Few TV shows have become an instant favorite of mine. They have to incorporate the perfect combination of humor and heartfelt emotion, give me characters I can root for, and it must leave me with the feel-good-fuzzies. The show by no means needs to have good fashion sense, but when it has all of the above?! I’m laughing, I’m crying into my popcorn, and I’m feverishly googling to figure out the exact clothing pieces everyone’s wearing.
Shrinking on Apple TV+ is one of these rare gems for me, and Liz, the next door neighbor, has outfits that have made me FANGIRL.
I Want To Dress Like Liz From “Shrinking” – Taking Cue From One Of My Favorite TV Characters
While the pieces incorporated into Liz’s outfits are great items alone, the reasons her outfits speak to me is because of how they are styled.
Rarely is Liz wearing one top – her outfits are almost always layered. There’s usually an unexpected twist, like a ball cap with a tailored blazer, or multiple stripes across the whole look. And a smart pop of color that turns your head is pretty much a given.
It doesn’t hurt that I recognized some of my favorite brands in her fits – Anine Bing, Clare V, MOTHER, Birkenstock, Adidas, to name a few. It was like watching my own personal style, but done way better (shoutout to the shows stylist, Allyson B Fanger, for being the true genius behind it all).
Maybe my favorite part about Liz’s outfit styling in Shrinking is how often a look was repeated. Socks with stripes were commonly seen scrunched above a pair of Birkenstocks or an adidas sneaker. A red striped shirt was used multiple ways, sometimes as the main focal point, and other times just peeking from behind a cardigan or pair of overalls. Little touches like this made her character feel real, like she was pulling these outfits from a well worn closet.
How To Dress Like Liz From Shrinking
There’s a lot that makes Liz’s outfits feel so special to me, but when I really wanted to get practical in gleaning inspiration for my own everyday outfits, I sifted out a few commonalities that I loved the most.
Layer Your Tops
The most obvious, striking quality of Liz’s outfits is her layered tops.
While her bottoms are cute (often sporting jeans from The Row, Veronica Beard, and even Levi’s), it’s her graphic tees under cool jackets, striped sweaters over a clean top, and oversized button-down’s worn open over a perfectly-matched t-shirt that make you stop and take notice.
Add An Unexpected Accessory
Look closely and you’ll see that Liz was commonly sporting a chic scarf tied around her neck or donning a few buttons pinned to her sweatshirt.
Elements like this tell me the shows stylist isn’t just good at putting together sharp looks, but knows exactly what’s about to be the next big thing.
If you read any trend forecasting reports, even from just the fashionistas on social media, you’ll see neck scarfs mentioned in nearly all of them. Whether tied up in a chic way like Liz has for her hikes, or pulled up over your head to stay warm until summer draws near, this is an accessory that adds a lot of personality.
Don’t Be Afraid of Color or Pattern Mixing
I love seeing Liz rock horizontal stripes on a top with vertical stripes on a track pant. She also is commonly seen wearing a colorful flannel stacked with another colorful graphic tee.
But it doesn’t always have to be a bunch of loud color. Some of Liz’s most notable outfits were completely neutral with only a colorful shoe to accent. Sometimes it was just a sock with a purposeful stripe of color, and what resulted was a much more striking outfit than what would have been with a plain white sock.
Update Your Sock Drawer
Speaking of socks, some of us are still wearing them like they’re meant to be felt and not seen. Thankfully, Liz shows us that crew socks are no longer just for teenagers, and they can do wonders for an outfit.
I love how the socks are never necessarily the focal point of her outfits, yet they sneakily steal the show the moment she sits down and her pants lift up to show them off. She doesn’t go big with them, either. Instead of the nearly-knee-highs the kids are wearing, she’s sporting a very easy mid-crew sock most of the time (Le Bon Shoppe Her Varsity Socks, to be precise).
The best sock trick Liz teaches us? Skip the all-white pairs.
When In Doubt, Throw On A Hat
When most people would keep their hair clean and styled with a finely tuned outfit, Liz was popping on a baseball cap over unbrushed bedhead for an unexpected pairing to her tailored blazers. It’s these sharp juxtapositions that make an outfit feel personalized and confident, rather than just plucked from the rack, and that’s my favorite part about fashion.
Sure, overalls over a cool tee would be a fine oufit to wear – but adding the baseball cap? Perfection.
Why go on a hike without a sun hat? Your skin is better off for it, plus it’s freaking adorable.
When in doubt, a hat levels up an entire look (and gives you an extra day between washing, which I’ll gladly take).
Xx,
Amy
Let’s be friends on Instagram or come hang with me over on TikTok: Sharing life with my husband + kid, daily style & beauty faves, and never-ending Taylor Swift dance-athons…all with a good dose of relatable mom nonsense, too.
