- Hello, my doves, today we're gonna be
talking about something sad, tragic almost. I watched this new Netflix
show called "Emily In Paris", maybe you've heard of it, and it was an absolute waste of my time. Why did I watch the show, you may ask? Because I saw that it was
created by Darren Star, who created "Sex In the City"
and "Beverly Hills 90210" and the costume design
was by Patricia Fields, who also did "Sex In the City"
and "The Devil Wears Prada". But despite these accolades,
it was just not great. - It's definitely not for me, darling. - There's been like a
ton of articles already on why "Emily In Paris" is a flop, especially from the
perspective of French critics who accuse the show of being
both overly Francophilic. Is that a word? Fetishizing France as well as
being anti-France, as well. And I don't really want to do
a review on the actual show because I feel like there's been a ton of other, better reviews already that really hit the nail on the head. If you haven't seen my friend Modern Girls's video on the subject, she does a great review
of the show overall. But yeah, I've just seen a
lot of content about that and I feel like I couldn't introduce
anything new on that front, but I will be talking today about the second most
underwhelming thing after the plot, which are the outfits,
specifically Emily's outfits. Look, I would not be critiquing the show if they didn't so obviously try
to make waves on that front. There's actually nothing
about Emily's character that requires her to be a fashionista. She works at a PR firm. The people who work there are dressed well and they do represent
some luxury fashion brands but she also works with
other non-fashion brands. She's not fully integrated
into the industry, you know what I mean? And the thing with costume design is that the clothes don't
actually have to look amazing. The characters don't all have
to be super well dressed, the clothes just have to
reflect who the characters are, much like how clothes in real life reflect the people who wear them. But taking that into account, the clothes that Emily wears
literally don't make any sense. Emily literally never talks about clothes. She doesn't seem to follow any designers. She even calls herself basic. - I just came here to
apologize for the other day for offending you and, and to let you
know that you're right, I am a basic bitch with a bag charm. - Sidebar, I don't think
Emily's style is basic at all. I kind of wish it was basic because then, at least, it
wouldn't be such an eyestrain. When the agency was going
after a luxury fashion brand, Pierre Cadault, which is fictional, she was no more interested
in him than any other client. She actually had to look him up despite the fact that he's supposed to be one of the biggest designers ever. So, it doesn't really make sense for her to be wearing
a decked out wardrobe, full of designer clothes, right? Like she's supposed to
be this Midwestern girl who mainly worked with
pharmaceutical brands and in the first episode
she's wearing Louboutins. If they wanted to go
down the fashion route they should have had her express
more interest in fashion. As we know, you don't have to
work in the fashion industry to like fashion or to be stylish but if you clearly show
effort in how you dress and you have a wardrobe
of designer clothing, I'm going to assume that
you talk about fashion or at least go shopping more
often than the average person who doesn't care about
their personal style. Let's look at Carrie
from "Sex In The City". In the first season she starts off working as
a relationship columnist but she has a shopping
addiction and loves fashion. It's not super obvious at the beginning but it's referenced every few episodes so it would make sense that she dresses the way that she does. - [Carrie] Samantha
headed back to her office while I decided to investigate this theory I had about shopping as a way to unleash the
creative subconscious. I couldn't believe it. It was the turtle wearing Helmut Lang. - [Miranda] This one's on sale, half off. - Sweetie, I just spent $395 on a pair of open-toed Gucci's last week, this is not the place to be frugal. - [Miranda] All right. - They could have also gone the route where Emily becomes more
interested in fashion after moving to Paris and working with luxury fashion brands and then having her wardrobe
develop to reflect that. This is what they did with
"The Devil Wears Prada" and it worked. Andy didn't care about
the fashion industry, didn't understand the
importance of fashion. - You think my clothes
are hideous, I get it. But, you know, I'm not going
to be in fashion forever so I don't really see the point of changing everything about myself just because I have this job. - [Mina] And then slowly started
taking her work seriously and in that process became
more invested in the industry. But the difference with "Emily In Paris" is that Emily's entire problem revolves around Parisians
being mean to her and her not being open to
the cultural differences. But as for career development, she loves working in
PR from the beginning. She doesn't find any difficulty in coming up with campaign ideas or getting deals with the new clients. Most of her problems stem from
her relationship with Sylvie, who is our French Miranda
Priestly character. And Sylvia says that
her problem with Emily is Emily's lack of polish and her American non-luxury
marketing tactics that prioritize inclusivity
over exclusivity. - You come to Paris,
you walk into my office, you don't even bother
to learn the language. You treat this city like
it's your amusement park and after a year of food, sex,
wine, and maybe some culture you'll go back from where you came. - [Mina] She scoffs at Emily's clothing but there's no implication whatsoever that she wants to change
Emily or work with her. She just wants Emily out of the country as quickly as possible and honestly, who can blame her? - Your language is seriously effed up. - [Mina] I feel like Miranda, by contrast, never held this long-standing
personal grudge against Andy. She doesn't care about the
people who work for her as much as she wants things to get done. Her ordeal is that if Andy can't do it, then there's a million other girls who would kill to have her job. - Quit.
