9 Pieces Inspired From This 90s Movie Are All We Wear Every Summer. And They Never Go Out Of Style.
You know the movie. You’ve known it for years. But do you own the clothes yet?
Image: Paramount Pictures
by The Candidly Team
Welp, it’s day 9,679 of us being obsessed with the clothes from a movie we watched on very cold day in 1999, totally transfixed and sipping an eggnog latte we snuck into the theater. The film is haunting and beautiful. The clothes were the same. Pretty sure we even wore long gloves and a strapless gown to New Year’s Eve that year.
They belonged to a glowing Gwyneth Paltrow. Before she was Margot Tennenbaum in that smoldering fur coat, she was Marge Sherwood, trotting around Rome and the Italian islands alongside an equally glowing Jude Law. And in every scene she enters, she adds another article of clothing to one of the most lustworthy summer wardrobes in the history of film.
Now for the obvious question? Why are WE still talking about this?!
It’s a movie about the 50s made in the 90s and it’s now the 2020s , and yet, we STILL want all of the clothes. And so with summer upon us, we decided to decode why Marge’s suitcase is almost identical to one we’d pack today as over-40 women who, let’s face it, are not and never have been shaped like Gwyneth Paltrow. All the clothes are just as transformative and sophisticated and smart as ever, and we found every single piece we need.
Off we go:
1. THE FULL MIDI SKIRT
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it A flowy, A-line skirt turns us all into the hourglass silhouettes that look like they should be strolling the cobblestoned streets of Rome. It’s romantic. It’s feminine. And it flatters every bumpy bit of our hips, tum, and thighs.
How to recreate it: The main thing is to just pick a print that makes you weak. A smocked or elastic waist is also a glorious plus for eating copious amounts of spaghetti pomodoro without feeling restricted. Here are our favorites:
2. THE WHITE BUTTON-DOWN
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it If you have any interest in your clothes looking “quiet luxury” á la old New York money, swap your ill-fitting tees and raggy tanks for a white, button-down. Margot ties hers at the waist which is a brilliant way to emphasize that hourglass we spoke of earlier.
How to recreate it: You need the classic, cotton poplin one, of course, but you also need one that ties effortlessly at the waist, a gauzy one to layer over swimsuits on scorching days, and a short-sleeve you don’t have to tuck to look polished. And whaddya know? We found them all:
3. The Cropped, Summer Pant
Image: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: We’ve never once felt chic in shorts. Or loved an outfit we created around them. Even on the hottest day of chartering a sailboat around Ischia, we’d much rather be like Gwyneth and just throw a big ol’ white button-down over a big ol’ swimsuit bottom. However, give us a pair of Audrey Hepburn-style cropped pants with a little white sneak and weeee, we are so very on board. Didn’t think we’d have nautical puns? Think again.
How to recreate it: This is where variety can save us on summer days. We love a print (houndstooth matches a shocking number of tops fyi). We also adore a cotton wide-leg, specifically THIS* cotton wide-leg, a linen ankle-length sailor pant* (magic on curves), and a stretchy, smoothing capri* with a teeny tiny kick-flare that balances your curves so you don’t look top heavy.
* Gifted items included
4. The 50s-Fit Swimsuit
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: Nothing quite inspires envy like the shot of a sunkissed Gwyneth Paltrow emerging from the Mediterranean Sea hanging off of Jude Law then stretching herself out on her chaise in that f—king insane bikini. Lucky for us, a larger, high-waisted bottom is perfect for us ladies who are old enough to remember The Talented Mr Ripley and who prefer more belly coverage and NOT having to pull a swimsuit out betwixt our bottoms every 18 seconds.
How to recreate it: Look for ruching, foldover cuts, or just nice and high-waisted bottoms. The right ones can be even more flattering on our waists than one-pieces, because a lot of those don’t fit right and end up adding extra poof beneath the fabric in the area between our boobs and our hips. But we did include our fave 1950s inspired one-piece that fits beautifully just in case you really don’t do bikinis.
5. The Romantic Top
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: Most of our tops are boring because they lack detail. Every single one of Gwyneth’s have some specific little thing that makes them an entire look unto themselves. They’re the kinds of tops that you could style with a paper bag for a skirt, and you’d look spectacular.
What we’re wearing: Puff sleeves, embroidered shirts, pastel stripes, floral tanks. It all works, all of it:
6. The Strapless Dress
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: Ugh, pure elegance. I mean what is more elegant than this navy, opera gown? We’’ll skip the white gloves this time, but the red lip? We’re verrry tempted.
What to recreate it: We see two prime spots for a navy dress in our closet at this time: 1) A stretchy daytime dress that transitions nicely to evening 2) A smoldering, silky maxi dress with a matching neck scarf for occasions. Behold:
7. The ELEGANT Shoe
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: We’re flip flop slobs in the summer so to add in two sophisticated yet casual shoes we’ll actually wear solves a huge problem for us - the problem where every cute outfit we create is ruined by a flip flop. Both these shoes up-level our style and are also deeply comfortable.
What to recreate it: Below is our ultimate, European summer white sneak*. Timeless. Sleek. Unrivaled. And next to it is an exact replica of Gwyneth’s espadrilles* that we’ve wanted since the day we laid eyes on them:
* Gifted items included
8. The Basket Bag
Image: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: Sure, it looks very chic and French and lovely, but a grand basket bag can also contain the hoards of crap we “need” by our side when we travel. Form and function, my friends.
What to recreate it: J.Crew makes a perfect version. Sézane makes 8 perfect versions, including this embroidered round tote. You can’t go wrong. Just follow your heart:
9. The Cream Cardi
Image: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: On a cooled down evening, after a day of salty hair, and too much sun, and icy poolside negronis, swaddling ourselves into a soft, spacious sweater is the ultimate act of luxury.
What to recreate it: Please appreciate this full-circle moment when we found the sweater we want most that’s also most similar to Gwyneth’s in the movie is available on Goop and from Gwyneth’s own brand, Gwyn. It’s cashmere and on Goop, but it’s also very on sale right no. The the second one we found is classic and well, it costs less:
BONUS: The Chic Hair Accessories
Images: Paramount Pictures
Why we love it: We don’t have Gwyn’s gorgeous, golden bob. You? But we do still use her tricks for making air-dried, vacation hair look chic. A scarf around an updo or a tortoise headband to tame our tresses is all we need. And maybe THIS wet/dry brush that Jen Aniston uses and THIS* hairstyling tool with dual voltage for crossing the Atlantic. Sorry to digress, but it felt necessary.
What to recreate it: We found a spitting image* of her headband, and it’s $20 so no need to scour the corners of the internet. As for the scarf, there are SO many options but HERE* is our current fave, and HERE is a bunch more we just wrote about.
* Gifted items included
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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