The final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-23) is underway, and the show continues to be witty, effervescent, funny, and stylish as hell. Costume designer Donna Zakowska keeps knocking it out of the park with her historically accurate, character-driven, and ultra fashionable costume designs… which this season, span both early 1960s but also flash forwards to the next few decades (see our reviews of earlier seasons too!). And because Midge’s character (along with her mother, Rose), fashion is an important and entertaining plot point. Let’s look at some of the great looks seen through episode 6, trying to avoid spoilers but some things are going to come up!
Midge Maisel looks great as she navigates her comedy career, including a new stint as a writer on a popular talk show:
Dressed in pink for the airport — LOVE the darker pink accents on the coat collar/cuffs/lining/hat coordinating with the dress underneath.
Doing standup on a boat, she’s in this SUPER CUTE navy and pink sailor-collar dress.
For her first day at the office, she realizes she needs a “sitting” dress — something that will look good both standing and sitting. Red is Midge’s “power color,” according to an interview given by Zakowska with IndieWire.
Another work outfit.
For the flash forwards, Zakowska had her work cut out for her. She told IndieWire,
“That was really rather drastic to suddenly project who was Midge and [manager] Susie [Alex Borstein] 30 or 40 years from when we knew them. It’s hard to know how to really portray that, and, luckily, we had a very good prosthetics team. I just tried to think what happened and what does that mean in terms of the clothes and the characters and adhering to different periods?”
On stage in the 1960s, Midge wears sparkles with a hideous – but fashionable for the time – bow collar.
For a future marriage in the 1970s, Midge wears a cream pants suit with a veil. Check those wiiide lapels!
On 60 Minutes in the 1980s, she’s all sparkle.
Visiting her son in Israel, looking OH so fabulous in her turban, huge sunglasses, and shawl.
Wearing a hideous-to-me but on-trend hat and coat at synagogue in the 1980s. It’s the gold buttons. I hate gold buttons.
The other fashion standout is, as always, Midge’s mother Rose, from whom Midge gets her stylishness. In the 1960s:
Rose looks SO DAMN GOOD in this grey and red traveling ensemble.
At dinner, after the theater, in navy; the hat and necklace pump up what would otherwise be a boring-to-me navy dress.
At home in a burgundy suit with fab jewelry.
Attending a wedding at their home in blue paisley.
But it’s flash-forward Rose who, ready to attend Midge’s 1970s wedding in Hawaii, absolutely blows me away:
THIS CAFTAN. I MUST HAVE IT, from the amazing colors, the large floral print, the hanging sleeves, and the obi belt.
A few other characters/outfits of note:
Mei makes a tough decision in a red coat and blue tall hat.
This dancer at the industrial show has an apron that is chef’s kiss good.
Zelda gets married (sorry, spoilers!) in a traditional Russian? Ukrainian? outfit that Shirley Maisel (ex-husband Joel’s mother) sews her into.
All kinds of beautiful embroidery!
And that floral headdress!
Zelda is Polish. I believe that’s a traditional Polish costume. :-)
Love the red “Sitting” dress (tartan skirt and red jacket). adds to wish/to-make list
The photo of Midge in the Synagogue with Suzy…..Suzy looks SOOO like Dawn French there!
I’m sorry, but I can’t watch this show. It was on my watchlist for the longest time, but then I heard about Midge outing a young Black man during her act during season 3. And to make matters worse, she offered some half-hearted apology. She sounds like a terrible person.
I haven’t watched since Season Three for that reason.
She is a terrible person a lot of the time, but she does get punished by the fates (or casting agents) when she does terrible things (like outing the Black performer).
I think Zelda is Polish?
Well now I feel myself pulled three ways in a savage struggle between that excellent turban-topped ensemble, that superbly sexy sailor suit and my abiding love of beautiful women wearing spangles (Unfortunate collar or no) when it comes to rating the Best Look in this particular fashion show.
Sadly the caftan does nothing for me, so I’m not able to pick a compromise candidate.
That front on Zelda’s dress has exactly the same embrodery that my late grandmother used to make. In fact I might even have one of the bedcovers with it somewhere. I am Ukrainian, but I cannot be sure it’s Ukrainian dress overall, rather some mix of predominantly Polish and some Ukrainian traditional elements (we have a very varied national dress depending on a region).
I’m afraid the final season, with the exception of a few scenes, left me cold.
We loved most of the earlier seasons, but are struggling with this last one. Some of the flash forwards are amusing, but they are REALLY over-doing all the fast talking stuff to the detriment of actually showing the standup routines. Those ex-in-laws are AWFUL characters, I just want to scream at them to shut the f up. I’ll be relieved when it’s done tbh
I’ve never been a fan of flash forwards. The only time I think a show has made it work was the Parks and Rec finale. I just think that you are given a certain amount of time to tell a story, and what happens after should be left up to the imagination of your audience. Telling us what happens for the rest of their lives takes some of the fun out of it.
Midge and Rose are my fashion idols!
Zelda’s wedding outfit was definitely inspired by the folk wedding outfit from the region around the Polish town of Cracow: https://myvimu.com/exhibit/54788698-weselny-stroj-krakowski