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Welcome to another installment in our series on getting workwear inspiration from television shows — while Selina Meyer in Veep and Claire Underwood from House of Cards were obvious choices, I asked the readers for further suggestions. I was thrilled when a number of people mentioned Diana Trout's style from Younger because I love that show, and taking a look at a creative professional is always fun.
Psst: we've also rounded up the best sites to find anything worn on TV or in movies, and talked a lot about workwear inspiration from TV, including our breakdowns of Selina Meyer's style secrets (from Veep) and Claire Underwood's style (in House of Cards)!
The Plot of Younger
For those of you not familiar with the 30-minute comedy on TVLand, at the start of the show, main character Liza (played by Sutton Foster) finds herself in a pickle: about to turn 40, getting divorced, and suddenly needing a job after being a stay-at-home mom for 18 years.
She finds herself unable to get even an entry level job in her old career in the publishing world, so a friend comes up with a plan: She can simply rewind her resume to when she was 26 and pretend, in general, to be Younger.
She is hired at the small publishing house Empirical, working as an assistant to the esteemed and rising editor Diana Trout, who's played with grace and gravitas by actress Miriam Shor. In early episodes Diana is more of a villainous Devil Wears Prada type of boss; in later seasons she becomes more of a friend — and because she is (unbeknownst to her) the same age as Liza, she represents in many ways the path that Liza didn't take.
(Hilary Duff plays a young and rising editor at the same publishing house, Nico Tortorella plays the very cute 30-year-old tattoo artist Liza starts to date, and Peter Hermann plays Charles, the recently divorced publisher of Empirical who really, really wishes Liza weren't a 26-year-old junior staffer. I am on Team Charles, FWIW.)
It's cheesy fun and I highly recommend the show!
How to Get Diana Trout's Style from Younger
OK — without further ado, let's take a look at how to get Diana Trout's style from Younger…
Step 1: Get a Huge Collection of Statement Necklaces
I have been known to rock a statement necklace or two in the past, but Diana Trout's collection of statement necklaces puts mine to shame!
Statement necklaces are not for everyone, and even harder to pull off well at work, at least in a conservative office — but on Diana they add a heaviness to her looks that sort of feels like it adds to her gravitas in general.
By the same token, they're often such witty accents (note the fish necklace in the fifth picture!) that they also lighten her otherwise severe style.
Great Statement Necklaces Like Diana's
Stay tuned for a mini-roundup of fun statement necklaces. As of 2024, our usual favorites include Alexis Bittar, Karine Sultan, and Bauble Bar; Nordstrom also has a whole category for them.
How to Get Diana Trout's Style: Opt for Black and White
Like Claire Underwood, Diana Trout goes for the classic pairing of black and white. Everything is paired in an artistic way, though, and because she's a fan of the classic red lip, the whole look is sophisticated, put-together, and chic.
Get Workwear Inspiration from Diana Trout: Choose Sharp Blazers
I am drooling over Diana's blazer collection. She favors white blazers that bring a light and airy vibe to what can be a dark New Yorker's wardrobe, but she also likes blazers with an almost architectural vibe. I'm a little obsessed with the colorful blazer in picture #2 — I spent much of the episode Googling and trying to find it!
Statement Blazers Like Diana's
Hunting for a luxe statement blazer? 2024 favorites include Smythe, include McQueen, L'Agence, Veronica Beard, The Fold, Armani, and Anine Bing.
Diana Trout's Style Secret: Play to Your Strengths
Jewel tones are a natural with the actress's coloring — dark hair, pale skin, blue eyes. They bring life and color to her otherwise sedate black-and-white wardrobe; make for standout, notice-me pieces; and occasionally even give her a break from the red lip. (In addition to the jewel tones above, you can see a lot of her red dress collection below.)
Finally: An Ode to Belts
I would not have thought a beige/tan/leopard-belt scheme would work with Diana's primarily black, white, and red wardrobe, but it really does work well. If you're the kind of woman who likes leopard, note that it pairs really well with red dresses. (Also: Sequin shoe dresses are not for every office — know yours!)
Great Belts Like Diana's
As of 2024, some of our favorite brands to check for women's work belts include Brooks Brothers, M.M.LaFleur, and Tory Burch; also keep an eye on The Outnet and Nordstrom Rack for sales. For inexpensive belts, readers love J.Crew Factory, Banana Republic Factory, and Ann Taylor.
Ladies, what are your thoughts on how to get Diana Trout's style from Younger? Do you envy her style, find it cartoonish, or prefer to pick one or two style tips for yourself and move on?
MJ
Excited that this review series is back!
I actually think her style is not one I would want to emulate…at all. When the series first started, she almost seemed like a caricature of 90s throwback (because she was supposed to be “old”). Her wardrobe is expensive, but nowhere near as droolworthy as Good Wife clothing, especially because it’s far less tailored. It reminds me a lot of Kim Catrall’s in S*x and the City.
