All the White Outfits in Nancy Meyers Movies, Ranked
It is an indisputable fact that there is nothing as soothing to the cerebral cortex as a Nancy Meyers movie. The arguable queen of the romantic comedy (okay, fine, she shares the title with Nora Ephron) knows how to set a scene, stacking her shots with sweeping landscapes, exquisite kitchens, and of course, a tantalizing array of cream outfits.
Nancy Meyers’s movies aren’t all holiday-themed (except for, uh, The Holiday), but even the ones set in the middle of a sweltering Hamptons summer somehow invoke a sense of coziness, perhaps because of her female protagonists’ predictable color patterns. Meyers women wear white with aplomb, refusing to adhere to the arbitrary “not after Labor Day” rule; they pair beige khakis with ivory cardigans to show that they’re responsible, rigid, maybe a little stuck in the mud, and just need a whirlwind romance to make them burst into color. Below, find an official power ranking of Meyers heroines’ all-white outfits, and let it inspire you to impulse-buy those ivory trousers you bookmarked weeks ago.
5. Kimberly Williams as Annie in Father of the Bride
Okay, fine, this one is kind of a cheat, but when I was a kid, I thought Annie’s traditional white wedding dress and veil were the height of sophistication and class. (Now, of course, all I want is my very own wedding cape.)
4. Elaine Hendrix as Meredith in The Parent Trap
There isn’t a late-’90s child of divorce out there who doesn’t remember The Parent Trap’s Meredith Blake, the evil stepmother, with a mixture of fear and awe. Her white dress may look sweet and demure, but don’t be fooled; she’s just waiting to ship you off to “boarding school in Timbuktu.”
3. Cameron Diaz as Amanda in The Holiday
What says “icy-hearted L.A. girl repairing to the English countryside for coziness, solace, and an affair with Jude Law” better than an ivory cashmere turtleneck? Lose the gloves and hat, and this look can go from the Grove to the ski chalet with ease.
2. Diane Keaton as Erica in Something’s Gotta Give
Does this movie about Jack Nicholson successfully seducing a young woman and her mother in turn hold up in the #MeToo era? No, not really, but Diane Keaton’s outfits certainly do. At one point, she proclaims herself a “turtleneck kind of gal,” proving once and for all that Succession’s Shiv Roy wants what Keaton has always had.
1. Meryl Streep as Jane in It’s Complicated
It’s not complicated how much I love this outfit. (Hello, Pulitzer board, and thank you for considering me.) Streep’s character Jane is a chef and restaurant owner, yet she frequently appears in all-white outfits that make it clear she’s capable of whipping up a spaghetti bolognese for her distinguished lover without spilling a drop. It’s hard to know which detail of this look is the greatest: the gauzy scarf, the tunic, or the pants—which are out of frame, but trust me when I say they’re as white as snow.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
