cardigan and white shirt underneath.
Optimism, Youth & Happiness
Yellow has positive happy associations especially since it is a color long linked with the sun. Other meanings of yellow are happiness, optimism, youth, warmth, energy, and enthusiasm. It also stimulates the logical areas of the brain, so it aids with learning, clarity and perception.
This is a ranked list of yellow costumes from modern movies, ranked by aesthetics, memorability and how well it suits the character/film. Undergarments, cover-ups, sleepwear, outerwear, and swimwear are not included, but in some instances—especially on this list—a matching outerwear was added. Period and fantasy/sci-fi movie costumes also have their own rankings.
Gold costumes, either metallic or reflective, also have their own ranking. Sometimes a costume can be “gold,” but appear more yellow in the film. It’s a perception thing, so you can agree or disagree if you see a costume as more gold than sunny yellow.
List is subject to change.
10. Regina from Charade (1964)
Designer: Hubert de Givenchy
It seems like everything Audrey Hepburn wore was iconic and chic. She did no wrong on the fashion end of things.
Charade is a 1964 thriller, mystery, comedy, and romance. Audrey Hepburn plays Regina “Reggie” Lampert. She gets wrapped up in a mystery involving her husband who gets murdered after making off with stolen money from World War II.
In untypical Hepburn style, she doesn’t have many costume changes, but all her looks are chic and very mod. Just before the climax of the film, when they figure out where the money could be hiding, she wears a cute goldenrod dress.
It’s very much in vogue with the early ’60s mod period as it’s a shift dress with high wide collar and short sleeves. For a little contrast she has a black belt. For the climax of the movie, she wears a matching yellow coat over the dress.
Honestly this might be my favorite movie in Hepburn’s filmography.
9. Marnie from Marnie (1964)
Designer: Edith Head
When we think of a Hitchcock movie, we collectively think of films like Psycho, Vertigo, Dial M for Murder among many others. Few think of his 1964 thriller Marnie. It was based on a novel by Winston Graham. It revolves around the titular Marnie (Tippi Hedren) who is a con-artist with childhood trauma. She gets blackmailed into marriage by a man who is likened to a hunter and she his prey.
One of Marnie’s only bits of comfort and joy in her life is her horse. In a scene where she gets her horse brought back to her and we her genuinely smile, she is wearing a cheerful yellow dress. The color was picked very intentionally to show her joy as it one her happiest moments in the film.
The dress is sleeveless with a high neckline that has a sheer drape that is wrapped around her neck. The bodice and skirt are gathered at the waist and the skirt has sheer overlay that gives it a bit of volume with some softness.
8. Louisa from What a Way to Go! (1964)
Designer: Edith Head
What a Way to Go! is a madcap comedy that has amazing fashion ranging from cute to chic to glamorous to surreal and surreally glamorous. The main character, Louisa (Shirley McClaine), wants a simple life with love, not money. Her issue is that she falls for men who are penniless when they marry her, but they find success and become super wealthy. She considers it a curse and doesn’t want her millions.
She meets her second husband in Paris, who is a starving artist. He soon becomes an overnight successful artist, much to Louisa’s dismay. As is standard with Louisa’s fashion, her style takes on the persona of her husband. So her clothing became his artwork
7. Kimberley from My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
There have been many rom-coms that use the trope of breaking up the wedding through sabotage, including My Best Friend’s Wedding. In this iconic late ’90s film, Jules is the best friend of the groom and maid of honor to sweet, young and rich Kim (Cameron Diaz).
The first time Jules meets Kim, the young bride-to-be is wearing a bright yellow shift dress that is sleeveless and comes down to the mid-thigh. She pairs it with a designer scarf around her neck. The look is iconic, it’s simple and youthful but very chic and exudes happiness, which suits Kim.
6. Latika from Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Designer: Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Slumdog Millionaire is a rags to riches tale set in India. The main character, Jamal, goes on a “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” type of game show because his childhood sweetheart, Latika (Frida Pinto), watches it. He ends up winning because of his perseverance throughout his life.
One of the most memorable scenes in the movie film is when Jamal sees Latika at the Victoria Terminus after telling her that he will wait there everyday at 5 pm for her to come. When she finally arrives, she is promptly taken away by the crime organization from whom she has been trying to escape.
