’s definitely the main character. And it’s about time it got its own post on the blog.
Needless to say, I know the fashion – much like the plot and characterisation of the French – has been deeply criticised, but surely that’s the whole point? To get a reaction, steer opinions? I love that it’s so divisive. I love that it’s so over the top, garish, cartoonish and far from perfect. I love analysing, decoding and breaking down every outfit, I love wondering about what I would change, how I would have styled it and mostly how I can recreate it.
It was interesting to hear that the show’s main stylist, Marylin Fitoussi (who is French, by the way), was initially planning on taking a practical approach towards the styling – such as making Mindy’s character wear trainers in season 1 because she’s a nanny. However, it turns out Darren Starr (the show’s creator) and Patricia Field (the styling consultant, and not the main stylist as people have mistakenly said) were horrified at this – they had no interest whatsoever in reality. From then on, it seems like Marylin let her imagination run wild (you can read the inspiring interview with her here).
As you can imagine, I much prefer the fashion in Emily in Paris than Sex and The City – but don’t get me wrong, I’m a diehard Patricia Field fan. And her DNA is very present in Emily. Statement outfits that almost always have something kind of off or not quite right about them but end up being memorable because of that, a touch of eccentricity and an undeniable joie de vivre… these elements have always been Patricia Field’s signature.
As someone who adores colour and unexpected outfits, it’s no surprise that the fashion is a yes for me. It’s also made me crave print – I think I’ve really cut back on print lately, but Emily reminds me of the joys of print and print clashing.
Anyway, onto some actual recreations – because this is something I’d been wanting to do since the first season came out at the end of 2020. Sadly, I didn’t manage to recreate any season 1 outfits until December of last year – mainly because I couldn’t find the perfect black and white blazer and shorts set. Emily’s black and white check suit (from the brand Veronica Beard) was my favourite look from season 1, and I was desperate to get my own version of it. I didn’t find the perfect one until Primark brought out this coord around November 2021 (Initially, I bought the top and shorts, seen here – and I had to add the blazer to my collection).
These are three of my favourite outfits from season 1 I recreated on Instagram…
Blazer and shorts. Primark. Knit top, River Island. Hat, Accessorize. Bag, Silvian Heach. Shoes, ASOS.
By far my favourite Emily look ever – very une Américaine à Paris. I couldn’t help go a little matchier-matchier and throw in red shoes and a red bag.
Bucket hat, Primark. Scarf, Tania Grace Knuckey. Coat, Zara. Matching top and skirt, boots, Primark (sadly I decided not to keep the set). Bag, Polène.
This was the trickiest look to recreate – and it’s the one I’m the most proud of. I’m obsessed with this green coat and I’m hoping it’ll get its own post soon. And yep, that’s me wearing a bucket hat. That’s me keeping a bucket hat. 2021 changed me.
Coat, gift from my mum. Jumper, Saturday by Megan Ellaby. Hat and skirt, Primark. Bag, ASOS. Boots, Oasis.
My second favourite look – I’ll never get over that pink coat and wish Emily had reworn it in season 2. Obviously, I wasn’t going to recreate this look with pink socks, pink heels and a horrible furry bag – I have my limits – but I still think I honoured the outfit rightly so.
Naturally, I decided to do the same with season 2 – this time I managed to recreate a total of five outfits! I think the general consensus is that the fashion in season 2 surpassed the first season. It’s hard for me to say, as I genuinely loved the fashion in both seasons and personally didn’t find it that different. Like I said, I would have loved to see some of the greatest hits from season 1 make another appearance in season 2 – but the stylists wanted to do something different. And in a show that’s so far removed from reality (gotta love the number of Chanel bag this marketing executive has), I guess there was no way we were going to see any outfit repeating…
Coat and bag (which sadly I didn’t keep), Zara. Top, United Colours of Benetton (which I didn’t keep as the fit was, sadly, not quite right). Belt, SheIn. Skirt, M&S. Shoes, Jeffrey Campbell. Hat, Stradivarius.
This was my favourite look of the whole season – I knew it was unlikely I’d come close to matching it, but I think I did a pretty good job, non? And of course I had to throw in a beret.
Waistcoat, Zara (the exact one!). Knitted vest, New Look (which I ended up giving to my mum). Skirt, River Island. Belt, Accessorize (I think). Pearl necklace, old gift. Bag, Coster Copenhagen. Boots, Primark.
