For better or for worse, Emily in Paris is spot-on representation of American expat style. Loud, audacious, and so obviously out of place, Emily Cooper isn’t ashamed to dress exactly how she wants to dress—even if that means wearing neon paisley or metallic ombrés in a sea of tailored khakis and navy striped sweaters. To hell with Parisian assimilation, and bonjour to gutsy sartorial instincts!
Played by real-life fashion maven Lily Collins, Emily took the world by storm when the series first hit Netflix back in 2020. It helped that Sex and the City alumni were attached to the project, with showrunner Darren Star guiding the story and costume designer Patricia Field briefly coming on as head consultant. But, by the end of the pilot episode, it quickly became clear that the show’s visual language was something distinctly its own. Emily may share Carrie Bradshaw’s taste for luxury fashion, but the comparisons stop there. Kooky, excessive, and just a tad bizarre, Emily’s wardrobe spans genres and defies definition. And I’d like to think we’d never catch Carrie dead in most of these looks.
“Emily is unique; she is special,” costume designer Marilyn Fitoussi previously told Bazaar of Emily’s sartorial philosophy. “She is a cheerful character, very enterprising. She is creative; she is a great observer.” When it comes to her stylistic evolution, Fitoussi adds, “You will discover that she has observed all the codes of French fashion and that she has reinterpreted them in her own way, the Cooper way.”
Watching the show requires some suspension of disbelief. How else are we to contend with how she wears vintage Versace or a $3000+ Balmain dress as casually as other Americans wear sweatpants to the grocery store (myself included)? Never mind that Emily is simply an average 20-something-year-old with a junior marketing executive’s salary, earnings that apparently can’t provide her anything beyond a simple chambre de bonne apartment but can afford a constantly revolving rotation of the latest designer pieces. You can call Emily a lot of things, but you simply can’t call her an outfit repeater.
Ahead of the show’s season four premiere, I revisited every ridiculously unforgettable look that Emily has worn. A few things stood out—her love of mismatched patterns, for one; her gravitation towards distracting headgear, for another. But, the biggest style lesson that Emily has imparted is that nothing makes you feel more at home—even in a different continent—than true personal style.
Behold, my official rankings of all the most memorable Emily in Paris outfits.
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20
The Day Oner
Emily wore this particular outfit for her first day on the job at the Savoir headquarters in Paris. The look really gives Midwestern girl who was voted best dressed in high school puts on an outfit that she thinks locals would wear—right down to the Eiffel Tower-printed Alice + Olivia blouse to the graphic stiletto Louboutin booties. A promising start!
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19
The Fedora
This looks like something the love child of Blake Lively’s It Ends with Us press tour wardrobe and Ryan from High School Musical would wear. Points for attempting to mix and match different textures and ideas but also … points docked for execution.
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18
The Beret
Wearing a beret in Paris is perhaps a forgivable sin if you’re a tourist. But, by season two, shouldn’t Emily have known better than to still reach for this hat in her closet? And to wear it in such an abrasive yellow hue, no less? At least she matched it with her Gucci Jackie bag.
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17
The Not-So-Merry Christmas
Believe it or not, Emily actually doesn’t wear this outfit during her office’s holiday party! The lamé silver tuxedo jacket from Saint Laurent and the glittery red-hot shorts are, apparently, just for fun.
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16
The Date Night
Emily dials up the romance for a date night look with Alfie. This outfit in particular is a lot more understated than the rest of her season three wardrobe, but I still appreciate the Valentine-y elements, like that velvet quilted Elie Saab coat or the red rose-printed stiletto boots.
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15
The Distractor
It’s hard to wear yellow and purple together without summoning thoughts of Easter or the Los Angeles Lakers. Emily is able to keep those thoughts at bay by distracting us with a torrent of patterns. Black-and-white checkerboard? Multi-colored painterly stripes? A floral motif-ridden Dolce & Gabbana purse? Why not?
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14
The Girl Boss
Over three seasons, Emily’s sense of style has grown in sync with her evolution as a marketing exec at Savoir. By season three, the American transplant is more at ease with taking up space—and it shows in her clothes. Take, for example, this Rotate set with an oily black and blue print. Puff sleeves that are bigger than her own head? Oui, oui!
