Style Icons from Films We Love: Margot Tenenbaum’s Nonchalant Preppy Fashion Sense

Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) is one legendary film for a lot of reasons, and one of them is Margot Tenenbaum.Played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Margot is one of the three once-gifted Tenenbaum children. Her personal life, just like her siblings’, is thrown into chaos when their estranged father returns to reconnect with them before he dies. Margot is the adopted child who became a brilliant literary playwright at such a young age. As an adult, she is always chain-smoking, always looking eternally bored yet moneyed with her couldn’t-care-less attitude. Her waspy fashion sense that contradicts her rebellious personality is what made her so iconic style-wise.

Here are some basic styling tips you can do to channel Margot Tenenbaum:

STRIPED POLO DRESS + MINK COAT

Margot’s idiosyncratic style looks moodily cool in this Wes Anderson’s trail-blazing black comedy. And this outfit is one of the most memorable ones. Country club looks such as this retro sporty striped dress should look odd and weird with a trench mink coat. But for this character, it just works. Her a la mode oversized fur coat makes her polo dress look debonair. She also wears loafers most of the time. Beauty-wise, her perfect blunt bob styled with a barrette helps define the look, along with her dark, smudged eyeliner.

ELEGANTLY SEXY NEGLIGEE

One of the remarkable and hands-down favorite style moments in this film is when Margot is in a bathroom sink smoking, in her neutral-colored négligée. Her style is just moody and retro, like she stole clothes from her mother’s closet, yet she looks so cool and chic. Put on your taupe slip dress, rock that hair clip, and go.

Seriously though, pulling off Margot Tenenbaum’s distinctive style can be one of the cool things you can do to play up your sartorial choices.