The scene was shot on location with everyday people going about their day as unknowing extras. Pairing this the location with the cinematography and the music when Jamal and Latika see each other is just magic.
In this scene Latika wears a yellow sleeveless patterned tunic. The bright yellow color is made even more dazzling with rows of mirror work along the v-neckline and the hem. There is some fathering at the center front of the neckline. Her pants are orange and are slim flitting
The yellow tunic matches her scarf she wears at the end of the film. The use of colors are meant to bookend her journey from her childhood look to her final look.
5. Rusty from Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Designer: Donfeld
Considered one of Elvis’ finest films, Viva Las Vegas was the fifteenth movie in his filmography. Elvis plays a character named Lucky, who goes to Las Vegas to enter the first annual Grand Prix. However, his car needs repairs and like so many things in life money becomes an issue.
His romantic interest is a hotel swim teacher named Rusty (Ann-Margret.) During a dance scene, she wears a sunny yellow shift dress that matches Lucky’s jacket. The bright color really pops against the darker red color of the set.
The shift dress is very simple which is very on trend. It’s sleeveless with a rounded square neckline that is somewhat high and it’s knee length. The details are minimal with cording at the waist and a flat trim around the armholes. At the side of the waist there are five matching tassels that provide some subtle movement for the dancing.
4. Mia from La La Land (2016)
Designer: Mary Zophres
La La Land is a nostalgic throwback to the golden age of cinema, but it understands that it’s a fantasy and that reality can never as beautiful as those films. During the “A Lovely Night” number and the scene prior Mia (Emma Stone) wears a bright yellow dress that contrasts perfectly against the setting sun.
The fabric has graphic flowers. The dress looks like it is made from a yellow sheer fabric layer over another yellow fabric. The neckline is squared with short cap sleeves. The length is to the knee and the a line skirt is gathered at the waist to add in the dance choreography.
She has on blue heels, but changes into tap shoes for dancing.
3. The Bride from Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Designers: Kumiko Ogawa and Catherine Thomas
Director Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is a martial arts movie that’s also a mashup of different genres like grindhouse, samurai films, blaxploitation, and even spaghetti westerns. The movie centers around The Bride (Uma Thurman) who is out for revenge against her former teammates, all whom are assassins.
The most iconic outfit from the movie is no doubt The Bride’s yellow suit. She wears this duringt the climax of the film when she goes against the yakuza. The costume itself is an homage to Bruce Lee’s outfit from his final film,Game of Death.
This outfit is a tracksuit which is a casual look, but the bright yellow color makes it special. Running down the sleeves and legs in a wide black stripe which offers contrast and visual interest. She also wears matching sneakers. Thurman apparently hated this costume, but it is iconic and cool.
2. Andie from How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (2003)
Designer: Karen Patch
One of the subtypes of the romance genre is fake-dating. Typically it is when two people pretend to date to fool other people and eventually the pretend romance becomes real. In How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days it is the reverse, the couple is tricking each other while their circles know what is going on, but still the two fall in love.
Both Andie (Kate Hudson) and Ben are super ambitious, so are using the fake relationship as a way to get ahead in their careers. This all comes to ahead when they go to a company ball which is very much a formal event.
Andie wears a stunning, soft yellow gown that became iconic when used for the film’s movie poster. It has a column silhouette, sleeveless and the neckline is a wide v-neck. The neckline is made up of a shiner yellow stripes that extends off the bodice to go over the shoulder giving a delicate look.
These stripes then criss-cross at the edge at the back of the gown which is backless before wrapping around the waist. She wears this gown with the Isadora yellow diamond necklace which works in perfect harmony with the gown.
1. Cher from Clueless (1995)
Designer: Mona May
Clueless is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s 1815 novel, Emma. However, it takes place in Southern California in the mid-90s with high-school students and it works perfectly. This movie set the fashion tone for a while and it’s still widely remembered and emulated.
At the start of the film, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is wearing what looks like a school uniform. She wears a lot of plaid jackets with matching skirts. This gives her a feeling of perfection, which is how she views herself within her school’s social structure.
Her most iconic look is also her first look in the movie. It’s a yellow plaid jacket with a matching skirt suit. She wears a short yellow cardigan and white shirt under the jacket. She styles this look like white accessories as well as a gold chain hanging off the skirt. This look is iconic, preppy and very Cher.
