Low rise jeans, crop tops, velour tracksuits, cargo pants, bleached hair. It’s more than clear that the style cues and the fashion of the y2k era are having a huge renaissance right now. For better or for worse.
And when I think about iconic film and TV characters who have championed the fashion zeitgeist, Reese Witherspoon who played the character of Elle Woods in the 2001 movie Legally Blonde definitely comes to mind.
Her style in the film wasn’t the quintessential, midriff, promiscuous look of the era, but rather 2000’s a la Woods, which for her character meant with a touch of class, a lot of pink and just a hint of Harvard Law School.
What makes Elle Woods one of my favourite movie characters of all time, is the way that her character didn’t operate plainly within the realm of the ‘male gaze’ but rather, saw Woods with a goal, a purpose and a passion to prove most importantly, to herself, her own worth… while also happening to look pretty cute.
While her father may have told her, “Oh, sweetheart, you don’t need law school. Law school is for people who are boring and ugly and serious. And you, button, are none of those things.” And a random dude made fun of her for being ‘Malibu Barbie’ and also accused by her douchey ex-boyfriend Warner for not being ‘serious’ enough, Elle Woods was (and obviously still is) a fashion icon. And we’re paying tribute to her and wherever she may be dominating in the world of fashion and law today.
She may have prided herself on being sure as hell fashionable, but it also wasn’t the most important thing to her. She was also kind and hard working. And things like that are never out of style.
That’s why this week on Throwing Fits, we’re paying tribute to Elle Woods. For more on this topic, follow the Fashion & Beauty Observer and the Film & TV Observer.
Check out some of Elle Woods’ best fashion moments in ‘Legally Blonde’.
