The TV shows and movies that are a fashion lover’s dream
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is an endless parade of Dior gowns and the latest movie to become an instant favourite for lovers of fine fashion, joining the likes of Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
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If you lose the plot over fabulous fashion, then the new/old movie Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is for you.
The classic 1958 novel by Paul Gallico, which was first adapted for the big screen with Angela Lansbury in 1992, has been brought up to date with Lesley Manville as the ’50s London cleaning lady who goes to Paris on a fashion adventure. But by far the star of the show is the Dior dress she sets her heart on.
The heyday of Dior is recreated in this gorgeous movie, as endless divine gowns parade past the enraptured Ada Harris – and the audience – in the Parisian atelier. “We’re living in incredibly difficult times and I think people want to escape all the misery and the darkness,” director Anthony Fabian says. “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris gives people that opportunity.”
Here’s eight of the most stylish movie and TV series of all time that deliver the ultimate sartorial mindfulness.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Originally brought to the big screen in 1992 with Angela Lansbury, this delicious movie is back with The Crown’s Lesley Manville as London cleaner Ada Harris, who sets off to Paris to get herself a Dior gown.
It co-stars Downton Abbey’s Anna Chancellor, Emily in Paris’ Lucas Bravo and Harry Potter’s Jason Isaacs. Christian Dior’s 1950s atelier is lovingly recreated in the movie, where Ada watches a parade of his divine creations, which are literally the stuff of dreams. Take a journey back in fashion time with this sweet, uplifting movie, in cinemas October 27.
Phantom Thread
Busy Lesley Manville, who is shortly coming back to the small-screen as Princess Margaret in Season Five of Netflix’s The Crown, also appeared in another fabulous 1950s fashion movie Phantom Thread.
Set in the fictional House of Woodcock in London, the 2017 movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as couturier Reynolds Woodcock, alongside Manville as his sister Cyril.
Both actors were nominated for an Oscar, but it was the exquisite costume design that won the day.
Emily in Paris
Mrs Harris has a retro feel of Emily in Paris about it, not least because it co-stars Lucas Bravo, who also appears in the Netflix series with Lily Collins.
This unashamedly happy TV show is styled by Sex and the City’s Patricia Field and is therefore a fashion fiesta, with fantastical outfits by Chanel, Christian Louboutin and Balmain. But our favourite is the uber-chic Sylvie, played by French actor Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who is the last word in Parisian chic.
Season Three airs in December.
Sex and the City
It’s no wonder Emily in Paris’s creator Darren Star brought Patricia Field with him to the City of Love for Emily in Paris – the pair created magic with Sex and the City in the 1990s.
And while some of the storylines in the show, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon have dated, the clothes have not.
Carrie’s wild, but popular looks started trends all over the world, from her flower corsage to name necklace and, of course, Jimmy Choos.
Funny Face
Audrey Hepburn starred as reluctant model Jo Stockton in this 1957 musical movie, alongside Fred Astaire’s photographer Dick Avery, which went down in fashion film history thanks to Hubert Givenchy’s costume design, all showcased around classic Parisian locations.
Bonjour Paris indeed.
The Devil Wears Prada
Meryl Streep was a knockout as the Anna Wintour-inspired character in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, from the best-selling book of the same name.
Follow Anne Hathaway’s Andy as she gets the ultimate fashion education as an assistant to fierce magazine editor Miranda Priestly and is allowed into the hallowed ground of the fashion cupboard.
Also styled by Patricia Field, the clothes are a fashion lover’s heaven.
Killing Eve
We all know it’s good to mix and match, but successfully combining high fashion with a show about an assassin is something else.
But that’s what Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Killing Eve managed to do, with evil Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer, parading about Europe in ballgowns, Balenciaga and Burberry.
It’s literally cutting edge style and we couldn’t get enough of the BBC series, which ran for four seasons until earlier this year.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Last but not least, we couldn’t leave out another Audrey Hepburn classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The 1961 Oscar winner sees Hepburn live the high life in New York.
With a wardrobe by Givenchy again, the movie made the little black dress – and Tiffany’s of course, famous forever.