New Girl isn’t back for a few months and the cast members are busy with their summer projects, but as some fashion brands such as French Connection are unveiling their fall collections, here at TV Ate My Wardrobe we thought we would pick out a few potential looks for certain characters on the shows we love (and whose wardrobes we covet). New Girl has been a big part of both the “Look of the Week” and more in-depth articles so it is the perfect place to start with this fantasy costuming feature.
Costume designer Debra McGuire has been fantastic at subtly evolving Jess’ look during season 2 telling Entertainment Weekly “that the sexier costumes are due to the storyline, there seems to be more sensuality and sexuality going on.” Bold colors and patterns (mostly stripes or polka dots) are a Jessica Day staple, but as monochrome is on trend this season we are likely to see more of this bleeding into the costuming choices. We have chosen three different outfits from the new French Connection A/W 13 collection that we could imagine Jess wearing.
The Hatched Horses Cap Sleeve Dress is the kind of outfit that Jess could wear at her new teaching job, especially if it was paired with a black blazer. This type of dress can be dressed up or down, the model in the photo has gone for the latter option (thanks to the flats) but with some pumps Jess could be out on a date with maybe beau Nick. The horse pattern is perfect for Jess even though it deviates from her usual stripes or polka dots as it is still whimsical and girly. The matching box clutch might be a too many horses for one outfit, but it would certainly be a perfect accessory for one of the many bright pieces in Jess’ closet.
Before you say this is something Cece would wear as the Solar Pleated Dress is edgier than Jess’ girly style, let’s look at how Jess’ clothes occasionally feature an unexpected item. This is usually when Jess is out of her comfort zone and in the season 2 episode “Models” Jess wore an outfit that is reminiscent of the one above. While that night ended in a falling out with Cece (and a boob slap fight) it would be good to see Jess step away from a bold color palette and wear something like the dress above. This dress has a strong structure and the pleated leather-look skirt adds a sense of frivolity. The horse box clutch from the first outfit could make this more Jess and despite it being all black, the shape and fitted quality makes this more of a Jess dress than first impressions might suggest. Zooey Deschanel wore a black ensemble to the Fox Upfront Presentation and showed that a lack of color is also in her fashion wheelhouse.
The Fox Knitted Jumper might be considered the most obvious choice of the three looks but so far the New Girl costume design team has stayed away from overt animal motifs like this one, perhaps because it is too on the cutesy nose. New Girl has come far enough now to embrace both the sexier side of this character along with the ribbon hat wearing Jess. This would be perfect for those days in the loft paired with either a pair of skinny jeans, short wool skirt or high waisted shorts (as long as Schmidt hasn’t put a ban on them again). A fox jumper on the Fox network could be an eye roll moment, but I think they could make it work (said in my best Tim Gunn voice)
What do you think of these outfit choices for Jess?
To see more of French Connections A/W 13 collection head here.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
