The French fashion designer and style icon Ines de la Fressange once said, “Style should be effortless—don’t overthink it.” It’s a maxim that encapsulates the louche cool that French style has come to represent. It does not, however, describe the outrageous fashion choices of Emily Cooper, the enthusiastic heroine of Netflix’s Emily in Paris.
Throughout the series, which dropped its fourth season this week, Emily wears over-the-top, technicolor ensembles that are less “French girl chic” than they are Funny Face (another tale of a sartorially adventurous American girl in Paris). In the show, Emily’s looks are a reminder that she’s living out her own fantasies in her new life in Paris—she dons sky-high heels daily for her walk to work and mixes brightly colored prints and patterns with reckless abandon. As a PR girl, she eschews the industry’s typical uniform of tasteful black business casual for ostentatious feathered coats, ruffled mini dresses, and sweeping gowns. And she absolutely never misses a chance to accessorize, whether that means a tiny, whimsical handbag (it usually does), gloves that are often more fashion than function, and a dizzying array of fantastical hats.
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Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Emily’s maximalist looks are the handiwork of Patricia Fields, a consultant for the show, whose iconic styling on Sex and the City helped to make its characters and the show itself the stuff of fashion legend.
“She was still an American girl,” Field said of dressing the character of Emily in an interview with Paper in 2020. “She wasn’t French chic all the way, even though she has influences, so I felt that she was the young optimist, and came from Chicago, and wore colors, and she stood alone in that philosophy of wardrobe.”
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the most outrageous of Emily’s looks below, ranking them from demure to absolutely wild.
This outfit from the premiere episode of Emily in Paris‘ very first season is an accurate showing of Emily’s chaotic neutral fashion sense. Never one to shy away from a bright print, Emily’s paired her blue snakeskin mini skirt with a screen-printed button-down.
Business casual for Emily is more colorful than conventional work wear. In this Season 1 look, she pairs a green metallic leather jacket with a multicolor animal print tulle mini skirt.
If there’s one trend that Emily loves embracing, it’s print mixing. For this zany Season 3 outfit, she wears a pair of striped hot shorts and a polka dot turtleneck for a day at the office. She tops the look off with a gold duster jacket.
Emily seems to be firmly in the maximalism camp when it comes to fashion, as evidenced by this Season 1 look, which not only featured a brightly colored print jacket, but a dress with a “bigger is better” bow at the bodice.
This Season 1 look is classic Emily—multiple prints, multiple accessories (check it: bucket hat, purse, and neck scarf), and bright, eye-catching colors.
If there’s one style maxim that Emily lives by, it’s that more is more. Case in point? This beach outfit from Season 2, where she’s wearing no fewer than seven busy prints, a pair of platform heels, a patchwork bag, and a bucket hat.
Emily went for a futuristic fembot vibe in this Season 3 look.
Emily’s interpretation of French style can be on-the-nose, as seen in this season 3 look, where she tops her print-heavy outfit with a matching beret.
Though Emily’s outfit came courtesy of Pierre Cadault for this Season 3 look, its ambitious use of color-blocking and prints make it one of her most memorable looks of the show.
Emily took themed dressing to the next level in Season 3 when she donned a lavender floral mini dress with a voluminous ruffled lavender coat for (you guessed it) a press trip to a lavender field.
No stranger to a dramatic sartorial moment, Emily wore a flamingo-esque maribou embellished pink cape and sky-high blue platform heels to say goodbye to her romantic interest Alfie in Season 3.
With this metallic jacket and its very dramatic sleeve detailing in Season 3, Emily had a fashion look fit for taking flight.
There’s a lot going on with this Season 1 look—a graphic jersey dress layered over a delicate lace top and a colorful print fedora that might be too much for anyone, even Emily.
Of all of Emily’s outrageous looks in the show, her Hamburglar-esque take on formal wear for a brand activation ball in Season 4 may take the cake. The black and white striped catsuit, paired with a dramatic overskirt, wide hat and black mask made it one of her most memorable looks.