I actually adored this look on Emily – on me, not so much. Still, I’m delighted I managed to get my hands on the actual waistcoat Emily is wearing. Because amongst the million designer things Emily wears, it’s nice (and relatable) to spot the odd bit of Zara here and there.
Blazer, Zara (the exact one!). Top, Blend She. Bag, Polène (bought a few days before Emily was seen wearing it – who copied who…). Skirt and boots, Primark.
My vision for this outfit was to merge two Emily looks – mainly because with the first look (on the left, from episode 4), despite having the same Polène bag in pink and miraculously finding the exact Zara jacket, that Dolce & Gabbana coord is just too specific for moi. So I went for the super sweet look she sports when riding the Vespa to French class (on the right, from episode 6). I loved the red stripes with the green tweed jacket – and I’ll definitely be pairing those two items again come spring.
Top, H&M (worn with a red bra). Shorts and earrings, Topshop. Bag, Accessorize. Bow and shoes, ASOS.
My second favourite look from this season – mainly because it’s simple but ridiculously girlie and so me. I mean, pink and red – a match made in heaven. This is my favourite outfit interpretation and will 100% be rocking it when the temperatures rise.
Blazer and shoes, Primark. Dress, Lorna Luxe x In The Style. Bag, Zara.
This was a very unexpected flash of inspiration with a blazer that’s yonks old (you can see it here) – and I actually love how it looks! I would never have even thought of matching a blazer like this with such a frilly and girlie dress, but I kind of love it and might wear it this summer? Not gonna lie though – a part of me really wants to find a little baby yellow bag.
Now, I know I said I don’t have any interest in the storyline – but it’s only natural that I’ve grown accustomed to the characters and have *opinions*. These are a few of my thoughts about the show’s second season (spoilers if you haven’t seen any):
- I loved that some French was finally spoken in season 2! This, for me, was one of the worst things about season 1 – it was just not believable to have all these people speaking English constantly. I loved that the secondary characters had their moments to shine and spoke away in the language of amour…
- Luke is basically one of the best characters (and best actors) on the show – I find him hilarious and somehow ridiculously realistic. He’s an absolute scene stealer. And then there’s Camille’s father, Mr Champére. Give this man his own show please!
- Shoutout to Julian’s incredible suits and print game – he really is the most stylish character, isn’t he…
- I was sad not to see much of Pierre Caudalt – I adored him in season 1 and was hoping to get as much pizzaz from him in season 2 as we did in season 1. But alas, it was not meant to be…
- For a show that lacks so much depth, Sylvie gave us quite a few scene-stealing moments in season 1 that were pretty meaningful (I’ll never forget that elevator scene). This season however, I LOVED Sylvie. Not only was she once again scene (and even style) stealing with ease, I also really enjoyed her storyline throughout this season – especially her budding new romance with a younger man. We live in a society that worships youth – and I think older women tend to be unseen and get forgotten… Which is why we need to see more of older women being sexual and desirable on our screens.
- Now, if there are fashion moments that genuinely did upset me this season, that was all Camille. I know many considered her style one of the unsung heroes of season 1 (super arguable point for me, but then again my style is basically Emily) – but I genuinely feel like all that potential went completely downhill in season 2. Emily and Mindy’s style are down to a tee, so I really hope they sort out Camille for season 3
- Were they trying to make us dislike Camille in this season? Because as dramatic as her reaction was, I totally get why she behaved the way she did. Why would she want to be friends with Emily after what Emily had done? Having said that, I found the way she wanted Gabriel back kind of lame.
- As for Gabriel himself, pfff – quel bore. He’s a poorly written character – and the whole ‘will they or won’t they’ is boring AF. It’s the storyline I’m the least interested in – and would be more than happy for Emily to move on for the sake of us all. I love a good screen romance, but this story is giving me rien de rien.
Now don’t get me wrong – I do get that the show’s first season was problematic and racist in many ways (this article made a few good points). As for season 2, apart from episode 4 (so, so bad), I do think they improved to some extent. But like I said, I don’t ultimately have any interest in the plot.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the Emily outfit recreations as much as I enjoyed putting them together. I didn’t intend for this to be a “Look how well I did” post, it’s really to show how I’ve genuinely found the show’s fashion really inspiring, making me pair up things that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. I can’t wait for season 3 and for the weather to get better – if there is one big minus about the fashion, it’s how these outfits are really not winter-friendly. But hey, who cares about reality, right?
First set of outfits photographed in December 2021; second set of outfits photographed in January 2022.
xxx