Little Women, great expectations

Emma Watson as Meg, Florence Pugh as Amy, Saoirse Ronan
as Jo, and Eliza Scanlen as Beth in Little Women, 2019. Pic: Sony Pictures

I went to see Little Women recently. Somehow, Iʼd managed to avoid ever seeing any of the previous movie versions, so the weight of cultural expectations weighed heavily upon my shoulders as I took my seat in the cinema.

I needn't have worried: it was exquisite.

What I loved about the 2019 version was the director Greta Gerwigʼs vision of 19th-century New England, in particular the beautiful, yet simple, life that the Marches have created for themselves.

Joʼs famously pared-down style, which is characterised as ʻboyishʼ in discussions of the book, chimes with the practical look weʼve come to expect from frontier women depicted in literature. But thatʼs not to say that Saoirse Ronan, as Jo, is styled to look dowdy. Her pre-Raphaelite hair is often offset with a pop of red by way of a cape or, as below, a neckerchief.

Saoirse Ronan, as Jo, and Timothee Chalamet, as Laurie, in
Little Women, 2019. Pic: Sony Pictures

Meanwhile, her linen ensemble on a trip to the beach is something that I would love to wear now, in the year 2020!  

Saoirse Ronan as Jo, in Little Women, 2019. Pic: Sony Pictures

Little Women costume designer Jacqueline Durran tells Hollywood Reporter in this article how she devised four colour palettes and styles for Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth. As someone who knows so little about clothes and creating ‘a look’, I found it fascinating.

Emma Watson as Meg, Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Florence Pugh
as Amy, and Eliza Scanlen as Beth in Little Women, 2019.
Pic: Sony Pictures

Of course the costumes form just one part of the overall aesthetic of a movie. As director Greta Gerwig reveals in this New York Times article, in trying to portray Civil War-era Massachusetts, she turned to the world of visual art for inspiration, trying to replicate the golden ‘light’ of works by artists such as Winslow Homer, Lilly Martin Spencer and Seymour Joseph Guy. 

Knowledge is Power, by Seymour Joseph Guy

What I particularly loved was the relative simplicity of the Marches’ family home. Wood-built and painted in dark sage green, with rooms that were plainly furnished - yet full of love - the family’s home was in contrast to the lavishly appointed, yet austere, mansion owned by chilly Aunt March. 

How could anybody not love the rough-hewn character of the interior of the clapboard house? Or the way its pale blue wash contrasts with the almost mustard tone of the oak window frame? (I'm also loving Meg's choice of fringed print scarf with a modest magnolia-coloured blouse here...)

Emma Watson as Meg in Little Women, 2019. Pic: Sony Pictures

It makes sense that Gerwig, in the New York Times article, characterises the Marches as ‘essentially a hippie family’. I can definitely see why the hippies of the 1960s turned to the aesthetic of the frontier lifestyle as they settled down and started their own families in the 1970s.

Myself, I'm belatedly seeing why generations of young women have loved Louisa May Alcott's book and have fallen under the spell of the March family. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are obliged to work hard but they make the best of their circumstances by engaging in creative outlets (Jo and her writing, Amy and her art), helping others, and shoring up the bonds of sisterhood.

Hard work, creativity, community, relationships.

What more do you need in life?

Meanwhile, I'm poring over stills from the move, taking notes on military-style jackets (thank you, Jo!) and the shades of russet, burnt orange and amber that are dotted throughout the movie's representation of life in New England.

I'll file them away and think about how they will inspire me when I next go shopping.

Do you find that movies influence your style? Would you buy into a look wholesale? Or would you simply adopt a few individual touches from the yearʼs hottest movies in your wardrobe?ʼ