Top 10 Fashionable Female Movie Characters

My absolute favorite part of a movie is the costumes. Okay, so maybe that isn’t TOTALLY true. I do want to see a good story with competent directing and acting and cinematography. But I zero in on the clothes because I LOVE fashion! (for better or for worse. My bank account says worse.) As I was scrolling through Instagram yesterday I came across a multi-photo post of iconic movie clothes and I was like OH I should do a Top 5 for this topic. But then I sat down to write it and I realized I needed to make it a Top 10 because there are just too many ladies I could not leave off. But brainstorming this list really made me realize how important costuming is to a film. It’s never an accident what these characters are wearing and there’s so much painstaking detail in each of them. So I decided that I wanted to not only do this list but put in the world-building series that I started a month ago. Consider this the second installment.

As I mentioned, costumes are a major part of world-building. I talked about this a little bit in my Top 5 World Building Films post, especially regarding Black Panther. Every day in most societies and places, human beings get dressed. We wake up and put on something that expresses who we are. It can be a work uniform, a power suit, a sexy dress, or a basic tee. When a director and costume designer and an actor sit down and work out a character together a lot of thought goes into what they will be wearing. Obviously the cast of SLC Punk can’t be wearing polos, and when Martin Scorsese was making Goodfellas he was picky down to the way they tied their ties—they had to be exactly like the gangsters he knew about growing up. When you look at the seams on a dress or the cut of a blazer in a movie keep in mind that it was a conscious choice and that it is trying to convey who that person is. A wrinkled shirt and a crisply ironed shirt say such different things about an otherwise identical character.

It also speaks to the society in which this character is existing in. There’s street fashion, Haute couture, main street fashion, business fashion, etc. are all completely different worlds. A working-class girl wouldn’t dress like a debutante and a debutante is not dressing like a sci-fi warrior. These things matter as they paint our understanding of the setting of the story and build upon our other learned notions. This helps to build empathy with the characters and illustrates their roles and aspirations. And all of these ladies below come from very, very different worlds. All of them are serious closet envy, too.

Also as a note: I didn’t put any period pieces (or films from) pre-mid century. There are some beautiful costume designs for movies filmed set before these choices such as The Favourite, Pride and Prejudice, Gone With the Wind, and Marie Antoinette. However, I wanted to focus on a more modern (as in the mid-century forward) sense of the word “style” as it is a more applicable look at our understanding of fashion. Thus there are no future movies either. While technically Black Panther would be eligible because those ladies were fierce, it was ranked high on my last world-building list so I am setting it aside here. Don’t worry though, Ruth E. Carter makes two other appearances because SHE. IS. THE. WOMAN.

10. Monica Wright, Love & Basketball

As promised: Ruth E. Carter. I wanted to include Monica because despite the fact that she would definitely object to fashion status were she real, she rocked her unapologetically sporty girl style with pride. She was passionate about what she loved and made no compromises about it—despite familial pressure. She is a great example of casual athleisure before it was fashionable and when she wanted to, she could clean up too. LOVE IT.

9. Severine, Skyfall

This girl is GLAM. She rocks those gorgeous ball gowns and lures in 007 with ease. I actually got to see her burgundy dress in the spy museum in DC once and it was as beautiful in person as on film. Although like many Bond girls her screen presence is not long-lasting, she wows everyone with a gorgeous set of dresses and a wicked smokey eye to boot.

8. Annie Hall, Annie Hall

Tomboys rejoice! Annie Hall may not be a movie that I love, or even really like, but who cannot love Diane Keaton’s Annie and her powerful tomboy wardrobe. Sporting ties, vests, baggy pantsuits, and awesome hats Annie revolutionized androgynous fashion and made her own fashion path forward, despite what society expected women in the 70s to dress like.

7. Lysistrata, Chi-Raq

We’ve covered sporty, glam, and tomboy and now we have smart street style. Again, costume by Ruth E. Carter, Lysistrata struts through Chicago’s streets with a beautiful afro and more confidence than I can ever imagine having. Her clothes are bold and stylish but in an approachable street way that is impossible to fake. Seriously though, has Ruth E. Carter ever NOT designed some great character wardrobes?