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13
The Heart Eyes
Emily is a fan of literalism. Just look at the outfit she wears in season two during a work event to promote a jewelry client’s latest product, dubbed Happy Hearts. If Emily is going to do anything, it’s commit to the bit! She did so here with aplomb, from the heart-plastered Anouki midi dress to the bow-adorned red pumps.
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12
The Funhouse
This outfit gets its name for how looking at it reminds me of the warped reflection from a funhouse’s mirror. Like, I think I know what this is supposed to resemble … I think? For a more cohesive demonstration of color blocking, I’d take a look at Sylvie’s orange-and-pink look instead.
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11
The Back to School
Here, Emily sports a metallic lime green and aquamarine Dundas skirt with a fuzzy multi-colored diamond patterned sweater by Essentiel Antwerp. On their own, each piece is cute enough, but… together? It’s almost like Emily saw a September catalog with back-to-school outfit ideas for tween students and was like, Yep! That’s the look for me!
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10
The High-Low
Emily may wear dozens of fresh-off-the-runway pieces on this show, but she’s also not above a $30 tunic from H&M. Specifically, this flouncy orange dress hails from Iris Apfel’s collaboration with the brand. To style the statement piece, Emily did her color theory homework by capping it off with some metallic turquoise boots from Skorpios—which retail for over $1,000.
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9
The Funeral Chic
When the gang visits designer Pierre Cadault after he unceremoniously breaks his collarbone in season three, they dress in all black, each putting forth their own take on funeral chic. But no one is mourning the state of fashion over here. Emily looks incredible in a Batman-esque set, including a cropped pointed-shoulder jacket from Andrew GN, which she smartly paired with transparent pumps with scalloped black lining. Très chic!
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8
The Audrey Hepburn
Emily does Emily best when she cosplays Audrey Hepburn (and it certainly helps that Collins is basically a carbon copy of the Hollywood legend). The sheer black Christian Siriano dress and diamond headpiece—worn on the steps of the Palais Garnier in season one—references Hepburn’s performance in Funny Face (1957).
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7
The Flower Power
One thing that seems to guide Emily’s wardrobe is a thematic code. That couldn’t be more clear with this bright yellow season three look, in which she piles on the florals from a headscarf to an eyelet turtleneck. To really drive it home, she added a pair of sunflower-adorned knee-high socks from Paul & Joe.
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6
The Grass Is Greener
And the ’60s homage continues! Emily goes full mod revival in this Miu Miu wool coat, emblazoned with a trippy green paisley print. She layered it over a coordinating Emanuel Ungaro minidress.
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5
The Cyborg
Give me drama, give me futurism, give me robot! Emily delivers on all of those fronts with this season three party look, thanks in no small part to this magnificent knit minidress by Balmain. 10s across the board!
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4
The Candy Apple
Is this Emily in Paris or a sequel to Mirror Mirror? Collins is back in her Snow White bag with this ruffled Giambattista Valli minidress made out of candy apple red tulle. The sheer theatrics of this season two showstopper is also what makes it so ridiculously good.
Netflix
3
The Ladybug
Personally, I’m a fan of any outfit that you could imagine on a runway model or a six-month old baby. This certainly checks both boxes for me. Emily’s penchant for mixing and matching patterns is on full display here, but she does so with a little more finesse than usual. The black diamond stripes on her hot shorts blend seamlessly with the polka-dot adorned turtleneck, and the molten gold trench coat is the perfect touch of eccentricity.
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2
The Anti-Bride
Wearing a white dress… with a floor-length train… to the wedding of the friend whose boyfriend you slept with… A baffling choice! It’s too bad that these are the circumstances in which Emily pulled out this stunner, because this couture Giambattista Valli creation is truly one of her most heavenly outfits on the show to date.
Netflix
1
The Feathers Galore
Sure, this outfit is ridiculous—but it’s the exact brand of ridiculous that I want from Emily. Pack on the statement pieces! A feathered cape should be worn with a petal-printed Magda Butrym mini and shiny Casadei platform pumps.
