STYLE NOTES ON: KATIE HOLMES
The very American girl who became a cool woman one day.
This post has been living in my mind for a long time. With my Style Notes posts, I do have a list of women in my head who I want to write about because they have influenced my style and / or I admire their aesthetics.
With Katie Holmes, it’s a bit different because none of those factors played a role in why I decided to do a post on her. It’s more that I like a few outfit formulas she wears and I am very impressed by the journey she had from the typical all-American girl to cool woman aesthetics.
*all pictures via Pinterest
The moment her style clicked for me was when I saw the campaign on her collaboration with A.P.C. Paris. I’m a huge A.P.C. fan girl and it just made sense.
If you have time or a bathroom to clean, I recommend watching this Vogue interview on the collaboration on the side. Judith Touitou, creative director at A.P.C. and Holmes talk about their process of creating their collaboration and it’s not ground-breaking but still nice to watch.
I also recommend this newsletter article by Julia which - as always - is honest, raw and full of outfit details to explore on Katie:
STYLE FOUNDATION: WORKING TOGETHER WITH BRIE WELCH
As I have already highlighted in my Style Notes on Jennifer Lawrence, there’s always a great stylist behind a style evolution when it comes to celebrities. I remember Katie Holmes has once worked with Allison Bornstein in the beginning of that evolution (explains the start of having better style!).
Nowadays, she works with Brie Welch, which herself is worth a follow.
STYLE FOUNDATION: LONG, UNDONE HAIR
I sound like a broken record but I realized the same thing with Katie Holmes as I did with Jennifer Lawrence: It all started with longer, undone hair as a style element. Is it a trend, or is it just an element of effortless style?
STYLE FORMULA: REPEATING OVERSIZED ON OVERSIZED WITH A TWIST
Good recipes do have simple ingredients: For Katie it is always the same outfit formula in her looks. Again, I am wondering if this is just a trendy / Zeitgeist thing or if it’s really effortless style. Regardless, she looks amazing in all of these outfits.
From left to right:
Oversized denim shirt on white denim pants? Epic. The outfit gets a bit of a structure by adding her slimmer sunglasses and a hair-tuck.
How to make an otherwise classy jacket modern? Size up and then size up once more! Katie’s look gets a balance with a bit of naked skin in her ballet flats.
This is one of her A.P.C. looks. It also gets refined structure by slimmer sunglasses and a boxy bag.
Big shirt on big pants? Oversized on oversized! Just one side-tuck of the shirt and you’re done!
From left to right:
Oversized white pants, bigger but still fitted t-shirt - a structured bag in an elegant brown to elevate the look, a baseball hat to make it casual and then ballet flats to show the needed bit of skin.
+ 3. Oversized pants require one simple trick with oversized shirts: To balance out the look, leave two buttons open to avoid a straight, drowning silhouette in the hip area.
STYLE FORMULA: ADDING A STATEMENT THIRD PIECE
Fun fact about myself: My favorite style formula is the so-called third-piece-rule where you add an overshirt, a leather shirt or a sweater to give an outfit something extra. Katie does so with boxy denim jackets, dark and heavy blazers and shiny leather pieces.Plus, can you see they are always longer than hip-length? That is how you can see you’re dealing with an expert.
STYLE RULE: BUILD A COAT COLLECTION
More precisely: Get a coat collection to kill for. Wide shoulder, oversized silhouettes, great material - my jaw is dropping. Katie has coats that can add to but also make the entire outfit. She has a great selection of colors, and also functional pieces like a very fashiony rain coat.
WHAT AM I TAKING AWAY FOR MY OWN PERSONAL STYLE?
Again: Grow your hair! If it’s trendy or not, it gives an effortless element.
Again: Wear oversized clothes.
Put more effort into my coat collection.
Get more statement pieces for a third-piece-look.
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STYLE NOTES ON: JENNIFER LAWRENCE
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The first time I started seeing Jennifer Lawrence as a fashion girl rather than an actress was in her role in Red Sparrow. In this 2018 spy thriller, Lawrence was dressed by Trish Summerville who brilliantly combined the two sides of her role with the costumes. While the main character had to blend in and hide with neutral colors and silhouettes for the…
STYLE NOTES ON: THE MOOSGAARD TWINS
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Please note that this edition of the Style Notes is more … ‘educational’ than my previous Style Notes posts. You will find Moosgaard outfit formulas below, for instance.
STYLE NOTES ON: LAURA HARRIER
TikTok and me, it’s a love-hate-thing. I hate scrolling mindlessly which happens every time I go on the app. I love the niches it has and the inspiration it gives. Which is different to Instagram or Pinterest. TikTok has a real vibe to it. Unfiltered. Nerdy sometimes. Conversations with friends.
Hi Anika, can you elaborate on what you mean when you say it’s expert level styling that Katie’s third pieces are all below hip length? Just curious why that would stand out vs a mix of both longer and cropped pieces. Great edition of Style Notes as usual, and love that you explore styles of people even if they don’t necessarily resonate with you!
Oooh! If I may suggest, would love to see your take on Laura Harrier.