The Fashion, Friendship, and Feminism of The Bold Type

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We love The Bold Type  because it doesn’t hide its femininity.

Unlike a lot of other shows and movies, this one does not portray liking fashion and makeup and manicures as a weakness.

Rather, The Bold Type uses classically feminine ideas as a vessel to show that badassery can come cloaked in Givenchy.

Despite the somewhat predictable plotlines and borderline cheesiness, this show passes with flying colors when it comes to the three F’s:

Fashion, Friendship, and Feminism.

(Like seriously, is that our perfect slogan or is that our perfect slogan?)

 

The Fashion

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves: does Scarlet have hallways or runways? With Jane, Kat, and Sutton strutting down them in leather pants and thigh-high boots, we sometimes feel as though we’re in the front row at a fashion show rather than a high-rise Manhattan office building.

We were hooked on The Bold Type as soon as we saw this trio dressed to the nines, holding hands, and screaming into the passing subway train in the opening scene. We were confused, but we were hooked.

J, K & S are bold in their love lives, their careers, and their fashion. And obviously it helps that they don’t exactly have to follow an “office dress code.” We will never forget when Sutton walked into work wearing a plunging, form-fitting jumpsuit; it gave us goosebumps (and near heart attacks).

When we were putting together our own outfits for this post, we constantly asked ourselves if we were being “bold enough.” These three are always ahead of the fashion curve, so we did not want to settle for anything less.

 

The Friendship

The always-have-your-back brand of friendship in this show feels like a breath of fresh air after decades of being fed stereotypes about selfish, backstabbing female friends.

No matter what life throws their way, Jane, Sutton, and Kat always show up for each other.

 

 

When Sutton was afraid to take a position as an underpaid assistant to further her dream of having a career in fashion, Kat offered up her own apartment where she could live rent-free to put her financial worries at ease.

When Jane faced her fears and got tested for the BRCA gene mutation, Kat and Sutton dropped everything to come with her and hold her hand, both while she got tested and while she learned her results.

And when Kat started to question her feelings towards Adena and own sexuality, Jane and Sutton helped her accept herself as she was, even if she didn’t fully understand it.

 

The Feminism

We could write an entire post about the feminism in this show (and we probably will eventually), but for now we will focus on one facet: Jacqueline Carlyle.

Jacqueline is the Editor-In-Chief of Scarlet magazine, and she turns the “Miranda Priestly” character on its head by coupling her authority with compassion and vulnerability, particularly in the season finale.

(We won’t ruin it for you, but it is a must watch).

Women in power are often portrayed as “bitchy” or “unlikable,” but Jacqueline is neither. She knows what she wants and how to get it, but what sets her apart is that she pays as much attention to the means as she does to the ends. She listens, she apologizes when she makes mistakes, and she welcomes fresh ideas, even if they are not her own.

Jacqueline demonstrates exactly how the ability to empathize is a competitive edge.

We want a boss like Jacqueline. We each want to be a boss like Jacqueline. And so, we will leave you with one of our favorite quotes from her, which perfectly captures what many of us see as the essence of the female experience:

 

“I expect you to have adventures. I expect you to fall in love, to get your hearts broken. I expect you to have sex with the wrong people. To have sex with the right people, to make mistakes and make amends, take a leap and make a splash. And I expect you to unleash holy hell on anybody who tries to hold you back.”

Sabrina’s Wearing:

| H&M Dotted Mesh Top | H&M Leather Pants | Zara Gray Flats (similar) |Amazon Velvet Statement Strap Purse |Amazon Birdcage Earrings |

Hannah’s Wearing:

| Goodwill Gray T-Shirt (similar)| Goodwill Pinstriped Wide Leg Pants (similar)| Vince Camuto Strappy Heels (similar) | Target Black Felt Hat | Daisy Chain Layered Necklaces (similar)| Goodwill White Clutch (similar)|

 

 

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