PrettyPrimadonna
Agree with all of this. Individual pieces might be cute, but in general, she looks like she’s in costume.
Stephanie
Totally agree – particularly with respect to the necklaces. Many of them are ridiculous. I thought they were making a mockery of the trend.
Anonymous
I love Younger! And #TeamCharles too. I could never pull off Diana’s outfits but I like (most of) them on her. Definitely not work appropriate for finance or law like Alicia Florrick, but I think it’s realistic for her workplace.
Ellen
I watched this. I wish I could look like her when I had kid’s and was 40. She has men lookeing to have s-x with her who are much younger then her. I also have men who want to have s-x with me, but do NOT want to do anything more serius, like getting MARRIED! FOOEY! Where are the men who want BOTH! I can find a guy to get MARRIED, I would be happy to have s-x with him. YAY!!!!!
Gemma
How to get Diana Trout look from Younger? Hire Patricia Field as your stylist.
MJ
That makes sense why it reminds me of SATC!
Anonymous
It would be great if you could showcase inspiration from someone who isn’t a skinny white woman.
Anonymous
Skinny black woman? Jessica Pearson (Suits)
Pompom
Annalise Keating HTGAWM? https://thetake.com/show/14/how-to-get-away-with-murder-clothes-fashion
Anon
What? You sound like you are just stirring things up. Her size or color are neither relevant to the discussion on fashion and style.
Anonymous
“Stir things up” by wanting diversity? Size has a lot to do with clothing…
Anon
Featuring Diana Trout’s style has nothing to do with any statement on diversity or inclusion/exclusion is all I am saying.
OP
She’s the third in a line of skinny white women in this series, is all I am saying.
Anon
And things like choosing sharp blazers and playing to your strengths are considerations independent of size.
PrettyPrimadonna
*SNAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPS*
Houda
I liked some of the earlier Olivia Pope outfits
Anonymous
Would love to see a similar article on Lucy Liu’s style in ‘Elementary’! She plays Watson and always has these fantastic women’s ties on
Violet
Fantastic everything!! love those sack dresses and interesting prints. She’s the best!
Anonymous
I love her clothes, but wouldn’t call them business-y.
Rachel Bickert
How about Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) from “Madam Secretary”? I love her style so much.
Anonymous
Agreed. Love love love. Sometimes you can find the outfits on wornontv dot net
anon
I like the jewel tones (I have similar coloring), but the belts and statement necklaces are pretty much the opposite of my style!
Anon
I’m not familiar with the show and definitely would not want to emulate this style. What. On. Earth.
anon
The women who can pull off this high drama style seem to all have a similar look: long in the face, sharp features, high contrast coloring. They also seem to be tall without being broad shouldered or sporty looking. This style formula definitely needs a “your results may vary” disclaimer.
tazdevil
I can’t stand Diana Trout’s style. It makes her look like a ridiculous fashion victim – an American iteration of Ab-Fab. If you are looking for a model of a sophisticated older women, Allison on Homeland (who died while trying to defect to Russia) is my style muse. I don’t care for her politics, but I did love her style!!!
Alisha
Love this series! Would love to see Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project. I love her colorful style
G
I really like this series and particularly this post, because the hypothetical office here is corporate but not the typical law office or similar. It’s different. And after treating with a “different” kind of corporate, I hear the voices that say it would be nice to deal with a different kind of figures/body images/colourings. While some pieces of advice do apply to all, there are definitely other considerations to be made with a more curvy figure or as a Black. I am Black, I love wax fabrics and I work in a corporate (less formal but still formal) environment and I love to find ways and inspiration to wear garments out of wax fabrics to work (and I do). Also, those who watch how to get away with murder will notice that Annalise Keating always wears wigs and never sport her afro hair in public. You will only see it when she’s depressed and kind of neglecting herself. What’s that about? More generally speaking, is natural black hair compatible with corporate/professional (it may depend on where you live. Here in Germany it’s never been an issue for me)?
Anonymous
I don’t think it’s worth doing, but of all the actresses/characters in television series’ about work, I most love Vanessa Palmer (Portia de Rossi) from “Better Off Ted.” She wears a different stunningly gorgeous suit in every episode, sometimes multiple suits an episode.
It’s not worth doing because the answer to “How to Get Vanessa Palmer’s Style” is: Be very, very, very rich.
Kat G
Actually, we interviewed her stylist a thousand years ago! https://corporette.com/better-off-ted-interview-with-veronicas-stylist/
anon
Surprised to see so much bashing here – I have this woman’s exact coloring (if not her figure), and I am 100% in for this post. Younger corporate attorney who thinks that even in my BigLaw office, I could (try) to pull some of these looks off.
Lv
Id like to see Olivia pope and angela Valdés from Power