Tuesday 18 January 2011

Emma Pillsbury: An Unlikely Style Icon?

Ok, I will admit that the words fictional germophobic guidance councelor and style icon are not two things that I would ever have espected to see in the same sentance, BUT Glee's Emma Pillsbury, (played by the delicious Jayma Mays) provides the exception to the rule.

With never a hair, or bead out of place, Miss Pillsbury manages to make the decidedly un-cool seem supremely desirable. She mixes tonal colours, with eclectic beads and mary janes to create an overtly ladylike look, that represents her characters prim and proper persona to a tea.




With a clear penchant for twin sets, Emma's looks are always very put together (indicating the characters OCD tendencies), yet they always have a fun and youthful twist.

Glee's costume designer Lou Eyrich says that he always tries to ensure that the character never appears, "too cool for school", always adding bow detailing or a peter pan collar to an outfit, to bring back a preppy edge.

One thing that I love about the costume design, is that it has a sense of realism. Emma's yellow bracelet (seen below) makes many an appearance, and she even re-wears her yellow silk bow blouse. (Something that doesn't often happen in the world of TV.)





One of my favourite looks has to be the jade green cardigan and sweater clips (they really need to have some sort of a comeback) that she wore in season 1.

Is Emma's wardrobe practical in real life? Probably not, (but then again neither is the character's insistence on individually polishing grapes before she deigns to eat them). It is however sheer un-adulterated fun that can't help but make you smile a little every time she hops on screen. For me this is exactly what clothes should be, a way of bringing a touch of sparkle into an otherwise mundane day.

 Making military cute and kitch

Standing out from the crowd in a pillar-box red coat and matching beret

Which of Emma's ensembles are your favourite?

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