Like everyone else on the planet I spent much of the countdown to Christmas watching rom-coms. It doesn’t matter if they’re funny, if I’ve seen them before, or if they’re even any good, there is something to be said about the feel-good factor of a nostalgic romantic comedy when there’s nothing else on the tv. However, it struck me for the first time when watching The Holiday (for the 6th time) that instead of concentrating on the plot, I was sidetracked by Cameron Diaz’s wardrobe.
Amanda Woods arrival to the cottage makes almost no sense—why a stiletto heel for a long haul flight let alone the english countryside? Why so much impractical cream? But after watching her slowly but surely fall in love with Jude Law and Aran knits I realise, what the character is wearing is almost as important as the dialogue itself; and Amanda follows in the footsteps of some incredibly influential movie heroines. Think about it, would Pretty Woman still have been as iconic without the thigh-high boots? Can we imagine a Miss Congeniality without that bodycon mini dress reveal? And really, there is no Coyote Ugly without the spray-on leather trousers and cropped tank tops.
After bringing the topic of the best rom-com movies to my Who What Wear colleagues, I not only have a list of films I’d forgotten (sorry, You’ve Got Mail), but also some very good outfit inspiration, revealing in the process that everything that we’ve worn in the last 12 months can actually trace it’s roots back to one iconic movie heroine. Don’t believe me? Keep scrolling to see the swoon-worthy characters that we fell for so deeply that we inadvertently started dressing like them too. They had us at hello.