Midge Maisel's Most Iconic Looks on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) knows how to make an impression. Over three seasons, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has followed the housewife-turned-standup comic as she embarked on a career that wasn't exactly welcoming to women in the late 1950s. Branding is important when carving out a space in a predominantly male industry, and Midge has leaned into her femininity while using language that would otherwise be considered unladylike. The aspiring comic wears several hats (both literal and figurative) throughout the show, denoting her role as the perfect daughter, wife, and mother. The success rate varied when it came to fulfilling these responsibilities, but her packed closet has been put to work across New York City and beyond. If clothing is a language, then Midge is fluent in many dialects.

Season 2 took Midge to the chic streets of Paris, an idyllic Catskills vacation setting, and the not-so-glam reality of traveling from venue-to-venue without an alternative dress. Costume designer Donna Zakowska won an Emmy for taking the established candy-colored closet and expanding it to match the new locations and Midge's burgeoning career. A nomination for the third season should be expected: the standup comic’s costumes hit new fancy heights, indulging in the glitz and glamour of tour dates in Las Vegas and Miami. As Midge’s star continues to rise, here are the most important looks from all three seasons.

The Pink Coat of Housewife Perfection (Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot")

Midge was never the blushing bride, as the opening moments of the pilot episode reveal. Rather, she is the one whose blue wedding toast made her guests turn a deeper shade of red, as she turned her own wedding into a dry run for a future career. She might resemble a conventional 1950s housewife, but she certainly doesn't speak like June Cleaver. Present-day Midge was introduced in a resplendent bubblegum pink coat worn over a magenta dress. The head-to-toe monochromatic styling reveals that Midge considers even the smallest of details when it comes to her never less-than-perfect ensemble. As she gleefully announced in the local deli, "We got the rabbi!" her outfit underscored her ability to playfully perform, no matter how mundane the task. However, the trappings of her perfect housewife image could not cover the cracks in her marriage. Later, she got drunk and headed to the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village wearing nothing but her blue lace nightie and the showstopper pink overcoat. An extreme reaction to her husband leaving her, but as she stood on stage baring her soul (and skin) she found something much better.

Beatnick Midge/Shopgirl Midge (Season 1, Episode 5, "Doink")

After she lost her identity as a wife, Midge took steps toward her new career by using her extensive wardrobe to dress the part. Her financial situation had shifted, which meant she had to join the workforce. Living that 9-to-5 life, Midge got a job working the beauty counter at B. Altman, which allowed her to dispel advice in a glamorous setting. Red lipstick paired with an oversized striped bow adds a touch of whimsy to the flawless shopgirl look. In contrast, as she workshopped her standup at the Gaslight, she looked like she had stepped out of Inside Llewyn Davis. The high-waisted cigarette pants, turtleneck, and a simple headband tempered her lavish upbringing. This is Midge stripped down: she's still playing a part, but she hasn't quite figured out what her signature performance aesthetic is going to be. She tried to separate her performance from the woman she was, but she soon came to understand that one without the other doesn't exist.

"The Look" (Season 1, Episode 8, "Thank You and Good Night")

Mrs. Maisel is a title Midge happily played for four years in her time as Joel's (Michael Zegen) wife. Her previously blonde hair was dyed brunette to complete the transformation from a single woman to spouse, but when Joel left her there was no Felicity-style drastic haircut. Instead, Midge capitalized on this experience to hone her creative voice. Her husband cheated on her in the least imaginative way possible, but she wasn't going to respond in such an unoriginal way. The Season 1 finale was a culmination of Midge's hard work, in which she married her former life with her newfound vocation. Her first standup at the Gaslight was as an embittered drunk housewife, her rebirth was the flip side: the glamorous ideal in the perfect black cocktail dress with flirty bows on the straps, satin gloves, and double-strand pearls. She rose out of the wreckage of her marriage in an outfit that she would have worn to host a dinner party in her former life.

Parisian Chic (Season 2, Episode 1, "Simone")

A trip to Paris opened the second season, which saw Midge and her father Abe (Tony Shalhoub) head to the City of Lights, to convince her mom that she should return to the Upper West Side. Packing light isn't in Midge's vocabulary, but she made do with just a few coordinated looks. She didn't change her style to match the chic Parisian women, so instead, she eyed the fashion of every passing person while her parents' marriage hung in the balance. Without her new signature black dress uniform and only a smattering of French in her vocabulary, she still ended up making an impression on stage at Madame Arthur (Paris' first drag cabaret). In Paris, Midge regaled the audience under the moniker Miss America in a pastel ensemble. A lighter performance look as she was unburdened from her Manhattan baggage.

Upstate Midge (Season 2, Episode 4, "We're Going to the Catskills!")

