By Mary Atkinson

(Image: Mary Atkinson, 7th arr. Paris, Île de France, France, 28th May 2019)

If you’re anything like me, you probably found yourself guiltily watching the second season of Netflix and Sex and the City writer Darren Star’s series Emily in Paris this festive season, released December 22nd to arguably better press than when the series premiered in 2020. Although perhaps a feat that was not hard to do considering the large-scale backlash the series received upon release for outdated French stereotypes and an unrealistic portrayal of Paris. However, did we ever expect realism from the creator of Sex and the City? A show which hardly portrayed New York accurately, even in the mid-'90s in SATC, with Carrie’s expensive designer clothing, nightlife and apartment while only writing one weekly column for income – unrealistic as any journalist could tell you first-hand.
 
However, as viewers received with SATC in the '90s and early 2000s, Emily in Paris presents an idealised lifestyle in a big city. Reviving the perhaps tired trope of the American abroad but with the key element that helped to make SATC a cult show – a loud, impressive wardrobe for each character in the show, putting fashion at the forefront. For once maybe fitting for the two fashion capitals that are used as the backdrop and playground for both shows. 
 
This wardrobe was brought to viewers in Emily in Paris by another familiar SATC name, costume designer Patricia Field, working alongside French costume designer Marylin Fitoussi. Leaving the wardrobe in the show to become one of season two’s biggest discussion points. Viewers of the show tweeting and discussing their dismay towards titular character Emily Cooper’s wardrobe and its loudness. Which vastly contrasts the minimalist, muted, Parisian aesthetic adored in the fashion world and seen in some of the show’s Parisian characters such as Emily’s boss Sylvie, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu and her friend and Champagne heiress Camille, played by Camille Razat. Although Sylvie and Camille's fashion is also far elevated from the typical French aesthetic. But, as neither character is an average Parisian with high-status jobs or family wealth, why would we expect an average wardrobe choice? 
 
Emily’s meticulously styled ‘natural’ wavy hair is another point of contention, contrasting the effortless air of Parisian style further, showing Emily 'trying too hard'. 
 
However, Emily's undoubtedly loud, non-Parisian wardrobe was perhaps intended that way all along, a deliberate choice. Fashion can be used to make a statement, seen frequently in the modern era, utilised both successfully and not… Think Lewis Hamilton’s BLM shirts on Grand Prix weekends and then Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 'eat the rich' Met Gala Dress… Emily's loud wardrobe at its bare bones is based upon Parisian fashion and silhouettes. Well, American conceptions and stereotypes of them. Featuring items such as beret's, straight leg jeans, designer handbags, blazers, and trench coats - items either worn in the Parisian aesthetic or associated with the aesthetic by outsiders. 
 
Emily's loudness in her clothing can be said to show her loud personality and general presence and its contrast to Parisian culture. While her hair and its maliciously styled nature can be said to reflect her desire to fit in in Paris, which misses the mark entirely. A representation of an outsider figuring out a new world and more precisely Emily’s life in Paris. Emily's wardrobe deliberately leaves her sticking out and sometimes looking a bit of a mess, showing how she is perceived by her Parisian co-workers and friends in the show and reflective of how she navigates her Parisian life, not particularly well. Whether it is chic or not is something else, style will never be something everyone agrees on, but we can say Emily Cooper’s wardrobe is well thought out and perhaps to be expected with the series’ costume designers. 
 
"I know how to design the perfect Frenchwoman," French costume designer Fitoussi said to Elle Magazine and The New York Times “I didn’t want in season 2 for Emily to become too chic. Emily being too chic or too French would have meant that her personality was no longer as strong”, almost confirming the deliberate nature of Emily’s wardrobe. 
 
Emily in Paris is so bad it's enjoyable, a guilty watch for us all and most importantly, deliberately, definitely, not realistic. Just as Carrie Bradshaw would never have afforded her NYC lifestyle on a weekly column wage, Emily in Paris paints a fantasy image of Paris, from the lens of American stereotypes, all the way down to the clothes. 
 
However, if Emily in Paris were real, I'd give her this advice – a better way to assimilate than through clothes and appearances is through learning the language (I mean, even my French is better than hers…). But I'll enjoy critiquing or adoring the loud outfits anyways.