10 Best Blue Costumes from Modern Movies

Blue – The Color of Trust and Reliability

Blue is a color of vast spaces like the sea and sky. It can soothe the mind as well as the soul. It can make us feel a sense of security, of trust and reliability. It is also a color that peaks our imaginations. It’s a color of noble characteristics, representing all that is good and virtuous.

The color is equally favored by men and women and the color Navy blue looks good on practically any skin tone. It’s the most popular color in world. That said, blue can also be seen as cold and passive, which is why it’s sometimes used to depict sadness.

This page ranks the 10 best blue costumes worn by women in modern movies, meaning they depict their own time period. Blue costumes from fantasy/sci-fi movies and period movies have their own unique lists. Also Teal costume will get their own posts.

The costumes are ranked by aesthetics, memorability and how they suit the character/film. Articles of clothing, like undergarments, cover-ups, sleepwear, outerwear, swimwear etc are not included. There is an honorable mention that that fits into all three categories. It’s so special that it gets its own place of distinction.

List Subject to Change.

10. Kat Stratford from 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Designer: Kimberly A. Tillman

Following in the path of Clueless, 10 Things I Hate about you is a modern reinterpretation of a classic. Instead of Austen, it uses the basis of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and set in high-school.

Younger sister Bianca wants to date but can’t until her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) does and thus Patrick is asked to date Kat so Bianca can date and go to the prom. In classic rom-com fashion the two eventually fall for each other.

Kat’s dark blue prom dress is very simple which suits her character and the sense of minimalist style of the late 90s. It’s a classic slip dress which is meant to look like an undergarment. They are traditionally cut on the bias and have spaghetti straps. It also has a low back and is floor length.

The fit of the dress is a little big which is due to it not being done in time for the movie but it works within Kat’s anti-social and shrewish character. She wears a pearl necklace, earrings and a lighter blue shawl.

9. Mia Dolan from La La Land (2016)

Designer: Mary Zophres

La La Land is a film made in the vein of classic movies of the Golden age of Hollywood. It has wistful reverence towards dreamers and sacrifice in the pursuit of ambition.

At the start of the film Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress looking for her big break. Her friends convince to attend a party on Christmas in hopes that she will meet a person who can help launch her career. She instead gets her car towed and wanders into the bar where Sebastian is playing. This bar encounter is revisited at the end of the movie in Mia’s fantasy when she sees Sebastian performing after they break-up.

This bright cobalt blue dress is what she wears to the party and during the “Someone in the Crowd” number. Like many of her dresses in the movie, the dress has a good sense of movement which is perfect for dancing. The bodice has a sheer over layer that is a halter neckline.

8. Lorelei Lee from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Designer: William Travilla

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is very much known for the iconic song, but Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) displays some very keen logic throughout the movie. Her personal philosophy towards romance is that there needs to be financial security involved. She can’t focus on romance and love if she is constantly worried about money, thus eroding the relationship.

This means inherited wealth or coupon clipping is all the same in her viewpoint even though she has a taste for diamonds. She makes the point that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty, one doesn’t marry someone just because they are rich or attractive but it helps.

No one has an issue with a man marrying a lovely lady but a woman marrying a rich man is problematic and she makes her point very clearly at end of movie to her fiancé’s father whom she is trying to win over which she does with her intelligence.

In this scene Lorelei wears a bright navy blue dress suit combo. The jacket is shorter in the front and longer in the back, reaching the waist. It has a high standing collar and is cut at an angle to look like a Queen Anne neckline with the dress. The sleeves are three-quarter and have angular cuffs. There is a bright purple detail on the cuffs, on the collar and around the neckline.

The dress is made from the same fabric and appears to be strapless. It is knee length and has a matching fabric belt. She carries a gray fur stole and wears a bracelet with earrings. This costume has a good mix of being stylish, sexy and very lady-like.

7. Princess Mia from The Princess Diaries (2001)

Designer: Gary Jones

Very loosely based on the novel by Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries is a comedic coming-of-age story about a shy and clumsy American teenager named Mia (Anne Hathaway.) When her estranged Grandmother comes to town, Mia finds out she is next in line to the throne of a small European country.

After her royal identity is known she attends her first State Dinner. At this dinner Mia embarrasses herself with her clumsy moments and lack of refinement for etiquette. However her lack of sophistication does make the evening more entertaining.

Her dress for this function is a cornflower blue. The neckline is rounded with a standing collar. Her sleeves are long and there are fabric cover buttons at the wrist to secure the sleeves.

The waistline is high with an over skirt attached at the waistline giving the dress elegance and bit of movement to the sheath silhouette. She wears a diamond jewelry set with this look. This costume is an homage to the dress worn by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to the 1997 Nobel Prize Banquet.

Also, shout out to her blue dress from the sequel!

6. Romy from Romy and Michle’s High School Reunion (1997)

Designer: Mona May

 Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion tell the story of two best friend who attempt to impress their high school class by pretending to be more successful than they are. In the end the two decide to be true to themselves and just have fun at the reunion, acting to wear some very colorful  late 90s outfits. 