(Andy squeaking) I can get another girl to
take your job in five minutes, one who really wants it. - But, I, I, no, I don't want
to quit. That's not fair. - What is it that you want
me to say to you, huh? Do you want me to say poor you? Miranda's picking on you,
poor you, poor Andy? Hmm? Wake up six, she's just doing her job. - Andy is then the one who
goes through the changes. She's the one who changes her attitude, changes her interest,
realizes things, et cetera. Emily doesn't do anything.
Emily doesn't realize anything. Emily gets her way all the time. Everything she suggests is a hit, it's her coworkers who are all wrong and you come around to her. In regards to her
relationship with Sylvie, she just continues doing
whatever she's doing and Sylvie starts to slowly like her because Emily is good at her job not because she's become more likable. The show comes off as very
self-righteous and US-centric, even from the characters
who are not even American. - I mean, they can't all be be mean. - Oh yes, they can. Chinese people are mean behind your back. French people, mean to your face. - We, as an audience, are supposed to side with
Emily to a certain extent. We're supposed to feel bad for her, we're supposed to agree with her. The French people that she
works with are so mean, she's great, or whatever. I mean, you could make the argument that Emily is supposed to be this very annoying,
stereotypical American. But if the writers purposely
tried to convey that you would think that they
would have her grow more over the course of the series so that she reflects on herself and thinks, oh, maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe this is a cultural thing. Or maybe I have to compromise
to get along with everyone and to participate in this culture. - Look, I want to be part of the solution, not create problems. - Well then you should
listen more and talk less. - I can't really grasp what
Emily is supposed to go through over the course of the series in terms of personal development. She wanted to go to Paris,
it wasn't like she had to, and she wants people to accept her but it's always on her terms. She starts off being good at her job. The only conflicts that she really faces are relationship based, I guess, but you would think that in 2020 we can have more sustenance
in our female-driven shows than just relationship drama. - How does it happen,
that four such smart women have nothing to talk about but boyfriends. It's like seventh grade
with bank accounts. What about us? What we think, we feel, we know? Christ, does it always
have to be about them? Just, you know, give me a call when you're ready to talk
about something besides men for a change. - Anyways, this was a tangent. I just wanted to say that
"The Devil Wears Prada" made so much more sense in
terms of Andy's outfits. For Emily, nothing about her wardrobe
makes sense for her character. I even tried to determine whether there was a style progression from the first episode to the
last, and there really wasn't. She had maybe one or two good looks throughout the entire show,
but they were at random points, it wasn't like she just got
better at styling herself. Actually, you know what, that might make sense for her character? Emily doesn't change over
the course of the series, so why should her style? Another thing is how is Emily
affording any of her clothes? I don't know too much about
Parisian apartment pricing, but she doesn't seem like she's living in a
super deluxe apartment. - (speaks in French) It means, er, the room for the housekeeper. The top two floors were typically
reserved for the servants. - (scoffs) You heard all
that from the bathroom? - These walls are made
of straw and horsehair, it'd be harder not to listen. - I also looked at the salary of the average marketing manager in Paris and the salary is €53,000. Now I don't know Emily's
job title, exactly. I know that there are high and low ends to these salaries, as well, but I'm just trying to figure out how she can be so young in the industry and still be making money to
buy Louboutins and Chanel bags? Because she's also hinted at coming from a humble background, I just don't think she has
generational wealth either. - Get your dad's lawyers involved. - My dad doesn't have a lawyer. He breeds Weimaraners.
