A “Girls” Closet Throwback

Written by Jessie Wang

Chaotic, real and hilarious, the show “Girls” (2012-2017), created by Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow, is heading back into production in 2027 for a five-episode series. Following four early-to-mid-20’s women, the original series is an iconoclastic representation of young women navigating life in New York City, challenging traditional TV molds of female friendship and sexuality. 

The main characters–Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna–are female archetypes tailored by varying social and financial backgrounds, personalities, desires and lifestyles. What makes “Girls” so enduring are its brutally honest and realistic character arcs, a caveat of its predecessor “Sex and The City.” 

The 90s show starring Sarah Jessica Parker, has been long referred to as the poster-girl for an idyllic 30s and 40s. We know Carrie, the protagonist, as a neurotic columnist who somehow owns a Greenwich Village apartment and over $40,000 worth of shoes on a modest salary. While “Girls” focuses on a totally different life stage, the opening scene and our first introduction to Hannah is her parents cutting her off despite having no job as a two-year post-graduate. 

“Sex and The City” is a rangeless Pinterest board brought to screen. “Girls,” on the other hand, is an anxious inner-monologue turned into a script so fitting that the style choices match that chaos. Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna’s looks are warranted because they reflect the idiosyncratic, flawed and sometimes awkward realities of 20-something-year-olds.  

Here’s four stand-out “Girls” outfits from its earlier seasons. One for each “Girls” girl before they realize adulthood isn’t exactly “Sex and The City.”

Hannah

Hannah is an anxious aspiring writer, convinced that she is the main character in her own story. Over season one, she loses her unpaid internship, fails to land one job, and quits a law firm after her boss harasses her. Hannah’s ill-fitting clothes that never quite match are a lot like her personality and her life plans. In Season 1, Episode 9, “Leave Me Alone,” Hannah's first day at work turns into a lesson about misreading the room, a product of her self-absorbed nature. She shows up to Ray’s coffee shop in a white dress, as though she’s been hired to host a brunch, and is promptly told to go home and change into jeans with a slim leg. It makes you wonder if she’s ever noticed or asked what a barista actually wears.

Marnie

Marnie, Hannah’s roommate, is the self-conscious archetype always aware of everyone’s assumptions yet remains polished on the outside. In Season 2, Episode 6, “Boys,” Marnie wears a gold vinyl dress at artist Jonathan Booth’s party, assuming she's the co-host but later learns she's actually the "help." She’s the friend who has to be the best-dressed, best-organized and most admired person in the room, and believes the guy she’s seeing shares the same assumption. Marnie decides she’s co-hosting the party as Booth’s girlfriend, so she dresses for the image she’s given herself, not the job she was hired for.

Jessa

Jessa is the fashion-forward friend who’s never had a job because it’s financially unnecessary. She would most likely have Scorpio zodiac placements: nonchalant but filled with emotional turmoil. When we’re first introduced to Jessa, she’s just returned from traveling, evident in her put-together bohemian style. In Season 1, Episode 7, “Welcome to Bushwick a.k.a. The Crackcident,” Jessa is dressed in Ann Demuelemester feathers, raising the question of how she even got her hands on it. Everything about Jessa is a mystery, from the Louis Vuitton luggage in the Pilot to the high-end feathers at a Bushwick loft party. 

Shoshanna

Shoshana, Shosh for short, is a third or fourth-year at New York University, making her the youngest in the foursome. Shosh’s character is innocent, ambitious and high-energy–sort of like Charlotte in “Sex and The City”. In “Welcome to Bushwick a.k.a. The Crackcident,” Shosh accidentally smokes crack cocaine at a warehouse party in Brooklyn, sending her on a frantic high. Her outfit for this party–pictured below in the middle–is a NoLita attempt at fitting in with the edgier Brooklyn crowd. “Girls” costume designer, Jenn Rogien, described Soshanna as“a department-store girl,” sourcing her closet from stores like Saks, Bloomingdale and Lord & Taylor. 

While aesthetics change, the minds of 20-something-year-olds remain complex in the pursuit of identity. perpetually puzzling. Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna's wardrobes aren't simply Millennial time-machines, but a masterclass in storytelling that nails how young people really think and act.  

Edited by Sophia Weiner and Claudia rothberg