Romy’s (Mira Sorvino) short blue dress is iconic. Its sleeveless dress with an empire waisted in a metallic blue fabric with silver accents. Th most notable feature of the dress is the silver arrow shape at the bodice which look like Star Trek Star Fleet command logo which is painted on to the fabric. The reason behind this dress was costume designer Mona May wanted Romy’s dress to be “slick” and “futuristic” and Sorvino herself is a trekkie and even imagined Romy herself being a fan even thought that is not in the script.   

Romy’s blue dress bridges the gap between being true to the character, stylish, fun, and iconic.   

5. Betty and Judy Haynes from White Christmas (1954)

Designer: Edith Head

1954’s White Christmas was an immensely popular movie. It sees two sets of singing acts team up for a Christmas performance in Vermont. At the start of the movie we are introduced to the Haynes Sisters, Betty and Judy, played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen respectively. For their performance they wear matching blue lace costumes.

The bodices are high necked with three-quarter length sleeves. The tulle skirts are quite full and are knee length. There are some shimmering details on the skirts and on the lace of the bodice. There are also panels of lace on one side of the skirt. They wear matching gloves and giant feather fans for their big musical number.

4. Tracy Lord from High Society (1956)

Designer: Helen Rose

High Society is a remake of The Philadelphia Story from 1940 but it’s a musical. This remake follows the same plot of the original where a rich socialite is about to get remarried but her ex-husband comes back to town and sends a reporter and his photographer to report on Tracy’s wedding.

In her first meeting with the reporter and his photographer, Tracy (Grace Kelly) puts on a show where she is weirdly threatening, invasive, and mean but in a comically gentile way that only a rich person who doesn’t want nosy reporters around can be.

To add to the dramatic flair Tracey is putting on she wears an airy light blue and white striped dress. The off-of- shoulder neckline and large puffed sleeves are made from a sheer blue fabric that are trimmed in a blue and white striped fabric that matches the bodice and skirt. The bodice also has a row of matching fabric covered buttons. The neckline and waistline are adorned with small bows.

The full skirt has a sheer blue overlay and hemline hits just below the knee. The juxtaposition of stripes with sheer fabric matches Tracy’s over the top acting in the scene. She is graceful, lyrical and somewhat harsh. It’s a great, very comical scene.

3. Paloma from No Time to Die (2021)

Designer: Suttirat Anne Larlarb

In Daniel Craig’s fifth and final film as James Bond, he teams up with new CIA agent, Paloma (Ana de Armas). She is very bubbly and excited for her first big job as she has only had three weeks of training. The job is to infiltrate a Spectre party in Cuba which turns out to be a trap set for Bond.

At this party Paloma wears a dark navy blue bias cut slinky dress. It has a plunging v-neckline and low back. The back of the dress has thin criss-cross straps. It’s floor length but the sides of the dress have high slits which is good for the action scenes.

She also wears diamond jewelry set to add to the overall glamor. While it’s a small role and she’s not the movie’s “Bond Girl,” Paloma is a highlight of the film and the dress is alluring and gorgeous, worthy of a Bond girl.

2. Rachel Chu from Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Designer: Marchesa

Altered by: Mary E. Vogt

Based on a novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians is about a university professor, Rachel (Constance Wu) who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend for his best friend’s wedding. She soon learns that her boyfriend’s family is among the super elites of Singapore.

Throughout her time in Singapore Rachel struggles to fit across the social class and cultural barriers, but she has her Cinderella moment at the wedding. She wears a diaphanous two tone blue tulle gown. The neckline and waist are adorned with matching fabric flowers. The neckline is a halter neckline and the length is floor length.

The gown was originally designed by Marchesa, but was modified for the film. Mainly the sleeves and some excess material were removed to not overwhelm Constance Wu. This costume is also housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

1. Frances Stevens from To Catch a Thief (1955)

Designer: Edith Head

In order to clear his name, retired jewel thief John “The Cat” Robie wants to catch a new jewel thief using his old moniker. He does this by using guests at the hotel with the most expensive jewels. This is how he is introduced to Frances (Grace Kelly), who is secretly aware of him and his past.

Shortly after striking up a conversation with Frances and her mother, Robie walks them back to their rooms. As Frances retires to her room she boldly kisses him. In these scenes, Frances wears an amazing blue gown. It is made from a sheer fabric, possibly chiffon in two shades of blue that contrast beautifully. It has a soft draping effect in the bodice that flows down into the skirts which move very gracefully.

The gown has spaghetti straps with fabric draped off the shoulder that can be used as a cover, adding to the delicate look of the garment. The back is low and there is wrapped crossing draped detail which is echoed at the front of the bodice. There’s a fluid elegance to the gown that moves like a dream and Grace Kelly elevates it to a zenith of ethereal beauty.

Honorable Mention : Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Designer: Gilbert Adrian

The setting of the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz is very vague. It could be contemporary to the late ’30s or it could be a period piece, perhaps the early 20th century when the book was published. It’s unclear and there is no answer to this question. The filmmakers were most likely going for something timeless before the fantastic world of Oz was introduced.

Therefore, the blue gingham jumper worn by Dorothy (Judy Garland) more or less fits all three of the movie types. The blue dress is super iconic, cute and suits Dorothy’s personality. Her ruby slippers add such a dramatic contrast with the cool tones of her look.