6. Sabrina Fairchild, Sabrina

Honestly, this could be either version. I love the original and my mom loves the remake. Either way, Sabrina is classy and elegant, and expensive. She’s high street fashion all the way. I mostly want to point out Audrey Hepburn’s untouchable gown from the 1954 version. I have literally no reason to ever wear anything like that but I WANT IT.

5. Penny Lane, Almost Famous

Kate Hudson embodies the Woodstock fashion era here. She rocks the crop-tops, brown coat (I want a vegan version please), and bellbottoms. Even her more “adult” style at the end, the transition outfit if you will is full of individualism. Penny Lane’s costuming is basically Stevie Nick’s wardrobe. She knows how to dress smartly but in a flamboyant, hippie way, and I wish I could copy and paste her outfits into my wardrobe today. Or at least pieces that could mesh into a modern sensibility.

4. Su Li-Zhen, In the Mood For Love

For our number four, we’re moving into China. Though filmed in 2000, this movie is set in the 1960s. Both characters are smartly dressed here but it’s Su Li-Zhen that steals the show. Her perfectly fitted dresses made of a beautiful silk thread are elegant and feminine and from a different part of the world than what American viewers are used to seeing. When we think 60s fashion we think Audrey or Elizabeth, but this movie points to Chinese women of the era and reminds us that they could hold their own in the fashion world as well.

3. Ginger McKenna, Casino

Okay here we go: MY NUMBER ONE. Now Ginger isn’t number one on this list because I went with two long-lasting icons from films that are going to be thought of well before Casino. BUUUUUT, Ginger is fabulous. Yeah I know she’s a drug addict and a terrible mother (omg) and definitely not a fabulous personality. I’m talking about her wardrobe. Even if it isn’t my favorite style for myself (the 70s fashion was weird, man) it’s killer. And Sharon Stone wears it like she was born to be in designer garments from birth. There are sparkles and dresses and jumpsuits and all of them are in a rainbow of colors. Furthermore, the girl KNEW how to accessorize. She does lose a point for the furs, though, because that’s never cute.

2. Elvira Hancock, Scarface

Okay confession time: despite loving the two leads I do not like Scarface very much. HOWEVER. This is my second favorite on this list. But let’s talk about Elvira here for a minute. These dresses are gorgeous. The costume designer’s name is Patricia Norris who also worked on costumes for Twelve Years A Slave, Days of Heaven, Twin Peaks, and The Elephant Man. Which means she designed for McQueen, Malick, and Lynch, after working on De Palma’s biggest movie. That’s quite a resume. The outfits here are perfect for Michelle Pfeifer’s body: they’re sleek and minimal and smartly tailored. What really works about these outfits is that they are sexy despite their simplicity and it’s perfect for a character that leaves such a lasting impression.

1. Yasmin Azir, Arabesque

Sophia is THE style icon. Forever. I actually had a hard time picking which movie I wanted at this spot because she had so many beautiful looks. I chose this one for her boots, the fact she wore a pink towel like she was on the red carpet, and the fact that when it came to mid-century costume designs Dior could do NO wrong. I mean, Haute couture knew what was up back then. Maybe it was because they dressed legends like Sophia, Audrey, Elizabeth, and Marilyn. I’m not sure, but I know that I imagine myself exuding the sex appeal and confidence and femininity that Sophia does here. She’s just perfect.

So those were my top 10 ladies. The closets I wish I had, or at least that I wish I had my version of. I’d certainly take pieces from all of them (including the accessories GET IN MY CLOSET) and try to find a way to modernize these looks. I’m sorry to have left out so many others, though. Ladies like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde (who is the definition of 2001 prep), Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate (who is wonderful representation for an older woman who never lost her pizazz) and Lelaina Pierce’s sunglasses (WINONA PLZ DO MORE MOVIES). Oh and Mia Dolan from La La Land and her mid-century inspired jewel toned dresses. If I’m being real with myself I think I just need to hire a Hollywood costume designer and tailor to curate my life’s wardrobe. If only. Stay tuned for next week when I turn my attention to the Top 10 Fashionable MALE Movie Characters. That’s right, don’t think I forgot about the gents. I definitely did not and I have SOME. THOUGHTS.

And yes, there will be some Andy Garcia in a suit.