- Hmm. - But the only thing we could afford from any of those designers was a clip on bag charm from
a outlet mall in Winnetka, so. - [Mina] At least in
"The Devil Wears Prada", Andy gets her designer clothes once her coworker hooks her up. In "Sex In The City"
it was kind of obscure how much money Carrie
was making from her job and people did criticize it. But even if relationship columnists don't actually make that much money, it just seemed less unbelievable because Carrie was in her mid-thirties, she was relatively well known in New York and she was surrounded by established and successful friends. - Look, I'm not sure you understand, but I'm kind of somebody and she's definitely kind of somebody. - It's also kind of confusing to ascertain whether or not Emily is supposed to be
dressed badly, objectively, because she is wearing all this designer but the characters do acknowledge that they don't like what she's wearing. - Any tips on what to wear. - Not that. - I'm not sure if the show is trying to say that French people are boring and singular with their style and Emily is super avant-garde and experimental in comparison, or if we're supposed to laugh at Emily and what she's wearing? But regardless of whether we're supposed to like or
dislike Emily's wardrobe, I feel like the show
was more leaning towards creating these statement,
memorable outfits that would spark a conversation rather than designing a wardrobe
that makes sense for Emily. Take, for instance, the Louboutins. Emily is an optimistic,
workaholic, go-getter. - But, I enjoy work and accomplishment. It, it makes me happy. - Work makes you happy? - Yes, I mean, it's, it's,
it's why I'm here, for work. - Yet she walks down cobbled
Paris streets in Louboutins. It just doesn't make sense for
her to think so pragmatically and work so efficiently,
only to wear clothes that wouldn't be very convenient for work. The other problem is that if the show purposely wanted to create
these statement looks, they failed in that aspect, as well. I feel like the outfits didn't really spark much conversation aside from people like me
who analyze all the fashion. But I wouldn't say that the show made any
impact on mainstream fashion like "Sex In The City" did, for instance. This is because the show
doesn't create anything new. Everything is just a tribute
or poorly done version of something that already exists. The final Pierre Cadault show is a tribute to the Viktor & Rolf Spring
Summer 2019 collection that got a lot of press. Emily's outfit seemed to be a
knockoff Blair Waldorf outfit. She even admits to being
obsessed with "Gossip Girl". - Do you wanna know why
I got that bag charm? Because my friends and I were
obsessed with "Gossip Girl", we all wanted to be
Serena van der Woodsen. - And I don't know if it's
supposed to be relatable in the sense that Gen Z
and Millennial audiences now tend to get inspiration,
style inspiration, from influencers,
celebrities, and TV shows. But in the end, it's not very relatable because, once again, she's
wearing super expensive clothing. Speaking as a Millennial/Gen Z-er, if I wasn't into vintage shopping, where would I find an affordable
Blair Waldorf-esq cord set? urban outfitters.com? We could cut the show some slack and say, oh, it's more
of a social commentary than anything else. Like Emily being an influencer and going to these influencer events filled with vapid, self-serving people. The whole phenomenon of streetwear collaborating with established,
high fashion brands was clearly referenced, as well. But, again, nothing in "Emily
In Paris" is fully baked, it's all very surface level. Even the way she gains followers just isn't reflective of the
Instagram landscape these days, maybe in 2012 it was, but not today. And I just think it's a weird that the show takes this
anti-influencer stance, even though they made their
main character an influencer. I guess this is a rewrite of the Not Other Girl's annoying tagline, now is just not like other influencers. They also had the opportunity
to talk about exploitation from the influencer point of view and they just completely glossed over it. You can say what you want
to say about influencers, I'm sure it's warranted most of the time, but it was a missed opportunity to gloss over the fact that many companies exploit young people for free advertising. Emily just provides free
advertising at this PR event and the only critique comes from Sylvie, who says it's a conflict of
interest for their clients. Well, that aside, if they were trying to make
the show representative or even a satire of today's fashion, they should have; 1, integrated better and more
relevant social commentary to show that Emily is a
reflection of today's society, and, 2, they should have
just had her wear clothes that actually appeal to millennials not these crazy outfits that no one wears. From my understanding, Emily was supposed to be
a relatable character. She's not like the cool Instagram girls, she becomes popular online out of chance and she's just trying
to figure herself out, make new friends like the
rest of us millennials. It was really a wasted
opportunity, in my opinion. The magic of the fashion
in "Sex And The City" is how groundbreaking and
fresh the outfits were while still keeping up with the silhouettes and the accessorizing popular in the late 90's/ early 2000's. Also, Carrie's style is very cohesive. Her Fendi Baguette bag was a huge trend of
the time, for instance, because it was a signature
look in the show. Emily has no signature look in the show, it's all very random. The mismatched patterns, the
occasional streetwear elements, the random Audrey Hepburn tribute. What is going on? Her style is just not cohesive. It's like she's overwhelmed by everything that the
algorithm pushes towards her and she just buys everything. I mean, let's take a quick
look at some of the outfits. I don't want to comment
on every single one because a lot of the problems I have cover the majority of them. For instance, as I said before, the insane pattern mismatching. I'm not saying it can't be done tastefully but it's just overwhelming
in Emily's case. The colors are either
slightly off that they clash. Often there are too many
colors in one outfit that it just looks chaotic and
not in the avant-garde way. Another major trend for her is her hats. Let's be honest, it's mainly our hats
that de-elevate the look from, okay, not great, to did
she get dressed in the dark? At the end of the day, if Emily
was a different character, this wardrobe would make sense. Some people have compared her outfits to Harper from "Wizards of Waverly Place" and Harper is chaotically dressed but it makes sense for her character. She's a chaotic character. Emily seems to always
have everything together and when things don't go her way, she is unrealistically chill. She's just very neutral about everything, so a muted, toned-down
business professional wardrobe would make so much more
sense for her character. Anyway, I didn't figure out a way to properly segue to the
end, but this is the end and rant finally over. I do adore Patricia
Fields work in general, don't get me wrong, I just was super underwhelmed
and honestly disappointed by what "Emily In Paris" produced. Let me know in the comments
if you agree or disagree and I'll see you in my future video.