Summer in the city was actually spent upstate, which gave an insight into just how many clothes Midge and her mother consider reasonable for a vacation. No wonder they needed a U-Haul for all their luggage. Abe's suggestion to re-wear a dress to a picnic was met with incredulous laughter from his wife and daughter: there would be no repeats. The only outfit Midge repeated was her onstage uniform (and there were moments in which she had to improvise). This was also the first time Midge incorporated bold floral prints into her wardrobe, which underscores the difference between how she dresses for different locations. On vacation, she leaned into ultra-feminine colors and prints (yes, even more feminine than the ones she typically wears). The swimsuit contest was part of "Catskills Midge" (she won eight times in a row across a variety of categories and age groups), but her new single status prohibited her from reclaiming her sash. Even though the separated Maisels have fallen into a comfortable routine, their modern arrangement confused the other regulars at the Steiner resort. Conscious uncoupling is many decades away from entering the vernacular.

Patriotic Style (Season 3, Episode 1, "Strike Up the Band")

Midge is riding high from the boost musician Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain) has given her career, asking the comic to be his opening act. A prelude to the big tour, the third season kicks off with a performance at a USO show. Never one to pass up an opportunity to lean into a theme, Midge switches out the khaki pants "travelling outfit" for a showstopper gown in patriotic red, white, and blue. She knows how to woo and work a crowd of baying army guys: the big bow of her extravagant outfit is the punchline to a gag about revealing clothing (later a gust of wind will cause a Marilyn Monroe moment that will come back to haunt her).

Making an Entrance (Season 3, Episode 5, "It’s Comedy or Cabbage")

Both the costume and production design teams create visual magic on Maisel, which is no more evident than when Midge walks through the grand lobby at the Hotel Fontainebleau in Miami. The caped floral and polka dot summer dress flutters in the breeze, which only adds to the impossibly chic aesthetic. This hotel is famed for its "Staircase to Nowhere," which Midge learns from the brochure is so guests can show off their fabulous attire. A small coat room is the only thing you will find at the top of the stairs, but this unusual feature is perfect for the Midge Maisels of the world. "That new green dress is just dying for some attention," she giddly notes. However, Midge doesn’t need a staircase to show off her couture; the world is her runway.

Clothing Intimacy (Season 3, Episode 5, "It’s Comedy or Cabbage")

Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) has a habit of showing up like a hot fairy godmother, dishing out career advice or saving Midge from dudes hitting on her at three in the afternoon. In Miami, the heat gets turned up when the infamous comedian asks her out to dinner, first stopping by a work thing he has to do. The black and pink floral frock Midge changes into after her act is perfect for an impromptu TV appearance, eye banging across drinks, and a swoon-worthy slow dance. But it is the walk back to Lenny’s room, which provides the costume highlight. Delivering intense intimacy via a borrowed jacket slung over Midge’s shoulders, the sexual tension hits fever pitch heights. It is a pure fantasy moment as night turns to day, creating an image of a perfect couple who gaze and smile at each other knowingly. A spell that is broken when Midge returns this garment, opting to head back to her hotel alone. She is being sensible, even if their chemistry is calling out for more.

 

Nautical Stripes (Season 3, Episode 6, "Kind of Bleau")

Midge isn’t going to let Shy’s bad mood get in the way of an opportunity to wear the sailing outfit she packed. Rather than just your typical Bretton affair, this has a dash of orange vertical stripe whimsy to separate her from the sailboat’s crew. Nautical but make it fashion, which Midge has expertly paired with a headscarf, belt, and manicure in a similar tangerine tone. The white cat-eye shades further reinforce the notion that Midge probably recreated this get-up from the pages of Vogue. We are never under the impression that she is sartorially original, she might be able to riff when it comes to her set but each outfit change has been thought over, long and hard.

Back in Pink (Season 3, Episode 8, "A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo)

Mirroring the first ever episode, the head-to-toe magenta outfit is now representative of her onstage act (it is also notable that this is the shade on all the Season 3 key art, a go-to power color). A venue like Harlem’s Apollo, calls for a special dress and Midge no longer sticks to the set uniform she unveiled at the end of the first season. However, this sparkly pink gown and its giant bow add to her nervousness about performing after comedy legend Moms Mabley (Wanda Sykes). In a rare moment, Midge steps out of her self-centered bubble: she shouldn’t be on after stand-up royalty as a newcomer because she hasn’t earned it. Dealing with the racial conflict of this period is still a Maisel blindspot, but Midge’s self-awareness during this sequence stands out as much as her dress does.

Midge understands the power clothing has in crafting an onstage persona, as well as maintaining the put-together image she has spent years perfecting. Season 3 blends facets of the Mrs. Maisel persona: the black dress is part of her emotional warrior arsenal, while the rest of the color-soaked wardrobe represents the exuberance and confidence of Midge. As she begins to make a name for herself, the on-stage wardrobe has also expanded, delivering another season of jaw-dropping costumes.

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Emma Fraser has wanted to write about TV since she first watched My So-Called Life in the mid-90s, finally getting her wish over a decade later. Follow her on Twitter at @frazbelina.